Oct. 29. 2020 By Christian Murray If the gas line is down–the rent needs to come down with it, according to Astoria elected officials. State Sen. Mike Gianaris announced today that he is introducing legislation that provides rent relief for NYCHA tenants should they experience utility outages. The bill, which will be co-sponsored in the… Read more »
Oct. 29, 2020 By Christian Murray A Corona man has been indicted by a Queens Grand jury on murder, manslaughter and other charges for the stray-bullet killing of a woman who was in her Jackson Heights apartment last month. Issam Elabbar, 31, was arraigned today on a seven-count indictment including murder in the second degree… Read more »
Oct. 29, 2020 By Allie Griffin Police have cuffed a 56-year-old man who allegedly tagged more than 20 cars with “AOC” and “BLM” graffiti in Jackson Heights two nights in a row. Officers arrested Heriberto Torres, of 95th Street, for allegedly spray-painting 26 cars parked along 77th Street with the acronyms for U.S. Rep. Alexandria… Read more »
Oct. 28, 2020 By Michael Dorgan A dilapidated area in front of the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park has been revamped following a major redevelopment by the city. Park and elected officials cut the ribbon Wednesday to mark the unveiling of a new mist garden and other upgrades at the Fountain of the Fairs in… Read more »
Oct. 29, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Police are searching for two suspects who robbed a Jackson Heights bodega at knifepoint early Monday and made off with $500 cash. The suspects entered Mehboob Grocery, located at 83-09 37th St., on Oct. 26 at around 1 a.m. and pointed a knife at an employee who was working… Read more »
Oct. 28, 2020 By Allie Griffin Small business owners will soon be able to expand their storefront onto the sidewalk as part of a new Open Storefronts initiative the City will launch on Friday. Retail shops will be able to sell their wares on sidewalks in front of their storefronts from Oct. 30 through Dec…. Read more »
Oct. 28, 2020 By Michael Dorgan An Astoria resident and Sunnyside community leader has received a national award – and a $50,000 grant – for her work in helping needy residents through the COVID-19 shutdown. Jaime-Faye Bean, who is the director of Sunnyside Shines and co-founder of Queens Together, was named a recipient of the… Read more »
Oct. 28, 2020 By Christian Murray A man has been arrested for trying to lure an 11-year-old girl into his vehicle in Corona Monday morning. Frank Ayala, 28, allegedly followed the girl in the vicinity of 103rd Street and Strong Avenue at around 8:30 a.m., police said. He then tried to entice the 11-year-old into… Read more »
Oct. 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin Several Queens lawmakers are calling on U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer to expand the Supreme Court after Justice Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in Monday night, cementing a conservative majority for generations to come. Zohran Mamdani, the Assembly Member Elect for District 36 in Astoria, issued a statement Tuesday calling… Read more »
Oct. 27, 2020 By Christian Murray The New York City Board of Elections announced today that it will be expanding its hours for the final three days of early voting. The board’s commissioners said at their meeting today that they would expand the hours on Friday, Oct. 30 through Sunday, Nov. 1. The announcement follows… Read more »