June 25, 2020 By Christian Murray New York City is on track to enter Phase 3 of the four-step reopening plan on Monday, July 6, Mayor Bill de Blasio said today at his daily briefing. The new phase would permit indoor dining at restaurants, as well as the reopening of nails salons, and other personal… Read more »
June 23, 2020 Staff Report Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who stunned the political world in 2018 when she was elected to represent the 14th Congressional District, has shown the establishment today that her victory two years ago was no aberration. Ocasio-Cortez, with nearly 75 percent of the scanners reported, has a significant lead over her challengers Michelle… Read more »
June 22, 2020 Staff Report New York City entered Phase 2 of its reopening plan today. Restaurants, barbershops, retail stores and offices are all able to reopen, although subject to restrictions. Up to 300,000 more people are expected to return to work starting today. This is in addition to the hundreds of thousands who were… Read more »
June 20, 2020 By Christian Murray Badrun Khan, a Sunnyside resident and a member of Queens Community Board 2, is running in the Democratic primary for the 14th Congressional District of New York. She faces incumbent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former CNBC reporter Michelle Caruso-Cabrera. We speak to Khan about her campaign to unseat Ocasio-Cortez and why… Read more »
June 18, 2020 By Christian Murray Two resolutions were introduced before the city council Thursday calling for the governor to remove Mayor Bill de Blasio from office. Council Member Eric Ulrich, a Queens Republican, introduced a resolution seeking the mayor’s ouster for allegedly not keeping the city safe during recent protests. Meanwhile, Carlos Menchaca, a… Read more »
June 18, 2020 By Christian Murray New York State faces a $14 billion deficit and more than 100 state legislators—including 18 from Queens—have pledged that they will not approve spending cuts unless taxes are raised on the wealthy. The legislators are upset that Governor Andrew Cuomo does not want to raise taxes on the wealthy… Read more »
June 18, 2020 By Christian Murray Dao Yin, a Bayside businessman and community activist, is running to be the next Queens Borough President. We spoke to Yin earlier this week. The focus of our discussion dealt with police reform, Rikers Island, COVID-19, community boards and jobs. Yin is one of several candidates in the race…. Read more »
June 18, 2020 By Christian Murray The New York City Rent Guidelines Board voted last night for a rent freeze on the nearly one million rent stabilized apartments. The 6-3 vote will see a rent freeze on one-year leases that go into effect after Sept. 30. The board ruled that on two-year leases, the rent… Read more »
June 17, 2020 By Christian Murray Community Board 1 unanimously approved the Department of Transportation’s plan for a protected bicycle lane on a stretch of Crescent Street at last night’s monthly board meeting held on Zoom. The DOT presented plans to install a protected bicycle lane on Crescent Street between the Queensboro Bridge and RFK… Read more »
June 15, 2020 By Asha MacKay The owner of CrossFit Sunnyside has dropped the CrossFit name and is rebranding in the wake of its global CEO making a number of insensitive and incendiary remarks following the death of George Floyd. Greg Glassman, the founder of the international CrossFit brand, showed little concern about Floyd’s brutal… Read more »