Out And About The 'Hoods'

Elmhurst: Tanks For the Greenspace

The city's $11 million plan to turn the former home of the Elmhurst gas tanks into parkland took a step forward last week, when officials put out a request for bids from construction firms interested in building and landscaping the 6-acre site.

The first phase in the development of parkland at the site is scheduled to begin this summer, when crews will install fencing and carve out pathways. Fresh Meadows: Move To Stop 'Cornerstone' Rehab

A pair of Queens lawmakers last week asked the state agency responsible for substance abuse services to pull its support for the development of a Fresh Meadows rehabilitation facility.

Assemblymember Rory Lancman and City Councilmember James Gennaro have asked the agency to pull the plug on a proposed 'Cornerstone' facility at the former site of St. Joseph's Hospital.

The lawmakers charge that Medical Arts, the parent company of Cornerstone, made misleading statements on an application filed with the State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). "These misleading statements provide grounds for OASAS to deny the application," a spokesperson for Gennaro said.

Gennaro said the application states that there was "no community opposition" to the proposed facility, and that development of the site would not adversely affect other community facilities in the area. "Nothing could be further from the truth," the Gennaro spokesperson said.

In a January 19 letter to OASAS' Karen Carpenter-Palumbo, Lancman highlighted numerous inaccuracies and misleading statements contained in the application. Lancman also called for a full review of the project, citing its $7 million price tag as justification for more than the assessment it is currently undergoing.

Gennaro said he is concerned that Cornerstone officials might conduct future negotiations in a similar manner. "That would be completely unacceptable," he said.

Development of the facility at the proposed site would result in oversaturation in the Fresh Meadows community, "This facility neither serves nor enhances the community. We do not want it here." Gennaro said.

Lancman expressed concern that local activists and civic leaders have had little or no say in the matter under review, because there is nothing in the current law that gives them the right to voice their opinions or objections during the review process. The Queens lawmaker said he has, therefore, introduced legislation that would give community leaders a "greater voice in the review process" for substance abuse and related facilities. Northern Queens: Crime Nosedives

Residents and business owners in neighborhoods from Astoria to Whitestone received some welcome news last week.

Crime in seven major categories took a nosedive in Patrol Borough Queens North (PBQN) during 2006, plummeting almost six percent in comparison with statistics recorded for the same time period in 2005, police officials said.

Assistant Chief James Tuller announced the drop in crime during the annual PBQN Community Forum in January.

Tuller said crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny auto plummeted 5.8 percent, from 16,352 incidents in 2005 to 15, 301 incidents in 2006 at the 104th, 108th, 109th, 110th, 111th, 112th, 114th and 115th Precincts, which comprise PBQN.

Murders took the greatest plunge, dropping from 34 in 2005 to 29 in 2006, resulting in a 14.7 percent reduction, Tuller said. Rapes lagged behind all other categories of crime, showing only a 2.5 percent decrease, from 198 incidents in 2005 to 193 in 2006, Tuller said.

Cops at Northern Queens precincts arrested 10 fewer rape suspects in 2006, due in part to a lack of evidence, lack of identification, or victims who are unable to provide clear statements, Tuller said. "We'll work on that this year," Tuller stated.

Queens North top cop also discussed new strategies being employed by cops in their ongoing war against crime, including undercover sting operations, Task Force operations, intelligence gathering and education.

Tuller said education is essential as a tool to combat acquaintance rape, a crime responsible for almost 76 percent of rapes committed during 2005.

Tuller called on the public to take advantage of crime prevention programs available at local precincts, including the VIN-Etch Program, Crime Prevention Survey and other programs that often force criminals to think twice before they strike.

"Members of the community can often be their own best defense, by doing simple things like closing and locking windows and removing valuables from vehicles," Tuller said. "People should be aware of their surroundings, and they should keep a list of their valuables and their belongings," he said.

He placed special emphasis on seniors, stressing that their "willingness to trust" might lead them into the hands of con artists, or those who pose as police or utility workers to separate seniors from their cash.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown also addressed the audience of some 300 cops and community members at the New York Hall of Science, stressing the importance of cooperation between law enforcement and the community in ongoing crime reduction efforts.

"Queens North leads the city continuously in terms of reduction in crime," Brown said. "This county is the safest county in the safest big city in America," he added.

Tuller called on the audience to spread word of what they had learned at the forum throughout the Queens North community.

"I'm counting on each of you to pass this information to friends and family," he said. "We must continue to work together to reduce crime to an even greater extent." Flushing: Mayersohn Asks For Community Center Audit

An audit released last week by City Controller William Thompson revealed a pattern of "questionable payments" and widespread misuse of funds at a Flushing community center.

The report points a finger at the unidentified former executive director of the Pomonok Neighborhood Center, who, the report states, misused almost $200,000 in grant and contract funds. Money earmarked for senior services, after-school programs, housing assistance and counseling services.

Auditors from Thompson's office investigated management of the center's finances from June 1, 2003 to June 30, 2005 at the request of Assemblymember Nettie Mayersohn, after her office was alerted of possible misuse of funds, sources said.

Thompson said auditors discovered that the executive director had knowledge of improper payments totaling $83,037 to four center employees. Auditors also found numerous, questionable vendor payments and improperly authorized checks, the report states.

"It appears that the youth program director attempted to systematically exhaust the personal service funds allocated for the youth programs by manipulating his own time sheets, along with time sheets for his daughter, his live-in girlfriend and his girlfriend's son," Thompson said.

A spokesperson for Mayersohn said the Flushing lawmaker is "stunned by the findings, and outraged that people would misuse funds intended for children's programs to line their own pockets."

Thompson said the executive director, along with other center administrators, were fired during the audit. Management of the center was later handed over to the Forest Hills Community House.

Thompson called on city and state agencies that provided funding to the Pomonok Neighborhood Center to consider legal action against the executive director. "It's one way for the agencies to get back some of the misused funds," Thompson said.- Liz Goff