Jan. 2, 2021 By Christian Murray The community fridge outside State Sen. Jessica Ramos’ office in East Elmhurst was destroyed overnight Friday—but within 12 hours her constituents donated over $20,000 to have it repaired and restocked. Ramos took to twitter Saturday morning to express her outrage that the fridge outside her 32-37 Junction Blvd. had… Read more »
Dec. 31, 2020 Staff Report A man wearing a “Red Sox” hat walked up to 74-year-old Queensbridge resident earlier this month and sucker-punched him in the face. The victim was standing on the corner of 12th Street and 40th Avenue at around 7:15 a.m. on Dec. 12 when the suspect approached him and unexpectedly punched… Read more »
Dec. 31, 2020 By Christian Murray The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Long Island City man with insider trading after he allegedly bought and sold stock in a chemical company after being tipped off that the corporation was likely to be acquired. Jason Peltz, 37, of 48th Avenue, allegedly started buying stock… Read more »
Dec. 30, 2020 By Christian Murray A developer has filed plans to rezone a property in Astoria in order to build an 11-story, 102-unit building near the 30th Avenue train station. Lynest Associates, a Queens-based company, filed an application to rezone 30-02 Newtown Ave. in March and the plans were certified by the Dept. of… Read more »
Dec. 30, 2020 By Christian Murray The mayor announced Tuesday that the city is extending a pilot program that allows storefront owners to sell goods on the sidewalk. The initiative, dubbed the Open Storefronts program, was launched at the end of October and will now be in operation until Sept. 30, 2021. The program is… Read more »
Dec. 29, 2020 By Christian Murray The Department of Transportation constructed 28.6 miles of protected bicycle lanes across the city in 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today. The mayor said 2020 was a record year in terms of mileage, outdoing 2017 when 24.9 miles of protected bicycle lanes were built. The borough of Queens… Read more »
Dec. 28, 2020 By Christian Murray The New York State legislature is set to pass a bill Monday that would block the eviction of struggling New Yorkers until May 1. Elected officials are convening a special session to pass the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act that aims to help residents remain in their… Read more »
Dec. 21, 2020 By Christian Murray Chip, the famed Astoria cookie bakery, is opening a shop in Sunnyside– half a block south of the 40th Street subway station. The Sunnyside location is scheduled to open at 45-05 40th St. Tuesday and will be the company’s sixth bakery since it was founded in Astoria in July… Read more »
Dec. 21, 2020 By Christian Murray A gas station and auto repair shop on 21st Street are going to be demolished to make way for a mixed-use building. Demolition plans were filed with the Dept. of Buildings last week to bulldoze a one-story building at 30-75 21st St. that is located on the corner of… Read more »
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for their newsletters here: ckbe.at/newsletters Dec 18, 2020, Christina Veiga, Chalkbeat New York The coronavirus pandemic will force major changes in the ways students are admitted to New York City’s competitive middle and high schools this year, the education department announced… Read more »