New York State Capitol

Dec. 23, 2024 By Athena Dawson

The New York City Council passed two transparency-focused bills during its Stated Meeting on Thursday, Dec. 19, aimed at improving communication around roadway closures and parking space suspensions.

QNS is looking back at our top stories throughout 2024 as we look forward to 2025. In terms of crime, the borough was shaken by several high-profile murders, police shootings and drug gang takedowns, many of which shocked the entire city. Here are some of the top 2024 crime stories in Queens.

The city’s first homicide of the year went down in an Elmhurst karaoke bar

New York City’s first murder in 2024 occurred on New Year’s Day when a Manhattan bouncer stabbed two men outside an Elmhurst karaoke bar near 76th Street and Roosevelt Ave. just before 4 a.m. Torrance Holmes, 35, of Hamilton Heights, was arrested by detectives days later at his home and transported back to Queens to face justice.

Dec. 23, 2024 By Shane O’Brien

As 2024 turns into 2025, QNS is looking back on its most popular stories from each month of the year.

Dec. 23, 2024 By Athena Dawson

U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks, who represents New York’s 5th District, which covers southeast Queens and parts of Nassau County, and U.S. Representative Pete Sessions, who represents Texas’ 17th District, which covers areas including Waco and College Station, have introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at alleviating financial burdens for first-time homeowners.

Dec. 20, 2024 By Emily Davenport and QNS News Team

After decades of helping New Yorkers celebrate life’s biggest moments, Party City is throwing its final party—announcing the closure of all its stores, including its last two locations in Queens.

Dec. 20, 2024 By Shane O’Brien

Governor Kathy Hochul visited Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst on Thursday, engaging with local residents amid their holiday shopping to discuss the rising cost of living in New York and to promote her proposal to deliver Inflation Reduction checks aimed at easing financial burdens for New Yorkers.

Dec. 20, 2024 By Czarinna Andres

Inside Broadway hosted its biannual program, Creating the Magic, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, offering students a behind-the-scenes look at the new musical adaptation of “The Great Gatsby.”

Dec. 20, 2024 By Ethan Marshall and Ramy Mahmoud

Queensborough Community College in Bayside held its annual Kwanzaa celebration on Saturday, Dec. 14.

Dec. 20, 2024 By sobrien

Dec. 20, 2024 By Shane O’Brien

Hundreds of warehouse workers and drivers walked off the job and joined the picket line outside the massive DBK4 Amazon fulfillment center in Maspeth on Thursday morning as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) launched the largest strike ever against the $2 trillion corporation in New York City, Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco, and Illinois.

Amazon workers at other facilities across the country say they are prepared to join them to protest unfair labor practices after the IBT set a Dec. 15 deadline for Amazon to begin negotiations on a new agreement. The union was ignored.