March 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling for a 100,000-square-foot temporary hospital to be built at the site of Queens Aqueduct Racetrack. The governor is working to increase hospital capacity as the number of cases of coronavirus continues to increase across the state. There are now more than 44,000 cases statewide,… Read more »
March 27, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The city is shutting down most building sites to curb the spread of coronavirus and protect construction workers from getting infected. Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared that non-essential construction will end today, effectively bringing the private construction sector to a halt, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on WNYC Friday…. Read more »
March 27, 2020, By Michael Dorgan Council Member Costa Constantinides has called on the Parks Department to provide additional Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) officers around Astoria Park this weekend to enforce social distancing guidelines. Constantinides has asked for the extra supervision to disperse crowds in order to help stem the spread of COVID-19 after large… Read more »
March 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin Queens Council Member Francisco Moya sent a desperate plea to President Donald Trump today asking the federal government to send more resources to Elmhurst Hospital. The hospital saw 13 patients die of coronavirus in a 24-hour period on Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic has hit Queens the hardest in… Read more »
March 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin More and more New Yorkers are dying from the coronavirus and the virus has killed more residents of Queens than any other borough. Nearly 300 residents in New York City have died of COVID-19 complications and about a third of all deaths have been in Queens. As of 8:45… Read more »
March 25, 2020 By Christian Murray The police found a 96-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man both dead in an Astoria house this morning with multiple stab wounds to the body. Police were called out to 25-35 14th Place at around 8 a.m. where they discovered the pair both with stab wounds. They were pronounced… Read more »
March 26, 2020 By Christian Murray Church parishioners throughout Queens and Brooklyn are contracting the coronavirus and the Diocese of Brooklyn is releasing the names of the churches where the sick recently attended. The diocese, which officially ended Catholic church services in Queens and Brooklyn on March 16, is making the announcements to let fellow… Read more »
March 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin A 43-year-old man was assaulted by a group of men who tried to steal his cell phone at an Astoria subway station last month. The victim was riding a northbound N train on Feb. 18 when several men approached him and started a dispute at around 11 p.m. The… Read more »
March 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin New York City will release 300 more inmates from Rikers Island amid fears of the coronavirus spreading across the sprawling jail facility. The move comes after the mayor announced last week that 40 inmates from Rikers Island were set to be released on Friday. On Sunday he announced a further 23 prisoners… Read more »
By Yoav Gonen, THE CITY This story was originally published on 3/25/20 by THE CITY The city’s public Elmhurst Hospital in Queens has been overrun with seriously ill coronavirus patients — including 13 who died in a 24-hour span, officials said Wednesday. A spokesperson for the city public hospital systems said Elmhurst is “at the… Read more »