May 6, 2020, By Michael Dorgan Three people were arrested at a crowded vigil for a dead rapper in Queensbridge yesterday after violating social distancing rules, police said. Police said that they tried to break up a crowd of about 75 people just before 2 p.m. in the vicinity of 40th Avenue and 10th Street…. Read more »
May 6, 2020 By Allie Griffin The Queens District Attorney’s office, which opened a unit to investigate potential wrongful convictions in January, announced yesterday that it has reopened 10 such cases. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz established the Conviction Integrity Unit when she took office on January 1 — making good on one of her… Read more »
May 5, 2020 By Christian Murray Gov. Andrew Cuomo took aim at Washington today, particularly Republican leaders who are reluctant to fund state governments hard hit by the coronavirus. Cuomo, speaking at his daily press briefing, called on federal lawmakers to put partisan politics aside and include aid for state and local governments in its… Read more »
May 5, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Several Queens Congress Members have demanded the national cancellation of all rent and mortgage payments for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic – and for six months afterward. Lawmakers Grace Meng, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Carolyn Maloney, Nydia Velázquez and Hakeem Jeffries wrote to House and Senate leaders Tuesday urging them… Read more »
May 5, 2020 By Allie Griffin Two Bangladeshi women are back on the ballot in an upcoming Queens primary after a judge ruled against the Board of Elections’ (BOE) decision to remove them for technicalities last week. On Monday, Queens Supreme Court Judge Leonard Livote ordered Mary Jobaida, who hopes to unseat Cathy Nolan in… Read more »
May 5, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Several Queens Congress Members want the next COVID-19 relief bill to include assistance for bodegas, ethnic grocery stores and small independent supermarkets. Congresswoman Grace Meng announced Sunday that she wrote a letter— signed by 12 other New York Congress Members– to House leaders Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy urging… Read more »
May 4, 2020 By Allie Griffin The future of the $2.7 billion streetcar connecting western Queens to northwest Brooklyn remains uncertain, as the city now grapples with a massive budget hole brought on by COVID-19. The city had just begun the environmental review process for the streetcar project, dubbed the BQX, in February and March… Read more »
May 4, 2020 By Christian Murray Governor Andrew Cuomo said that certain regions of the state may begin to reopen on May 15, the date the state’s stay at home order is set to end. The governor said that the restrictions would only be lifted if a number of benchmarks were met. He stated that… Read more »
May 4, 2020 By Allie Griffin The city is making progress in its fight against the coronavirus with a number of key measures moving in the right direction. The mayor announced today that the three key indicators that will be used to determine when the city can reopen showed positive results. The number of new… Read more »
May 4, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Six motorcyclists who were riding recklessly near Astoria Park Saturday were nabbed by police and their bikes were confiscated, according to the NYPD. The riders were spotted in the vicinity of Shore Boulevard and Ditmars Boulevard at around 2:50 p.m. and were pulled over by police. Police discovered that… Read more »