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Welcome To The World’s Borough! Say hello to Queens’ newest residents born in 2025

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Jan. 6, 2025 By Athena Dawson The ball-drop babies are here! A handful of Queens families celebrated their bundle of joys as the world’s borough’s newest- and tiniest- residents swaddled their way into the  New Year. In the Rockaways, Inwood residents  Olibia Barrios Cifuentes and Marlon Rabanales welcomed their newborn baby girl, Jimena Sulemia.…

Council Member Holden accuses Gov. Hochul of ‘gaslighting’ over mental health crisis plan

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Jan. 6, 2025 By Colum Motherway Council Member Robert Holden has accused Gov. Kathy Hochul of “gaslighting the public” after she issued a plan to tackle the mental health crisis in New York. Hochul believes many crimes are linked to untreated mental illness and plans to introduce legislation to make it easier to commit…

Flushing Bay’s temporary docks to shut down, leaving dragon-boating community adrift

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Jan. 6, 2025 By Shane O’Brien In a blow to Queens’ vibrant dragon-boating community, NYC Parks has announced that the temporary docks at Flushing Bay’s World’s Fair Marina, a hub for the centuries-old sport, will close indefinitely starting in May 2025. Dragon-boating, an ancient Chinese team sport featuring large canoe-like boats adorned with dragon…

Celebrate the Year of the Snake at Flushing Town Hall this Lunar New Year

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Jan. 6, 2025 By Athena Dawson Celebrate the Year of the Snake at Flushing Town Hall this Lunar New Year. Throughout January, the arts and culture hub will hold a month-long celebration with programming from Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese and Tibetan artists.  Festivities include a shadow puppetry exhibition, a global music mashup, Korean folk…

Keeping the beat: the universal appeal of line dancing

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Jan. 6, 2025 By Christy Hinko Line dancing, a vibrant and inclusive form of social dancing, continues to captivate enthusiasts across generations and genres. Rooted in American folk traditions, it gained widespread prominence during the country music boom of the 1970s and has since evolved to include a diverse array of musical styles. On…

Congestion pricing: EMS workers say they’re set to leave Manhattan posts as toll program starts

Congestion pricing traffic on Manhattan street

Jan. 5, 2025 By Barbara Russo-Lennon Nearly 300 FDNY Emergency Medical Service workers say they’re ready to leave Midtown and Lower Manhattan, citing the financial burden congestion pricing will put on their costs of living, their union announced ahead of the toll program’s Sunday start. Like all NYC workers, members of FDNY Local 2507,…

IT’S ON: NYC opens first-in-the-nation congestion pricing toll program in Manhattan

two people unveiling a congestion pricing sign at night

Jan. 5, 2025 By Barbara Russo-Lennon After five years of debate, legal battles, false starts and logistical challenges, congestion pricing finally became a reality in New York at the stroke of midnight Sunday. The MTA’s first-in-the-nation tolling program now charges all motorists heading into areas of Manhattan south of 60th Street a $9 toll,…