Aug. 22, 2023 By Bill Parry Officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) helped kickoff U.S. Open Fan Week on Aug. 21 at Corona Yard adjacent to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, where the main draw gets underway from Monday, Aug. 28, and will run through Sunday,…
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Aug. 21, 2023 By Bill Parry Flushing Meadows Corona Park now features a home for retired concrete playground animals in a quiet grove just east of the iconic Unisphere. NYC Parks hosted a retirement party for the six whimsical cement sculptures on Aug. 18, complete with party hats and cake, and issued a proclamation honoring…
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Aug. 18, 2023 By Ethan Marshall New York Mets legend David Wright took on the role of emcee for the 25th annual Battle of the Badges baseball game Thursday night at Citi Field that saw the FDNY defeat the NYPD 7-4. With the victory, the FDNY takes the series lead 13 wins, one more than…
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Aug. 17, 2023 By Bill Parry Southeast Queens elected leaders are praising Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers for negotiating a deal with the developers of Ocean Crest, a 100% affordable homeownership project in Far Rockaway, two weeks after the City Council approved the rezoning. The project, which would facilitate 89 new homeownership units in Bayswater, represents the…
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Aug. 16, 2023 By Bill Parry After years of legislative wrangling in Albany by elected leaders from southeast Queens, Far Rockaway residents will finally be able to purchase discounted rides on the Long Island Rail Road within Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan under CityTicket beginning Sunday, Aug. 20. While the program has been available to commuters…
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Aug. 15, 2023 By Bill Parry Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and the NYPD announced the borough-wide expansion of her Merchants Business Improvement Program on Aug. 15. Piloted in Jamaica, Flushing and Astoria last spring, the initiative combats repeat shoplifting and the harassment and threatening of customers and store staff by a handful of repeat…
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Aug. 15, 2023 By Bill Parry While it remains difficult to pinpoint the exact number of illegal smoke shops and unlicensed cannabis dispensaries that have proliferated across Queens, it is estimated that more than 8,000 are operating citywide. On Monday a new law was enacted that gives the authorities the power to fine landlords for…
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Aug. 14, 2023 By Bill Parry When St. Albans’ favorite son LL Cool J brought his Rock The Bells Festival to Forest Hills Stadium on Aug. 5, he was just over a mile away from where a unique eight-foot-tall bronze sculpture of him stood until recently in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Astoria-based sculptor Sherwin Banfield…
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Aug. 11, 2023 By Bill Parry After successful MTA crackdowns against persistent toll violators at the bridges and tunnels that connect Queens to Manhattan and the Bronx, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato initiated enforcement operations last month at the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge that links the Rockaways to the rest of the borough over Jamaica…
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Aug. 10, 2023 By Bill Parry
An Edgemere man was indicted in the murder of 10-year-old Justin Wallace in Arverne during a 2021 drive-by shooting that was allegedly sparked by an argument over a shared parking spot between neighbors.