Jan. 30, 2025 By Christian Murray Thomas Ballis, a lifelong Astoria resident, knows the neighborhood like the back of his hand. “I was born and raised in Astoria,” said Ballis, a real estate developer who has built seven residential projects, all in the district. “I know the neighborhood inside out. I know every block. I… Read more »
July 2, 2024, By Shane O’Brien The Long Island City Partnership (LICP) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week to launch its “Lumina Arcana” public art project on Vernon Boulevard. The artwork, designed by Long Island City-based artist Kenny Greenberg of Krypton Neon, features two large neon-light-clad pergolas situated on either side of Vernon Boulevard’s commercial… Read more »
July 1, 2024 By Shane O’Brien Hundreds of people flocked to the Long Island City waterfront on Saturday, June 29, for the third-annual Queens Irish Heritage Festival, hosted by the New York Irish Center. The event, which was initially scheduled to take place last September, but was postponed due to inclement weather, featured three hours… Read more »
March 22, 2023 By Michael Dorgan A shocking video has been posted online showing an enraged couple violently attacking a man in the middle of a Woodside road on March 17, with the woman pummeling the bloodied victim in the head with a baseball bat and her boyfriend then appearing to stab him in the… Read more »
March 21, 2023 By Michael Dorgan Sunnyside Shines will kick off its annual Restaurant Week Wednesday with an all-time record of 46 eateries slated to participate in the event. Sunnyside Restaurant Week, now in its eleventh year, is scheduled to take place from March 22 through April 3, and food lovers will get a chance… Read more »
March 21, 2023 By Michael Dorgan Police have released video of two suspects who mugged a man inside a Jackson Heights subway station in the early hours of Saturday morning, March 18. The suspects approached the 46-year-old victim at around 2:30 a.m. while he was on the northbound 7 train platform inside the 82nd Street-Jackson… Read more »
March 20, 2023 By Michael Dorgan Community Board 2 has called on state lawmakers to pass legislation that would make it easier to convert commercial buildings to residential use and lift density restrictions in order to tackle the housing crisis. The measures, if passed into law, would pave the way for vacant or unused commercial… Read more »
March 16, 2023 By Michael Dorgan Police are looking for a group of teens who beat up a 15-year-old boy with a mop stick and then robbed his sneakers at an Astoria subway station on Sunday, March 12. The five suspects approached the victim while he was on an R train platform inside the Steinway… Read more »
March 16, 2023 By Michael Dorgan Police have released images of a suspect wanted for allegedly beating a man over the head with a metal pipe outside a bar/restaurant in Jackson Heights last month. The suspect allegedly pummeled the 38-year-old victim with the pipe in front of El Canelazo, an Ecuadorian bar/restaurant located at 80-04… Read more »
March 15, 2023 By Michael Dorgan A disgraced former Catholic deacon from Maspeth has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for having sex with three teenage boys, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. Rogelio Vega, 52, — who previously served as a deacon at Saint Sebastian Church in Woodside — was sentenced in Brooklyn Federal court… Read more »