Neighborhood News
COMPILED BY LIZ GOFF CORONA: Parents Seek Good-Hearted Straphanger

The parents of a 22-month-old Corona toddler are looking for the mystery woman who returned their child who got into a crowded No. 7 train on February 27. Blanca Amarilis, 35, and Victor Tito, 32, the child's mother and father, described the woman as a good-hearted angel who saved their son from being abducted, or worse.

Tito said he and Amarilis were waiting for a train at the Junction Boulevard Station with their two sons. Amarilis let go of the older boy's hand for a second and he got on the No. 7 train.

Tito said he ran to the street to hail a cab to get to the next stop, while he frantically dialed 911 to tell police what had happened. He then returned to the 61st Street subway platform after a 911 operator told him to wait there. In the meantime, Amarilis boarded the next train, hoping to catch up with the older boy at the next stop at 61st Street.

Tito said the unidentified woman spotted the boy as he scurried onto the train. She took the child's hand and held onto him until the train pulled into the 61st Street Station. She then took the boy back to Junction Boulevard, where she spotted his father. "She walked up to me with [my son] and said, 'Is this your little boy?' I shouted, 'Yes!' and reached down to hug him. When I looked up again, she was gone."

We really want to meet her, to thank her for her kindness," Tito said. "There are a lot of people out there who would have taken advantage of this situation, he could still be gone."

The family is asking the woman, or anyone who may know her, to call 911 or the CRIMESTOPPERS Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. Police said they would keep her identify confidential if she desires.

"Please call so we can meet to thank you," Amarilis said. "You saved our baby, you brought him back to us. We owe you so much." CITYWIDE: February '07 Safest Month In 13-Years

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said last week that a combination of extremely cold temperatures, along with the efforts of the Queens police made February the safest month on record since the New York Police Department (NYPD) began tracking crimes through its "Compstat" system 13 years ago. It was noted that crime citywide plummeted 10 percent last month, compared with statistics for the same period in 2006 and that murders in Queens North dropped by 30 percent in the same period.

Transit Police officials said crime in the subways is at its lowest point in decades, with transit districts reporting an 18 percent drop in crime in February.

Kelly issued kudos to police officers at local precincts for their ongoing efforts to stop crime in its tracks, and the officers assigned to the NYPD "Operation Impact", initiative, for reducing major crimes by 30 percent in 20 designated "Impact" zones. He added that current crime reduction was accomplished with 3,500 fewer cops on the job since 2000. ASTORIA: Drake Business School Employee Sentenced

An accounting supervisor at the former Drake Business School on Steinway Street was sentenced last week to 3 to 9 years behind bars and ordered to repay $800,000. . Angela Sugrim, 30, pled guilty in Queens Supreme Court in October 2006 to grand larceny, as well as charges for violating tax laws in connection with her own tax returns. Sugrim, of Richmond Hill, was responsible for writing and distributing checks for the Astoria business school. Court records indicate she deposited more than 200 checks, a total of $813,687, into bank accounts she controlled between August 1998 and March 2004.

Drake Chief Executive Officer David Hart commissioned an audit of the school in early 2004, after the school began experiencing financial problems. Drake Business School declared bankruptcy and closed its doors permanently after Hart was shot and disabled on his way to a Steinway Street subway station in May 2004.

There have been no arrests in the shooting, and law enforcement sources said it is still not clear if the shooting had anything to do with Drake employees.

"While the school struggled to remain financially solvent, school management was caught unaware of the fact that as fast as money came in the front door, it was going out the back door and into the pockets of [Sugrim]," Richard A. Brown, Queens district attorney, said.

According to court records Sugrim has made partial restitution of more than $300,000 and signed a judgment promising to repay the balance.

FLUSHING: Chinese New Year Death

Queens detectives last week released a photo of a man being sought in connection with the stabbing death of a Flushing man on February 18.

Three men accosted Hong Qi Zhang, 40, at the corner of Elder Avenue and Colden Street at about 4 a.m., as he walked home from a Chinese New Year celebration. The victim struggled with the attackers while two friends walked in front of him, unaware that he was being attacked. A neighbor heard the cries of the victim and called the police.

Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call the CRIMESTOPPERS Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. There's a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.