16 The Courier sun • NOVEMBER 17, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Photo courtesy of Councilman Barry Grodenchik Lawmakers announced on Nov. 10 that funding has been secured to improve two play areas in Bellerose. PLAY AREAS NEAR BELLEROSE SCHOOL ARE FINALLY SET FOR A LONG-AWAITED MAKEOVER By Alexis Ramos [email protected]/@QNS It’s been a long time coming, but the city will finally begin making improvements to the schoolyard at P.S. 133 and the nearby Bellerose Playground. Several Queens lawmakers gathered outside P.S. 133 on Nov. 10 to announce the projects’ funding. The previous City Council member representing the area, Mark S. Weprin, had allocated $800,000 toward renovations before he resigned in June 2015. In the recently enacted city budget, Borough President Melinda Katz and Councilman Barry S. Grodenchik added $4.4 million, collectively, to fully fund the renovation of both properties. “Much needed repairs to P.S. 133 schoolyard and the adjacent Bellerose Playground are now fully funded and on their way to fruition,” Katz said. “Thanks to capital investment of public dollars, the children and families of Bellerose can look forward to an upgraded schoolyard and playground.” Grodenchik said he would soon hold a public visioning meeting with the School Construction Authority and the New York City Parks Department to gather community input about the plans for the new park and playground. “This is a huge win for the community, and I look forward to working with the local residents in determining what needs to be done to beautify this school yard and playground,” Grodenchik said. Ozone Park taxi firm officials stole more than $700K from their drivers: DA By Robert Pozarycki [email protected]/@robbpoz Four former executives of a livery cab collective based in Ozone Park allegedly embezzled more than $700,000 from the organization over a sevenyear period, prosecutors announced. Three of the ousted officials at Intaboro Acres Inc., with offices at 88-19 101st Ave., have been picked up for the scheme: Kubilay Durantas, 55, of Staten Island; Mitat Beymolla, 62, of Baldwin, Long Island; and Lisa Cruz, 49, of Bay Shore, Long Island. The company’s president — Iqbal Ali, 60, of Staten Island — was also charged but remains at large, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. Law enforcement sources said the four suspects individually and/or collectively stole more than $732,000 between 2007 and 2014 from the company, which sells shares to livery cab drivers in exchange for the rights to use company cars and pick up fares. The defendants resigned from the company after shareholders learned of the scheme and confronted them, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “The four defendants were trusted by the cooperative shareholders to watch out for the best interests of the cooperative, which has been in operation in Queens for more than 40 years,” Brown said in a statement. “Instead, the defendants are accused of using the cooperative – both individually and in concert with each other – as their own personal piggy bank before being confronted by the shareholders and resigning their positions.” According to the indictment, Ali and Durantas were elected president and vice president, respectively, of Intaboro Acres in 2005; Beymolla was subsequently elected as the cooperative’s treasurer. Cruz worked for the company as office manager. A review of Intaboro Acres’ business records between January 2007 and February 2014 revealed a “systemic pattern of moving money out of the cooperatives’ accounts” for use by the four suspects, prosecutors noted. The funds were allegedly used to pay for personal loans that the suspects obtained, or to purchase personal vehicles or pay individual credit card accounts. In one instance, law enforcement sources said, cooperative funds were used to pay for the construction of a swimming pool at Durantas’ home. After the officials were confronted about the embezzlement and stepped down, Intaboro Acres’ new board referred the matter to the Queens District Attorney’s office for further investigation that ultimately led to a 10-count grand jury indictment. Ali (in absentia), Beymolla, Cruz and Durantas were charged with two counts of second-degree grand larceny and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of stolen property. They each face up to 15 years behind bars if convicted. PBS news anchor Gwen Ifill dies at 61 By Angela Matua [email protected] /@AngelaMatua Gwen Ifill, a Queens-born television journalist for PBS and NBC, died on Nov. 14 at age 61. Ifill died after several months of cancer treatment, according to a statement from PBS NewsHour. Born to Barbadian and Panamanian parents, Ifill was one of five children. Her father, Oliver Urcille Ifill, was a minister at an A.M.E. Church in Jamaica. She got her start in journalism Photo courtesy of Flickr/PBS Television journalist Gwen Ifill as a reporter for the Boston Herald-American. She later worked for the Baltimore Evening Sun, The Washington Post, The New York Times and NBC. In October 1999, Ifill became the moderator of the PBS program “Washington Week in Review.” In August 2013, she was named coanchor and co-managing editor of PBS NewsHour along with Judy Woodruff. She moderated vice-presidential debates in 2004 and 2008 and in February, moderated a democratic debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. She also wrote a book titled “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama,” which was published on inauguration day in 2009. “Gwen was a standard bearer for courage, fairness and integrity in an industry NewsHour going through seismic change,” said Sara Just, PBS NewsHour executive producer. “She was a mentor to so many across the industry and her professionalism was respected across the political spectrum. She was a journalist’s journalist and set an example for all around her. We will forever miss her terribly.”
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