April 6, 2021 By Allie Griffin Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced Tuesday his community board appointments as well as a number of new reforms that aim to raise board standards. Richards appointed 373 members across Queens’ 14 community boards out of a pool of more than 900 applicants — a record number of applications… Read more »
Author: Allie Griffin
City to Hire 10,000 New Yorkers to Remove Graffiti, Clean Parks and Sidewalks
April 6, 2021 By Allie Griffin The city plans to employ 10,000 New Yorkers to remove graffiti and clean city parks, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday. The city will hire 10,000 people by July and will post the first 1,000 job openings this month as part of its new “City Cleanup Corps” initiative. De… Read more »
Northern Queens Precinct Commander Takes His Own Life With Gun
April 6, 2021 By Allie Griffin The commanding officer of a Northern Queens NYPD precinct shot and killed himself in an apparent suicide Monday. Deputy Inspector Denis Mullaney, 44, fatally shot himself in the head inside a department vehicle parked near Kissena Park, police said. Mullaney, who led the 107th Precinct, had called a family… Read more »
City to End Two-Case Rule That Closes School Buildings for Ten Days
April 5, 2021 By Allie Griffin The New York City Department of Education (DOE) is revoking a controversial rule that closed public school buildings for 10 days if two unlinked COVID-19 cases were found in the school community. The DOE will no longer shutter schools for in-person classes due to two cases of the virus,… Read more »
Body of Woman Missing Since September Found Inside College Point Home Tuesday
April 1, 2021 By Allie Griffin A 66-year-old woman who had been missing since late September was found dead under piles of trash in her College Point home earlier this week. The body of Evelyn Sakash was discovered underneath mounds of debris inside her home on 123rd Street Tuesday. A clean-up crew hired by the… Read more »
Sanitation Department Gets Boost in Funding, To Bring Back Sunday Basket Collection
April 1, 2021 By Allie Griffin The New York City Sanitation Department (DSNY) is bringing back Sunday basket collection using federal COVID-19 relief money to restore the service. The city will deploy more than 100 additional Sanitation trucks per week dedicated to litter basket collection– in addition to Sunday service. The city made significant cuts… Read more »
Mayor Pledges to Provide Greater Support to Community Groups That Manage Open Streets
March 29, 2021 By Allie Griffin The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) is now accepting applications for the second year of its Open Streets program that transforms roadways into pedestrian spaces and outdoor dining areas. Local businesses and community groups can apply online to designate a street near them as an Open Street…. Read more »
New Yorkers as Young as 30 Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine Starting Tuesday
March 29, 2021 By Allie Griffin New Yorkers as young as age 30 will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting Tuesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today. All adults in the state — from age 16 and up — will be eligible for the vaccine a week later on April 6. Residents as young as… Read more »
Local Students Brighten Flushing Town Hall Fence With Drawings of Hope
March 26, 2021 By Allie Griffin A group of students from Jackson Heights and Flushing have added new life to a fence in Flushing with colorful illustrations depicting a message of hope after a trying year. Students from P.S. 69 in Jackson Heights and P.S. 22 in Flushing submitted artwork to the “Call and Response:… Read more »
MS-13 Gang Associate Indicted for 2018 Murder of 17-Year-Old in Flushing’s Kissena Park
March 26, 2021 By Allie Griffin A MS-13 gang associate from Elmhurst has been indicted for a gruesome murder that took place inside a Flushing park three years ago, federal authorities announced Friday. Oscar Flores-Mejia, 21, was indicted on the charge of murder in-aid-of racketeering at Brooklyn federal court Thursday for the 2018 killing of… Read more »