16 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Addabbo: time
to fi x up dirty
H.B. underpass
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
Pigeon poop and illegally dumped
waste have turned an underpass
in Howard Beach into an eyesore
that requires a detailed plan of
action, according to state Senator Joe
Addabbo.
Addabbo wants city and state agencies
to clean up the underpass at 84th
Street between 157th Avenue and
Shore Parkway. Residents say that the
underpass has had an issue regarding
pigeon presence and other waste
buildup.
Addabbo initially called on the New
York City Department of Sanitation
(DSNY) as well as the New York State
Department of Transportation (NYS
DOT) regarding the underpass. While
the agencies have come up with shortterm
solutions, Addabbo is continuing
to work with them to create a longterm
solution.
“I am grateful for the assistance
both the DSNY and NYS DOT have
given on this problem,” Addabbo said.
“However, aft er the solutions were
implement, the problem has persisted,
which is why I will work together
with governmental agencies to create
a long-term solution to this problem.”
Th is is not Addabbo’s fi rst experience
in cleaning up an unsightly
underpass. In 2016, Addabbo began
to work with the NYS DOT to address
the underpass along 80th Street under
the Long Island Expressway on the
Middle Village/Maspeth border, which
also had an excessive amount of pigeon
waste.
Aft er reviewing the situation, the
NYS DOT placed wooden boards
under the roadway to prevent pigeons
from congregating in the underpass.
“No community should have to live
with an underpass that is not only an
eyesore, but a health hazard as well,”
Addabbo said. “We were able to mitigate
the situation in Middle Village,
and I have no doubt that the underpass
in Howard Beach will see similar
results. I appreciate all my constituents
who have contacted me regarding this
issue and I understand their frustration,
but I want them to know this will
be resolved.”
Photo: Google Maps
Aff ordable apt. building now on the rise in Jamaica
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Th e former NYPD parking garage in
Jamaica will soon be the home of a mixeduse
building that will include nearly 400
aff ordable housing units.
Offi cials broke ground on Sept. 21 on
Archer Green Apartments, located at the
site of the former parking garage at the
corner of 168th Street and 93rd Avenue.
When completed, the building will feature
more than 380 aff ordable apartments,
a 15,000-square-foot community
facility and 68,800 feet of retail and commercial
space.
It’s the latest development to rise in
Jamaica in conjunction with the Jamaica
NOW action plan, a concerted eff ort to
boost business and real estate development
in the neighborhood. Th e Archer
Green project will create nearly 350 construction
jobs and another 300 permanent
positions when completed.
Among the offi cials taking part in the
groundbreaking were New York City
Economic Development Corporation
(NYCEDC) President and CEO James
Patchett, Queens Borough President
Melinda Katz, Councilman I. Daneek
Miller, state Senator Leroy Comrie and
Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman and
representatives of Omni New York, which
is spearheading the project.
“Archer Green Apartments is a
game-changing project that will help spur
economic growth in the heart of downtown
Jamaica,” Patchett said.
“Th e 168th Street corridor is being
reborn with much-needed aff ordable
housing, community space and retail for
the residents of Jamaica and southeast
Queens,” said Hope Knight, president and
CEO of the Greater Jamaica Development
Corporation. “Th e redevelopment of this
long underutilized lot perfectly demonstrates
Rendering courtesy of the NYC Economic Development Corporation
A rendering of the Archer Green Apartments that will rise on the site of a former NYPD parking
garage in Jamaica.
the City’s commitment to Jamaica’s
future.”
According to the NYCEDC, Omni
New York LLC and Lettire Construction
Corporation, the project’s construction
management team, have committed to a
25 percent minority/women-owned business
enterprise (M/WBE) participation
goal and 35 percent minority and female
workforce participation in construction
jobs and new staff positions created.
Additionally, the NYCEDC noted,
the development team will take part in
HireNYC, which connects New Yorkers
with workforce development services and
job opportunities for various investment
projects.
“Jamaica’s transformation continues as
we break ground on a long-awaited development
that delivers on our promise to
expand opportunities in Jamaica including
aff ordable housing,” Katz added. “A hallmark
of the Jamaica NOW Action Plan is
to revitalize one of Queens’ most critical
commercial and cultural hubs, this mixeduse
complex will provide the community
with the aff ordable housing, community
facility space, retail and employment
opportunities it needs — and deserves —
going forward.”
Th e Jamaica NOW plan, created in 2015
by the de Blasio administration along
with Katz and the EDC, aims to invest
$153 million toward revitalizing Jamaica
through development, job creation and
the creation of thousands of housing units.
Pharmacist swindled $7.9M from Medicare to live the high life: feds
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
A South Ozone Park woman who owns
several Queens drugs stores faced a federal
judge on Sept. 24 over charges that she
swindled nearly $8 million in fraudulent
Medicare and Medicaid payments.
Aleah Mohammed, 33, was indicted for
allegedly submitting millions of dollars
in fraudulent claims as part of a scheme
to defraud the federal health care programs,
according to U.S. Attorney Richard
Donoghue.
Prosecutors said Mohammed operated
four Queens pharmacies, including
Superdrugs I Inc., located at 127-04
Liberty Ave. in South Richmond Hill; and
S&A Superdrugs II Inc., located at 138-10
Farmers Blvd. in Jamaica.
According to the indictment,
Mohammed carried out the Medicare
& Medicaid fraud scheme between May
2015 and June of this year. She and others
involved in the scam allegedly submitted
claims to the Medicare Part D program
Photo via Google Maps
The owner of Superdrugs I on Liberty Avenue in South
Richmond Hill, as shown in October 2017, was indicted
on Sept. 24 for allegedly committing Medicare fraud.
and Medicaid for reimbursement for
prescription medication that were either
not dispensed to patients, prescribed as
claimed or even medically necessary.
Among the claims submitted were for
prescription drugs used in the treatment
of HIV (human immunodefi ciency virus).
Th ese medications generally cost hundreds
or even thousands of dollars
per month, without factoring in
health insurance coverage, according
to the blog Healthline.
As a result of the fraudulent claims,
prosecutors said, Mohammed netted
$7.9 million from Medicare and
Medicaid, which she then used to
support a lavish lifestyle, including
purchases of luxury jewelry and
even a Porsche.
“These investigations matter
because the subjects are stealing
money each and every one of us pays
in taxes to fund these programs,”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge
William Sweeney said. “What adds
insult to injury, defrauding the government
and stealing money is rarely
about anything more than spending
money on frivolous things like pricy jewelry
and fast cars. Our ultimate goal is to
stop these fraudsters from wasting the millions
they steal so it can go to the patients
and taxpayers who depend on it.”
If convicted of the charges, Mohammed
faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
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