FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 8, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
NYPD dumps 50 abandoned cars, tags 80
other vehicles for removal in Willets Point
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
An overnight operation by the NYPD
and Department of Sanitation led to the
removal and summons of more than 100
cars at Willets Point in Corona.
Th e operation was conducted aft er multiple
Bayside homeless
camp cleaned out
Multiple city agencies collaborated
to clean up an uninhabited homeless
site at a wooded area in Bayside last
week, according to offi cials.
City workers removed “unattended
debris” from a pop-up homeless
location at the Cross Island Parkway
and Northern Boulevard on Feb. 28.
Th ere were no homeless individuals
residing at the location at the
time of the cleanup, Department of
Homeless Services (DHS) spokesperson
Isaac McGinn noted.
Th e pre-arranged cleanup eff ort
was coordinated by the NYPD, the
Department of Transportation, DHS
and Breaking Ground, a not-forprofi
t organization that provides supportive
housing and services to the
homeless population in Queens and
Brooklyn.
“Our outreach teams coordinate
closely with partner agencies
to address and clean pop-up locations
quickly and carefully whenever
and wherever they may occur, while
also encouraging those street homeless
individuals to accept services and
transition indoors,” McGinn said.
Th e city cannot forcibly remove a
homeless individual or their belongings
from a location without notice
unless they pose a danger to themselves
or others.
Cleanup eff orts are treated delicately
and on a case-by-case basis,
the spokesperson added. Situation
assessments are performed prior to
every attempted cleanup to ensure
the safety of all involved.
DHS outreach teams and Breaking
Ground recently helped two of the
four homeless individuals known
to be in the Bayside area off the
streets, the spokesperson noted. Th e
groups continue to work with the
other two individuals and canvass the
neighborhood seven days a week to
encourage those homeless to accept
services.
New Yorkers who see individuals
they believe to be homeless and in
need should contact 311 via phone
or mobile app and request outreach
assistance.
Suzanne Monteverdi
complaints of abandoned vehicles
from local business owners in the area,
according to an NYPD spokesperson. Th e
operation began around 8 p.m. on Feb. 28
and lasted through 11 a.m. this morning.
In total, 85 cars were tagged for removal,
12 vehicles were summonsed and 50
were taken to a tow pound facility by
Sanitation staff .
Th e future of Willets Point, which was
made up of mostly auto shops and junkyards
before the city cleared the area,
has been in limbo for years. In February,
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that a
new plan had been approved to re-develop
the site.
Th e new plan would include building
1,100 units of housing for low-income
and moderate-income New Yorkers, 450-
seat elementary school, public space and
retail on six acres of land at the corner
of Willets Point Boulevard and Roosevelt
Avenue.
For the remaining 17 acres of land,
de Blasio will create a task force in partnership
with Katz and Councilman
Francisco Moya to determine how to
proceed with the re-development of the
“Iron Triangle.”
Photo via Twitter/NYPD110Pct
The NYPD removed dozens of cars from Willets Point on Feb. 28 and March 1.
Queens welcomes new
schools chancellor
Aft er his fi rst choice from Miami declined his
off er, Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced Richard
Carranza as the city’s new schools chancellor on
March 5.
Carranza previously served as superintendent
of the Houston Independent School District in
Texas — where, de Blasio noted, graduation rates
soared during his tenure.
“Richard Carranza understands the power of
public education to change lives, and he has a
proven record of strengthening public schools
and lift ing up students and families,” de Blasio
said. He thanked outgoing Schools Chancellor
Carmen Fariña for leading the city’s public
schools system the last four years.
“As the son of blue collar workers and a lifetime
educator, it is an honor to serve New York City’s
1.1 million children as Schools Chancellor,” said
Carranza. “I will work every day to further the
progress Chancellor Fariña has made in strengthening
our public schools for generations to come.”
State Senator Joe Addabbo was among those
who welcomed new Chancellor Carranza to the
Big Apple: “Carmen Fariña has done many wonderful
things for New York City school children
during her tenure as schools chancellor. I am very
hopeful that Richard Carranza will continue in
her footsteps and be the guiding hand that all of
our school children need.”
Robert Pozarycki