April 18, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez Renovations for a playground and basketball courts at the Queensbridge Houses are in the works, with Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer holding a ground breaking ceremony for one of multiple courts there yesterday. The repairs to the basketballs courts at the Queensbridge Houses stem from the 2016 participatory budgeting cycle,… Read more »
April 16, 2018 By Tara Law Permits have been filed for a 7-story residential building on 29th Street in Astoria. The new 20-unit apartment building will rise at 30-38 29th St. The building will replace an existing three story home, although demolition permits have not yet been filed. The structure will be 70 feet tall… Read more »
April 16, 2018 By Tara Law The Rock Health and Fitness, located at 21-15 31st St., is moving across 31st Street to make way for a small-format Target store. The Rock will relocate to the cellar of the new development going up at 22-06 31st St, according to Steve Rabinoff, the architect behind the new… Read more »
April 16, 2018 By Christian Murray Councilmember Costa Constantinides plans to run for higher office in 2021 and all indications are that it will be for Queens Borough President. Constantinides held a fundraiser in Astoria last week and the highest donation sought was $3,850. That figure is the maximum allowed for the borough president race… Read more »
April 13, 2018 By Tara Law The Astoria Boulevard subway station will be undergoing a major overhaul– starting in late June. The MTA presented its plans to upgrade the station–which includes the installation of elevators–at a Community Board 1 committee meeting this week. The work is expected to be “substantially completed” by 2020, according to Florence… Read more »
April 12, 2018 By Tara Law Police are searching for three men in connection to five burglaries and one attempted burglary across Astoria in February and March. The first known incident took place at a bodega at 23-38 31 Street on Feb. 26 at 7 a.m., police say. The man police call “individual number two”… Read more »
April 10, 2018 By Tara Law A pair of volunteers made a shocking discovery while picking up trash along the Astoria Park shoreline Saturday morning— a gun in a plastic bag. Laura Picallo and Laura Aguinaga found the weapon while gathering trash with about 30 volunteers from the Astoria Park Alliance, a local conservation nonprofit,… Read more »
April 10, 2018 By Christian Murray The police are looking for two suspects who stole a woman’s unattended purse inside Dunkin’ Donuts on 48th Street last month. The police released photos yesterday of the suspects who allegedly grabbed the victim’s purse from her chair while she had stepped outside the 35-00 48th Street establishment at… Read more »
April 9, 2018 By Tara Law Longtime Astoria event venue Riccardo’s by the Bridge reopened two days after being temporarily closed by the Health Department. The venue, located at 21-01 24th Ave., was closed on April 3 after the health inspector gave it 43 sanitary violations points. Riccardo’s was permitted to reopen after it passed an… Read more »
April 9, 2018 By Tara Law A city employee was arrested after attacking her girlfriend— and the police officer who arrived to arrest her— at the Giorgio Hotel in Long Island City/Astoria yesterday. Human Resources Administration employee Octayvia Scott, 26, was arrested around 2:05 p.m. after an argument with her 26-year-old girlfriend at the 38-60… Read more »