State Senator Leroy Comrie is giving away free smoke detector
at his district office Wednesday to residents of Southeast
Queens. Courtesy of Comrie’s offi ce
Comrie looks to stop
fi res in south Queens
BY BILL PARRY
A spate of deadly
house fires has tormented
southeast Queens for the
last few years due to the
unnecessary deaths in
homes that lacked operating
smoke detectors.
That prompted state
Senator Leroy Comrie to
partner with the American
Red Cross and the FDNY
in providing free smoke
alarms to residents on
Wednesday, June 12, at his
district office.
In a public service
announcement for his Sound
the Alarm initiative, Comrie
noted that more lives are
lost each year due to home
fires than due to natural
disasters and according
to the FDNY, an operable
smoke detector in a home
cuts an individual dying in
a fire nearly in half.
“Recent tragedies in our
community have reminded
us of the importance of
being fully prepared for the
dangers of fire and carbon
monoxide in the home,”
Comrie said. “Smoke and
CO detectors are proven lifesaving
tools, which is why
my office is working with
the American Red Cross
and the FDNY to ensure
that every southeast Queens
home is properly equipped
with a detector.”
One particularly tragic
house fire has gripped
Comrie’s district since a
four-alarm fire in Queens
Village back in April 2017
destroyed three homes and
took the lives of five people
between the ages of 2 and
20 years old. One of the
victims, 17-year-old scholar
athlete Melody Edwards,
was honored with a street
co-naming ceremony
in May.
Comrie remembered
the prospective graduate
at the Queens High School
of Teaching.
“Melody Anne-Simone
Edwards was a gifted young
woman with a bright future
and she will be missed by
family, friends and her
community,” Comrie said
at the time. “Though we lost
her and four other young
adults and children is an
unspeakable tragedy, we
saw the best of who we are
in its aftermath.”
Investigators found there
were no smoke detectors in
the home where the blaze
began and safety town
halls were held throughout
southeast Queens in its
aftermath where smoke
detectors were given away.
“The FDNY is committed
to reaching every community
with the life-saving message
of fire safety education and
we want each New Yorker
to have a working smoke
alarm in their house,”
FDNY Assistant Chief
Edward Baggott said at
the ceremony.
Comrie wants to keep the
momentum going with his
Sound the Alarm initiative
with free smoke and CO
detectors will be distributed
and installed for free by
appointment.
Contact his district
office, located at 113-43
Farmers Blvd. in St. Albans,
by phone at (718) 765-6359 for
more information.
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by e-mail at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
Lone wolf attack foiled
Feds: Jackson Hts. man plotted to assault Times Square
BY BILL PARRY
Jackson Heights resident
Ashiqul Alam, 22, was
arraigned in Brooklyn
Federal Court on June 7 for
plotting a lone wolf terror
attack in Times Square.
A criminal complaint was
filed by the U.S. Attorney for
the Eastern District charging
the Bangladeshi national
with knowingly receiving
two firearms with obliterated
serial numbers in Brooklyn.
Alam was arrested on June
6 by the Joint Terrorism Task
Force, which is comprised
of detectives from the NYPD
and the FBI, who mounted a
sting operation.
“As alleged, Ashiqul
Alam bought illegal weapons
as part of his plan to kill
law enforcement officers
and civilians in a terrorist
attack on Times Square,”
U.S. Attorney Richard P.
Donoghue said. “What he
did not know was that he
was buying weapons from
government agents, who
were monitoring his plans
and intervening to prevent
those plans from escalating
into deadly violence. The
Office, together with our law
enforcement partners, will
continue to exercise extreme
vigilance to prevent terrorists
from attacking our city and
our country.”
Between August 2018,
Alam repeatedly expressed a
desire to purchase firearms
and explosives for use in a
terrorist attack, according to
the criminal complaint. Alam
identified two targets, either
times Square or Washington,
D.C., in order to kill a
senior government official.
In January he conducted
several “recon” trips to Times
Square, using his cell phone
to make video recordings of
the area as he searched for
potential targets.
Alam considered multiple
ways to conduct such an attack,
including by using a “suicide
vest” and by obtaining AR-
15 assault rifles to kill law
enforcement officers.
“Mr. Alam discussed guns,
suicide vests, hand grenades,
and surveilled crowded New
York targets such as Times
Square,” Police Commissioner
James O’Neill said. “Our job
is to prevent these terrorist
attacks whenever we can
before they are carried out,
Times Square Photo via Getty Images
This case is another example
of the tightly-knit teamwork
of the JTTF and the NYPD’s
Intelligence Bureau. Mr.
Alam is charged with illegally
purchasing untraceable
firearms from undercover
officers. That was a clear
indicator of his intent to move
his plot forward.”
The complaint explains how
Alam told one undercover law
enforcement officer why he
had Lasik eye surgery. “Let’s
say we are in an attack, right,
say that my glasses fall off,” he
said. “What if I accidentally
shot you? You know what
I mean? Imagine what the
news channel would call me
‘Looney Tunes Terrorist’ or
‘Blind Terrorist.’”
On June 6, Alam met the
individual he believed was
going to sell him firearms
and was shown two Glock 19
semi automatic pistols with
obliterated serial numbers.
Alam provided $400 towards
the purchase of the two pistols
and asked whether he could
also buy a silencer. He was
arrested shortly thereafter.
The criminal complaint
describes a conversation
between Alam and an
undercover officer last
Sept. 11, discussing Osama
bin Laden in which Alam
called the 9/11 attacks “a
complete success, thousands
of American soldiers died and
trillions of their monies is
gone in the war.”
In a separate conversation
between the two, Alam said
Bin Laden did his job. “Now it
is up to us.” he said, according
to the complaint.
In another meeting
between the two on the
Westside Highway in March,
Alam noted One World
Trade saying, “More for us
to break.”
“There is more to this
case than just talk and
the desire to carry out a
terrorist attack. Individuals
who believe in the distorted
and deadly propaganda of
terrorist organizations and
work towards acting on
those deadly impulses are
incredibly dangerous and
unpredictable,” FBI Assistant
Director-in-Charge William
F. Sweeney Jr. said. “Mr.
Alam allegedly then took the
steps to follow through on his
deadly impulse, purchasing
weapons to kill New Yorkers,
target an elected official and
attack police officers. ”
Alam is a Lawful
Permanent Resident of the
United States, according to
court documents.
TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM JUNE 14-20, 2019 3
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