FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 20, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Cops seek creep in Flushing
sex assault
Detectives are looking for a man who punched a woman
and then sexually assaulted her on a Flushing street early on
Tuesday morning.
According to police, at 2 a.m. on Dec. 18, a 56-yearold
woman was in the vicinity of 165th Street and Sanford
Avenue when she was approached by an unknown man, who
punched her several times in the face.
Following this attack, authorities said, the suspect put his
hands in the victim’s pants and penetrated her with his fi ngers.
He then fl ed the scene on foot in an unknown direction.
Offi cers from the 109th Precinct responded to the incident.
Paramedics brought the victim to a local hospital, where she
was treated and released.
On Tuesday night, the NYPD released security camera
images of the suspect. He’s described as a Hispanic man
between the ages of 20 and 25-years-old, standing 5 feet, 5
inches tall with a thin build. He was last seen wearing a blue
jacket with a fur lined hood and a dark backpack.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked
to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-
TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). All
calls are kept confi dential.
Queens Tribune layoff s amid
fi nancial woes
Most of the staff at the Queens Tribune was laid off on
Dec. 17 as the weekly newspaper fi nds itself in deep fi nancial
waters, according to information that QNS obtained.
Th e news came from several individuals familiar with the
Tribune’s operations who had asked not to be identifi ed.
QNS attempted to reach out on Tuesday to multiple reporters,
salespeople and other staff members listed on the paper’s
website for further confi rmation, but has yet to receive any
response. Most attempted calls were sent to each individual’s
voicemail.
Th e reported layoff s occurred just eight months aft er the
Tribune was sold by its parent company, Tribco Inc., to
Ocean Gold Media. QNS made contact on Dec. 18 with
Michael Tobman, a part-owner of Ocean Gold Media and
counsel for the company, but he declined to comment about
the situation.
Th e New York Post reported on Wednesday that the
Tribune’s ownership is now “searching for new fi nancing.”
In the meantime, along with cutting back on staff , the paper
has also reduced its print run.
Soon aft er the purchase, Ocean Gold had brought in new
leadership for its editorial and events department, including
Andrew Holt, former City & State magazine publisher, and
Gerson Borrero, former editor-in-chief of El Diario la Prensa.
In the weeks that followed, the Tribune rolled out a new
look on newsstands, abandoning the tabloid format in favor
of a large broadsheet on bright paper. Th e company also relocated
its editorial offi ces from Whitestone to Long Island
City.
Th e Tribune debuted in 1970 as Th e Flushing Tribune. Th e
paper was started by Gary Ackerman, a history teacher at the
time who eventually went into politics, becoming a state senator
and later a Congressman. Ackerman had sold the paper
in the 1980s to News Communications, then bought it back
from the company in 2002.
Photo by Jenna Bagcal/QNS
College Point still fuming
after shelter town meeting
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Hundreds of College Point residents
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packed the auditorium of
P.S. 29 on Monday night to rail
against the city over plans to open
a homeless shelter in the community.
Representatives of the
Department of Homeless Services
(DHS) were on hand for the session
— and felt the wrath of residents
who believe the city just isn't
listening to their needs, and the
needs of homeless residents.
Th e auditorium was fi lled to
capacity, as anticipated; admission
was granted through a ticketing
process. Th ose without tickets
but who showed up anyway
had to stand outside the venue in
the cold, accompanied by police
offi cers.
DHS representatives were
joined by nonprofi t homeless services
provider Westhab for the
town hall. Much of the information,
including the number of beds
and shelter security, had already
been shared by DHS First Deputy
Commissioner Jackie Bray at the
College Point Civic Association
meeting weeks before.
Protesters, which included
College Point residents as well as
neighbors in Whitestone, Flushing
and Bayside were asked to sign up
to ask questions. But responses
from DHS and Westhab elicited
“boos” and jeering from the
crowd of irate residents.
“Th ose who are most vulnerable
amongst us need somewhere
to lay their head, they need somewhere
to receive services, they
need somewhere with people who
are committed to their second
chance,” Bray said.
College Point resident Denise
Zayas shared that, as someone
who is legally blind, she does not
feel safe with a homeless shelter
being put up in the community.
“Westhab isn’t answering 911
calls and I do not feel that you
can keep us safe. So it’s not fear
that you’re hearing, it’s anger at
the fact that no one consulted us,”
Zayas said.
“DHS has an incredibly tight
relationship with the NYPD. Our
security is managed and overseen
by the NYPD,” said Bray, who
added that the agency coordinates
with local precincts and police
offi cers for all of their shelters.
Community Board 7 Vice
Chairperson Chuck Apelian questioned
the legality of the shelter
being built in a manufacturing
district.
“You’re building this in a manufacturing
district. It’s an M1 and
in a manufacturing district, residential
use is not allowed at all,”
Apelian said.
“Transient use is allowed in
an M1 zone. Th is is transient
use,” Bray responded. “We have
opened shelters for years in M1
zones and DOB Department of
Buildings has approved them for
years. What we’re doing is consistent
with that.”
Others in attendance at
Monday night’s town hall were
Councilman Paul Vallone,
Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal
and state Senator-elect John Liu
— who, until yesterday, had been
largely absent from shelter rallies
and conversations.
Th e former New York City
comptroller expressed concern
with the economics involved in
opening up the shelter aft er Bray
shared that the entire shelter contract
would cost approximately
$9 million annually. Th is would
include housing each shelter resident,
services, maintenance,
transportation and employee salaries.
“Somebody is making a lot of
money off this deal,” said Liu.
“People understand that there is
a homeless crisis going on in this
city, but you gotta do a better job.
And you gotta think about how
many more people you would
have been able to serve with the $9
million if you had put it in a more
effi cient location and made sure
that the deals were put together in
the right format.”
link
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