Mail bandits pinched in Maspeth

QNS

Locals took to Facebook on Monday, June 26, to celebrate after news broke regarding the arrests of two suspected mail thieves who have been wreaking havoc in Maspeth.

News of the arrests made by USPIS Postal Police Officers, alongside the NYPD’s 104th Precinct, was shared in a now-viral post on the Juniper Valley, Middle Village, Maspeth, Ridgewood area Facebook group, with several commenters applauding the news.

Photos of the alleged thieves and vivi of their arrest were first shared with QNS by a Maspeth resident who wished to be identified as Hubert K.

Law enforcement officials could be seen on video taking the two suspects from a black van and images captured the two thieves in handcuffs near 60th Road and Mt. Olivet Crescent in Maspeth.

Another video shared by Facebook user and Maspeth resident Jon Brewsky also captured officers with both mail thieves in handcuffs.

“They’re lucky the police got them and not the people,” said one Facebook user.

The case of the missing mail

From CBS 2:

On Thursday afternoon, the Postal Service apologized for the delivery issues, admitting, “There have been new hires to replace some recent retirements and to assist with prime vacation period.”

The Postal Service said since January it has been meeting quarterly with postal managers and community leaders to try to strengthen service in the Rockaways.

Dozens of residents shared their ongoing mail delivery problems on Facebook and by email, saying the Postal Service isn’t doing enough.

“They need to have the head of the post office come down and talk to us. They’re avoiding us,” Simon said.

The mistakes can be costly, from missing medication deliveries to late fees from missing bills. So residents say an apology is not enough.

The Postal Service suggests people track their mail digitally to help keep track of their letters and packages.

Man hunting for package thief

From CBS 2:

A fed-up homeowner tracked down a thief who stole a package left at his Queens home.

As CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez reported, the thief looked right into a surveillance camera before snatching a box off the front stoop of Jason Gratz’s house on Beach 139th Street in Belle Harbor on Tuesday morning.

“That’s the worst thing about it – not what’s in the contents of the package. It could have been $1, it could have been $1 million, it didn’t really matter. Just the feeling of being violated like that, it really just burned me,” he told Sanchez.

Surveillance video shows the ponytailed robber pausing to eye his target before turning his black cap, contemplating his getaway, and then grabbing the package.

Gratz walked all over his neighborhood and found a construction crew at a condominium that recognized the suspect as someone who had been working at the site, which is just two blocks from his home.

He said he tracked down where the suspect works and informed police, hoping they make a quick arrest.

Liu campaign falsified resident's signature on mailer

From the Queens Chronicle:

A Douglaston resident claims his name, address and a false signature that is not his were wrongly included in a letter supporting John Liu sent out by the candidate's campaign team last week.

Liu is running a primary race to unseat state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) in the 11th District in northern and northeastern Queens. Avella is a maverick member of the Independent Democratic Conference and Liu a former city councilman and comptroller supported by the party establishment.

Last week some residents in the district received "An Open Letter to Our Neighbors in Little Neck and Douglaston" promoting Liu's candidacy and touting his support for middle-class families. The letter says it was paid for by the John Liu Senate Election Committee and is signed by former Rep. Gary Ackerman, Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), Borough President Melinda Katz and City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) — as well as nine area residents.

But one of the residents listed on the letter, Joshua Block, says the signature is not his and that he knew nothing of the missive until he opened it last Thursday.

"I wasn't involved in drafting it. I knew nothing about it. I didn't sign it," Block said in an email. "Nobody asked me to be a part of it, and I'm no way committed to voting for Liu. I was absolutely shocked to see my name at the bottom."

Variations of the letter were sent all over the district. There may be other victims.

Shafran campaign unintentionally funny

- He tells the Bay Club that he's been preparing to run for City Council his entire life
- The biggest hand he got was for mentioning the need for a traffic light on Corporal Kennedy street
- His "inspiring" story is just lame, and he's reading from prepared notes.
- He's speaking about himself in the 3rd person.
- People on the way to the buffet table cross in front of him while he is speaking.
- At the very end of the video, a woman yells out, “THANK YOU FOR BREAKFAST!” So that's how he got them to listen to him. Captive audience.

