QNS is looking back at the top stories throughout 2022, as we look ahead to 2023. Below are the top stories from the month of October.
Rego Center IKEA announces it will close in December
When the location originally opened in January 2021, it became just the third IKEA in New York City. Its location was chosen due to its proximity to public transportation like the Q59 and Q60 bus stops and 63rd Drive-Rego Park subway station, served by the M and R trains.
This IKEA location was the first of its kind in the country to have a smaller format. The store featured inspiring room sets and digital tools focused on sustainable, small-space living solutions.
When Hurricane Ida hit New York City in September 2021, the store suffered from flooding. Consequently, sections of the store were closed off so that flood damage could be repaired.
“We have been testing and trying many new things and we were very proud to bring the first IKEA store to Queens in January 2021,” IKEA said in their statement. “However, as we all know the world has continually shifted since then and we have had to evolve our business and accelerate our transformation to ensure our business remains both profitable and viable for the future. After a careful consideration and evaluation, we’ve decided to close our IKEA Queens location to customers on Dec. 3, 2022.
According to police, at around 7:23 a.m., the man, brandishing what turned out to be a BB gun, ran in front of the bus at Linden Boulevard and 197th Street, demanding to be let on. The driver allowed the 20 to 25 passengers to get off as the assailant boarded.
“He felt like that was his opportunity to escape, I don’t think he knew where the guy was gonna go,” a police source said. “He was probably afraid for his life. So he jumped out the window.”
The gunman then tried and failed to take control of the bus, crashing it into a utility pole near the Cambria Center for the Gifted Child, at 233rd Street. The gunman left the bus and was immediately apprehended by the police.
The crash resulted in a transformer on the pole collapsing. This caused 850 Con Edison customers to lose power. However, according to a representative for Con Edison, nearly all the residents who lost power had it restored within a few hours.
According to President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1056 Mark Henry, the driver was left traumatized by the experience.
“He’s traumatized, he hasn’t been communicating too much given what’s happened,” Henry told amNewYork Metro. “Safety and security is always paramount in our union. My concern is always for the operator. I want him to go home to his family.”
Oakland Gardens teen busted for threatening to bomb St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows: DA
The alleged assailant was a 16-year-old former student of the school. He was arraigned on the night of his arrest. He was charged with making a terrorist threat, reckless endangerment, falsely reporting an incident, endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of possession of air pistols and making a threat of mass harm.
According to the complaint, an individual going by the name “Jake” called the NYPD Highway Patrol Unit 3 at around 9:30 a.m. on April 25. Claiming to be a ninth-grader at St. Francis Prep, the caller allegedly stated that he had planted four pipe bombs inside the school, including two inside a locker on the first floor, one in a male bathroom and one in a female bathroom.
Approximately 2,000 students were evacuated from the school immediately after the call. Police then searched for the bombs at the school but came up empty.
An investigation was launched by the NYPD Intelligence Bureau, in partnership with the DA’s Major Economic Crimes Bureau. They were eventually led to the online social media site Discord, which revealed a conversation between the defendant and another user known to law enforcement about making a false threat to St. Francis Prep in exchange for $80.
According to the criminal complaint, the defendant was asked on Discord if he would like the bomb squad called, to which he replied, “Just a normal SWAT … as long as the school gets evacuated.”
Investigators traced the cryptocurrency used as payment to the known Discord user in Poland. Polish law enforcement were notified of the incident. Additional Discord records obtained revealed the defendant identifying himself as another Discord user. Law enforcement officials linked the username to an IP address registered to an internet service provider at the home address of the defendant, with the account listed as the defendant’s mother.
According to records from St. Francis Prep, the defendant was expelled from the school in February for disciplinary reasons. If convicted he faces up to seven years in prison.
“Bomb threats are never amusing and they are never harmless,” DA Katz said. “My office is fully committed to keeping our students safe and to fully investigate all possible threats of terrorism in this county. As alleged, the defendant went to great lengths to orchestrate an elaborate and realistic threat against his former high school, placing thousands of students and their families in fear for their lives. This behavior will not stand and the defendant has now been charged accordingly.”
Passing of Rosa’s Pizza co-owner mourned by Middle Village community
After his parents and siblings moved from Sicily, Italy, to the United States in the early 1970s, Marcello became the first member of his family to be born in this country. His family established the first Rosa’s Pizza in Maspeth in 1975. Eventually, he began working there as a boy, quickly becoming part of the family business. Today, Rosa’s Pizza has nine locations across Brooklyn and Queens, including the one found at 75-59 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village.
Several community members paid their respects to Marcello upon learning of his passing. According to his widow Glenda, there was a 100-car procession going to his funeral. She credits his kindness and selflessness to those in the community for leading to such an immense outpouring.
“He was a very nice person, very giving,” Glenda said. “He touched a lot of people with his kindness. He’d often help people that he saw struggling. I’d never been to a funeral where I saw as many men crying as my husband’s. A lot of people miss his love and respect.”
“Marcello thought that everybody should pay [kindness] forward,” Glenda said. “He taught our kids that. He taught them a good lesson. I hope all those he touched can also pay it forward.”
