Tag: daily-newsletter

Congresswoman Meng calls for commemorative stamp to honor Flushing inventor Lewis Latimer

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Sep. 26, 2023 By Rachel Butler Queens Congresswoman Grace Meng has introduced legislation that is calling for the creation of a commemorative stamp to honor inventor and electrical pioneer Lewis Latimer, who lived in Flushing in the early 1900s. Latimer’s Flushing house now serves as a museum in the area which is dedicated to his legacy. Meng announced her legislation while attending the Latimer House Museum’s 175th birthday celebration of Latimer earlier this month. Latimer was a Black American who was the son of two escaped slaves who settled in Chelsea in Massachusetts. He joined the U.S. Navy when he…
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Flushing doctor settles health care fraud claims for $1.3 million after over-billing nursing home patients: Feds

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Sep. 25, 2023 By Bill Parry A Flushing-based pulmonologist will have to pay $1.3 million in restitution as part of a settlement agreement with the U.S. Justice Department after he over-billed nursing home residents for years, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace announced last week. The deal addresses allegations that Dr. Arun Arora violated the federal False Claims Act by billing Medicare for critical care services to residents of nursing homes in Queens when he provided only routine care, such as regular medical checkups. Critical care services involve imminent life-threatening deterioration of a patient’s condition and Medicare reimburses health care providers at…
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Flushing man busted for fatally stabbing neighbor during bar fight: NYPD

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Sep. 25, 2023 By Bill Parry A Bland Houses resident was arrested and charged with murder for allegedly stabbing another Flushing man in the head during a bar fight on the night of Sunday, Sept. 24. Police from the 109th Precinct responded to a 911 call of an assault in progress in front of Kelly’s Bar at 136-11 41st St. in downtown Flushing just before 10 p.m., when they found 45-year-old Elliot Ortiz unconscious and unresponsive with a stab wound to his head lying in front of the saloon. EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed Ortiz to NewYork-Presbyterian…
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Climate orgs promote initiatives at borough’s inaugural Climate Expo in Kew Gardens

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Sep. 22, 2023 By Iryna Shkurhan Queens’ first ever Climate Expo, sponsored by Borough President Donovan Richards, launched on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at Queens Borough Hall as one of the many events scheduled for Climate Week NYC.  Over a dozen environmental organizations set up tables across the Helen Marshall Cultural Center’s atrium in Kew Gardens to share resources, spread environmental surveys and promote climate-related job opportunities – all with the goal of taking action to address the effects of climate change.  The expo was centered around an expert-led panel on Local Law 97, a law passed in 2019 with the…
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Six Queens schools receive National Blue Ribbon recognition

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Sep. 21, 2023 By Iryna Shkurhan The United States Department of Education featured six schools across Queens in their annual Blue Ribbon Schools Program designation report that was released on Tuesday, Sept. 19. Across the nation, 353 schools were recognized as a Blue Ribbon school this year based on academic metrics such as performance and progress made to close achievement gaps on assessments. In New York, 22 schools were selected. Bayside’s P.S. 205 Alexander Graham Bell and two schools in Flushing – P.S. 242 LP Stavisky Early Childhood School and P.S. 244 The Active Learning Elementary School (TALES) – were…
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New York Junior Tennis and Learning brings ACES afterschool program to Queens

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Sep. 20, 2023 By Ethan Marshall New York Junior Tennis and Learning (NYJTL) is bringing its ACES afterschool program to eight schools across Queens during the Fall 2023-24 school year. The program provides students with the opportunity to play tennis for free, as well as academic, enrichment and mental health services. The eight schools in…
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Crunching the Queens crime stats: Number of burglaries drop, assault cases increase

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Sep. 19, 2023 By Ethan Marshall The NYPD’s crime stats for northern and southern Queens precincts spanning Sept. 11 to Sept. 17 reveal that the number of burglaries throughout the borough has dropped, while felony assault cases increased. One thing that remained completely the same compared to last year was the fact that there wasn’t a single murder case across any of the precincts in northern and southern Queens. There wasn’t much of a drastic change in rape cases. Northern Queens saw the cases shrink from seven last year to four this year. After reporting just one case across each…
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Flushing lawmaker introduces legislation to create bus depot task force to address congestion issues

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Sep. 14, 2023 By Bill Parry With the streets of Flushing chronically congested with traffic, Councilwoman Sandra Ung introduced legislation recently to create a new task force to find potential sites for a new bus depot. During a joint hearing of the Council’s Committee on Transportation and Oversight and Investigations on Sept. 13, committee members discussed a piece of legislation authored by Ung to create the task force to restudy plans for such a facility that were shelved in the 1970s. “We are lucky to have a transit-rich area in downtown Flushing, but that also brings with it a number…
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Democrat Sam Berger wins special election to fill vacant eastern Queens Assembly seat

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Sep. 13, 2023 By Bill Parry & Zachary Gewelb In Tuesday’s special election to replace former Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal, his hand-picked successor, Democratic candidate Sam Berger is comfortably leading Republican and Conservative Party candidate David Hirsch, having secured 55.14% of the vote (2,447 votes) with 99% of precincts reported as of Wednesday morning, according to unofficial results from the city’s Board of Elections. Hirsch finished with 38.87% of the vote (1,979 votes). The Assembly District 27 race to represent the neighborhoods of Flushing, Kew Gardens Hills, Whitestone, Pomonok and College Point was expected to be a close one between the two…
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Queens Jets fans trying to remain optimistic despite Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending injury

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Sep. 12, 2023 By Ethan Marshall The news that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers will miss the rest of the NFL season after tearing his Achilles tendon just four plays into the game has sent shockwaves across the football world. With the acquisition of the future Hall of Famer, the Jets had Super Bowl ambitions. Now, many fans feel as though those dreams have crumbled away. While Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Sept. 11 after the team’s 22-16 overtime win that Zach Wilson will likely be the team’s quarterback for the remainder of the season, fans are speculating…
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