Feb. 9, 2022 By Christian Murray New York State’s indoor mask mandate will come to an end Thursday, although it will remain in effect for schools until at least early March. The mandate for businesses is being dropped statewide Thursday, although local governments and businesses have the option to continue to keep the mask rules… Read more »
Feb. 9, 2022 By Christian Murray A body was found on the G train platform at the 21st Street-Van Alst Station in Long Island City this morning, police said. The body, believed to be that of a middle-aged woman, was discovered on a bench at around 8 a.m., police said. A subway rider found her… Read more »
Feb. 8, 2022 By Michael Dorgan Police have arrested a knife-wielding man who caused chaos inside a popular East Elmhurst restaurant Saturday after getting into a heated argument. Kohrelle Brisco, 47, was arrested for harassment and menacing after he grabbed a knife from the kitchen of the Jackson Hole Diner, located at 69-35 Astoria Blvd… Read more »
Feb. 8, 2022 By Allie Griffin Council Members Nantasha Williams and Linda Lee will be leading the Queens Council Delegation. Williams and Lee were elected co-chairs of the delegation by their Queens council colleagues Friday. As co-chairs, Williams and Lee will advocate for funding for Queens during the council’s discretionary budget negotiations. They will serve… Read more »
Feb. 8, 2022 By Michael Dorgan The NYPD 114th precinct in Astoria is about to see a return of the plainclothes police team—but a local council member is opposed to these units saying they are ineffective and unfairly target minorities. The precinct is one of 30 across New York City where plain-clothes units will soon… Read more »
Feb. 7, 2022 By Christian Murray The operators of the Ravenswood Generating Station—home to the infamous red-and-white “Big Allis” smokestack in Long Island City—came under fire yet again last week. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney held a press conference outside the Ravenswood power plant on Vernon Boulevard Jan. 31, as part of her quest to have the… Read more »
Feb. 5, 2022 By Christian Murray A high-profile Astoria resident who announced in December that he was running to represent the 37th Assembly District in Albany is no longer running for office. Huge Ma, who founded the TurboVax website last year that helped connect New Yorkers to COVID-19 vaccine sites, announced Friday that he is… Read more »
Feb. 4, 2022 By Michael Dorgan President Joe Biden visited a Long Island City elementary school Thursday to learn more about how community intervention programs can combat violent crime. Biden visited P.S. 111 Jacob Blackwell, located at 37-15 13th St., to meet with school principal Dionne Jaggon and local violence interrupter teams tasked with de-escalating… Read more »
Feb. 4, 2022 By Michael Dorgan The city’s plan to convert a car lane into a pedestrian pathway on the Queensboro Bridge will be delayed until at least 2024, the DOT announced yesterday. The DOT announced Thursday that it is about to start major repairs to the upper deck of the Queensboro Bridge that will… Read more »
Feb. 3, 2022 By Christian Murray The electoral landscape of Long Island City and Astoria is about to undergo significant change with the adoption of new district maps. The new maps, which were drawn by the Democratically-controlled state Senate and Assembly, were released earlier this week—with Astoria’s State Sen. Michael Gianaris chairing the legislative task… Read more »