April 22, 2021 By Christian Murray Fifteen candidates will be running in June’s Democratic primary for the 26th District Council seat currently held by Jimmy Van Bramer, who is term limited. In today’s podcast we speak to Badrun Kahn, who is one of those candidates vying for the seat that covers Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island… Read more »
April 22, 2021 By Ryan Songalia More than 400 Asian Americans have signed a petition in opposition to the mayoral candidacy of Andrew Yang. The petition, titled Asian and Pacific Islander New Yorkers Against Andrew Yang, went live on Wednesday, with 403 signatories criticizing the Taiwanese-American businessman turned politician. Yang, who leads in the latest… Read more »
April 22, 2021 By Christina Santucci A movie-performance mashup of The Blues Brothers is slated to debut on the Halletts Point peninsula in Astoria later this spring, and viewers can either watch from their cars—or choose to be seated at picnic tables. The shows – which will begin Thursday, May 27 at 7 p.m. and… Read more »
April 21, 2021 By Ryan Songalia Elected officials across Queens praised the verdicts in the Derek Chauvin case Tuesday, but said true justice remains a work in progress. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was found guilty on all three charges related to the May 2020 killing of unarmed Black man George Floyd, including second-degree… Read more »
April 21, 2021 By Ryan Songalia Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a new plan Tuesday that will add more cops in high crime areas as a means to combat gun violence. The announcement comes at a time when the number of shootings continues to spike across the city and New Yorkers have been calling for… Read more »
April 21, 2021 By Ryan Songalia The Floating Hospital is about to receive more than $4 million in funding to boost its COVID-19 vaccination efforts. The funding, which comes as part of the $1.9 trillion federal relief package, is being earmarked to help the non-profit healthcare provider expand COVID-19 vaccination and testing efforts in underserved… Read more »
April 21, 2021 By Ryan Songalia Queens Community Board 2 is the latest of the 14 boards in Queens to condemn the recent wave of attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The board issued a statement Monday condemning the spike in hate crimes, similar to a joint letter released March 11 by Queens Community… Read more »
April 20, 2021 By Christina Santucci A trio of Asian-American women are teaming up to lead a solidarity bike ride against racist violence through the streets of Queens Saturday. Longtime cyclists – Helen Ho, Carolyn Tran and Julie Won – organized the event, called Bike for Justice. Ho is a co-founder of The Biking Public… Read more »
April 20, 2021 By Christina Santucci What do the homes of Louis Armstrong, William Steinway, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Ella Fitzgerald and Rufus King have in common? All are featured in the new book, Historic Houses of Queens, scheduled for publication next month. The book – written by Rob MacKay, Director of Public Relations, Tourism… Read more »
April 19, 2021 By Christian Murray Mayor Bill de Blasio has come out against NRG Energy’s proposal to overhaul its Astoria power plant, saying that the plan should be nixed since the plant would continue to rely on fossil fuels. The mayor joins more than a dozen elected officials who have come out against the… Read more »