Sept. 25, 2020 By Allie Griffin New York City’s popular outdoor dining initiative will now be year-round and permanent, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today. The “Open Restaurants” program, where restaurants can set up outdoor dining on sidewalks and streets, will continue into the fall and winter months, de Blasio said. The “Open Streets: Restaurants”… Read more »
Sept. 25, 2020 By Allie Griffin The city is threatening to shut down nonessential businesses and limit gatherings in neighborhoods with coronavirus clusters if cases continue to rise. Kew Gardens and Far Rockaway, along with several neighborhoods in Brooklyn, are in danger of a second shutdown if the cases don’t decline by Monday, the Health… Read more »
Sept. 24, 2020 By Allie Griffin Queens State Sen. Jessica Ramos and City Comptroller Scott Stringer are calling on the city to make its Open Streets program a year-round initiative. The officials penned a letter to the mayor Thursday asking him to extend the program that turns specific streets over to pedestrians and restaurants beyond… Read more »
Sept. 24, 2020 By Christian Murray The Forest Hills Library, located at 108-19 71 Ave., will reopen Monday after being closed since March. The Queens Public Library, which oversees the branch, announced today that it will reopen it for “to-go” service on Sept. 28. The Queens library system will have reopened 22 branches for “to-go”… Read more »
Sept. 24, 2020 By Allie Griffin The Queens Memory Project, an ongoing community archiving program supported by the Queens Public Library and Queens College Library, will celebrate its 10-year anniversary next week with a Facebook Live event. The project, in which volunteers record interviews with Queens residents, has collected more than 600 oral histories of… Read more »
Sept. 23, 2020 By Allie Griffin More than 9,000 city employees will be furloughed as the city faces a major budget deficit spurred by the coronavirus shutdown, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today. Thousands of managerial and non-union city employees must take five days of furlough between October and March, which will save the city… Read more »
Sept. 23, 2020 By Allie Griffin A motorcyclist is dead after blowing a red light and hitting a pedestrian in the crosswalk at a Middle Village intersection on Saturday. Daniel Fernandez Torres, 27, of Maspeth, ran through a red light on his motorcycle and struck a 43-year-old woman who was crossing the street at the… Read more »
Sept. 22, 2020 By Allie Griffin The Bed Bath & Beyond in Flushing will close by the end of the year along with more than 60 other locations across the country as the company restructures after COVID-19 delivered a blow to the business. The Flushing store inside the Shops at Skyview mall, located at 40-24… Read more »
Sept. 22, 2022 By Christian Murray Drag racing is a problem throughout Queens—from Sunnyside to Fresh Meadows–and a Flushing legislator is looking to clamp down on the problem. Assemblywoman Nily Rozic is introducing legislation that would authorize the city to extend the hours that existing speed cameras are in operation in areas known for drag… Read more »
Sept 22, 2020 By Allie Griffin A Bronx man was indicted on murder charges in Queens Supreme Court Monday for a hit-and-run box truck crash that killed a new father in Middle Village this summer. Ramon Pena, 37, was indicted by a Queens grand jury on a slew of charges stemming from the July 30… Read more »