FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 28, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Bayside pol’s child care bill
signed by gov
A Bayside-based lawmaker’s push to create a special
task force that will examine the state’s child care needs
has received the governor’s approval.
State Senator Tony Avella’s bill establishing a “child
care availability task force” was signed into law by
Governor Andrew Cuomo last week. Th e bill took eff ect
immediately.
Th e task force will consist of members appointed by
the governor, individuals suggested by the Assembly
speaker and the president pro tempore of the state
Senate, and representatives of child care resource and
referral agencies, child care providers and the business
community.
Th e group will examine child care issues, including
access, cost, quality and impact on the local economy,
and report its fi ndings to Senate and Assembly leaders
no later than Dec. 31, 2018. Th e information will help
guide decisions to better meet the needs of working
families across the state.
Suzanne Monteverdi
Fake UPS workers in Astoria
shooting still at large
Police are still investigating a shooting that
occurred in Astoria on Dec. 21 when two men posing
as UPS workers forced themselves into a man’s
home and shot him in his leg.
Th e incident occurred around 10 a.m. at a home at
the intersection of 20th Avenue and 24th Street. Two
men knocked on the door and told the victim that
they were UPS workers delivering a package, according
to police.
Once the 53-year-old man opened the door, the
two suspects forced themselves into the home. A
struggle ensued and one of the men shot the victim
in the leg. Th e suspects fl ed and the man was transported
to Mount Sinai Queens in stable condition.
Police describe the fi rst suspect as a black male,
approximately 5 feet, 10 inches with a medium build.
He was last seen wearing jeans and a black jacket.
Th e second suspect is described as a Hispanic man
who was last seen wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt
and blue jeans.
Anyone with information about the suspects’
whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-
TIPS; all calls are kept confi dential.
Angela Matua
Store burglars wanted in
Flushing & Sunnyside
Police are asking the public to help find and identify
a man wanted in connection with two storefront
burglaries that took place in Flushing and
Sunnyside.
Th e fi rst incident happened on Nov. 29 at about 2:30
a.m. at Veyta’s Bakery Café Restaurant on Roosevelt
Avenue. According to police, the perpetrator gained
entry into the store by lift ing up the unsecured gate and
walking through the front door. Once inside, the individual
took approximately $950 in cash from the register.
The second burglary occurred on Saturday, Dec.
9, at about 2:43 a.m. at Priceless NY on Greenpoint
Avenue. According to police, the suspect crawled
through a small gap between the security gate and
the ground to get inside. The individual then stole
approximately $500 from the cash register.
Th e perpetrator is described as a dark-skinned male
and was last seen wearing dark-colored clothing.
Persons with information about the burglaries can
call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
Ryan Kelley
Photo via Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects
Proposed RKO Keith’s condo
building height poses risks: pol
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Flushing lawmaker is calling
on a federal agency to re-evaluate a
developer’s plan to build a 16-story
project in the neighborhood aft er
mounting concerns with its proximity
to local air traffi c.
On Dec. 18, Assemblyman Ron
Kim penned a letter to Jerome
Mellody, the Federal Aviation
Administration’s (FAA) Deputy
Chief Counsel for Litigation and
Employment Law. Kim stated
the coordinate points for the luxury
condo building slated to be
built atop the iconic RKO Keith’s
Th eater were “deceptively presented”
to Community Board 7 by
developers, Xinyuan Real Estate.
Th e board approved the plans for
the 210-foot-tall building at 135-
29 Northern Blvd. in 2015, when
they were presented by the previous
owner.
Th e FAA limits the height of
buildings located near an airport
to 195 feet. Th e community board
approved the plans for the 210-
foot building under the impression
that the entire planar building
was including in the study, according
to Kim.
However, the assemblyman has
since learned that the federal agency
conducted eight aeronautical
obstruction evaluations for single
independent coordinate points —
not the whole building.
“Th is is a signifi cant safety hazard
for low-fl ying planes in the neighborhoods
of my district, which are
located directly between LaGuardia
Airport and John F. Kennedy
International Airpoint,” Kim writes
to Mellody.
“It is clear that no construction
should be considered for
this location unless one complete
Obstruction Evaluation for an
entire building at the same height
has been conducted,” Kim added.
“Th e safety of my residents remains
my offi ce’s most important priority.”
Th e discovery was fi rst made by
Chris Kellburg, a resident part of
the movement to save the RKO
from demolition and restore it as
a community arts center. Richard
Th ornhill, a Forest Hills resident,
is also at the forefront of that fi ght.
“Since the 80s, developer aft er
developer has come to the site of
the former RKO and broken promises,
deceived the people of Queens,
and have put the area as well as it’s
people in danger,” Th ornhill said.
“Speaking on my own, I know that
the best solution is to restore the
theater under the watchful eye of
the city so these continuing problems
can end once and for all.”
In October, Th ornhill created a
petition to save the theater from
demolition, QNS previously reported.
Th e petition has close to 3,000
signatures.
Th e RKO Keith’s movie theater
opened in 1928 and was granted
partial interior landmark status
on its ornate grand lobby and ticket
foyer spaces shortly before its
closing in 1986. Th e site has been
vacant ever since, passing through
several diff erent developers who
tried unsuccessfully to re-develop
the site.
A recent report says Xinyuan
Real Estate’s plan now faces delays.
A broker who has worked with
Xinyuan told publication Th e Real
Deal that “the project is stalled and
there are landmark issues.”
Demolition permits for the site
have not yet been fi led with the
city’s Department of Buildings,
according to the agency’s database.
A rendering of the proposed luxury condo building at the RKO Keith’s site