Oct. 30, 2020 By Allie Griffin State Sen. Michael Gianaris, who represents western Queens, introduced legislation today to almost double the number of early voting sites in the state. The bill comes after an analysis of early voting sites in New York City found the number of registered voters assigned to an early voting site… Read more »
Oct. 29, 2020 By Allie Griffin The New York City Police Department appointed its first female Chief of Patrol Thursday — Juanita Holmes, who has a long history of policing in Queens. Holmes, the highest-ranking African American woman in NYPD history, has more than 30 years of experience with the department, including several stints in… Read more »
Oct. 28, 2020 By Allie Griffin Small business owners will soon be able to expand their storefront onto the sidewalk as part of a new Open Storefronts initiative the City will launch on Friday. Retail shops will be able to sell their wares on sidewalks in front of their storefronts from Oct. 30 through Dec…. Read more »
Oct. 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin Several Queens lawmakers are calling on U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer to expand the Supreme Court after Justice Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in Monday night, cementing a conservative majority for generations to come. Zohran Mamdani, the Assembly Member Elect for District 36 in Astoria, issued a statement Tuesday calling… Read more »
Oct. 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin New York City public school families will have just one chance to opt into in-person classes for the rest of the school year — beginning next week. Families who had opted into fully-remote classes, but now want to switch back to the city’s blended learning model — in which… Read more »
Oct. 23, 2020 By Allie Griffin A teenage daredevil scaled the Queensboro Bridge Thursday evening and livestreamed the stunt to an audience watching online. Malik Sanchez, 18, climbed up onto a support beam of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge — high above rush hour traffic below — just before 5 p.m., police said. The teen,… Read more »
Oct. 21, 2020 By Allie Griffin A group of Sunnyside residents, a local nonprofit organization and a property owner have all come together to turn an empty lot into a composting site. The ad hoc group of residents— who go by the name of the 45th Street Composters — are collecting food scraps at an… Read more »
Oct. 21, 2020 By Allie Griffin Governor Andrew Cuomo has extended the statewide moratorium on commercial evictions and foreclosures from Oct. 20 through to the end of the year. He signed an executive order extending it Tuesday — the same day the emergency moratorium was set to expire. Cuomo first announced a state moratorium on… Read more »
Oct. 20, 2020 By Allie Griffin U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested 54 undocumented immigrants in the greater New York City area as part of a recent move to target sanctuary cities such as New York. The 54 immigrants are among hundreds of undocumented people ICE officers arrested in sanctuary cities across the… Read more »
Oct. 19, 2020 By Allie Griffin The Greenpoint ferry pier is back up and running after it was abruptly shuttered Saturday when the new owner of the landing shut off public access. NYC Ferry service to Greenpoint resumed at 4 p.m. today after the ferry provider and the property owner, Lendlease, reached an agreement. Real… Read more »