Dec. 20, 2021 By Allie Griffin Queens Community Board 2 is calling on the city to add more COVID-19 test sites in Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside. Community Board 2 leaders penned a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mayor-elect Eric Adams Monday urging them to add more city-run sites in the western… Read more »
Dec. 17, 2021 By Allie Griffin Southeast Queens Council Member Adrienne Adams has — once again — declared victory in the council speaker race. Adams announced Friday that she expects to have a majority of votes when the new council casts its ballots for speaker early next month. She has secured at least 33 members’… Read more »
Dec. 17, 2021 By Allie Griffin The city will distribute 500,000 at-home rapid tests and one million masks to residents across the five boroughs as COVID-19 cases climb rapidly, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday. The announcement came at the same time that health officials released data showing that the seven-day average for new cases… Read more »
Dec. 16, 2021 By Allie Griffin A number of so-called “moderate” City Council members have officially created their own caucus just weeks before a new set of members are to be sworn in. The City Council officially recognized the formation of the “Common Sense” caucus, which consists of a number of moderate Democrats and Republican… Read more »
Dec. 16, 2021 By Allie Griffin The MTA is redesigning the entire bus network in Queens and will release its latest plan early next year, agency officials said Wednesday. The new plan will replace an initial bus redesign plan that the MTA put out two years ago. The agency has scrapped that original, pre-pandemic plan… Read more »
Dec. 15, 2021 By Allie Griffin Mayor-elect Eric Adams has named a Queens native as the city’s first female NYPD Commissioner. Adams announced Wednesday that Keechant Sewell, the Nassau County chief of detectives, will become the top cop of the country’s largest police force next month. “I’m proud to tell you personally that the 45th… Read more »
Dec. 15, 2021 By Allie Griffin The next City Council speaker will apparently be from Queens, but the question as to who it will be remains a mystery as two Queens members declared victory Tuesday in a confusing kerfuffle played out over social media. Both Council Member Francisco Moya and Council Member Adrienne Adams said… Read more »
Dec. 14, 2021 By Allie Griffin and Christian Murray A street corner in Woodside is going to be co-named “Little Manila Avenue” as an ode to the Filipino community in the neighborhood. The NYC Council Parks and Recreation committee voted 15-0 Tuesday in favor of co-naming the southwest corner of Roosevelt Avenue and 70th Street… Read more »
Dec. 13, 2021 By Allie Griffin A former NYPD officer who once served as a bodyguard for El Chapo’s wife was indicted Friday for allegedly transporting cocaine throughout Queens in 2019. Ishmael Bailey, of Staten Island, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on charges of selling and possessing a controlled substance, receiving bribes, conspiracy and… Read more »
Dec. 10, 2021 By Allie Griffin The City Council passed a bill Thursday aimed at protecting city trees across the five boroughs. The Council voted unanimously in favor of a bill sponsored by Flushing Council Member Peter Koo that requires the Parks Department to more regularly inspect trees and to publish its findings for the… Read more »