Category: news

State Sen. Myrie calls on City Hall to restore extended pre-K pilot at Astoria rally

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie speaks outside Diki Daycare Center on Wednesday morning. Photo courtesy of Zellnor for NYC Campaign

Apr. 17, 2025 By Shane O’Brien State Sen. Zellnor Myrie held a press conference outside an Astoria daycare center Wednesday morning to advocate for extending the pilot program offering free extended hours for New York City preschoolers. Diki Daycare Center, located at 30-81 Steinway St., is one of the 64 pre-K and 3-K programs…

Newtown Historical Society unveils rare maps of old Queens in Maspeth exhibit

Newtown Historical Society exhibit in Maspeth

Apr. 16, 2025 By Colum Motherway The Newtown Historical Society, in collaboration with Council Member Robert Holden, has unveiled its latest exhibit, ‘Historic Maps of Newtown.’  It is now open to the public at Holden’s district office, located at 58-38 69 St., 2nd Floor. The exhibit is available for viewing during regular business hours…

Astoria and East Elmhurst middle schoolers win big in writing competition

reading month winners middle schoolers

Apr. 16, 2025 By Athena Dawson Two Queens middle schoolers turned the page on ordinary schoolwork and became award-winning writers after earning top honors in a district-wide book review contest celebrating National Reading Month. Ashlyn Objio, an 8th grader at IS 141 The Steinway School, in Astoria and Giasemi Bournias, a 7th grader at…

Queens sees most NYC foreclosures in Q1 2025, with 11413 as top hotspot: report

laurelton homes

Apr. 15, 2025 By Ethan Marshall While first-time foreclosure filings in the New York metro area went down during the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter in 2024, Queens emerged as having the most foreclosures over this period, according to a report by the real estate site PropertyShark. Year-over-year, first-time foreclosures…

Summer concerts set to return to Forest Hills Stadium after NYPD approval

summer concerts return to Forest Hills Stadium. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)

Apr. 15, 2025 By Shane O’Brien Summer concerts are to return to Forest Hills Stadium this summer after the NYPD granted “conditional approval” to an alternative security plan for events at the venue. The NYPD had previously informed West Side Tennis Club, which operates and leases Forest Hills Stadium, and Tiebreaker Productions, which runs…

Judge extends CDPAP registration deadline to May 15 following Liu’s push

PPL transition deadline extended for CDPAP patients and workers statewide

Apr. 15, 2025 By Shane O’Brien A federal judge has extended the deadline for thousands of New Yorkers enrolled in the state’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) to transition to Public Partnerships, LLC (PPL), the state’s new fiscal intermediary, following calls from State Sen. John Liu and legal advocates for more time to…

Senator John Liu hosts Earth Day 5K Fun Run in Queens on April 27

Runners will gather at Peck Fields on April 27 for Sen. John Liu’s Earth Day 5K

Apr. 15, 2025 By Athena Dawson Lace up and go green! Senator John Liu is inviting Queens residents to walk, run, or skip their way through Kissena Corridor and Cunningham Parks on Sunday, April 27, during a festive 5K Fun Run celebrating Earth Day and the power of parks. The run will begin at…

NYC ISIS recruiter who tried to flee country sentenced to 19 years in prison: Feds

isis recruiter

Apr. 15, 2025 By Bill Parry An ISIS recruiter who was arrested by federal agents at JFK Airport attempting to flee the country in November 2016 was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison last week. Sinmyah Amera Ceasar, 30, of Brooklyn, also known as “Umm Nutella,” was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court…

Queens Public Library unveils winning banned books library card by Flushing student

Queens Public Library "Freedom to Read" contest with this design for a new banned book library card.

Apr. 15, 2025 By Bill Parry A Flushing illustrator and undergraduate arts student, Sammi Wu, was named the winner of Queens Public Library’s inaugural Banned Books Library Card Design Contest on April 10. The competition invited entrants from across the borough to vie for a $2,000 cash prize and the chance to have their…