March 14, 2021 By Christina Santucci The family of a woman shot and killed in Astoria Friday night has received a massive outpouring of support with more than $30,000 raised for them in just one day. A GoFundMe page was launched by the family of Gudelia Vallinas, 37, who was tragically killed by a stray… Read more »
March 12, 2021 By Michael Dorgan The owners of an Afghan restaurant in Astoria plan to open a similar venue in Long Island City this summer. The restaurant, which will be called Sami’s Kebab House, is slated to open at 47-38 Vernon Blvd. in August–where the now-shuttered Four Winters ice cream store was located. The… Read more »
March 12, 2021 By Christian Murray Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, a candidate for Queens Borough President, will change the make-up of community boards by appointing younger, more diverse members–if elected. He said that nearly two-thirds of the members on the 14 community boards in Queens are over the age of 55, and the boards… Read more »
March 12, 2021 By Allie Griffin Governor Andrew Cuomo refused to step down Friday despite mounting calls for his resignation from powerful federal lawmakers after six women accused him of sexual harassment. The vast majority of the Democratic members of New York’s congressional delegation — including several from Queens — called for Cuomo to resign… Read more »
March 12, 2021 By Allie Griffin Queens Congressmembers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Grace Meng, Carolyn Maloney and Nydia Velazquez are all calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign amid a flurry of sexual harassment allegations. The congressmembers are among the latest to call on Cuomo to step aside and allow the lieutenant governor to take over. Cuomo… Read more »
March 11, 2021 By Allie Griffin A Queens food writer and a group of real estate developers have joined forces to launch Astoria Eats, a new website that features a curation of food items from several Astoria eateries. The website offers a selection of menu items from Astoria-based restaurants curated by Joe DiStefano, a food… Read more »
March 11, 2021 By Christian Murray Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and eight members of New York’s congressional delegation have penned a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo expressing their opposition to NRG Energy’s plan to overhaul its Astoria power plant, saying that the plant would still rely on fossil fuels and would continue to emit dangerous… Read more »
March 11, 2021 By Allie Griffin A Flushing couple has been indicted on sex trafficking charges for allegedly bringing two women into the country from Korea and forcing them into prostitution, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today. Jung Ja Ornstein, 62, and Eric Ornstein, 49, allegedly arranged the transportation of the two women from… Read more »
March 11, 2021 By Allie Griffin More than 55 state legislators, including 14 from Queens, are calling for Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign amid mounting sexual harassment allegations and the state’s nursing home death scandal. The Democratic lawmakers released a joint statement Thursday demanding Cuomo resign and allow the lieutenant governor to take over for… Read more »
March 11, 2021 By Christian Murray Three tax preparers—one from Flushing and two from Woodside—were busted for fraud following sting operations conducted by undercover investigators. Yachun Lin, of ETS Tax Services on Main Street, was charged with tax fraud after she filed a return on behalf of an undercover investigator that contained bogus information in… Read more »