Here's his latest mailer:



Austin needs to understand that you can't ban outside employment unless you get the council job description changed from part-time to full-time.
The problem is not that the districts do not get an equal amount of ice cream money to spread around to local not-for-profits, the problem is that certain council members have been funneling this money to their relatives and friends. Evening out the playing field won't end political slush funds, it will just even out the playing field.
Does it really matter if lobbyists can't lobby their own family members in elected office? (This is currently illegal, anyway.) If they are family, it will behoove the family's long term financial picture for the elected official to vote in favor of whatever the firm's pushing for. Example: At some point, Pete Jr. and Paul are going to inherit the money Pete Sr. made lobbying. So of course they're going to vote yes on his projects without having been lobbied themselves.

Does anyone really believe that Austin spent time with his grandmother at the senior center?

Velazquez mailer raises question

How does the post office deliver mail when it's addressed like this?

Using taxpayer dollars to promote themselves

From the Daily News:

The state's budget crisis hasn't stopped lawmakers from spending big bucks to promote themselves.

Members of the Senate and Assembly have spent nearly $9 million in taxpayer money this year on constituent mailings, the Daily News has learned.

The spending comes as the state faces a $9 billion budget deficit and is preparing to lay off hundreds of government workers on Dec. 31.

"It's an extraordinary amount of money when the state is broke," said Dick Dadey, executive director of the good government group Citizens Union.

"And the timing of the newsletters is geared to inform voters just before an election, which is doubly inappropriate."

Senators spent $5.3 million on postage, while Assembly members spent $3.6 million. The Senate and Assembly spent a combined $12 million last year, records show.

Queens GOP version of Hatfield-McCoy feud

From City Hall:

The Queens Republican Party paid for a mailer suggesting the brother of indicted campaign operative John Haggerty was involved in a scheme to steal $1 million from Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Bart Haggerty is facing a Republican district leader primary challenge in the 28th Assembly District from Patrick Gallagher, the son of former Council Member Dennis Gallagher, who has the backing of the Queens Republican leadership.

The party paid for the negative mailer – which suggests Bart Haggerty was involved in his brother’s alleged scheme - that recently landed in mailboxes in Forest Hills, Queens.

The Haggerty brothers have long sought to overthrow Ragusa and are actively supporting Ognibene, while Dennis Gallagher is a Ragusa ally. Gallagher himself resigned from office in disgrace in 2008 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor sex abuse charges.

Ognibene said going after Bart Haggerty was completely out of bounds.

“Bart Haggerty has never, ever been accused of anything improper in his life,” Ognibene said.

A spokesman for Ragusa declined to comment, saying the mailer speaks for itself.

Bloomberg’s money has been a centerpiece of the battle for control of the party. Ognibene says he is running against Ragusa in part because the current chair failed to secure enough money from Bloomberg when the mayor was seeking the Republican ballot line in 2009.

“It is not our job to extort money from people,” Ragusa replied.

There's a pathetic bunch of hacks in the GOP. In the Democratic party, too, but the GOP wins the prize. Is this the best they can come up with?

Our "new" state senator?

Looks like someone's jumping the gun here.
Click photo to read all the typos... It's so hard to find good help these days...

Taxpayer funded promotional mailers under fire

From the Times Ledger:

One of the advantages incumbents in the state Assembly have over their challengers is a printing budget that enables them to mail out quarterly newsletters to their constituents, which at least one good government group says is in need of reform.

“This is a persistent problem that the incumbent newsletters that go out ... are all about promoting the individual [and] much less about constituent service,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY.

While rules prohibit the newsletters, which update constituents about bills their legislators have passed and feature photos of the lawmakers at community events or important bill signings, from being distributed less than 30 days before an election, Lerner said the literature is more about self-aggrandizement and evoking “warm and fuzzy feelings” than providing constituent service.

“It’s bad to begin with. It gets worse closer to the election,” she said. “The better letters are heavy on constituent information.”

Lerner called for “clear guidelines and a culture that draws the line” on what is appropriate for the newsletters, although she said it is difficult to come up with a standard.

How much did this cost us?

A copy of this 14 page, full color report about our drinking water was mailed to what I can only assume is every household in the city since it was addressed to me personally "or current resident". I found mine in my mailbox on Saturday.

Add up the cost of writing it, taking and editing the photos, laying it out, printing it and mailing it in your head. I can only guess that this venture cost us taxpayers a few million dollars. Let's not even get into how many trees were wasted for this. Don't see a "recycled paper" symbol anywhere on it.

Please remember that we have money for things like this next time the mayor threatens to close a firehouse or tells you there is no money to collect garbage or create a new park in your 'hood.

Click the photo to see your tax dollars at work.