Jan. 18, 2022 By Christian Murray The Queens Botanical Garden has named an Astoria resident and Community Board 1 member as its new executive director. Evie Hantzopoulos, who will start Jan. 24, will take over from Susan Lacerte, who retired in September after a 27-year tenure in the position. Hantzopoulos’ appointment comes at a time when… Read more »
Jan. 18, 2022 By Michael Dorgan A Forest Hills man has been arrested for repeatedly trafficking a 13-year-old boy to Queens and sexually assaulting him after they met online. Manuel Moretti, 39, was indicted in Brooklyn federal court Thursday on sex-trafficking charges after he allegedly lured the boy across state lines to his apartment on… Read more »
Jan. 18, 2022 By Allie Griffin A Flushing shopping center is hosting a Lunar New Year celebration later this month to ring in the Year of the Tiger. The Shops at Skyview, in partnership with the New York Chinese Cultural Center and the Queens Botanical Garden, is hosting the free celebration on Saturday, Jan. 29… Read more »
Jan. 14, 2022 By Michael Dorgan Queens Borough President Donovan Richards called for the establishment of a new office Thursday to centrally manage the city’s overall response to COVID-19. Richards proposed creating the “NYC Office of COVID Recovery” tasked with streamlining and improving the city’s COVID-19-related services. He said the office was needed to cut… Read more »
Jan. 14, 2022 By Sarah Kerson In 2017, two Woodside residents came together with one goal in mind: to clean up a historic site on 51st Street across from the Woodside Houses that had become an eyesore. “It was so overgrown,” said Elizabeth O’Connor, who with her then-neighbor Samantha Yeung organized efforts to create a… Read more »
Jan. 13, 2022 By Michael Dorgan A brazen arsonist threw a Molotov cocktail into an apartment in Flushing early Wednesday causing a 2- alarm fire that left four people injured – in what cops say was a drug-related incident. The suspect climbed the fire escape of a residential building, located at 34-15 Parsons Blvd., at… Read more »
Jan. 12, 2022 By Allie Griffin Approximately 200 men detained at the Rikers Island jail facility have organized a hunger strike —claiming that it is in response to being denied basic services and being forced to live in inhumane conditions. The men started the hunger strike to protest what they say is an unacceptable level… Read more »
Jan. 12, 2022 By Michael Dorgan The MTA has been sent more than $6 billion in COVID-19 relief funds from the federal government, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday. The bailout, a near $6.2 billion lump sum, is the largest one-time payment ever awarded by the Federal Transit Administration, an agency within the U.S. Dept…. Read more »
Jan. 12, 2022 Op-Ed By Diana Limongi As a parent of two children and a childcare advocate, I know all too well that families all over Queens and across New York State are having difficulty finding affordable, quality child care in their communities. This was already an issue before COVID; New York lost more than 9,500… Read more »
Jan. 12, 2022 By Allie Griffin New York City Restaurant Week returns next Tuesday with deals at local eateries across the city including more than 20 in Queens. More than 400 restaurants throughout the five boroughs are participating in Restaurant Week which runs from Jan. 18 to Feb. 13. The local businesses are offering a… Read more »