Aug. 6, 2021 By Allie Griffin New York City is getting its first curbside charging stations for electric vehicles — but many activists want more stations than what has been allotted for Queens. The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) announced in June that it would install 120 curbside charging ports in 23 neighborhoods… Read more »
Author: Allie Griffin
Community Boards Required to Resume In-Person Meetings, Queens Board 6 Refuses Citing COVID Variant
Aug. 5, 2021 By Allie Griffin Community board meetings across the city must now be held in person — but one Queens board is refusing to do so given the growing prevalence of the delta variant. The boards have been required to hold in-person meetings since June 25, when Governor Andrew Cuomo ended his executive… Read more »
City Council Votes to Extend Cap on Delivery App Fees
Aug. 4, 2021 By Allie Griffin The New York City Council voted last week to extend a number of laws that put caps on third-party delivery apps in an effort to help small businesses recover from the pandemic. The council voted Thursday to extend the laws that prohibit third-party delivery apps from charging restaurants more… Read more »
Queens Officials Call for Gov. Cuomo to Resign or Be Impeached
Aug. 3, 2021 By Allie Griffin Multiple Queens elected officials have called on Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign — or be impeached — after the attorney general announced the findings of an independent report that concluded he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women in violation of state and federal laws. Queens electeds are calling on… Read more »
JetBlue Will Keep Its Headquarters in Long Island City and Strengthen Its Queens Presence
Aug. 3, 2021 By Allie Griffin “New York’s hometown airline” will stay in Queens and add 1,800 jobs at New York City-area airports, the company announced Tuesday. JetBlue will keep its headquarters in Long Island City when its current lease ends in July 2023, despite earlier reports that the company was considering a move to… Read more »
Brooklyn Teen Charged With Murder in Shooting Death of 17-Year-Old in Elmhurst
Aug. 2, 2021 By Allie Griffin A Brooklyn teen was charged with murder Friday for the shooting death of a 17-year-old boy that took place in Elmhurst last month. Dennis Vassilenko, 18, was charged with murder and other crimes for allegedly shooting and killing Eduardo Hernandez Martinez on an Elmhurst street in broad daylight on… Read more »
City Health Officials “Strongly Recommend” Indoor Mask Use for All New Yorkers
Aug. 2, 2021 By Allie Griffin Mayor Bill de Blasio and city health officials are “strongly recommending” New Yorkers to mask up indoors regardless of their vaccination status. De Blasio issued the recommendation Monday, but stopped short of calling for mandatory mask use—unlike what officials in some other big U.S. cities have done. The announcement… Read more »
House Passes AOC’s Funding Requests for Several Community Projects
Aug. 2, 2021 By Allie Griffin The U.S. House of Representatives has passed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 10 funding requests for community services — of which eight requests are for projects in Queens and two in the Bronx. The House passed a bill late Thursday that includes an allocation for updating the obstetrical facilities at Elmhurst… Read more »
Flushing Man Sentenced to Prison for Selling Drugs and Possessing Gun
July 30, 2021 By Allie Griffin A Flushing man was sentenced to prison Friday for selling drugs to an undercover officer and being in possession of a gun in 2019. Chris Lee, 30, was sentenced to nine years in prison Friday after pleading guilty in May to charges of gun possession and selling illegal narcotics…. Read more »
More Than 50,000 CUNY Students and Recent Grads Will Have Their Debt Wiped Clean
July 30, 2021 By Allie Griffin The City University of New York (CUNY) will wipe out the debt of 50,000 current students and recent grads who experienced hardships during the pandemic. CUNY will erase as much as $125 million outstanding tuition and fee balances through the “CUNY Comeback Program,” CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez and… Read more »