Subway crime down, officials say

By Matthew Fischetti

Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul hold a press conference in the Fulton Street Subway Station to announce significant progress in making the subway system safer on Friday, January 27, 2023. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

Major subway crime has dropped by 16 percent since last October, city and state officials announced last week.

At a press conference in Manhattan, Governor Hochul and Adams announced that the crime rate has reached pre pandemic levels, which the electeds credited to the launch of their “Cops, Cameras and Care program.” The plan added 1,2000 cops to the subways over 300 subway stops across the city and added additional trainings for NYPD and MTA employees.

The Atlantic Terminal station and the Sutphin-Archer Station in Brooklyn and Queens will have MTA police at the station, “freeing up roughly 100 NYPD officers for deployments at other priority transit locations on trains and in stations,” per the announcement.

In 2019, the rate of crime was 1.5 crimes per million rider; In 2022, the rate was 2.3 crimes per million riders; and in 2023 the ridership adjusted rate is only 1.7 crimes per million riders, according to figures unveiled by officials on Friday.

“So, despite all these facts, I can’t tell New Yorkers they should feel safe. I’m not going to even do that,” Governor Hochul said. “But the data is showing that New Yorkers are telling us they feel safer, and that’s what I’m going to pay attention to.”

MTA honcho Janno Lieber  said that through survey findings, the department found that around 60 percent of riders said they felt safe in November compared to previous results finding only around 40 percent of riders said the same in October.

100 cameras are currently planned to be installed across subway cars as part of the Governor and Mayor’s plans. The entire 6,500 car fleet is scheduled to have cameras installed by late 2024.

“We had a billion people that rode our system last year, but we have 3.9 million daily riders, an average of six crimes a day. It didn’t matter if those numbers were there. The reality was that people said they felt unsafe,” said Mayor Adams. “So we had to have a dual approach. We had to deal with how people felt and we had to deal with the actual six crimes, felony crimes we were having on average a day, and that was our dual approach.

Governor Hochul also announced that the state will create 25 more bed-units, to bring the total of inpatient beds to 50. The beds are a key part of critical time intervention, a model used by clinicians for decades that helps transition people during turbulent times. The model was first developed to provide care for  individuals facing chronic homelessness.

End-of-year legislation signed by Hochul

Understand the legislation set to go into effect in 2023

By Alicia Venter

aventer@queensledger.com

January 1, 2023 – Albany, NY – Governor Kathy Hochul takes the oath of office and delivers an inaugural address at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. (Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)

As the year came to a close, Governor Kathy Hochul had a busy two weeks. She became the first woman to be sworn into a full term as governor of New York on Jan. 1, and in the month prior, she signed numerous pending state legislation into law.

Notably, she signed a bill that prohibits discrimination based on citizenship or immigration status and immigration status is illegal in New York.

This law will expand the protections from the NYS Division of Human Rights, which currently investigates cases in which individuals have been potentially discriminated against due to their immigration status.

State Senator John Liu and State Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz came together with activists on Dec. 29 in front of Flushing Library to applaud the signing of this bill (S6586A/A6328A).

​​“We appreciate Governor Hochul for signing this legislation in recognition that our state is made greater by the vast contributions of talented and aspiring people from everywhere in the world who adopt New York as their new home,” Liu said in a statement. “Unfortunately, even as they pursue the American Dream, they are stymied by obsolete federal laws and byzantine bureaucracies that prolong their path to citizenship and subject them to bias and discrimination. This bill will help provide equal opportunity in employment, housing, and other needs that all New Yorkers should have access to.”

The first state program in the nation allowing individuals to be reimbursed for the costs of kidney and liver donations came from the governor’s office this week.

The legislation (S.1594/A.146A) amends the public health, tax and social services laws to enact the “New York State Living Donor Support Act,” which will establish a program to cover the extra costs that come with organ donation for New York residents who donate to a fellow New Yorker. The law comes in an effort to eliminate financial barriers to organ donation and, as a result, reduce wait times for organ transplants and address the organ shortage in New York.

As of publication, there are over 8,000 people on transplant wait lists, most of whom are awaiting a kidney, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

A legislative package (S.3897/A.8936-A) supporting pedestrians, bikers and transit riders included increased funding for “Complete Street” projects.

A Complete Street is a roadway designed for all roadway users — not just drivers.

This includes pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit riders as well as motorists. It also makes an effort to focus on children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.

With this legislation, the state’s contribution to the non-federally funded portion of the project increases to 87.5 percent.

