News Of The Neighborhoods

Call '311' or '211' For City Services

Queens residents and other city dwellers now can dial a second number to reach a "311" operator.

City officials recently created a "211" number for callers seeking information on nonprofit health and assistance services.

Callers who dial "211" will now reach the same city operators available on "311".

'Love Drug' Death Sparks Warning

Officials at the city Department of Health (DOH) are sending an urgent message to anyone who might consider using an illegal aphrodisiac sold in bodegas and sex shops in Queens.

The "love drug" made of toad venom is sold under a variety of names, including Rock Hard, Hard Rock, Piedra, Black Stone, Love Stone or Chinese Rock. Reactions to the stimulant can be deadly, DOH officials said.

Officials said the drug, which is usually rubbed on the body, causes irregular heartbeat and chest and stomach pains that can lead to death.

An unidentified 35-year-old man died within 12 hours from a heart blockage after taking Piedra that he bought at a local bodega, officials said.

Law enforcement sources said Piedra, although banned by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is easily available on the Internet from overseas suppliers. Shipments of the "love drug", which resembles chunks of stale chocolate, often evade notice by U.S. Customs inspectors. The stimulant is also being sold at Queens bodegas and sex shops in small plastic bags marked with one of the product names.

City health inspectors are currently making the rounds of the stores, ordering owners to remove it from their shelves. DOH officials are urging anyone who uses the stimulant, or anyone who knows someone who has or is using it to call the city Poison Control Center at 212-POISONS.

FMCP Precinct On The Blotter

City and police officials are engaging in talks to determine the feasibility of moving the 110th Precinct station house to a new location in Flushing Meadows- Corona Park (FMCP).

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly caused a stir at a recent City Council budget hearing when he announced the proposed move. Kelly told members of the City Council Public Safety Committee that a site has not been chosen, but the plan is under review by the mayor's office and city Parks Department officials.

The city's top cop said the NYPD has been discussing plans to renovate or replace the old and outdated 110th Police Precinct station house located on 43rd Avenue in Elmhurst.

Kelly said Flushing Meadows- Corona Park would be an excellent location for a new station house because it is centrally located and easily accessible to the public.

Police officials said the move would answer calls for increased police presence in the park, which was recently rated the second most dangerous in the city, following Central Park in the number of violent crimes reported in 2007.

The Queens Auto Crime Unit was housed in Flushing Meadows- Corona Park until the mid- 1990s, when it was moved to make way for a new stadium and headquarters for the United States Tennis Association.