Category Archives: Broad Channel
Click here to flip through The Forum’s first Bridal Guide in its entirety. We’ve all heard the stories. Love at first sight. High school sweethearts reunited years later. They accidentally collided on the street and instantly knew. But seriously? Are people just making this stuff up, or does this happen to real people? How does any bride really know she’s found the one for her? Some brides know instantly. Others have to be convinced over years. Marisa Ricciardi knew Kevin … Continue reading
Click here to flip through The Forum’s first Bridal Guide in its entirety. Back in the day, the father-daughter dance at a wedding had a bit more concrete meaning than it does today. Then, the festivities would begin with the father leading his daughter out onto the dance floor. At some point in the intricate dance, the father would pass his daughter off to her new husband, who would dance her away. The pass symbolized the father’s acceptance of the … Continue reading
A parade of angry speakers vented at a public hearing on the state’s political redistricting plan that has riled politicians and residents who feel their communities are being split. “Your proposed maps have created an unprecedented level of resentment toward the political process and disenchantment with the status quo,” said Ali Najmi, a community organizer advocating united representation for Richmond Hill and Ozone Park. More than 100 speakers signed up to voice their opinions at Queens Borough Hall Tuesday where … Continue reading
There would be no layoffs of uniformed workers or teachers and no tax increases to balance the budget for next fiscal year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on Thursday,Feb. 2, when he laid out his fiscal plan for 2013 and beyond. However, Bloomberg’s $68.7 billion preliminary budget for the upcoming fiscal yearwill exhaust the last of New York City’s reserves to close a $2 billion deficit and face a new challenge. For the first time, Bloomberg said, pension and fringe benefits … Continue reading
Parents that live in the Community Education Council (CEC) District 27 will have one last chance to voice their opinions and concerns on the controversial middle school choice proposal. The District 27 President’s Council will host a presentation of the middle school choice proposal on Monday, Feb. 6 at P.S 65 in Ozone Park at 6 p.m. The Department of Education’s (DOE) Division of Portfolio Planning will put on the presentation for parents that attend the meeting. Since it was … Continue reading
The efforts to restore Jamaica Bay—an economic staple for the local community—are one step closer to completion after a recent $7.2 million grant to make long-awaited restorations to the bay’s Yellow Bar Hassock Island. Funding from the grant, legislators and project officials said, will be used as nearly half of a $15.5 million effort to restore roughly 50 acres of salt marsh habitat at Yellow Bar Hassock and place 300,000 cubic yards of dredged material there. The dredging work at … Continue reading
Gov. Andrew Cuomo brought his agenda to Queens in January when he reviewed a previous speech in Albany pushing his $25 billion economic development package including the Ozone Park convention center. He spoke to a packed house at Queens College on Thursday, Jan.19, but not everyone was happy to hear it. One protester stood up in the middle of Cuomo’s speech and started yelling. She identified herself as a teacher aligned with the Occupy movement and shouted “Mic Check” as … Continue reading
A Vigil for Victims of Canine Discrimination will be held this Saturday in Manhattan at Lincoln Center in the memory of Nick Santino, a New York soap opera actor who recently killed himself after being wracked with guilt for euthanizing his dog. Santino has appeared in shows such as “All My Children” and “Guiding Light.” Santino killed himself on Jan. 26 after he’d had his pit bull, Rocco, put to sleep because of a strict ban his apartment building had … Continue reading
Dragons ran amuck in Ozone Park last Monday, but don’t worry–these dragons breathe out money instead of fire. Resorts World Casino gave visitors a taste of Chinese culture as it kicked off its Chinese New Year Extravaganza on Monday afternoon. The event started with traditional Chinese celebrations, including lion and dragon dances, marching to a drum beat down the Casino’s main entrance on Rockaway Boulevard. Before the mini-parade began, Resorts World Casino President Michael Speller dotted the eyes of the … Continue reading
Ever the optimist during Tuesday’s State of the Borough address, Borough President Helen Marshall celebrated Queens. She reveled in newly-built parks, redevelopment and newly opened medical centers, touting them as a huge draw. But she called Queens “a victim of its own success,” blaming thorny issues such as school overcrowding and a lack of hospital beds on the inability of the federal government to keep up with Queens’ changing face and draw immigration. To help her borough understand this, Marshall … Continue reading
In his State of the City address, Mayor Michael Bloomberg made it clear he wants to leave a lasting mark on education and proposed changes that could affect students and teachers in Queens and the rest of the city. During the Jan. 12 speech at Morris High School in the Bronx, Bloomberg pushed his ideas to attract high-quality teachers to New York, retain them with the possibility of $20,000 raises and make it easier to fire underperforming teachers. “The education … Continue reading
The old Queens quarter-pay parking meters will be gone by early summer, if things go according to the plans of the city Department of Transportation. DOT confirmed this week that Queens Transportation Commissioner Maura McCarthy recently began informing community board leaders that by June, all quarter meters in Queens would be replaced by Muni-meters. The city uses Muni-meters citywide for on-street parking spots and in off-street municipal parking facilities. Those meters accept coins, such as quarters and dollar coins, NYC … Continue reading
An enormous drug trafficking operation that had been funneling massive amounts of heroin through Queens was shut down when 121 individuals were arrested on drug possession charges. The Queens District Attorney and the NYPD arrested the purported criminals, most of whom reside in Suffolk and Nassau Counties, for allegedly commuting into New York City to buy heroin and other drugs from a New York City drug ring. The ring’s alleged leader has been identified as Jermel Broadhurst, 30, of 31-31 … Continue reading
Rockaway residents will have relief from the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge toll if Gov. Andrew Cuomo has his way. In his 2012-2013 budget released on Jan. 17, Cuomo proposes legislation that would use state money funneled through the MTA to reimburse residents of Broad Channel and the Rockaway Peninsula who use an E-ZPass to cross the bridge. In November and December, State Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder and Congressman Bob Turner urged the governor to do away with the toll for … Continue reading
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in his State of the State address yesterday that he wants to bring the largest convention center in the United States to Queens by turning the Aqueduct Race Track in Ozone Park into a 3.8-million-square-foot venue. It goes hand-in-hand with another aspiration he announced during the speech to legalize casino gaming, allowing the Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct to offer a full slate of table games. The two goals were keystones in a $25 billion economic … Continue reading