4 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 20, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
At long last, North Shore Farms in Whitestone opens
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A long-awaited Long Island-based
supermarket is fi nally up and running in
Whitestone.
North Shore Farms, located at 153-01
10th Ave., had its grand opening at 9 a.m.
Dec. 14 aft er months of setbacks delayed
original plans. Th e new location is North
Shore Farms’ eighth location and its fi rst
in Queens.
On Th ursday, Dec. 13, store owners
held a commemorative preview celebration,
Photos by Jenna Bagcal/THE COURIER
Business owners and local dignitaries helped cut the ribbon on North Shore Farms supermarket on
Dec. 13.
New Starbucks location debuts at Bayside shopping center
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Bayside residents can now get their coffee
fi x at a newly opened Starbucks coffee
shop.
Th e Seattle-based chain opened on
Friday, Dec. 14 in the Bay Terrace shopping
center at 23-98 Bell Blvd., according
to a spokesperson for the Cord Meyer
Development Company.
Back in August, Cord Meyer told Th e
Courier that a Starbucks would be coming
to the open-air mall by 2019. News
that the shop had opened today was seen
on the Bay Terrace Community Alliance
Facebook page, which was confi rmed by
Cord Meyer as well as the shopping center’s
safety offi ce.
Prior to the new Starbucks’ opening,
the two nearest locations were 215-29
Northern Blvd. in Bayside and 221-4A/
B, Horace Harding Expy. in Oakland
Gardens.
Th e coff ee shop is located between the
shopping center’s First National Bank
of Long Island and a Lane Bryant clothing
store. Store hours are from 10 a.m. to
9 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and 11
a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
store blessing and ribbon cutting.
Guests were invited to sample a range of
store off erings including fresh sushi, steak
and sandwiches.
On opening day, stretched from the
checkout counters almost to the end of the
shopping center when the doors opened,
and the fi rst 10 customers received $25
North Shore Farms gift cards.
“We’re excited to bring North Shore
Farms to Whitestone and to Queens,” said
George Tsiatis, a spokesman for the company.
“Our Great Neck store was close,
but there’s nothing like being in the heart
of a vibrant community like Whitestone.
We’re lucky to have had the support of the
community and we look forward to serving
them now and in the future.”
Th e store is a one-stop shop for locally
sourced foods and features a fresh
produce section, baked goods fresh seafood
and meat selections, a large array of
cheeses and ready-to-eat prepared foods.
Local vendors will also showcase cooking
demonstrations in store.
Also in attendance at the preview celebration
were Queens Chamber of
Commerce President and CEO Th omas
Grech, leaders of the We Love Whitestone
Civic Association, NYPD Community
Aff airs Offi ce and representatives from
local churches and nonprofi t organizations
and other civic leaders.
Local religious leaders including Bishop
Apostolos of Medeia, Father Dionysios
Anagnostopoulos of Holy Cross, Father
John Lardas and Father Dennis Strouzas
of Archangel Michael, Father Nektarios
Papazafiropoulos of St. Demetrios
Cathedral and Father Gerasimos presided
over a traditional Greek Orthodox
blessing (an “Agiasmo”) for a successful
business.
Following the blessing, Grech welcomed
store owners to the neighborhood
on behalf of the borough and off ered his
services if they ever needed anything.
“On behalf of our 2.4 million people,
many of whom are Greek, welcome to
Queens,” Grech said. “Th e small businesses
of our country are the backbone of our
country. Lots of our electeds and other
folks give lots of lip service to that, but we
know how hard you all work to provide
for your families.”
Residents heard that the store would fi ll
the old Waldbaum’s space at Whitestone
Plaza back in October 2016, with the original
opening date slated for summer 2017.
But the high-end supermarket’s opening
was pushed back due to construction and
extensive renovations.
When Waldbaums closed in November
2015, residents were left without a local
supermarket but were apprehensive about
having to pay North Shore Farm’s higher
prices. Th ey draft ed a petition and submitted
it to the Feil Organization who
owns the complex where North Shore
Farms is located.
On Saturday, Dec. 22, from 11 a.m. to 2
p.m., Maria Zoitas of the renowned Made
by Maria brand will hold a book signing
in the store for her new cookbook “Made
with Love.”
North Shore Farms in Whitestone is
open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to
10 p.m.
Second man
cuff ed for two
R.H. murders
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
Police arrested a second suspect for
taking part in a deadly shooting in
Richmond Hill back in January.
Richard Davenport, 42, of
Brooklyn, was arrested Dec. 13 at
7:30 a.m. in connection to the shooting
of 19-year-old Omaree Morrison.
He was charged with murder and
criminal possession of a loaded fi rearm.
Queens District Attorney Richard
A. Brown further announced on Dec.
14 that Davenport was also booked
in connection with the fatal shooting
of 21-year-old Dail Ramessar on
Dec. 19, 2017.
At 9:21 p.m. on Jan. 16, police
responded to a 911 call regarding an
assault outside of a home on 135th
Street near 105th Avenue. Upon
their arrival, offi cers found Morrison
with multiple gunshot wounds in his
torso.
Police indicated that Morrison had
been in the car with fi ve of his relatives
just before the shooting took
place. When he walked away from
the car, he was approached by a suspect
who shot him four times before
fl eeing. EMS rushed Morrison to
Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced
dead.
According to sources familiar with
the investigation, a witness said they
allegedly saw Davenport take part
in the shooting. Following an ongoing
investigation, offi cers arrested
Davenport in Brooklyn and brought
him to the 106th Precinct.
Davenport was ordered held without
bail following his Dec. 14 arraignment,
according to court records; he
must return to court on Feb. 27. He
faces up to 50 years to life in prison
if convicted.
“One man was gunned-down while
seated in a vehicle near a playground
and the other ambushed as he walked
on a residential street aft er nightfall,”
District Attorney Brown said. “My
offi ce remains committed to continue
the fi ght of ending gun violence in
our community. Because of the great
work of the NYPD detectives, this
defendant has now been apprehended
and will be vigorously prosecuted
for his actions.”
On Jan. 29, Woodhaven resident
Neville Brown, 37, was picked up in
Dutchess County in connection with
the shooting. Neville Brown was also
linked to the Ramessar homicide.
Editor’s note: Th e suspect in this
story is not related to the author. Th is
story was updated on Dec. 14 at 4:30
p.m.
Photo by Jenna Bagcal/THE COURIER
A sign above the Starbucks coff ee shop at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center in Bayside announces
the location’s opening.
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