Oct. 20, 2021 By Allie Griffin All city workers must get vaccinated for COVID-19 or face unpaid leave under a new mandate Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday. The mandate requires city employees — including police officers, firefighters and sanitation workers — to get at least one dose by 5 p.m. on Oct. 29. It… Read more »
Oct. 19, 2021 By Max Parrott More than a year after communities of color in Queens bore some of the most deadly impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York City Board of Health has passed a resolution that declares racism a public health crisis. The resolution begins by recognizing the history “of structural racism… Read more »
Oct. 19, 2021 By Allie Griffin A group of Auburndale residents, business owners and local politicians are calling on the city to shut down a local bar they say has made their lives a living hell for the past eight months. Dozens rallied outside Kloud Tequila Grill, located at 192-08 Northern Blvd., Saturday to draw… Read more »
Oct. 19, 2021 Staff Report The police are looking for a man who fired off a gun outside Queens Criminal Court in Kew Gardens last week. The suspect allegedly pulled out the gun at around 12:10 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13 and fired it in front of the 120-55 Queens Blvd. courthouse. Police have released… Read more »
Oct. 18, 2021 By Allie Griffin A couple who allegedly stored a stockpile of gun-making equipment in the Rosedale home they shared with their 10-year-old daughter was charged with criminal sale of a weapon and other charges Friday. Lissette Espinal, 32, and Ricardi Kiem, 31, were arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Friday morning on a… Read more »
Oct. 18, 2021 By Michael Dorgan A 22-year-old woman is dead after the car she was riding in smashed into another vehicle near Forest Park Sunday. The victim was in the rear passenger seat of a Toyota Corolla — with her 3-year-old son — when the driver collided head-on with a Toyota Camry at the… Read more »
Oct. 15, 2021 By Christian Murray Two Democratic candidates running for city council held a press conference outside an Oakland Gardens elementary school Friday to protest the mayor’s decision to eliminate the Gifted & Talented program. Democratic nominees Linda Lee and Sandra Ung—who are both vying to represent council districts in eastern Queens—gathered in front… Read more »
Oct. 15, 2021 By Allie Griffin A new state law will soon make it illegal to threaten to report someone to ICE as a form of blackmail. The legislation, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law last week, classifies such threats as extortion or coercion under New York law and therefore a crime. “New York… Read more »
Oct. 14, 2021 By Allie Griffin Residential sales prices across Queens grew at the highest rate among the five boroughs over the past year, according to a new report. The median sales price in Queens was $580,000 in the third quarter of 2021, a 17 percent increase from the third quarter of 2020 — representing… Read more »
Oct. 15, 2021 By Michael Dorgan A city clean-up initiative that launched in April has removed 600,000 bags of trash from New York streets, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday. The City Cleanup Corps, which consists of nearly 10,000 workers, has also hand-swept more than 50,000 city blocks, repainted 900 defaced properties and cleaned 25,000… Read more »