FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 1, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Grandma fi nds
grandson fatally
stabbed
Detectives are looking for the suspect
who stabbed a Flushing man to death
in his apartment on Tuesday night.
According to police, at 6:12 p.m.
on Oct. 30, offi cers from the 107th
Precinct responded to a 911 call regarding
an unconscious man at an apartment
inside 70-38 Parsons Blvd. Upon
their arrival, they found 28-year-old
Matthew Sandoz, lying unconscious
and unresponsive inside with multiple
stab wounds to his body.
Sources familiar with the investigation
said that Sandoz’s grandmother
made the gruesome discovery aft er visiting
his apartment that day. She hadn’t
heard from him in about a week, police
said, and went to look for him along
with building personnel.
EMS responded to the location and
declared Sandoz dead at the scene. His
body was transferred to the Medical
Examiner’s offi ce for an autopsy, and
police have already declared the case
a homicide.
No arrests have been made at this
time. Th e investigation is ongoing.
Emily Davenport
New memorial for
Olde Towne burial
ground
At long last, the city will honor the
memory of Native Americans and
African Americans buried more than
a century ago at the Olde Towne of
Flushing Burial Ground.
Mayor Bill de Blasio joined Borough
President Melinda Katz, local elected
offi cials, and community members
on Oct. 26 to unveil designs of a $1.63
million project to reconstruct a commemorative
plaza at the site of burial
ground on 46th Avenue between 164th
and 165th Streets.
“We’re commemorating an important
part of our history and the vision
of this community, which worked hard
to get recognition for this site,” said
de Blasio.
Nearly 1,000 Native Americans and
African Americans were buried at the
sacred site during the 1800s, and members
of the Old Towne of Flushing
Burial Ground Conservancy believe
the site is as much a part of Flushing
history as any other mentioned.
In the 1930s, headstones were
destroyed in the burial ground when
it was redeveloped into a playground
by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses.
In November 2006, community
activist Mandingo Tshaka, who had
been fi ghting for recognition for nearly
10 years, and former City Councilman
John Liu, reclaimed the site relocating
the playground to the northern end
of the site. A ground-level plaque was
installed to commemorate those buried
there.
Carlotta Mohamed
Photo by Jenna Bagcal/THE COURIER
College Point residents rally against homeless shelter
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Dozens gathered at the site of a proposed
homeless shelter in College Point
on Monday for a protest in the heart of a
neighborhood that has been plagued with
shelter rumors in recent years.
Th e rally came less than a week aft er
Councilman Paul Vallone confi rmed with
the mayor’s administration that a developer
had submitted a proposal to the
Department of Homeless Services (DHS)
for the building located at 127-03 20th
Ave.
Vallone was joined by fellow elected
offi cials, community leaders and disgruntled
residents at the rally on Monday, Oct.
29. Protesters voiced concerns about their
quality of life, safety and overcrowding if
plans for the shelter are approved.
Rumors of the shelter fi rst arose at
the Oct. 24 College Point Civic and
Taxpayers Association meeting and were
confi rmed a day later by Councilman
Vallone. Th e councilman named David
Levitan, co-owner of real estate company
Liberty One Group, as the owner of the
building. Levitan acquired the property in
March 2018 and subsequently submitted
the proposal as part of DHS’ open request
for proposal (RFP).
Th ough the proposal has been submitted,
Mayor de Blasio has not yet made a
decision about whether or not the site will
become a shelter.
“Th ere is no public transportation.
Th ere is no train. Th ere are no services.
It is overcrowded and we have had
enough,” Vallone said. Th e councilman
added that the DHS is “acting with a complete
lack of community involvement” by
not seeking residents’ input.
“What’s worse, the city’s policy for siting
shelters allows greedy developers to
profi t from the homelessness crisis while
displaying a wanton disregard for the
eff ect on our community,” said Vallone.
But Vallone has said that College
Point and its residents have not adopted
a “not in my backyard” or “NIMBY”
mindset, rather, the neighborhood has
reached its capacity for municipal organizations.
Many at the rally, including
Assemblyman Dan Rosenthal, cited the
overcrowding from an infl ux of city agencies
that have been built in the area.
“Over the past few years, College Point
has seen so much development,” said
Rosenthal. “Just look around and look
how crowded it is here. Th is is not the
place. Not only that, College Point already
has its fair share of municipal developments.
We have a police academy, a waste
transfer center, a large postal facility and
many other things. Th is is not the place.”
Others cited safety issues that would
arise if a homeless shelter were to be
established at the proposed location.
According to Vallone, the building is
located just blocks away from three
public schools — P.S. 29, P.S. 129, the
newly opened M.S. 379 — and St. Agnes
Academic High School.
“We’re upset too because we were
not notifi ed,” said Christine Coniglio,
the PTA president of M.S. 379. “We
have a brand-new middle school with
sixth-graders. Th ere are 160 students
that take the buses here, get off and commute
right here on this corner. So having
a homeless shelter where our children are
11 years old, who will be commuting, is a
little concerning.”
Protesters held signs bearing the words,
“say no to drugs and crime in College
Point” and “homeless hurt our businesses”
calling attention to other issues they
believed homeless residents would bring
to the area.
Local business owner Mario Turriago
also mentioned how the homeless population
would negatively impact businesses
in the neighborhood.
“Homeless people do aff ect businesses
because they loiter outside. Th ey stand
all around. Th ey panhandle. Th ey ask
for money and people get turned off
from going into the stores,” said Mario
Turriago, the owner of a locksmith business
in the neighborhood.
Residents like College Point Civic and
Taxpayers Association Treasurer Brock
Weiner have said that the city should be
allocating their resources toward improving
the lives of homeless individuals
instead of just housing them in shelters.
“Th e city should be helping the homeless
get back on their feet and get jobs if
they’re capable of it,” said Weiner. “Th e
city has the resources to do that. Instead,
they put them in shelters and basically
let them wander around and do nothing.
Th ere’s a reason it’s getting worse
and worse and not getting better. Th ere
are a lot of agencies that want to help
the homeless, but the city doesn’t seem
to organize them properly, otherwise, we
wouldn’t have a growing homeless population
like we do.”
Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal addresses the crowd at a rally in College Point on Oct. 29.
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