Author: Dan Rose

A 6-year-old boy arrived at school and unpacked his schoolbag to find his mother’s heroin, police sources reported on Monday.

Whitestone mom, Leah Pagano, mistakenly put a box filled with glassine envelopes, pills and straws into her son’s bookbag early Monday morning.

He then arrived at P.S. 209 on Utopia Parkway, Friday at around 8:30 a.m., took the white box out of his bookbag, and showed it to a teacher’s aide, Grace Molina, said the Queens DA.

The authorities were called and Pagano was summoned to the school, where she was arrested.

“I am the only one who prepares my son’s school bag and lunch. I use heroin. I do not shoot it, but I snort it. I could not find my box with heroin inside,” Pagano told police.

Police are searching for two men who robbed three teenagers in broad daylight.

Authorities say on February 28, at approximately 4:10 p.m., the two suspects approached the three male victims in front of 33-46 Linden Place.

They took one of the 16-year-old’s belt, another 16-year-old’s backpack and the 17-year-old teen’s wallet. The suspects fled northbound on Linden Place.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). 

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

The Legal Aid Society is hosting a series of Know Your Rights trainings in response to President Donald Trump’s immigration actions.

Flushing residents are invited to join Legal Aid to discuss implications on Trump’s executive orders, the travel or “Muslim” ban, DACA and other rights of undocumented immigrants.

The Flushing session will be hosted on Saturday, March 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at St. George’s Episcopal Church (135-32 38th Avenue).

The trainings are open to the public.

Police are looking for two men who robbed a supply shop in Flushing last month.

Authorities say that on Saturday, February 5, at about 11:40 a.m., the two suspects entered Jin Kitchen and Bath at 131-49 41st Avenue.

One of the men distracted the store clerk while another man took the electric sander from the store without paying.

Both men left inside a black Mercedes with a New Jersey license plate.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

Assemblyman Ron Kim hosted a free workshop on Medicaid fraud and prevention on Monday at Queens Library.

He was joined by the New York Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Chinese Community Center of Flushing (CCCF) and the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General.

Kim cited the growing problem of fraud crime against the elderly in the area. The agency reps offered information about the benefits and rights of Medicaid recipients and emphasized the importance of staying informed when it comes to potential scams.

“As many Americans grow older, they often become more vulnerable to certain kinds of unlawful schemes,” Kim said. “Medicaid fraud is one example of the rising issue of crimes specifically targeting seniors in our country.”

Howard Sang, the co-chairman of the CCCF, thanked Kim and the Attorney General’s office for hosting the event.

“I think it is important for the Chinese community to understand the rules and regulations of the Medicaid program,” Sang said, “so the providers and seniors understand how to keep the social daycare programs running in the right way.”

Congresswoman Grace Meng was re-elected as one of five Vice Chairs of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) over the weekend in Atlanta.

Currently in her third term in Congress, Meng is the first Asian American member of Congress from New York, and the only Asian representative in the northeast.

She was first elected to the DNC Vice Chair role in July. She joins Bronx Assemblyman Michael Blake as vice chairs from New York.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to have once again been selected as Vice Chair and I thank DNC members for their support,” Meng said. “As we all know, these are challenging times for our part. There is much work that needs to be done. But I am ready to help lead Democrats forward, and put our party on the path to victory.”

Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez was elected as the new DNC Chair, while Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, who lost the race for DNC Chair by a small margin, was selected to be Deputy Chair.

“We must reach out to emerging and immigrant communities, millennials, the grassroots and help build-up our state and local parties,” Meng added. “I am excited to get down to work.”

State Senator Tony Avella is extending his office hours today to offer immigration assistance to anyone in the area who needs it.

Avella is partnering with an immigration attorney from CUNY Law School to provide information to the community. His Bayside office will be open from 5 to 7 p.m.

This week’s attorney is bilingual is English and Korean. Anyone interested in meeting with the attorney is asked to call Avella’s office at 718-357-3094 to reserve a spot.

“This country was built on the backs of immigrants who came here looking for a better life for their families, many of them fleeing persecution,” he said. “To deny them entry or support is to deny our American values etched in stone on the Statue of Liberty.”

The effort is part of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC)’s Immigrant Defense Coalition. The IDC has also established an emergency hotline: 1-800-213-6385.

The IDC will also prioritize funding for immigration groups that provide services for New Yorkers in this year’s budget.

“The IDC and I will continue to fight to fund programs that aid immigrants and ensure that any person who needs help or resources knows that my office door is open to assist them,” Avella said. “To the immigrants of Queens, and all of America, know that my office will always advocate on your behalf.”

Award-winning actor Sean Astin will be appearing at BoroughCon May 26-29 at St. John’s University!

Since appearing in The Goonies in 1985, Astin has been no stranger to geek culture, going on to gain fame as the lovable Sam Gamgee in the record-setting The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, a role that won him MTV and SAG awards for ensemble works as well as a Saturn Award for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins’s (Elijah Wood’s) trusted friend and aide.

More recently he played a man conflicted between his best intentions and his greatest weaknesses on Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain and has just joined the cast of Netflix’s instant hit Stranger Things.

The overcrowding at Francis Lewis High School will soon have some much-needed relief.

The School Construction Authority announced on Tuesday that it had begun planning a new annex with over 500 seats at the Fresh Meadows high school.

The new, state-of-the-art, fully accessible, air-conditioned building will include at least 18 new instructional spaces, according to the SCA. It will also have a culinary arts room, a science lab, a greenhouse, locker rooms and a multi-purpose room.

According to enrollment statistics, Francis Lewis HS is operating at 199 percent capacity, making it one of the most overcrowded schools in New York City.

“When you have strong partnerships you find that creative solutions to tackling long standing challenges are easier to come by and this project is a testament to that,” said Lorraine Grillo, president and CEO of the SCA. “This new annex will provide much needed relief for the students and staff at Francis Lewis High School and while our search for new capacity to relieve overcrowding in Queens high schools continues, we are taking a significant step.”

Councilman Peter Koo said the new seats will replace the aging trailers and provide a new space for extracurricular activities, which will “go a long way to helping the students and staff succeed.”

“Francis Lewis High School has always maintained a high-level of academic excellence despite the overcrowding conditions,” said principal David Marmor. “This new annex will allow our school to have more programming flexibility along with providing our students with a 21st century learning environment.”