A manager for a Jamaica-based international freight forwarding company operating out of JFK International Airport was indicted by a federal grand jury for her alleged involvement in a scheme to circumvent U.S. export laws and sanctions on Russia implemented following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Natalya Ivanovna Mazulina, 41, was arrested Tuesday in Seattle after a 12-count indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn federal court for facilitating shipments of controlled industrial equipment to Russia out of JFK and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Mazulina, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in the Seattle area, will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date. The name of the Jamaica-based company she worked for is known only to federal prosecutors and the grand jury.
“Evading U.S. export regulations presents a danger to our national security,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “And we will continue to use all of our law enforcement and national security tools [to] make sure these enablers, both individuals and corporations, cannot operate in our district.”

As alleged in the indictment, from at least December 2022 through this month, Mazulina conspired with Russian freight forwarding companies and others to unlawfully ship controlled items, including industrial oil and gas equipment, from the U.S. to Russia through intermediary countries.

At one point, in June 2023, Mazulina told colleagues that her clients were paying through bank accounts in third-party countries because they were sanctioned by the U.S. Mazulina attempted to conceal the unlawful scheme by submitting and causing the submission of false export documents to the U.S. government, documents which…

As the MTA is set to suspend A train service in the Rockaways in mid-January, Queens local council member Joann Ariola has devised unique ways to manage the subway service suspension. 

The MTA announced in early November that train service to the Rockaways would be suspended from Jan. 17 to May 19, affecting at least 9,000 daily riders living on the Rockway peninsula.    

Trains on the A-line will be suspended between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and Far Rockaway-Mott Ave. or Rockaway Park-Beach 116th St. Additionally, The Rockaway Park Shuttle will not run to or from Broad Channel.

The MTA enacted the suspension for the Rockaway Resiliency Project, which will repair the A-line over a 17-week period. The agency said the line suffered extensive damage after Superstorm Sandy. Although emergency repairs restored service seven months after the storm, MTA officials say Hammels Wye Viaduct and South Channel Bridge, which carry trains across Broad Channel, need extensive rehabilitation and repair work to protect the A-line from further extreme weather events.  

Due to the train outages, the MTA has offered multiple alternative service offerings, including free shuttle buses,  discounted LIRR fares at Far Rockaway Station, and a free Rockaway subway shuttle extended to serve all stations on the peninsula.  Additionally, the city agency announced on Dec 11 that there would be additional select express bus service extensions to Averne and peak bus trips to and from Manhattan.

On a local level, Council Member Joann Ariola, representing District 32, worked with various organizations to provide even more travel support to her constituents living on the peninsula. Ariola presides over the neighborhoods of Howard Beach, Broad Channel, Glendale, Woodhaven, Ozone Park, and the western half of the Rockaway Peninsula.

Ariola told QNS…

The hero cop who was shot after a shootout with an armed robber on lifetime parole was released from hospital Wednesday as the suspect’s 42-year criminal history came to light. 

NYPD Police Officer Rich Wong waved as he was wheeled out of Jamaica Hospital on Nov. 20. Wong, a seven-year veteran of the force who is currently assigned to 103rd Precinct, suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh on Tuesday night on Jamaica Avenue and 161st Street in Queens after attempting to stop 57-year-old Gary Worthy during the robbery of a bodega.

Worthy, who police say was a career criminal and on lifetime parole, opened fire inside the bodega and on the street, during which a female bystander was also injured. Wong shot Worthy in the face, killing him.

Yet one question lingered among the cops and police union leaders who greeted Wong as he left the hospital Wednesday afternoon: Why was Worthy out on the streets at all that fateful Tuesday night?

According to sources familiar with Worthy’s record, the suspect has been arrested 23 times dating back to the early 1980s, including 17 times on felony charges.

Six days before Tuesday’s shooting, Worthy was in a Queens Criminal Courtroom for arraignment on charges of drug possession and resisting arrest — yet was nonetheless released from custody without bail. The Queens District Attorney’s office said those offenses did not make him eligible to be held on bail.

“The cops are doing their jobs, why wasn’t this career criminal behind bars?” PBA President Patrick Hendry said after his fellow cops gave Wong a rousing round of applause. “Wong wants to get back to work serving the community, but he has a long road to recovery. The justice system is failing us. He [Worthy] should have been locked up after 6 or 7 arrests.”

