Sept. 17, 2020 By Allie Griffin The start of in-person classes at the city’s public schools has been delayed yet again for the majority of students. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the reopening of most school buildings will be pushed back further — on a rolling basis — just four days before they were… Read more »
Sept. 16, 2020 By Christian Murray At the end of next year, 11 council members in Queens will be forced to step down due to term limits. Dozens of candidates have already come forward looking to replace them, and will be competing in next June’s Democratic primaries for those spots. In Queens, only four council… Read more »
Sept. 16, 2020 By Allie Griffin Staffers at 10 Queens public schools have tested positive for COVID-19 since teachers and administrators returned to schools across the city on Sept. 8. The 10 schools are among 56 citywide, where positive coronavirus cases have been confirmed, according to a list the Department of Education provided from Sept…. Read more »
Sept. 16, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Restaurants will soon be able to add a 10 percent service charge to the tab. The City Council voted Wednesday to approve legislation that would temporarily permit restaurants to add a “COVID-19 Recovery Charge” to customer checks. The legislation is expected to be signed by the mayor – which… Read more »
Sept. 16, 2020 By Allie Griffin The city will ramp up its sanitation efforts to keep streets trash-free after having cut the Department of Sanitation’s budget by $106 million. Residents have been complaining of overflowing trash bins since the Sanitation budget took a hit and the department’s commissioner Kathryn Garcia even resigned over the cuts…. Read more »
Sept. 16, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Mayor Bill de Blasio and his entire office staff will take one week of unpaid leave in order to help tackle the city’s fiscal crisis amid the coronavirus shutdown. The mayor said that the mandatory furloughs – which will affect nearly 500 employees – will save the city nearly… Read more »
Fire on First Floor @CitizenApp 2407 19th St Yesterday 1:59:34 PM EDT Sept. 16, 2020 By Allie Griffin An Astoria man was arrested after his home erupted in flames Tuesday and investigators found suspicious bomb-making materials in the rubble. Police arrested 37-year-old Marak Squires and charged him with one count of reckless endangerment. Squires’ home… Read more »
Sept. 15, 2020 By Christian Murray The cost to rent an apartment in northwest Queens remains high–although a little bit less than a year ago, according to a new report. The report, released by Douglas Elliman Real Estate, found that the median rent in northwest Queens fell by 5.5 percent in August 2020–to $2,796–compared to… Read more »
Sept. 15, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The city will be spraying pesticides to keep the number of mosquitoes at bay in parts of western and central Queens on Thursday. The spraying will begin at around 8:30 p.m. and will continue until 6 a.m. Friday, according to the NYC Department of Health. The spraying will occur… Read more »
Sept. 15, 2020 By Christian Murray A Queens legislator will be introducing a bill before the city council Wednesday that calls for the decriminalization of jaywalking. Council Member Costa Constantinides, who is sponsoring the bill, said that black and Latinx New Yorkers are the ones most ticketed for jaywalking and the bill aims to end… Read more »