New legislation (S.3959-B/A.7822-C) will require the non-voting transit dependent representative be moved into a voting position on transportation authorities’ boards. In short, this new legislation will provide a vote — and a voice — to riders who permanently rely on transit services including bikeshares, buses and paratransit.

To protect existing labor laws on behalf of workers, Hochul signed legislation (S.5994C/A.1338C) that establishes a registration system for contractors and subcontractors engaged in public work and covered private projects. This law will require contractors and subcontractors to provide a series of disclosures about their businesses every two years with the Department of Labor.

The department will determine whether a contractor or subcontractor is fit to registers based on previous labor law and workers compensation law violations, including prevailing wage requirements. This law will create a publicly available database.

Furthermore, notable previously signed laws that are set to go into effect in 2023 include the establishment of a task force and annual report to examine social media and violent extremism.

The Electric Vehicle Rights Act, which prevents a homeowners association from adopting or enforcing any rules or regulations that would effectively prohibit, or impose unreasonable limitations on the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging station, is set to go into effect on Jan. 21.

In this year, student-athletes will be able to receive endorsement compensation, and New York schools will be prohibited from taking away the scholarships or eligibility of any athlete making money from such endorsements.

New York bans selling of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores

By Alicia Venter

aventer@queensledger.com

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Bill S1130 into law on Dec. 15, in an attempt to bring an end to the sale of animals by commercial breeders, a business often accused of keeping the animals in inhumane conditions. (Photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)

By the end of next year, New Yorkers will be unable to purchase dogs, cats and rabbits in retail pet stores.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Bill S1130 into law on Thursday, Dec. 15, in an attempt to bring an end to the sale of animals by commercial breeders, a business often accused of keeping the animals in inhumane conditions.

Introduced by Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris, the legislation states that a retail pet shop “shall not sell, lease, offer to lease, offer to sell, barter, auction or otherwise transfer ownership of any dog, cat or rabbit.”

The bill passed both the state Senate and Assembly last spring, and is an attempt to bring an end to inhumane breeding conditions.

“Today is a great day for our four-legged friends and a big step forward in our fight against abusive and inhumane puppy mills,” Gianaris said in a statement. “My thanks to Governor Hochul for standing up for the voiceless loving animals who are members of our families and deserve the respect we’ve shown them today.”

A retail pet shop is defined in the legislation as any for-profit location that offers to sell animals to be kept as household pets, pet food or supplies. There are approximately 80 pet stores registered in New York State, according to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

The law does not prohibit a retail pet shop from collaborating with certain entities to showcase such animals for the purpose of adoption: societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, humane societies and animal protective or rescue tax-exempt associations. Pet stores will be allowed to charge shelters rent to use their spaces for adoption.

New York joins California, Maryland, Illinois and other states who have also passed retail pet sale bans.

The New York Times reported in July that pet stores fiercely objected to the legislation, stating the bill would put them out of business and could potentially lead to an underground market of pet sales as it became more difficult for people to obtain a pet in the state.

People are still permitted to buy animals directly from breeders, but the legislation encourages people to adopt pets from shelters and rescue organizations.

According to The Humane Society of the United States, puppy mills often lead to an array of painful and life-shortening veterinary problems due to unsanitary conditions and the lack of proper oversight.

“Dogs, cats and rabbits across New York deserve loving homes and humane treatment,” Hochul said in a statement. “I’m proud to sign this legislation, which will make meaningful steps to cut down on harsh treatment and protect the welfare of animals across the state.”

The legislation will take effect in December 2024.

Massive $739M Kew Gardens Interchange project completed

By Jessica Meditz

jmeditz@queensledger.com

12 years, four phases and $739M later, the massive Kew Gardens Interchange project is complete.

After what feels like forever for many Queens residents, the $739 million Kew Gardens Interchange reconstruction project is finally complete, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last week.

The extensive project, which took 12 years and four phases to reach completion, seeks to improve and modernize dated infrastructure and adapt to the needs of the nearly 600,000 vehicles the interchange serves each day.

The Kew Gardens Interchange is the complex intersection of the Grand Central Parkway, the Van Wyck Expressway, the Jackie Robinson Parkway and Union Turnpike. Its massive makeover allows for faster travel, safer merging and exiting and more reliable connections for travelers to get to JFK Airport and other prime destinations, according to Hochul’s announcement.

“The transformation of this vital interchange near one of New York’s major airports is the latest accomplishment in our efforts to modernize the state’s transportation network,” Hochul said in a statement. “The complete overhaul of Kew Gardens Interchange will provide a safer, less congested network of roads — improving the travel experience for nearly 600,000 daily motorists, enhancing quality of life and boosting the regional economy for decades to come.”

