Pablo Calle, Co-Owner of Donato’s Italian Restaurant, Passes Away

May. 31, 2023 By Bill Parry

The block across from Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens was closed off with crime scene tape Wednesday morning as homicide detectives investigated a fatal shooting that occurred in the early morning hours of May 31.

Judge Joseph A. Zayas, who spent most of his judicial career presiding over Queens’ courtrooms, was officially installed as chief administrative judge of the New York State Unified Court System, the highest-ranking administrative position in the state judiciary.

Judge Zayas was appointed by Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson and approved by the Administrative Board of the Courts to succeed Judge Tamiko Amaker, who served as the court system’s acting chief administrative judge since December 2022.

“Judge Zayas has a stellar reputation for his keen judgment, hard work, integrity and deep knowledge of both the law and the complex workings of the New York State court system,” said Chief Judge Rowan. “He has demonstrated exceptional leadership and the highest ethical standards over the course of his distinguished judicial career. He is a forward-thinking, hands-on manager as proven throughout his tenure as administrative judge for criminal matters in Queens County, where he implemented numerous reforms and programs to improve the delivery of justice.”

The chief administrative judge supervises the daily administration and operation of the Unified Court System, which has a budget of $3.3. billion, with 3,600 state and locally paid judges and nearly 15,000 non-judicial employees in over 300 courthouses spanning 62 counties.

Councilwoman Joann Ariola brought the Queens Symphony Orchestra to Russo’s on the Bay on May 22 for the Night at the Opera – a free concert event that drew more than 200 people to the Howard Beach events hall located at 162-45 Cross Bay Blvd.

“It was truly an honor to continue funding such a wonderful program, and to bring this great music to so many people,” Ariola said. “We were able to bring so many people together for a free night of music – that’s what this is all about, letting taxpayer dollars work for the taxpayer, and providing programs like this that give our residents a nice night out to just unwind and enjoy themselves.”

An Edgemere man was sentenced to 19 years in prison Tuesday for attempted murder in the shooting of an off-duty NYPD officer who he tried to carjack in Far Rockaway last year.

Chad Collie, 20, of Rockaway Beach Boulevard, pleaded guilty last month before Queens Supreme Court Justice Toni Cimino to attempted murder in the second degree.

Homeless advocates penned a letter to a Manhattan Supreme Court judge opposing Mayor Eric Adams’ recent legal motion calling for the suspension of the city’s decades-old right-to-shelter law amid the ongoing migrant influx.

The letter, sent last Thursday and released Tuesday, comes in response to Adams last week filing a court motion to exempt the city from its legal mandate — established by the 1984 Callahan v. Carey consent decree — to provide shelter to single adults and adult couples when it “lacks the resources and capacity” to do so. The mayor and top administration officials say they’re not seeking to abolish the right-to-shelter, but rather “clarity” from the court that would give them more “flexibility” in finding suitable housing for tens of thousands of migrants.

A day before the city reopened nearly 70 blocks of public beaches along the Rockaway peninsula for the Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. Postal Service and National Park Service hosted a special event at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel to honor the piping plover, an endangered shorebird featured on new stamps.

In attendance were members of the NYC Plover Project, a nonprofit with more than 250 volunteers, who have been on the beaches since March preparing for the summer swim season, who celebrated the newly released stamp sheet commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.

An FDNY maritime unit pulled off a daring rescue of three boaters who were stranded on the Breezy Point Jetty on Sunday.

FDNY Marine 3, based in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, responded to a report of a vessel in distress at the jetty which is located at the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean and Jamaica Bay at the westernmost end of the Rockaway Peninsula.

Bayside High School hosted its annual Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair Friday. Students from the Career and Technical Education Humanities and Nonprofit Management program each pitched their socially responsible products to students, staff and others in attendance.

Each of the 11th grade students in the program have been taking a college credit course from Farmingdale State College called Social Entrepreneur. The students were divided into 17 groups of five and tasked with coming up with innovative ideas to create businesses while also being socially responsible. The Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair grants them with the opportunity to work on pitching their products to potential customers.

May 30, 2023 By Michael Dorgan

A man on an e-scooter who was wanted by police for attacking several residents in Astoria and Long Island City has been arrested and charged with hate crime assaults.

On Friday, May 26, the second annual Memorial Day Ceremony in Kissena Park brought live music, local dignitaries, veterans groups, a presentation of the Colors by members of the Francis Lewis High School JROTC, a flower-laying ceremony and more to the Flushing community.

Those in attendance included Councilwoman Sandra Ung, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, state Senator John Liu, veterans groups, local students, Boy Scout Troop 253 and others.