Ample Hills Creamery to Reopen Astoria Store Thursday
Ample Hills Creamery in Astoria (QueensPost)
July 22, 2020 By Christian Murray
Ample Hills Creamery, the popular ice cream purveyor, is reopening its Astoria store Thursday after its exit from bankruptcy.
The company is reopening two other stores tomorrow—one in Prospect Heights and the other in Chelsea. The openings represent the first steps taken by Schmitt Industries, an Oregon-based company that acquired the bankrupt creamery in June.
The creamery, founded by the husband-and-wife duo of Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna, was established in 2010 and quickly grew to operate out of 13 locations. The couple filed for bankruptcy protection in March after experiencing financial difficulties.
The couple left the company following the June sale to Schmitt Industries.
“It is with deep sadness that Brian [Smith] and I have made the painful decision to move on from Ample Hills,” wrote Jackie Cuscuna in a post on company’s Instagram page on July 6.
Ample Hills in now in the process of reopening nine locations—including the three tomorrow– in coming weeks. It will also reopen its Red Hook factory.
The company plans to rehire all 200 employees, a spokesperson for the creamery said.
The 34-02 30th Ave. location will reopen Thursday and will operate between Monday – Thursday from 1 p.m. – 8 p.m., Friday – Saturday from 1 p.m. – 10 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. – 9 p.m.
A Long Island City man on Friday, Jan. 28, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the 2020 fatal shooting of a public school social studies teacher who was out walking his dog when he was caught in the crossfire during a confrontation between gang rivals in broad daylight, just blocks from his home, according to Queens District Attorney’s office.
Ike Ford, 19, of 12th Street, in Long Island City, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder. The teacher, George Rosa, 53, was shot in his abdomen by a stray bullet fired by Ford, who was just 17 years old at the time of the shooting but was sentenced as an adult given the severity of the crime, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
LaGuardia Community College recently received more than $400,000 in federal funding to enhance and expand vocational training for underemployed New Yorkers in a city that is still working to recover from COVID-19 pandemic-induced job loss. The support was secured by U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and former Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney.
LaGuardia Community College President Kenneth Adams explained that the school lost nearly a quarter of its students at the height of the pandemic due to the economic effects of the lockdown on low-income Queens households.
Jan. 26, 2023 By Michael Dorgan, with additional reporting by Paul Frangipane
The plan to transform the Ravenswood Generating Station into a clean energy hub has taken a big step forward with its operators announcing that they have acquired an offshore wind site to deliver power to the plant.
In an effort to get more young people involved in civics, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards has created a new advisory panel known as the Youth and Young Adult Council to introduce the “youngest and fiercest” community advocates to both community service and organization.
Members of the advisory body will advocate concerns through means of community engagement by participating in one of two cohorts. The first will be made up of high school representatives between the ages of 13 and 17, while the second cohort will be comprised of young adults between the ages of 18 and 25.
A violent felon who slashed a man in the neck inside a Long Island City strip club nearly four years ago has been sentenced to 18 years to life in prison, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
The Queens/Astoria Post has obtained wild video footage of a crazed SUV driver mounting a sidewalk in Astoria Monday afternoon and then plowing into the side of a fruit and veg store—before knocking a 56-year-old woman to the pavement.
The city council rejected a rezoning application last week where the owners of a Northern Boulevard site in Woodside planned to build an auto-dealership.
Applications are now being accepted for a scholarship program that was set up to honor the life of a boy with Autism who tragically drowned nearly a decade ago.
NYC Restaurant Week is underway, so nix that skillet and bring family and friends to your favorite neighborhood spot, or get inspired and break bread somewhere new and different. During this special citywide culinary event, food-lovers will enjoy curated menus and prix-fixe prices that are easy on the wallet.
Bookings began on Jan. 17 and are available until Feb. 12, and you can reserve a table at 30 participating Queens restaurants, along with hundreds more across the five boroughs.
