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 Allie Griffin A group of Astoria residents hosted an event Saturday to garner support for the transformation of a long-neglected lot into a community garden for neighbors in the area. The newly-formed Astoria Urban Agriculture Alliance (AUAA) is working to create a shared community garden and educational space out of an… Read more »
Oct. 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin An effort to revitalize the neglected Hallets Cove peninsula along the Astoria waterfront will begin this winter, local Council Member Costa Constantinides announced Monday. Construction crews will remove a nearly-70-year-old decaying pier at the site and plant new wetland vegetation in its place to restore its natural ecology. They’ll… Read more »
Oct. 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin New York City public school families will have just one chance to opt into in-person classes for the rest of the school year — beginning next week. Families who had opted into fully-remote classes, but now want to switch back to the city’s blended learning model — in which… Read more »
Oct. 23, 2020 By Allie Griffin A teenage daredevil scaled the Queensboro Bridge Thursday evening and livestreamed the stunt to an audience watching online. Malik Sanchez, 18, climbed up onto a support beam of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge — high above rush hour traffic below — just before 5 p.m., police said. The teen,… Read more »
Oct. 23, 2020 By Allie Griffin [This story has been updated to reflect that the Open Streets program has no set end date at this time.] The city will keep the 34th Avenue Open Street going as the Department of Transportation (DOT) looks into a plan for its “long-term” transformation. Residents and local elected officials… Read more »
Oct. 21, 2020 By Allie Griffin A group of Sunnyside residents, a local nonprofit organization and a property owner have all come together to turn an empty lot into a composting site. The ad hoc group of residents— who go by the name of the 45th Street Composters — are collecting food scraps at an… Read more »
Oct. 21, 2020 By Allie Griffin Governor Andrew Cuomo has extended the statewide moratorium on commercial evictions and foreclosures from Oct. 20 through to the end of the year. He signed an executive order extending it Tuesday — the same day the emergency moratorium was set to expire. Cuomo first announced a state moratorium on… Read more »
Oct. 20, 2020 By Allie Griffin U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested 54 undocumented immigrants in the greater New York City area as part of a recent move to target sanctuary cities such as New York. The 54 immigrants are among hundreds of undocumented people ICE officers arrested in sanctuary cities across the… Read more »
Oct. 20, 2020 By Allie Griffin Queens Congresswoman Grace Meng and Long Island Congressman Peter King are redoubling their efforts to push a bill through Congress that would provide monetary aid to struggling restaurant owners. The pair met with industry leaders Friday just three days before the state moratorium on commercial evictions were set to… Read more »