Daily News Hammers NYRA

[miff]

What will happen when Cuomo hears about this. Bye bye Big A?

Pennsylvania man sexually assaulted disabled woman at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens:
Frank Wood, 37, allegedly attacked a 40-year-old woman with the mental capacity of a toddler on Super Bowl Sunday. A witness told cops she heard the victim scream from a rest room stall at the aging racetrack on Feb. 2, and then saw a man later identified as Wood leaving the same stall.


BY JERRY BOSSERT , TINA MOORE AND MICHAEL O'KEEFFE / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2014, 10:52 PM

A spokesman for the New York Racing Association, which operates the track (seen here), declined to comment on the sexual assault case.
A 40-year-old woman with the mental capacity of a toddler was sexually assaulted in a rest room stall at Aqueduct Racetrack, officials said Monday.
Frank Wood, 37, of Pennsylvania, was nabbed shortly after the shocking Super Bowl Sunday incident at the aging state-owned Queens racetrack.
"She screamed and smiled and then I left," Wood told cops, according to a criminal complaint.
A witness told cops she heard the victim scream from a rest room stall on Feb. 2 and a man ordering her, "Don't tell anybody," according to the complaint.
The witness, whose name was not released, said she then saw the man, later identified as Wood, come out of the stall pulling up his pants and adjusting his belt.
The witness said she found the helpless victim naked in the stall.
The mother of the victim, who was also at the track when the assault occurred, told police her daughter is developmentally disabled and has the mental capacity of a 2-year-old.


A mentally disabled woman was sexually assaulted in this rest room at Aqueduct Racetrack on Super Bowl Sunday, officials say.

The complaint said the victim has a "nominal ability to speak and communicate."
Wood was collared by New York Racing Association security shortly after the incident and handed over to the NYPD.
He told cops he sat down next to the victim and had struck up a conversation.
Cops said he lured her into a women's rest room, where he forced her to perform oral sex and have intercourse.
Wood was charged with a second-degree criminal sexual act, according to Meris Campbell, a spokeswoman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.
Wood was also charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent person, second-degree sexual abuse and second-degree unlawful imprisonment
The suspect, Frank Wood, 37, of Pennsylvania, was nabbed shortly after the incident at the aging Queens racetrack.

He is being held at Rikers Island on $200,000 bail and is expected back in court on March 3.h
A spokesman for the New York Racing Association, which operates the track, declined to comment.
The alleged assault is the latest black eye for Aqueduct, once among the top thoroughbred tracks in the nation.
The nearly 120-year-old Ozone Park venue has deteriorated rapidly in recent years.
Racing association President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Kay has talked about enhancing the fan experience at racetracks, but Aqueduct has clearly seen better days.
As the Daily News reported this month, the Malaysian-based Genting Group, which opened its Resorts World New York Casino at the track in 2010, collects an average of $66 million a month in profits from slot machines at the site.
The racing association receives 7% of that money but apparently is not willing to spend money on maintenance.

Cops say the suspect lured the victim into a women\'s rest room at Aqueduct Racetrack, where he attacked her.

One source told The News that security officers are required to search the building thoroughly when they close for the night because homeless people have been squatting at the track.
Stairwells and the press box were covered with a thick coat of pigeon droppings before they were cleaned recently.
The poles supporting the ceiling were also covered in bird dung.
One trainer told The News that pigeons have even landed on his table in the track's restaurant to munch on his bread.
A racing fan said he recently saw a pigeon pecking at a salad bar crouton bowl.
The roof leaks, and rain and melted snow continue to drip on fans.
The New York City Board of Health has not returned calls and emails from The News regarding conditions there.

Casino officials have offered apologies for the filthy conditions at the track but are not responsible for cleaning the NYRA side of the building.

[richiebee]

miff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> A spokesman for the New York Racing Association,
> which operates the track (seen here), declined to
> comment on the sexual assault case.

> The nearly 120-year-old Ozone Park venue has
> deteriorated rapidly in recent years.

> Racing association President and Chief Executive
> Officer Chris Kay has talked about enhancing the
> fan experience at racetracks, but Aqueduct has
> clearly seen better days.

> As the Daily News reported this month, the
> Malaysian-based Genting Group, which opened its
> Resorts World New York Casino at the track in
> 2010, collects an average of $66 million a month
> in profits from slot machines at the site.
> The racing association receives 7% of that money
> but apparently is not willing to spend money on
> maintenance.
>

>
> One source told The News that security officers
> are required to search the building thoroughly
> when they close for the night because homeless
> people have been squatting at the track.

> Stairwells and the press box were covered with a
> thick coat of pigeon droppings before they were
> cleaned recently.

> The poles supporting the ceiling were also covered
> in bird dung.

> One trainer told The News that pigeons have even
> landed on his table in the track's restaurant to
> munch on his bread.

> A racing fan said he recently saw a pigeon pecking
> at a salad bar crouton bowl.

> The roof leaks, and rain and melted snow continue
> to drip on fans.

> The New York City Board of Health has not returned
> calls and emails from The News regarding
> conditions there.
>
> Casino officials have offered apologies for the
> filthy conditions at the track but are not
> responsible for cleaning the NYRA side of the
> building.

The sexual assault is of course regrettable, and, as a 1970s NYC cop might
say, \"the alleged perpetrator has been apprehended and is currently being
held at Rikers\", but I want to focus on the condition of the facilities. I do
not know what Staten Island\'s Jerry Bossert\'s relationship is with NYRA, but
in addition to this article, Bossert recently tweeted photos of the decrepit
press box facilities at Aqueduct.

Apparently some clean up was undertaken after these photos were made public,
so Bossert should be hailed, not hated.

Sad to read about the avian intruders at Equestris. I saw this in December
and convinced myself that it couldn\'t be so, that the bird had to be
outside, but indeed a closer look showed that there were at least two or
three pigeons and even a gull flying around Equestris.

After live racing has been conluded, Equestris closes, but the doors between
the general seating area of the third floor and the restaurant are unlocked.
In the area of the restaurant nearest the clubhouse turn, people fill the
tables in the dimly lit room and watch monitors tuned into racing from GP and
SA. These monitors provide most of the light in the high ceilinged room and
the atmosphere on a dark winter late afternoon might remind SoCalMan of a
facility in Moscow where he might have enjoyed a few races.

I have suggested to the three pals I make annual visits to Equestris with
that maybe we should investigate the new Meadowlands facility, which has
numerous dining options, none of which serves squab or fowl unless it is
ordered off the menu.

[miff]

NYRA\'s dilemma.Cuomo has basically said \"shut Aqueduct down\" calling it a waste. I hear NYRA is reluctant to spend lots of money to give AQU a face lift.As Bossert notes, NYRA taking down big time money from the slots but the list of capital improvements at NYRA tracks far exceed the money they now have.

...a tough call.