You are reading

Alleged Forest Hills ‘Duck Sauce Killer’ Released on $500K Bail

Glenn Hirsch walking out of the 112th precinct in June. Zhiwen Yan and his wife Eva Zhao (GoFundMe) and screenshot of Yan on his bike.

June 28, 2022 By Czarinna Andres

A Briarwood man who allegedly gunned down a food delivery worker in Forest Hills in late April has been released on bail.

Glenn Hirsch, 51, appeared in court in Kew Gardens Monday and a judge set bail at $500,000. He has been charged for the shooting death of Zhiwen Yan, 45, and will now remain free while awaiting trial.

Hirsch’s attorney Michael Horn argues that his client is innocent and that the police have nabbed the wrong person.

Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder set strict guidelines as a condition of Hirsch’s release, which includes monitoring by an ankle bracelet and limitations as to where he can go outside of his apartment.

Hirsch is accused of fatally shooting Yan at around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 30. Yan was shot in the chest while on his scooter making deliveries for the Great Wall Chinese restaurant located at 104-37 Queens Blvd.

Great Wall Restaurant, located at 104-37 Queens Blvd in Forest Hills

Yan, a married father of three, had worked at the restaurant for more than a decade. He had immigrated to the U.S. from China about 20 years ago.

Cops said Hirsch had a grudge against the restaurant, having had multiple arguments with workers at the eatery. He was particularly upset that he had been shorted duck sauce while making an order late last year.

The restaurant’s owner said Hirsch had been harassing them in recent times and that he had vandalized his car and showed up one time with a gun.

Police arrested Hirsch earlier this month, with Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz issuing a statement at the time.

“A petty dispute over a takeout order became an obsessive point of contention for the defendant, who began to stalk and harass employees at the restaurant for months,” Katz said. “The tragic end result was the murder of a hard-working employee.”

Hirsch has been ordered to stay in his home 24 hours day, except to visit his lawyer, doctor or do exercise for no more than one hour per day.

He is not permitted to go near the Great Wall Restaurant and is barred from going within a mile of airports or leaving New York City. Any violation of the terms or conditions is likely to result in his bail being revoked.

Holder told Hirsch that the public will most likely make sure that he complies.

“Apparently there are enough people around who just hate you that I’m sure they’re going to take a picture of you if they see you in an area where you should not be and send it to the court,” Holder said.

Congressmember Grace Meng tries to comfort Eva Zhao, whose husband Zhiwen Yen was shot and killed in Forest Hills on the April 30, while making a delivery for a Chinese restaurant. Yen, who lived in Middle Village, leaves behind a wife and three kids, ages 2, 12 and 14.

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Queens Public Library hosts conversation with Astoria author on borough history

Borough history geeks will want to mark Tuesday, April 4, on their calendars for the Queens Public Library’s Queens Memory Project online talk with Astoria author Rebecca Bratspies. The processor at CUNY Law in Long Island City will discuss her new book, “Naming Gotham: The Villains, Rogues and Heroes Behind New York’s Place Names,” and take a deep dive into the lives of the people for whom many Queens places are named, some of which have become synonymous with congestion, recreation or culture.

“Queens is the most diverse place on the planet. That diversity is our greatest strength. Our patchwork of unique neighborhoods has welcomed successive waves of immigrants, each adding incredible foods and traditions to our vibrant civic life,” Bratspies said. “Yet it is striking how few of the names that grace Queens’ major infrastructure actually reflect that diversity. By tracing the lives of the people whose names have become New York’s urban shorthand for congestion, recreation, and infrastructure, Naming Gotham offers readers an accessible way to understand the complexity of multiracial, multicultural New York City.”

Mayor aims to streamline leadup to city’s public review process to better attack affordable housing crisis

Long before the cement trucks begin lining up on Tom Seaver Way and shovels hit the ground on the ambitious Willets Point project across from Citi Field, touted as a transformational endeavor that will bring a 25,000-seat soccer stadium and 2,500 affordable homes to the Iron Triangle, it must first go through the city’s arduous public review process known as Uniformed Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).

The largest 100% affordable, new construction housing project in four decades will be scrutinized by the Department of City Planning, local community boards, the borough president and Borough Board and the City Council before it ever lands on the desk of Mayor Eric Adams.

Parks Department launches new maintenance initiative to address cleanliness in public greenspaces in Queens and throughout NYC

With temperatures rising and days growing longer, the NYC Parks Department has launched a new maintenance initiative that will deploy 240 newly hired full-time staff to address cleanliness in city parks during peak days and hours.

The so-called “Second Shift” will collect trash and litter and mitigate graffiti at 100 hot spots in 62 parks across the five boroughs. The additional shift will operate from Thursday to Sunday in the evening hours to create cleaner parks while also fighting the scourge of rats — a frequent target of Mayor Eric Adams, who announced the new program in November as part of his “Get Stuff Done” initiative.

Middle Village school encouraging students to walk to school on National Walking Day

P.S./I.S. 49 in Middle Village school is encouraging its students to walk to school on April 5 in celebration of National Walking Day.

According to the school’s Parent/Teacher Coordinator Christina Chiaramonte, the initiative started when she learned about National Walking Day from a local parent and thought it would be a fun idea for students. Additionally, she said the effort could potentially help to alleviate vehicular traffic around the perimeter of the school, creating a safer environment for students.

Hero cops from Queens’ 105th Precinct perform life-saving CPR on 15-month-old baby

A pair of police officers from the 105th Precinct in Queens Village performed life-saving CPR on a 15-month-old baby in Brookville earlier this month, according to the NYPD.

Police responded to a 911 call regarding an unconscious baby at a residence near 226th Street and 146th Avenue in Brookville just after 2 a.m. on March 8. The baby’s family was present at the time of the incident and made the 911 call, according to a police spokesperson.