On March 8, 1988, in the confines of the 103rd Precinct, the…

The FDNY battled an intense three-alarm apartment building fire at the Greenwood Arms complex in Howard Beach on Thursday morning.

The first calls were received at around 11:20 a.m. after a fire broke out on the fourth floor of a six-story building at 86-10 151st Ave. Units from Engine Company 331 and Ladder Company 107 arrived on the scene to find heavy fire conditions that traveled through the walls to the sixth floor.

“As we started to open the walls up, it became apparent that the fire had extended,” FDNY Assistant Chief Joseph Ferrante, Queens Borough Commander, said. “This is a non-fireproof building. It’s made primarily of wood. The fire extended to the sixth floor and then eventually into to cock area of the top floor. At that point, we realized we had an advanced fire on our hands.”

The FDNY transmitted a second alarm at 11:41 a.m., and as the fire spread, it went to a third alarm at 11:54 a.m., bringing 33 units and 138 firefighters and EMS to the street between 85th and 88th Street.

The fire was brought under control at 1:28 p.m. and no civilians were injured. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries and were transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for treatment. Ten apartments on the top floors were heavily damaged and the American Red Cross dispatched a team to connect with impacted residents and work with government partners to assess short-term emergency needs. Impacted residents who need help can go to the Red Cross reception center that was established at 149-30 88th Street, across the street from the scene of the fire.

“The fire today at the Greenwood Arms was devastating, and I commend the quick and heroic actions of the FDNY in bringing this under control before even more damage was caused,” Council Member Joann Ariola said. “Thanks…

They came, they saw, they conquered the five boroughs.

Some 50,000 participants pushed themselves to the limit at the TCS New York City Marathon Sunday — racing from the foot of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Staten Island and through the five boroughs to Central Park.

But every moment they might have had doubts about completing their mission, they found motivation in millions of New Yorkers who packed the sidelines along much of the course, cheering on strangers to keep moving forward all the way to the end.

The NYC Marathon is not just a competition where some of the world’s elite athletes race; it is a personal journey for tens of thousands seeking not merely a medal or a record time, but something greater.

Ronny Bergman and his family from Long Island have been coming to support runners for nearly 20 years. Bergman said he started out by supporting his wife and would travel to different points of the race to cheer her on. Now, they continue that tradition together at the Pulaski Bridge to pass on that passion to others.

“We’re out here every year. My family has run it many times. We just love to cheer on and give people support wherever we can,” Bergman told amNewYork Metro. “We did a water station for a couple of years, and then we just started doing this.”

Bergman held up a sign reading “Welcome to Queens,” which greeted runners as they officially made it to the marathon’s halfway point. His wife, Allison Bergman, a four-time marathon runner, leaned over the barricade and roared with excitement, putting a smile on passing runners’ faces.

“It’s almost as exhausting to cheer all day,” Mrs. Bergman said. “It’s just the best day in New York.”

By the early afternoon hundreds of participants began crossing the finish line in Central Park near Tavern on the Green — where the physical and…

E-scooter company Lime announced the launch of a new initiative on Friday to improve shared e-scooter parking in Queens.

Lime is one of three companies participating in the DOT’s shared e-scooter program, which covers parts of north and southeastern Queens.  The new program, dubbed “Lime Parking Wardens,” will offer incentives for riders who park their e-scooters properly. The company believes it will improve rider behavior with the potential rewards of free rides and prizes.

Lime shared details of the program to its riders through in-app and email messages.

Additionally, Lime staff began hosting in-person demonstrations of the parking wardens program on Thursday, Oct. 24. Staff will be available Friday, Oct. 25, from 2:30-6:30 p.m. at 146th and 95th Streets. Archer, Sutphin and Jamaica Avenues and Parsons Boulevard to give away helmets, parking warden awards and safety information.

Nicole Yearwood, Senior Manager of Government Relations for Lime, said in a statement that the company has introduced the Parking Wardens program after hearing  “loud and clear” from riders and community members about the program. “Lime has used this program in London, Melbourne and in Canada to remind riders of how to ride safely and park properly while incentivizing proper parking. We look forward to handing out these awards and to continued results from our efforts to promote safe riding, proper parking and keeping the Queens streets we know and love clutter-free,” Yearwood said.

This new program follows Lime’s plans to invest $1.5 million into its Queens program this year and $2.5 million annually beginning in 2025 to address community feedback about e-scooter parking and safety.   

In September, representatives from the company told QNS that it is revamping its locally hired Foot Patrol team, now deploying squads…