March 13, 2020 By Allie Griffin Queens Catholic schools will close next week, amid rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the city. All Catholic academies and parish schools within the Diocese of Brooklyn — which covers both Queens and Brooklyn — will close during the week of March 16 to March 20, the Diocese announced… Read more »
March 13, 2020 By Allie Griffin The party-backed candidate in the Queens Borough president race, Council Member Donovan Richards, is calling on the city to postpone the March 24 special election. Richards said the election should be postponed as voting itself poses a risk to voters and poll workers amid the coronavirus crisis in the… Read more »
March 12, 2020 By Allie Griffin Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency Thursday evening as the number of coronavirus cases reached 95 cases across the five boroughs — including 17 positive cases in Queens. The number of positive cases in the city will reach 1,000 next week, the mayor believes. “It’s going… Read more »
March 12, 2020 By Allie Griffin A group of men stole 45 computers and two power drill sets worth $40,000 from a Flushing senior center on Sunday. The men entered Flushing Senior Daycare, located at 141-26 Northern Blvd., through an unlocked front door around 9 p.m. Once inside, the men carried out the dozens computers… Read more »
March 12, 2020 By Christian Murray Modell’s Sporting Goods, a family-owned company that was founded in 1889, announced Wednesday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and that it would be closing all 115 of its stores. The company, which has nine stores in Queens, is one of many traditional retailers to go bust… Read more »
March 11, 2020 By Allie Griffin The CUNY and SUNY public college systems are cancelling in-person classes for the remainder of the semester, the governor announced today. Beginning March 19, all CUNY and SUNY schools will switch to “distance-learning” for the remainder of the spring semester, due to fears of the novel coronavirus spreading. The… Read more »
March 11, 2020 By Allie Griffin Congresswoman Grace Meng blasted the GOP Leader of the House of Representatives for referring to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, as the “Chinese” coronavirus on Twitter. Rep. Kevin McCarthy tweeted a link to the CDC’s website on COVID-19 with the caption “Everything you need to know about the Chinese coronavirus… Read more »
March 9, 2020 By Allie Griffin With the number of coronavirus cases in New York increasing daily, Mayor Bill de Blasio advised New Yorkers to skip packed subway cars and to work from home if possible. New York City now has 16 confirmed cases, including two in Queens, the Mayor said this morning. Yesterday, the… Read more »
March 9, 2020 By Allie Griffin A 75-year-old Queens man is critically ill after contracting the novel coronavirus and is the borough’s second confirmed case of the virus known as COVID-19 — as the citywide total has risen to 20 confirmed cases. The man has an underlying condition of diabetes and is being treated in… Read more »
March 9, 2020 By Allie Griffin A bill introduced by Queens Representative Grace Meng to assist small businesses harmed by fears of the coronavirus outbreak became law last week — as part of a $8.3 billion emergency spending package. The bill, also sponsored by New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez and California Rep. Judy Chu, allows… Read more »