Following the announcement of its groundbreaking in 2010, the construction of the Kew Gardens Interchange was split into four phases — the most recent replacing the deteriorated two-lane Van Wyck Expressway southbound viaduct over the Grand Central Parkway with a continuous three-lane viaduct, and constructed new exits to the westbound Union Turnpike and the Jackie Robinson Parkway. Additionally, the three lanes from the Van Wyck now merge with two lanes from the Grand Central over a longer distance.

The final phase cost $366 million and was funded by the state.

In total, the entire project includes 22 new bridges, three rehabilitated bridges, wider travel lanes, new lane configurations, updated signage, upgraded stormwater drainage and a new dedicated shared use path for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Some locals who use the Kew Gardens Interchange on a regular basis could not be happier to see it completed, including TikToker Mike Schulte, a Rego Park native and Glendale resident.

In December 2020, Schulte posted a video to his TikTok page, @itsyaboymikeofficial, with clips that showed portions of the Kew Gardens Interchange under construction, along with heavily trafficked roads.

Relating to the shared experience of many New Yorkers in a humorous way, Schulte went on to add captions to his video such as “Is this just in NYC?” and “Do you have roads that have…been under construction your whole life?”

Schulte reminisced on how far the project has come since his video, and applauded all of the workers who made the finished product possible.

“Frankly, it’s really nice to see it finally finished…and still a bit shocking that you can now drive through that area without traffic sometimes,” he said. “As a lifelong New Yorker who’s dealt with his fair share of traffic, it’s refreshing to see a project finally finished and working in the way it was intended.”

Other residents feel differently about the outcome.

Kenichi Wilson, an Ozone Park resident, first vice chair of Queens Community Board 9 and a former chairman of its Transportation Committee, said he feels the new additions don’t adequately address the needs of motorists and that its layout is confusing.

“There’s still some ways that you can’t get off…for example, you can’t go from the Van Wyck to the Grand Central eastbound, which is very confusing, and I don’t know why that was never in the plans,” Wilson said.

He feels that the Interchange is not a driver-friendly route, and actually discourages his daughter, who’s a new driver, from using it out of fear that she’ll get sideswiped or pushed into a wall.

“The Jackie Robinson opens up into that interchange…it’s still a squeeze, a hard right or hard left, that people are sideswiping the wall. Out of all that, couldn’t they improve that? People fear that section right before the interchange because they’re afraid that someone’s gonna sideswipe them or push them into the wall,” he said. “A lot of people in the neighborhood are not happy and they figured, ‘you’re completing it this time, why didn’t you think of the modern problems nowadays?’ It will definitely take some getting used to.”

Construction and revamping were never strangers to the Interchange, as it was built in the 1930s and expanded in the 1960s.

Lee Zeldin visits Glendale, gubernatorial candidate hones in on tough-on-crime approach

By Jessica Meditz

jmeditz@queensledger.com

Republican challenger Rep. Lee Zeldin (at mic) was met with support from local business owners, including Karamjit Dhaliwal (to his left) and leaders Councilman Robert Holden (to his right) and Mike Conigliaro, who hopes to win AD28 (left of Dhaliwal).

Following last Tuesday night’s heated gubernatorial debate, Republican candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin of Long Island took to the streets of Glendale to further discuss top issues residents face both locally and statewide.

The press conference was held at the Mobil gas station located at 71-05 Myrtle Avenue, across from Glendale Diner — where Zeldin was met with support from local residents, business owners and elected officials, as well as concerns about the current state of the city.

Honing in on his tough-on-crime campaign approach, Zeldin reflected on the debate held the night before, where he reiterated that he would declare a crime emergency and suspend cashless bail if elected.

He accused Gov. Kathy Hochul of disregarding the surge in crime in New York, and not discussing “locking up anyone committing any crimes” during the debate.

Zeldin interpreted Hochul’s response of, “Anyone who commits a crime under our laws, especially with the change we made to bail, has consequences. I don’t know why that’s so important to you,” as a deflection and indication that she does not communicate with communities affected by crime.

She doesn’t understand why it’s so important to me? That proves that she isn’t in touch with the people. It proves that she does not represent the people, because it should be first and foremost in her mind,” he said at the press conference.

“If she wants to represent New Yorkers, if she cares about New Yorkers, she would have her finger on the pulse and she wouldn’t have to make that point. She wouldn’t even be thinking it in her head, let alone actually saying it out loud.”

Bryan Lesswing, Hochul’s senior adviser, told the Queens Ledger that the comment in question was made in response to Zeldin’s accusation that she had not previously mentioned anything about crime in the debate, which she did on five separate occasions.

