Aug. 24, 2021 By Allie Griffin Queens elected officials have embraced Governor Kathy Hochul after she was sworn into office at around midnight Tuesday. Hochul, the former lieutenant governor from Buffalo, took over the top New York seat after Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned amid sexual harassment allegations. She is the 57th governor of New York… Read more »
Aug. 24, 2021 By Allie Griffin More than 40 state legislators — including a half dozen from Queens — are calling on President Joseph Biden to welcome Afghan refugees into the country and to set them up in New York. Queens Assembly Member Catalina Cruz and State Sen. Andrew Gounardes of South Brooklyn penned a… Read more »
Aug. 24, 2021 By Allie Griffin Queens Borough President Donovan Richards is calling on the city to offer a remote learning option for public school students in the fall. Richards penned a letter to NYC Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter Monday urging her to offer a remote instruction option given the rise of the delta… Read more »
Aug. 19, 2021 By Allie Griffin Astoria Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani was arrested while protesting in Brooklyn Tuesday to demand the state extend the eviction moratorium. Mamdani was one of 17 protesters arrested for disorderly conduct at around 11 a.m. following a rally held at Cadman Plaza. Videos posted to Twitter show officers cuff Mamdani… Read more »
Aug. 18, 2021 By Allie Griffin A group of Queensbridge residents are suing the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) for allegedly failing to mitigate hazardous living conditions like asbestos, mold, lead paint and more inside their apartments in the housing development. Eleven tenants of the largest public housing development in North America filed a… Read more »
Aug. 17, 2021 By Allie Griffin The state is establishing a fund in order to buy economically-distressed hotels and convert them into permanent housing for the homeless and people in need. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law Friday a bill called the “Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act” (HONDA), which calls for the creation of… Read more »
Aug. 16, 2021 By Allie Griffin Business owners who operate a bar, restaurant, gym or similar establishment must require their customers and workers to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to gain entry starting Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today. The businesses that fail to comply with the vaccine mandate will face fines… Read more »
Aug. 16, 2021 By Allie Griffin Queens council candidates who won hard-fought primary elections in June are now starting to focus on the November general elections. Winners of the Democratic primaries who secured victories against often-long lists of candidates will now need to beat off Republican nominees and other challengers in the Nov. 2 general… Read more »
Aug. 16, 2021 By Allie Griffin The population of Queens swelled by nearly 8 percent in the last 10 years, new data from the U.S. Census shows. The number of borough residents increased to 2,405,464 in 2020 — up 7.83 percent from 2010 when the last census was conducted. “The large jump in our borough’s… Read more »
Aug. 13, 2021 By Allie Griffin All students, teachers and support staff at Catholic schools in Queens and Brooklyn will be required to wear masks inside school buildings when classes resume next month. The Diocese of Brooklyn, which covers both Brooklyn and Queens, announced the mask requirement Thursday ahead of the first day of school… Read more »