104th Police Precinct Blotter
2/6/12-2/12/12
Local Artisan to participate in Luxury Gift Lounge in Honor of the The 84th Academy Awards (Oscars) Nominees and Presenters
Autumn Bradley, a local jewelry artisan in Glendale Queens, will be participating in a luxury gift lounge hosted by GBK Productions in honor of The 84th Academy Awards (Oscars) Nominees & Presenters. Her Stargazer Necklace will be gifted to members of the press at The Artisan Group’s exhibit. This event will be attended by over 75 media outlets.
She has also had the opportunity to gift celebrities such Jessica Alba and Hilary Duff as well as the celebrities and members of the press at the 63rd Prime Time Emmy Awards. Next up, Autumn Bradley will be celebrating Earth Day by gifting some of Hollywood’s most high-profile environmentally conscious celebrities and participating in the MTV Movie Awards Gift Lounge!
http://autumnbradley.com/stargazersterlingsilvernecklace.aspx
www.autumnbradley.com
www.facebook.com/autumnbradleyjewelrydesign
www.twitter.com/autumnbradleyjd
www.autumnbradley.blogspot.com
Local Artisan to participate in Luxury Gift Lounge in Honor of the The 84th Academy Awards (Oscars) Nominees and Presenters
Autumn Bradley, a local jewelry artisan in Glendale Queens, will be participating in a luxury gift lounge hosted by GBK Productions in honor of The 84th Academy Awards (Oscars) Nominees & Presenters. Her Stargazer Necklace will be gifted to members of the press at The Artisan Group’s exhibit. This event will be attended by over 75 media outlets.
She has also had the opportunity to gift celebrities such Jessica Alba and Hilary Duff as well as the celebrities and members of the press at the 63rd Prime Time Emmy Awards. Next up, Autumn Bradley will be celebrating Earth Day by gifting some of Hollywood’s most high-profile environmentally conscious celebrities and participating in the MTV Movie Awards Gift Lounge!
http://autumnbradley.com/stargazersterlingsilvernecklace.aspx
www.autumnbradley.com
www.facebook.com/autumnbradleyjewelrydesign
www.twitter.com/autumnbradleyjd
www.autumnbradley.blogspot.com
Laura-Ann Wood Joins the Buckingham Properties Team as Office Administrator
Buckingham Properties LLC, Rochester New York’s largest Property Management and Development Company announces the recent hire of Laura-Ann Wood, who joins the Buckingham Properties team as Office Administrator. She is responsible for greeting guests, directing phone calls, sorting mail, and company data entry. Before joining Buckingham Properties, Laura-Ann resided in New York City, and served as Office Manager for the Summer at Kew-Forest in Forest Hills, New York. Laura-Ann is originally from Glendale, New York. She earned an Associate in Liberal Arts Degree from Queensborough Community College, as well as completing coursework in Geology at Long Island University. She resides in East Rochester with her husband Edmund.
About Buckingham Properties
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, NY area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its diverse real estate portfolio. The company currently owns and manages more than 40 properties comprising over 7 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region.
Laura-Ann Wood Joins the Buckingham Properties Team as Office Administrator
Buckingham Properties LLC, Rochester New York’s largest Property Management and Development Company announces the recent hire of Laura-Ann Wood, who joins the Buckingham Properties team as Office Administrator. She is responsible for greeting guests, directing phone calls, sorting mail, and company data entry. Before joining Buckingham Properties, Laura-Ann resided in New York City, and served as Office Manager for the Summer at Kew-Forest in Forest Hills, New York. Laura-Ann is originally from Glendale, New York. She earned an Associate in Liberal Arts Degree from Queensborough Community College, as well as completing coursework in Geology at Long Island University. She resides in East Rochester with her husband Edmund.
About Buckingham Properties
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, NY area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its diverse real estate portfolio. The company currently owns and manages more than 40 properties comprising over 7 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region.
DOT proposes turning 74th Street into one-way north
After the rehabilitation of the Cooper Avenue is complete, the Department of Transportation may turn 74th Street into a one-way northbound between Cooper Avenue and 78th Avenue – a plan residents say they don’t agree with.
The $5.7 million repairs to the Cooper Avenue underpass and its retaining walls, which support the Long Island Railroad and vehicular bridges above Cooper Avenue between 74th Street and 70th Street/69th Drive in Glendale and a portion of Middle Village, are underway.
The parapet walls at the top of the retaining walls will be replaced and lined with steel bar fencing, and the retaining walls themselves will be resurfaced.
Wider sidewalks with new curbing and a few catch basins will also be installed at the street level along the length of the under pass.
But residents are now concerned with the proposed 74th Street conversion, which was announced by DOT at a Community Board 5 Transportation Committee meeting in the Atlas Park community room last week, fearing it will add more traffic to Cooper Avenue.
“What would be the benefit?” asked Robert Schoemig, a co-owner of the Avenue Bar and Grill at 71-22 Myrtle Avenue, on the Glendale Civic Association Facebook page.
“Having that changed to a northbound street would create [problems],” Schoemig said, “in that cars would try to turn left onto Cooper to head west, or right go under the underpass, which would increase the possibility of an accident.”
According to DOT spokesman Scott Gastel, the city plans to change 74th Street into a one-way southbound to reduce pedestrian and vehicle conflicts at the Cooper Avenue and 74th Street intersection, where the mouth of the underpass is located.
The intersection is a designated school walk-route, and the DOT intends to improve safety for children and all pedestrians, Gastel said.
Community Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano added that the DOT wants to allow school buses to safely drop students off curbside at P.S./I.S. 119.
But, “they can certainly, as a school, find better ways to stop traffic behind the buses,” Giordano said referring to 119, noting that when a school bus puts out its “stop” sign, traffic is legally bound to halt behind it.
Giordano added that with the implementation of more elementary-level grades into what is now also P.S. 119, there will be less school buses because more students will be able to walk to the school.
“You’re not going to have as many school buses,” he said. “You’re going to have more students walking because they’re going to live closer to 119.”
According to Gastel, the DOT will not make any changes to 74th Street until construction on the underpass is completed. The scheduled completion date for the project is June 2013.
“We have a good solid year to convince DOT that this plan for changing the direction of 74th Street will do more harm than good as far as traffic and pedestrian safety goes,” Giordano said.
A representative from Councilwoman Liz Crowley’s office said she is also against the proposal, and will soon write a public letter to DOT reiterating the community’s concerns.
Cooper steps down as Flushing Meadows head
Few would argue that when Estelle Cooper, the longtime administrator for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, resigned in early January, the park lost a true champion of cause and attention.
The park had long been ignored since the 1964 World’s Fair until the early 1990s. But when Cooper was appointed assistant parks commissioner and administrator of the park in 1994 by the Giuliani administration, she saw her role as an advocate for programs and funding for the 1,200 acre public space.
According to a source, Cooper also relinquished her role in Unisphere, Inc., a nonprofit fundraising group for Flushing Meadows Park.
Cooper, 81, is reportedly leaving the post to start a political consulting firm.
A longtime Republican in a county dominated by Democrats, she ran against Emanuel Gold for State Senate in 1978, and again against Claire Shulman for borough president in 1986. She lost both campaigns.
Her Republican connections run deep. Phil Ragusa, the head of the Queens County Republican Party, was retained as the accountant for Unisphere, Inc.
Cooper’s new consulting firm will be known as Cooper and Company, and will be helmed by Cooper’s grandson, Michael Balsamo.
Balsamo was also executive director of Community Day Camp, a company owned by Cooper’s daughter, Ilene Balsamo, which secured a deal with the Parks Department to operate out of Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Despite charging fees of between $900 to $2,675 for two- to eight-week sessions, the camp only paid the Parks Department $1 a day per camper to use park space and facilities, a deal that came under fire.
However, according to sources, other camps using the park were charged the same $1 per camper fee.
Community Day Camp was then accused of failing to pay counselors and contractors in a scandal that became public when former employees complained to a local television station.
Balsamo’s familial connection to Cooper and the subsequent scandal is believed to be at least partly behind Cooper’s resignation, sources say.
However, the Parks Department said the resignation was part of Cooper’s desire to start hew new consulting firm.
“Estelle has announced that she will begin a new career as a partner in a political communications firm,” said a department spokesperson in a statement. “We all wish Estelle the best as she embarks on her new endeavors.”
In its statement, the Parks Department noted the many improvement to the park under Cooper’s leadership.
“The park has seen many transformations,” read the statement. “A set of synthetic soccer fields were constructed and Parks built the new Flushing Meadows Aquatic Center and the new Al Oerter Recreation Center. The United States Tennis Association expanded and Citi Field was built as the new home for the New York Mets.”
CB5 to discuss gyms at next meeting
Community Board 5 will hold its next monthly meeting on Wednesday, February 8th at 7:30 p.m. in the Christ the King Regional High School Cafeteria, located at 68-02 Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village.
The agenda includes a hearing of the mayor’s preliminary Capital and Expense Budget for fiscal year 2013.
A hearing will also be held on an application to the Board of Standards and Appeals on behalf of 329 Wyckoff Realty LLC for a special permit to allow a physical culture establishment (fitness center) at 329 Wyckoff in Ridgewood. The operator is expected to be a Planet Fitness Franchise.
The agenda includes the Zoning and Land Use Review Committee’s recommendation regarding a proposed Retro Fitness center at 65-45 Otto Road in Glendale.
The agenda also includes the Executive Committee’s recommendations regarding the roposed 2012 Street Festivals in the CB5 area; a public forum; a review of applicants proposing to sell alcoholic beverages; a review of demolition notices; and other committee reports.
For additional information or to register to speak in advance, please call the board at 718-366-1834.
After months of speculation, Koo joins Democratic Party
Councilman Peter Koo, who suprised many when he won the Flushing seat formerly held by now-Comptroller John Liu by running on the Republican line, is no longer a member of the GOP.
On Monday, Koo headed to the Queens County Board of Elections on Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens and officially changed his party designation from Republican to Democrat, leaving only four Republicans in the City Council.
He was joined by Congressman Joseph Crowley, the head of the Queens County Democratic Party, and several of his – now – fellow Democratic elected officials.
“This has been a homecoming in many respects for the Flushing community,” said Crowley. “I think this keeps in line with the tradition of their representation and is representative of the diversity not only of Flushing, but of Queens County.”
Officially, Koo, a successful Asian-America businessman, said his decision was based on ideology, and that he found himself increasingly at odds with his Republican colleagues on important issues, most notably immigration.
“I am a first-generation immigrant, so I understand how hard it is to be a newcomer in this community and I always sympathize with immigrant issues,” said Koo. “It’s important for them to have a way to stay here.”
But those familiar with Koo said he was disappointed by the lack of support that he was receiving from the Queens County Republican Party, as well as being shut out of major decisions, such as endorsements and the push to create another Asian majority district for the State Senate in northeast Queens, that led to his decision.
However, Koo refused to criticize the Republican Party on Monday, only addressing it briefly.
“The Republican party, of course they’re sad that I’m leaving, but there’s not much they can do,” he said.
While Queens GOP leadership was quoted in published reports that they were surprised by the decision, there were hints that Koo would jump ship.
About six months ago, he suggested that he was thinking about changing his party affiliation, and in the special election to replace Congressman Anthony Weiner, Koo endorsed Democrat David Weprin over fellow Republican Bob Turner. Turner would eventually win.
According to a source, Koo was also concerned about his ability to win re-election if he remained a Republican in a race for a seat the Democrats would aggresively push to win back.
Robert Hornak, a spokesperson for the Queens County Republican Party, wished Koo the best.
“We were very disappointed to see him leave the Republican Party, and thought highly of him as a Republican legislator,” he said. “We know he will still admirably serve the community, and look forward to having a relationship with him in the future.”
Also on hand for Koo’s announcement was Comptroller John Liu, who despite a long relationship with Koo, a prominent Flushing businessman, endorsed his Democratic challenger in 2009.
“We’re happy that he is back home because the issues that he’s talked about on the campaign trail, and what he’s done in the City Council, is really very much in line with our Queens delegation,” said Liu. “So it’s only natural that Peter Koo is about to be a Democrat.”
Liu also praised Koo’s history of community service in Flushing.
“Peter has been a great friend to the Flushing and Queens community long before he sought any kind of office,” he said. “He was such an entrepreneur and successful business person, but somebody who never forgot about the community.””,,,,,inline,,,,,,false,,,,false,breakingnews_glendale_register,JIRF_Koo_1_1_26.JPG
17313812,live,2012-01-27 11:28:54 -0600,2012-01-27 11:26:56 -0600,405,1,,,,,,Cuomo delivers grand plans for NYS in speech