Tag: daily-newsletter

Heavy rain drenches Queens neighborhoods, causing extreme flash flooding throughout the borough

Sep. 29, 2023 By Anthony Medina Amid possibly the heaviest downfall of rain in the city so far this year, residents in Queens neighborhoods were subjected to the unexpected closures of highways, some public transportation services, and substantial flooding in residential areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flash flood warning for neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan as a result of predicted heavy rainfall on Friday, Sept. 29. The flash flood alert warned early today of heavy rain, accumulating close to 2 to 3 inches of every hour — expected to remain in effect until 2:45 p.m. As…
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After losing primary race, George Grasso back on campaign trail in third-party bid for Queens district attorney

district attorney

Sep. 29, 2023 By Bill Parry The Breezy Point Republican who nearly shocked the Queens Democratic establishment in 2022, threw his support behind a third-party candidate for Queens District Attorney. Thomas Sullivan, a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, who came within 15 votes of upsetting incumbent Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, eschewed the GOP candidate Michael Mossa of Howard Beach and endorsed retired Judge George Grasso in his bid to unseat Queens DA Melinda Katz in the Nov. 7 general election. “Our public safety crisis has now become a public health crisis. Our current politicians are responsible for a man-made…
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Queens council member voices outrage over inconvenient DOT road work

Road work

Sep. 28, 2023 By Anthony Medina The New York City Department of Transportation’s planned road work being conducted during the peak hours of the day is quickly becoming a nuisance to residents in the neighborhoods of Glendale,  Middle Village and Rego Park. According to a letter sent by Council Member Robert Holden on Tuesday, Sept. 26, the milling, repaving and pedestrian ramp construction during peak traffic hours in his district are causing more problems for early morning commuters. The DOT began the milling and paving process for multiple streets in the council member’s district earlier this month and posted the…
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Nominations open for FLAG Awards honoring top NYC teachers

Flag

Sep. 28, 2023 By Rachel Butler Nominations are now open for public school teachers in Queens for the FLAG Awards, which recognize teaching excellence in the borough and across New York City. The annual program, which is in its fifth year, is adding the new category of Top Elementary School Teacher in New York City,…
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Upstate man sentenced for killing girlfriend, stuffing body in car left in Springfield Gardens: DA

kill

Sep. 28, 2023 By Bill Parry An upstate man who admitted to killing the 26-year-old mother of his two children in 2020 before stuffing her body in a car he left abandoned in Springfield Gardens, was sentenced Thursday in Queens Supreme Court to 22 years in prison. Kareem Flake, 31, of Troy, N.Y., pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree in July for killing 26-year-old Destini Smothers in November 2020. Her remains were discovered four months later in the trunk of an abandoned car that belonged to Flake. According to the charges, Destini Smothers, 26, was last seen in…
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NYC Parks reopens Jamaica Playground to the community following $4.6 million reconstruction project

DSC_1596_092723 Jamaica

Sep. 28, 2023 By Bill Parry Speaker Adrienne Adams welcomed young students from P.S. 40 Samuel Huntington Elementary School to the reopening of Jamaica Playground after a $4.6 million reconstruction project and turned a ribbon-cutting ceremony into a teachable moment for the youngsters on Sept. 27. “For far too long, neighborhoods like ours have been…
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Police searching for pair of suspects in attempted burglary of Ridgewood home

Police

Sep. 28, 2023 By Anthony Medina Police are searching for two suspects in connection with the attempted burglary of a Ridgewood residence on Wednesday. Police from the 104th Precinct responded to a 911 call of a residential burglary in the vicinity of Gates Avenue and Cypress Avenue in Ridgewood at approximately 1:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 27. The suspects forced their way into the residential building through the basement window and attempted to steal tools belonging to a 31-year-old man, police said. A female accomplice was seen waiting outside the building and acting as a lookout. Both suspects fled the…
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Queens legislators urges city to designate Maspeth firehouse as a landmark

Maspeth

Sep. 27, 2023 By Anthony Medina The city’s Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) continues to deny the Maspeth Firehouse landmark status despite the immense loss of life of firefighters due to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In a joint letter sent to the LPC chair on Friday, Sept. 22, several Queens elected officials called for the landmark preservation commission to award the historic firehouse, located at 56-29 68th St. in Maspeth, with landmark status — in recognition of the 19 brave firefighters who lost their lives on the Sept. 11 attacks. Councilman Robert Holden, in conjunction with State Senate Deputy Majority…
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Op-Ed: Any Creedmoor plan must serve the needs of eastern Queens

Creedmoor

Sep. 27, 2023 By Corey Bearak and Bryan Block For several years, the communities of eastern Queens have engaged in discussions with our community leaders, our local and state elected officials and Empire State Development (ESD) about possible reuse of 55 acres of land on the state’s Creedmoor Psychiatric Center campus. We long recognized the…
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