FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 26, 2019 • YEAR IN REVIEW • THE QUEENS COURIER 15
year in review
The top stories from January 2019
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE INSTALLS
THE ‘CADILLAC OF MAILBOXES’
TO STOP MAIL THEFT
Plans to replace regular blue mailboxes with high-security
collection boxes were implemented in northeast
Queens in January. According to Donna Harris, a spokesperson
for the United States Postal Service, the independent
government agency provided residents with the
“Cadillac of Mailboxes.”
Th ese boxes feature a “small slit as opposed to a larger
opening,” said Harris. Th e slits on the mailboxes measure
“three-eighths of an inch high” in an attempt to prevent
mailbox fi shing attempts.
She added that the agency has been working in cooperation
with the NYPD to evaluate data that shows which
boxes are targeted most frequently.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure the mail
is safe,” Harris said. “We want customers to know that we
take this very seriously.”
Both the USPS and the NYPD advise residents to mail
checks and cash via the post offi ce but share tips for those
who opt to use blue mailboxes. Tips include using pens
with permanent ink that can’t be “washed” or erased,
checking bank account balances regularly and report any
mailbox tampering to 911.
AUTHORITIES RAID FLUSHING
HOME AND COME AWAY
WITH SURPRISE HAUL
When police offi cers and federal agents raided a
Flushing home in January as part of a credit card fraud
investigation, they found much more than the makings
of a counterfeit credit card mill. Authorities seized 480
pounds of marijuana and $600,000 in cash from the residence
on 22nd Avenue, according to the Queens District
Attorney’s offi ce.
Th ree people at the home were taken into custody.
Members of the NYPD and the FBI Joint Major Th eft
Task Force raided the two-story home.
With street sale estimates for marijuana in New York
ranging between $275 and $338 an ounce, the total
amount of marijuana seized from the Flushing home fi gures
to exceed $2 million. Law enforcement agents have
not yet disclosed an approximate street value of the pot.
MASKED GUNMEN INVADE
GLENDALE HONE: NYPD
Two armed thieves terrorized an 18-year-old man and
stole thousands of dollars in property during a Glendale
home invasion in January.
Law enforcement sources said the victim was at home,
in the vicinity of 78th Avenue and 84th Street, when the
two suspects, who were wearing ski masks, entered the
location and pulled a gun on him. One of the invaders
then pistol-whipped the victim, then tied him up.
Cops said that the thieves proceeded to search the
home and removed $9,000 in cash along with a wallet, a
PlayStation 4 video game console and a safe. Th e gunmen
then fl ed the location in an unknown direction.
Th ere was no physical description of the men and no
identifying marks, according to the NYPD. Th e victim
was not seriously injured.
WOMAN STRUCK BY MOTORIST
IN DOWNTOWN FLUSHING
A woman was struck and pinned under a vehicle while
crossing Roosevelt Avenue between Main Street and
Union Street in January leading to calls for increased
safety measures in Downtown Flushing.
Police said a 59-year-old woman was. heading to the
subway station, when she was hit by a black Ford and was
pinned under the vehicle, before fi rst responders freed
her and transported her to a local hospital.
“At the end of the day, the intersection of Roosevelt
and Main Street is statistically one of the busiest intersections
in New York City for both pedestrians and
vehicle traffi c, and we will continue working with the
Photo courtesy of Rob Reynolds
DOT, 109 Precinct, the Community Board and all stakeholders
to ensure drivers and pedestrians are educated
and informed about the need to travel safely,” City
Councilman Peter Koo said.
Koo added that he’s worked with the DOT on a number
of improvements centered on the downtown Flushing
area over the last several years, which include a complete
reconstruction of Main Street, wider sidewalks
up to 9 feet to make it safer for pedestrians, new crosswalks,
pedestrian islands, street repavings, bus lanes,
traffi c signals, adjustments to traffi c signal timings, and
more restrictive traffi c patterns that prioritize pedestrian
crossings.
MAN STEALS 3,500 CASES OF
BEER OFF TRAIN IN RIDGEWOOD
A man brewed up quite a caper on the Ridgewood/
Glendale border: stealing approximately 3,500 cases of
beer from an idle train car on a freight rail line in January.
Police said the grand larceny occurred near the intersection
of Cody and Cypress Avenue, near a train overpass.
Surveillance images showed the vague fi gure of a man
through a thicket, but no discernible details of the person’s
features can be gleaned from the images.
According to the NYPD, at least 350 cases stolen were
Corona brand; the entire shipment was valued at about
$100,000. Detectives could not explain how one man
could move so much beer on his own.
Word of mouth circulating between beer distribution
companies in the area said it may have impacted
Manhattan Beer Distributors in Ridgewood on
Metropolitan Avenue and Woodward Avenue.
File photo
Courtesy of Queens DA’s offi ce
Photo via Getty Images
Photo via Flickr
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