June 22, 2022 By Michael Dorgan and Christian Murray The mood was tense and people were passionate but at the end of the night Community Board 1 voted against the Innovation QNS rezoning application that would bring 2,800 units to a five-block manufacturing district in Astoria. The board voted 24 to 8 to reject the… Read more »
This article was originally published by The CITY on June 21, 2022 By Greg David and Rachel Holliday Smith A sharply divided Rent Guidelines Board voted to increase rents for the city’s nearly 1 million rent regulated apartments by 3.25% in the coming year in a decision that satisfied neither tenants nor landlords. The proposal… Read more »
June 21, 2022 By Christian Murray The list of progressives getting behind the candidacy of Kristen Gonzalez for the new state senate seat that incorporates western Queens continues to grow. Gonzalez, who is running for the newly-drawn 59th District seat that includes Long Island City and Astoria, was officially endorsed today by State Sen. Michael… Read more »
June 21, 2022 By Christian Murray Community Board 2 voted earlier this month in support of the Department of Transportation’s plan to install three protected bicycle lanes in Long Island City. The vote, which was passed unanimously, has cleared the way for the DOT to install the protected bicycle lanes that will provide essential links… Read more »
June 20, 2022 By Christian Murray A group of activists and artists sent a message to the developers of the proposed Innovation QNS project Sunday night that their development is not wanted. The artists projected enormous messages on the side of one of the Kaufman Astoria buildings in Astoria that were highly critical of the… Read more »
June 20, 2022 By Michael Dorgan Police released video Sunday of three men wanted for burglarizing two businesses in the Ditmars section of Astoria last week. The alleged thieves hit a diner and a coffee store in the early hours Thursday morning – making off with nearly $3,200 cash, according to police. The first burglary… Read more »
June 20, 2022 By Alexandra Adelina Nita More than 100 murals that have gone up on walls on select Astoria streets will be showcased this weekend when the 13th annual Welling Court Mural Project is officially launched. The murals have gone up on blank walls and canvases on Welling Court and adjacent streets and will… Read more »
June 17, 2022 By Christian Murray Councilmember Vickie Paladino has faced an avalanche of criticism this week—from her council colleagues to gay rights groups—following a series of inflammatory statements she made while expressing her opposition to a program where Drag Queens read books and perform for school children. She has been accused of being a… Read more »
June 17, 2022 By Michael Dorgan Actor Robert De Niro is an ardent supporter of union workers, except when it comes to the construction of his new $600 million movie studio in Astoria. That is the view of State Senator Jessica Ramos and other unionized construction workers who held a rally Thursday outside the site… Read more »
June 16, 2022 By Christian Murray Juan Ardila, a candidate running to represent western Queens in the state Assembly and a crusader against car culture, drives a compact sports utility vehicle that has racked nearly 30 traffic violations since 2019. The black Audi Q3 has been hit with multiple speed camera violations in school zones… Read more »