Jun. 7, 2024 By Iryna Shkurhan Governor Kathy Hochul surprised everyone on Wednesday when she announced that congestion pricing would be paused indefinitely. “Circumstances have changed and we must respond to the facts on the ground — not from the rhetoric from five years ago. So, after careful consideration, I have come to the difficult…
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May. 1, 2024 By Iryna Shkurhan With Mother’s Day fast approaching, Northeast Queens Assemblymember Edward Braunstein is encouraging local students to participate in his annual Essay and Poetry Contest in honor of the maternal holiday. The contest, which began in 2011, is geared toward students in grades 2-5 who reside in Assembly District 26, which…
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Apr. 2, 2024 By Iryna Shkurhan Beech Hills co-op owners in Douglaston gathered on Monday morning to hear how northeast Queens lawmakers are working to shield them from bearing the brunt of the cost of the city’s ambitious climate law. Local Law 97 went into effect in 2019 with the goal of net zero carbon…
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Nov. 9, 2023 By Ethan Marshall Around 100 members of Queens’ Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain communities, along with local leaders, gathered together to celebrate Diwali at the Helen Marshall Cultural Center in Queens Borough Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 8. Several Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain individuals and organizations were honored at the celebration as well. The celebration kicked off with the lighting of the Diya lamp, which is meant to symbolize the holiday’s message of the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Those honored at the Diwali celebration with citations included Ram Hardowar, Harish Chander Puri,…
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Oct. 27, 2023 By Ethan Marshall Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into a law a legislation authorizing a tax abatement program to provide improvements to affordable housing on Monday, Oct. 23. The legislation was sponsored by Queens state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky and Assemblymember Edward Braunstein. This legislation is meant to improve upon the J-51 Tax Abatement Program, which provided a property tax discount for co-ops and condos that needed to make certain capital improvements, while also helping to offset costs. The J-51 Program expired on June 29, 2022. The J-51 Affordable Housing Rehabilitation Legislation improves upon the program by increasing…
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