4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 13, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Cops give back to Whitestone
boy whose scooter was stolen
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Local police officers turned a
Whitestone boy’s heartbreak into happiness
with an unforgettable act of kindness.
On June 28, 8-year-old Liam Costello
took his nightly trip to Fort Totten Park
with mom Tara Costello. A daily ritual,
Liam put his scooter in the brush at the
park so he and his mom could go for a
short walk by the jetty.
However, when they returned, the
scooter was gone.
“He was hysterical crying,” Tara
Costello said. “It just broke his heart.”
Costello, feeling heartbroken herself,
tried to take a positive approach, calling
the circumstance a “good teachable
moment.”
It was then that Costello took to a
neighborhood Facebook group to vent
and warn other parents about what had
happened. Aft er receiving words of support
from the community, Costello was
contacted by We Love Whitestone Civic
Association President Alfredo Centola,
who asked the devoted mother if he could
reach out to the 109th Precinct on her
behalf. Costello agreed.
“Th e next thing I know, the police offi -
cers contacted me, stopped by and spoke
with my son,” Costello said.
Two days later, Sergeant Jason Pilla and
Police Offi cers Th omas Dean and Mark
Wilson were back to drop off a brandnew
Razor scooter.
“Th ey wanted him to have it in time
for the weekend,” Costello said. “Th ey
couldn’t have been any nicer.”
Liam wasn’t home when the offi cers
fi rst arrived with the scooter, Costello
explained, but was able to meet his new
heroes a few days later.
Photos courtesy of Tara Costello
“I felt really happy,” Liam said.
For Costello, seeing how the community
came together was most aff ecting.
“As a parent, I was amazed,” Costello
said. “But as a citizen, it was just overwhelming.
I think we take can take our
police offi cers for granted. Th is was a
good reminder of the important things
they do every day.”
A third package snatcher targets
Flushing resident’s home
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Flushing resident’s home continues
to be a hot spot for petty thieves looking
to pilfer packages.
Th e resident, who reached out to QNS
twice before about stolen packages, says
not even additional security measures and
signage have dissuaded a new perpetrator
from stealing his property.
Video surveillance captured at the
premises on June 30 at 2:23 p.m. shows
a male perpetrator entering the property
through a front gate. Th e individual then
quickly runs up the stoop, grabs a package
off the top of the mailbox and leaves
through the same front gate.
When the homeowner received a delivery
notifi cation around 11 a.m. and an alert from
the motion-sensing camera a few hours later,
he knew something was again awry.
Aft er the other incidents in April and
December 2016, the frustrated homeowner,
who had security cameras installed
when the problem fi rst began, decided to
install a fence, as well as a large “Private
Property, No Trespassing” sign. Still, he
said, the problem persists.
Th e resident has fi led a report with the
107th Precinct.
“So, FYI to the perp,” the homeowner
said. “Th is is petit larceny is a Class A
Misdemeanor in NY State. You will be
facing one year in jail.”
Anyone with information is encouraged
to contact the precinct at 718-969-
5100.
City says it’s
not giving up
on Willets Pt.
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
The conversation surrounding
a long-delayed controversial
$3 billion Flushing development
plan continued with a response
from the city last week.
At its quarterly Willets Point
development meeting on June
26, the Community Board 7
Building and Zoning Committee
expressed dissatisfaction with
the New York City Economic
Development Corporation
(EDC) and the mayor’s office
for not sending representatives
to attend and answer questions
about the project. The board followed
up with a letter to the EDC
and Borough President Melinda
Katz, asking for action, not apologies,
from the city agency, who
they said had ample notice to
send a rep.
EDC President James Patchett
responded with his own letter to
the community board on July 7.
Addressed to board chairman
Eugene Kelty and first vice chair
Chuck Apelian, Patchett says
that the city agency was unable
to send a representative “on such
short notice,” and would have
caused the city agency to “cancel
a confirmed meeting with
another Queens community
organization.”
Patchett also says that the city,
which still owns the majority of
the land to be developed, has
completed substantial building
abatement and demolition at the
site to prepare for the project.
“The administration is not
shying away from the plan to
transform the 23 acres of vacated
property at Willets Point into
a vibrant mixed-income residential
and commercial neighborhood,”
Patchett writes. “We
steadfastly believe there is a need
to increase the stock of quality,
affordable housing and amenities
that meet the needs of this
community.”
The project, proposed by the
Queens Development Group
(QDG) and given the green light
in 2013, was again stalled on
June 6 after the New York State
Court of Appeals announced
that it would not be able to move
forward with its first phase without
approval from state legislature.
The first phase of the proposal,
labeled “Willets West,”
includes plans for a mega mall
to be built on public parkland.
Full plans include a shopping
mall, hotel, movie theater, public
school and affordable housing.
Photo provided by Flushing resident
109th Precinct police offi cers and Liam Costello meet.