Jan. 4, 2024 By Ethan Marshall New events come with the new year. As we enter the first weekend of 2024, there is plenty of things to do across Queens. Whether it is related to art, entertaining performances, or even contributing to the community, there are a lot of activities to keep people occupied in…
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Jan. 4, 2024 By Anthony Medina A new bill sponsored by Queens Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar aims to shut down smoke shops that are illegally selling cannabis in New York City. Rajkumar’s bill, called the SMOKEOUT Act (A8428), was introduced in Albany last week, and would grant local municipalities the power to close smoke shops caught illegally selling cannabis. Currently, the industry is primarily policed on a state level and enforcement has been limited. The bill aims to address the public’s concern about the proliferation of illegal smoke shops, which have emerged since cannabis use was legalized in 2021. “My…
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Jan. 4, 2024 By Bill Parry
A 92-year-old Bayside woman was robbed by a stranger who barged into her home near Alley Pond Park on Wednesday morning. Police from the 111th Precinct in Bayside are looking for the man who knocked on the door of the victim’s residence in the vicinity of 231st Street and 64th Avenue just before 11 a.m. on Jan. 3.
Jan. 4, 2024 By Ethan Marshall The COVID-19 pandemic led to more of the highest-earning residents of New York State who make at least $815,000 a year to leave for other states. However, they are now much less likely to move away than those in the middle class and working class, according to a study…
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Jan. 4, 2024 By Rachel Butler Residents of East Elmhurst, Astoria and Jackson Heights will be meeting with government officials on Feb. 1 to discuss the long-standing issue of sewer backups and flooding in their respective neighborhoods. The issue has been especially problematic in recent years, given the extreme weather. For instance, Hurricane Ida in…
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Jan. 3, 2024 By Bill Parry
The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has launched a probe into the shooting of 52-year-old Basche McDaniel of Manhattan who was killed during an encounter with MTA Police officers a block away from the Jamaica LIRR/AirTrain station on the night of Friday, Dec. 29.
Jan. 3, 2024 By Bill Parry The Queens District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing the case against Stalin Vera, whose 2019 robbery conviction was reversed by the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division last week. The court ruled that a prosecutor illegally denied three Black prospective jurors from serving on the jury that convicted Vera of robbery and criminal possession of stolen property on May 17, 2019. In the Dec. 27 ruling, the appellate judges determined that the defendant would have to be retried if the Queens District Attorney’s Office continues to seek a conviction in the case. The…
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Jan. 3, 2024 By Bill Parry
Three residents of the same Jackson Heights home and a man from LeFrak City in Corona were among the five people killed in the New Year’s Day crash on the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone, according to the NYPD. The fifth victim was from North Carolina.
Jan. 3, 2024 By Ethan Marshall The number of robberies spiked across Queens over the final month of 2023 when compared to the same period in 2022, according to the latest crime stats released by the NYPD on Monday. During the 28-day period from Dec. 4-31, the number of robberies rose 54.2% in northern Queens,…
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Jan. 3, 2024 By Bill Parry
St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway welcomed its first baby of the year on New Year’s Day.