20 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 28, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
year in review
APRIL
New Kosciuszko Bridge makes its big debut
New York City’s fi rst new bridge
traffi c nightmare that carries the
in more than a half-century opened
BrooklynQueens Expressway (BQE)
on the Brooklyn/Queens border, as the
over the Newtown Creek between
completed fi rst half of the Kosciuszko
Maspeth and Greenpoint. It will temporarily
Bridge reconstruction project was
carry three lanes of BQE traffi
unveiled in a ceremony on April 27.
c in each direction over the next several
Th e new cable-stayed bridge was
years while the second new bridge
built adjacent to the rusting, 78-yearold
is built in the footprint of the old span.
City starts controversial Corona street fi x
On April 10, the Department of Transportation began work to install pedestrian
crossings, add new parking spaces and install a two-way bicycle lane. Th e plan was
fi rst proposed in 2015 but was met with resistance from Community Board 4. At
their most recent meeting, the board moved to table a vote on whether to implement
the most recent plan until a later time. But at a Corona town hall meeting in March,
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city would go ahead with the plan despite no
vote from the board.
Townsend Harris HS finally gets new principal
Aft er months of tumult, allegations and
protests, a change in leadership came to
Townsend Harris High School. Sighs of
relief and cheers erupted from the dozens
of community members who piled into
the school’s library on April 20 as School
Leadership Team co-chair and Parent
Teacher Association co-president Susan
Karlic announced that the Department
of Education (DOE) had offi cially named
Brian Condon permanent principal of
the school. Since her arrival at the school
in September 2016, interim acting principal
Rosemarie Jahoda has faced opposition
from all sides. Students staged a sitin
in December 2016 to bring attention
to alleged faculty harassment and changes
to programs and course off erings without
community input. Later that month,
teachers, students, alumni and lawmakers
rallied outside of the school to call for
Jahoda’s removal.
Photo by Angela Matua/QNS
File photos
Damning statements of Karina
Vetrano’s alleged killer revealed
Th ose following the Karina Vetrano murder investigation wondered not only who
the killer was, but also why someone could have brutally raped and strangled the
young Howard Beach woman found dead in Spring Creek Park last August. Some
answers fi nally surfaced on April 18, as prosecutors released statements that Chanel
Lewis made to detectives while he was in police custody Lewis allegedly said that he
became aggravated on Aug. 2 aft er “a man came around” to his home and “played
music and he brought around a lot of his friends.”
“I didn’t like that stuff , I like peace and quiet and so I would go roam the streets
and walk around,” Lewis said. “Sometimes I would go to Howard Beach.”
He then described in detail how he beat and killed Vetrano at Spring Creek Park.
In November, lawyers representing Lewis said they would fi le briefs challenging if
how the NYPD obtained his confession was legal.
Photo by Angela Matua/QNS
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS