QNS is looking back at the top stories throughout 2022, as we look forward to 2023.
Below are the top stories from the month of December, including a deed thief ring operation in southeast Queens; a sperm whale’s death on the Rockaway Beach shoreline; a Forest Hills nonprofit receiving a grant and a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.
Five members of deed theft crew operating in southeast Queens indicted on multiple felony charges: AG
Five members of a deed theft ring operation in southeast Queens were indicted for allegedly stealing three homes worth more than $1 million in total from elderly homeowners.
Stacie Saunders, 51, Anyekache Hercules, 47, and Jerry Currin, 66, were arraigned Dec. 8 before Queens Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Braun in grand larceny charges and other felonies.
The three defendants allegedly impersonated the real homeowners of the properties by using forged driver’s licenses and social security cards.
While three members of the deed theft crew were arraigned, Marcus Wilcher, 47, and Dean Lloyd, 61, remain at large.
The maximum sentence on the top count is 15 years. The AG’s office is currently seeking the public’s help in identifying the remaining members of the deed theft ring who remain at large.
Beached whale dies at Rockaway Beach after attempted rescue
A 30-foot beached sperm whale died on the shoreline around Beach 73rd Street at Rockaway Beach on Dec. 13.
Several nearby surfers and construction workers attempted to save the baby whale that reportedly washed up on shore. Workers building a seawall nearby had noticed the whale was alive and flailing.
The local construction company alerted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) of the sperm whale in the surf. USACE coordinated with NYC Parks to alert the proper authorities to provide services for the animal.
After contacting the Parks Department, the NYPD and the Department of Environmental Conservation, the surfers and workers attempted to push the animal toward the sea.
The Parks Department confirmed that despite the rescue attempts, the whale died on the shoreline.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed the whale to be a 32-foot female.
“Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMSEAS) is taking basic biological data today, and plans to conduct a full necropsy tomorrow,” according to a statement from the NOAA.
A spokesperson from NOAA reminded the public that dolphins, porpoises and whales are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which makes touching, feeding or otherwise coming into contact with these animals illegal.
Forest Hills nonprofit receives $450K grant for direct cash assistance to low-income families in Queens
The Child Center of NY received a $450,000 gift from the William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neill Foundation, nonprofit invests in under-resourced families, and their Cash+Community Works Initiative.
The initiative, which launched in the spring, will involve 300 families in Queens and Manhattan over the course of its three-year pilot phase.
The foundation’s Deep Impact Grantmaking (DIG) Program, received the funding, supports organizations and communities committed to two-generation, or “2Gen,” approaches that aim to disrupt the cycle of multigenerational family poverty.
Families that participate in the program receive peer support while TCCNY will track the trajectory of participants throughout the course of the program.
TCCNY works in six main program areas: early childhood education; behavioral health; residential treatment; prevention and family support; health homes and integrated care; and youth development. TCCNY is based primarily in Queens but also serves children and families in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan, as well as Long Island.
Family of deceased Whitestone man sues city for $20 million in wrongful death lawsuit
The family of deceased 70-year-old Genci Frasheri, of Whitestone, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, seeking $20 million in damages.
Frasheri was struck by a car in Murray Hill on Nov. 14, and after suffering a fractured skull, he was falsely arrested by the NYPD for assaulting an EMT.
“Had he been treated with the urgency and care required given his medical condition at that time, he could have pulled through,” Genci’s daughter Enika Sopiqoti said Dec. 14 at the offices of their attorney Sanford Rubenstein.
“The obligation of emergency medical workers is to save the lives of victims, not to first fail to recognize the symptoms of a serious brain injury and act in a manner which delayed medical treatment which we allege contributed to this wrongful death,” Rubenstein said.
According to court filings, Frasheri was chained to his hospital bed, and his wife of 50 years, Arjana, and his daughter and son were restricted in their ability to visit him and communicate with his physicians in order to provide consent for medical treatment. Frasheri succumbed to his injuries on Nov. 17.
According to Rubenstein, the New York State Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into his death.
“Every second counts in a medical emergency,” Rubenstein said. “He had a fractured skull and bleeding in his brain and slipped into a coma before perishing three days later. The AG is investigating the incident and I think the EMT should be charged criminally for her malfeasance.”