He said her response meant that she wasn’t sure why it was “so important” to him that she reiterate the point a sixth time.

“It’s no surprise that Lee Zeldin and his far-right allies are manipulating and lying about Governor Hochul’s comments, Zeldin himself has no serious plans to tackle crime and instead wants to bring more guns into our communities,” Hochul’s campaign spokesperson, Jerrel Harvey, said in a statement.

Karamjit Dhaliwal, who owns the gas station and the shops located on the property where the press conference was held, expressed his fears about increased crime that affects his business and employees.

Dhaliwal expressed his support of Zeldin for governor, and opened up about how his establishment is affected by increased crimw.

He said that while he’s a Democrat himself, he feels the need to cross party lines for this election.

We have a big problem with the crimes. We are getting robbed every week…They’re coming to steal stuff from our gas station, beating my employees, robbing at nighttime, jumping behind the counters, and it’s a danger,” Dhaliwal said.

He argued that bail reform should be repealed and that the NYPD does hard work, but their “hands are tied.”

During the press conference, an unknown individual who was getting gas started a verbal altercation with two of the gas station’s employees, shouting obscenities.

The individual had their car radio set to a high volume while the event was in progress, when the employees asked them to turn it down.

In fear it would get violent, the two Guardian Angels in attendance approached the situation.

The reality of this moment, while we’re here for a press conference, this is with security here, this is with cameras here, this is with a whole lot of people here…You see how people are emboldened to challenge employees of this gas station, ready for physical confrontation right here,” Zeldin said.

“Three weeks ago, one of [Dhaliwal’s] employees was assaulted right here where we’re having this press conference. You almost witnessed something play out right here in front of all the cameras just now, despite security, despite all of us and despite all of you.”

Zeldin holds firm to his beliefs that members of law enforcement should be supported, that judges should have discretion and that he would remove Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg from office on his first day if elected, accusing him of failing to enforce the law.

Although the state’s constitution provides a mechanism for removing certain public officials, such as DAs, the motion has little historical precedent.

Beyond crime, Zeldin feels New Yorkers should be “greatly concerned” with other issues, such as the large performance gap that exists with students in the state compared to the national average, as shown by the State Test scores that were released this week.

“We’re seeing as a result of the pandemic and lockdown policies, the impact on our kids. Their generation has suffered the most of all generations…our kids don’t even have a vote,” Zeldin said.

He brought up the point that New York spends two and a half times more per pupil than in Florida and Mississippi, for example — but students in those other states performed better on standardized tests.

Additionally, Zeldin would lift the cap on charter schools, promote advanced academics and reward students for good merit rather than on a lottery basis.

Hochul also said she would lift the cap on charter schools during the debate.

“We have to raise our game as it relates to education. We have to challenge our kids to go further. We need to achieve better outcomes,” he continued.

He also emphasized the importance of school safety, in regard to threats students face along with gun violence: other physical violence, bullying and drugs.

Zeldin feels confident that he’ll be able to work in concert with Mayor Eric Adams, as they share similar views on judges having discretion and amending Raise the Age, which is 2017 New York State legislation that raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18 years.

Early this year, Adams previously said prosecutors should be permitted to charge 16 and 17-year-old defendants caught with a gun as adults.

When asked about immigration and the migrant crisis New York City is facing, Zeldin said that he would call on President Joe Biden and advocate for completing the construction of the border wall, ending catch and release and enforcing the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), or the “Remain in Mexico” policy.

He also does not support giving non-citizens the right to vote.

“We should support our customs and border patrol agents, and we shouldn’t be incentivizing and rewarding illegal activity,” he said. “It’s my opinion that we should be doing more to secure our Southern border.”

Zeldin emphasized that if elected, he would proudly work with anyone, regardless of political affiliation or differing views on certain topics. 

Republicans, Democrats and Independents need to look at this opportunity less than two weeks away as their opportunity as New Yorkers to save New York City and save New York State. They have an opportunity to restore balance and common sense up in Albany. Everything has gone too far left up in Albany,” he said.

“There are a lot of common sense Democrats…And there are a lot of other Democrats out there who proudly view themselves as independent-minded. They’re New Yorkers first and foremost. They care about rising crime and skyrocketing costs. They care about being able to feed their family and heat their home. They care about soaring crime and DAs who release violent criminals to roam free on our streets,” he continued. “These New Yorkers…need to take control of their destiny, their family’s destiny, their community’s destiny and do their part to save our state.”

 

Matthew Fischetti contributed reporting to this article.

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