Author: Dan Rose

Cops busted for taking bribes and warning of police raids at Flushing Karaoke bars

Dan Rose
Wikimedia Commons/Joi Ito
Wikimedia Commons/Joi Ito

There was a lot more than singing going on at several Karaoke bars in Flushing. Two police officers from the 109th Precinct have been arrested for charges of bribe-taking and more at the karaoke clubs.

Lieutenant Robert Sung, 50, and Detective Yatyu Yam, 37, might end up in prison for a 15-year sentence for taking brides from the clubs’ managers in exchange for dodging drug arrests and giving the clubs warnings that police raids were coming.

The corruption probe, orchestrated by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, has been going on at the 109th Precinct for about two-and-a-half years, after a witness noticed an exchange regarding under-the-table cash payments between Yam and the manager at Club JJNY, located at 147-38 Northern Blvd in Flushing. Yam also used the app, WeChat, to warn the manager of two Queens clubs about upcoming police raids. Furthermore, he received $2,000 a month from the manager, and even invited him to an August barbecue where the manager delivered one of the $2,000 payments.

Sung instructed an unnamed officer to ignore a deputy inspector’s demand for raids at the clubs, including JJNY. He also told an officer to warn the clubs ahead of state police raids.

Yam was arraigned for second-degree bribe receiving and second-degree receiving rewards for official misconduct on Monday night. He was freed on a $25,000 bail and was suspended by the NYPD. Sung surrendered on Tuesday, with his bail set at $20,000 bond or $10,000 cash.

Winter Solstice Celebration & Tree Lighting in Flushing

Dan Rose

wintersolsticeFloraSanta-webOn Sunday, Dec. 6, the Queens Botanical Garden is getting in the holiday spirit with a number of festive activities. During the Winter Solstice Celebration & Tree Lighting, there will be live music, arts and crafts, a tour of the garden’s grounds and an appearance from the big guy, Santa Claus.

Here’s a rundown of the day’s schedule:

  • Garden tour at 1 p.m.
  • Photos with Santa (separate fee) from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Botanical crafts (while supplies last) from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Join artist Mayen Alcantara on a walk through the Garden as she creates a site-specific art piece at 2 p.m.
  • Live musical performances by The Rough Dozen a cappella group at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Tree lighting ceremony with Santa at 5 p.m.

Dress for the weather and don’t forget your camera for holiday snaps of your family.

SING program expands to Queens high school campuses

Dan Rose

SING, a musical program in which students write, cast, rehearse and perform their own musicals, is coming to 20 more high schools, including five in Queens.

Thanks to Taylor Swift, who donated in partnership with the Fund for Public Schools, students from Flushing High School can participate in the public school tradition.

“SING gives our high school students an opportunity to work with their peers, and create and execute a project from start to finish,” said Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “This is a wonderful program for developing passions in the arts and for building school and community spirit. In particular, co-located schools will also be collaborating, bringing new excitement and camaraderie for our high schoolers. The SING students are going to gain skills and experience that they can use in college and throughout their lives.”

Bayside High School, John Bowne High School, Martin Van Buren High School and Thomas A. Edison CTE High School will also have SING.

Students will receive training and support as they build their school’s SING programs.

Wikimedia/official-ly cool

Police looking for man that groped teenager

Dan Rose

Police are looking for a light-skinned man in his early 20’s that reportedly grabbed a 16-year-old girl’s buttocks in Flushing.

According to DCPI, the victim was walking in front of 138-12 60th Avenue at about 1:30 p.m. on November 17, when the man approached her and attempted to engage her in conversation. When she attempted to leave, the suspect grabbed her and then fled the scene.

Surveillance video of the suspect inside a nearby deli just prior to the incident below, courtesy DCPI:

77 year old man loses leg after being struck by hit-and-run motorcyclist

Dan Rose
article-hit-1120
Credit: DAVID WEXLER FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

 

Min-Tsu Lin was engaging in his routine morning stroll when he was struck by a motorcycle on Parsons Blvd. near Rose Ave. in Flushing about 5:45 a.m., the Daily News reported.

The cold-hearted cyclist left his wheels and fled on foot after the accident, police said.

When first responders arrived, the senior was lying in the road unconscious. He was knocked out of his shoes and lying in a pool of his own blood. The upended blue motorcycle lay about 100 feet away, witnesses said.

Lin was rushed to New York-Presbyterian/Queens with critical injuries, officials said.

“His right leg had to be amputated and he has bad bruising,” the victim’s son, Tom Lin, 43, told the Daily News. “He hasn’t been conscious.”

The motorcyclist is still being sought by cops.

 

 

Lamborghini worth $450K stolen in Flushing

Dan Rose
Wkimedia/Arnaud 25
Wkimedia/Arnaud 25

How does one go about successfully stealing an eye-catching $450,000 white Lamborghini Aventador convertible?

The Michigan-based firm Pinkerton has launched a private investigation into the missing vehicle that was stolen outside of the Al Oerter Recreation Center on October 28. They are offering a $100,000 reward for anyone who can provide information on the location of the car.

They are worried that the car might already be shipped off to a foreign market in either Asia, Russia, South America, Africa or the Middle East.

“With an exotic car like that, you can’t sell it here and you can’t drive around in it,” Chris McGoey, a private investigator and expert in crime and loss prevention, said to Fox News. “The only option is to ship it overseas, somewhere that nobody really checks on registration of cars.”

Oddly, the NYPD have no police reports regarding the missing vehicle and the car’s ownership hasn’t been identified.

Someone has clearly watched one too many ‘Fast and Furious’ films.

Police looking for alleged Flushing burglar

Dan Rose
The suspect, according to DCPI.
The suspect, according to DCPI.

Police are looking for a man they say robbed a commercial office last week.

On Oct. 28 at about 7:30 p.m., police say a man – described as as a male in his 40’s who was last seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt, black head cover and sweatpants – entered a commercial business at 132-15 41st Ave., through a rear window. Once inside, he allegedly removed a computer, iPhone and about $300 in cash from the desk in the reception area.

The office was unoccupied so nobody was hurt, as a result of the alleged burglary.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.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. All calls are strictly confidential.

New bike tour promises international food under the 7 train

Dan Rose

joe distefano
If you’d like to sample a slew of Queens’ most diverse foods, but still keep in shape, you could join the Queens Bike Initiative on a bike tour that stops for various foods along the 7 train route.

The special “Cycle the #7” tour will be led by Joe DiStefano, a longtime food writer and expert, and will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The group, designed for bikers of all skill levels (as long as you are comfortable on a bike), will start the tour at John Brown Smokehouse in Long Island City and end at the Food Court in Flushing. Pit stops include Ecuadorian food carts in Corona, Turkish markets in Sunnyside, as well as stops to sample Tibetian, Japanese and Filipino cuisines.

The Queens Bike Initiative is hoping that the tour will help garner support for their plans and petition for bike lanes connecting parks in Queens.

Tickets for the tour are $30 each and include food. There are 15 spots available and you can purchase tickets here.

Stop and Shop opens new Flushing location

Dan Rose

Stop and Shop opened its new location at 31-06 Farrington Street this week. The site was formerly a Pathmark but transformed into a Stop and Shop after Pathmark filed for bankruptcy.

An an introduction to the neighborhood, the company donated $2,000 to the local Flushing YMCA.

CHECK_JWC7884
Store Manager, Carmine Verdino( right) and Jay Cohen, Marketing Manager/Stop & Shop (left) present a check to Jen Silvers the Executive Director of the Flushing YMCA