March 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling for a 100,000-square-foot temporary hospital to be built at the site of Queens Aqueduct Racetrack. The governor is working to increase hospital capacity as the number of cases of coronavirus continues to increase across the state. There are now more than 44,000 cases statewide,… Read more »
March 27, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The city is shutting down most building sites to curb the spread of coronavirus and protect construction workers from getting infected. Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared that non-essential construction will end today, effectively bringing the private construction sector to a halt, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on WNYC Friday…. Read more »
March 27, 2020, By Michael Dorgan Council Member Robert Holden, whose district covers portions of Woodside, Maspeth and surrounding areas, is calling on the mayor to help essential workers who fear contracting COVID-19 and bringing it home and infecting their loved ones. Holden has asked Mayor Bill de Blasio to provide hotel rooms for frontline… Read more »
March 26, 2020, By Michael Dorgan Elmhurst has become the epicenter of the coronavirus with many residents being infected, according to a doctor who has worked at Elmhurst Hospital for 20 years and has dealt with a flood of patients this month. The physician, who did not want to be named, said that the first… Read more »
March 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin Queens Council Member Francisco Moya sent a desperate plea to President Donald Trump today asking the federal government to send more resources to Elmhurst Hospital. The hospital saw 13 patients die of coronavirus in a 24-hour period on Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic has hit Queens the hardest in… Read more »
March 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin More and more New Yorkers are dying from the coronavirus and the virus has killed more residents of Queens than any other borough. Nearly 300 residents in New York City have died of COVID-19 complications and about a third of all deaths have been in Queens. As of 8:45… Read more »
March 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin A stretch of 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights will be closed to traffic and opened to pedestrians Friday in order to promote social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic. The DOT announced that 34th Avenue between 73rd and 80th Streets will close to cars and other vehicles from Friday, March… Read more »
March 26, 2020 By Christian Murray Church parishioners throughout Queens and Brooklyn are contracting the coronavirus and the Diocese of Brooklyn is releasing the names of the churches where those who have the virus recently attended. The diocese, which officially ended Catholic church services in Queens and Brooklyn on March 16, is making the announcements… Read more »
March 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin New York City will release 300 more inmates from Rikers Island amid fears of the coronavirus spreading across the sprawling jail facility. The move comes after the mayor announced last week that 40 inmates from Rikers Island were set to be released on Friday. On Sunday he announced a… Read more »
By Yoav Gonen, THE CITY This story was originally published on 3/25/20 by THE CITY The city’s public Elmhurst Hospital in Queens has been overrun with seriously ill coronavirus patients — including 13 who died in a 24-hour span, officials said Wednesday. A spokesperson for the city public hospital systems said Elmhurst is “at the… Read more »