July 3, 2019 By Christian Murray Hundreds of mourners turned out this morning to pay tribute to 9/11 first responder Luis Alvarez. The mass was held at Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria, the parish that Alvarez’ parents and his siblings attended when he was boy living in the Ditmars section of Astoria. Uniformed officers lined… Read more »
July 3, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan The count of roughly 4,000 absentee and affidavit ballots is underway in the Queens District Attorney Democratic Primary. Counting began early this morning at the Board of Elections’ (BOE) Forest Hills office and is expected to go until 9 p.m. this evening and may continue on Friday. BOE received… Read more »
July 3, 2019 By Shane O’Brien Four units in Astoria have been added to the City’s affordable housing lottery, each with a monthly rent of $2,300. The units, all one-bedroom apartments, require applicants to have a minimum yearly income of $78,000 in order to qualify. Individual households must earn between $78,858 and $97,110 yearly, while… Read more »
July 2, 2019 By Shane O’Brien A funeral will be held in Astoria on Wednesday for a 9/11 first responder who played a significant role in the ongoing fight for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Luis Alvarez, a former NYPD detective, died of colorectal cancer in hospice on Saturday at the age of 53. … Read more »
July 2, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan Tiffany Cabán’s narrow lead in the Queens District Attorney race has widened by more than 100 votes as a recanvassing of voting machines from last week’s election came to a close yesterday. Cabán has now won a total of 34,104 votes compared to Borough President Melinda Katz’s 32,905, Patch… Read more »
July 1, 2019 By Christian Murray A local man was arrested Sunday for slashing four people outside a bar in Astoria early Sunday morning. Police said that Valon Ahmetovic, of 23-03 Newtown Ave., got into a verbal argument with four men inside McCaffrey & Burke, an Irish pub located at 28-54 31st St. The dispute… Read more »
June 29, 2019 By Christian Murray Elected officials cut the ribbon on the expanded East Elmhurst Library Friday. The library, located at 95-06 Astoria Blvd., was originally built in 1972 as a 7,352 square foot brown brick building. Today, the building is 4,290 square feet bigger and includes a new multi-purpose assembly space that accommodates… Read more »
June 28, 2019 By Christian Murray A fight broke out between two women at the Bel Aire Diner in Astoria earlier this month that left a bystander with a cut face. The two women got into a heated argument at about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 15 at the 31-91 21st St. diner before it… Read more »
June 27, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan With several thousand absentee and paper ballots left to be counted in Queens District Attorney Democratic primary, Borough President Melinda Katz has not yet conceded to insurgent candidate Tiffany Cabán. Cabán, who earned a slight lead over Katz of 1,090 votes with 98 percent of precincts reporting, declared victory… Read more »
June 26, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan As election results rolled in last night for the Queens District Attorney race, a stark contrast appeared between voters in eastern and western Queens. Support for Tiffany Cabán, a 31-year-old queer Latina public defender, was overwhelmingly strong on the western side of the borough, particularly in Astoria, Long Island… Read more »