Category Archives: Maspeth
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
When 81-year-old Eleanor Polgar was getting off the Q59 bus on Grand Avenue in Maspeth she stepped onto a sidewalk where several feet of curb was missing and inches-wide holes were torn out of it. “She almost fell in there. You get off the bus, the bus doors open and it’s right there,” her son, Richard Polgar said. “My mother almost broke her leg in there.” This was in 2010. Until last week, that sidewalk and curb sat unpatched despite … Continue reading
A man pulled up in his car and began masturbating while looking at a woman who was leaving her home in Maspeth on Valentine’s Day, police said. The 22-year-old victim told police that she was leaving her house near Grand Avenue and 58th Avenue to take a young child to day care. As she walked out at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14, she noticed a four-door beige sedan stop on the street in front of her. The man inside … Continue reading
Schools Rebuke plan to Replace Teachers: Bloomberg Wants to Close, Reopen Schools to get $58 Million
By Jeremiah Dobruck Updated below Grover Cleveland High School’s assistant principal Michelle Robertson bellowed at Mayor Michael Bloomberg. An immigrant from Barbados herself, she told the mayor about students in her English class who arrive not knowing how to speak the language—and a year later, pass the state’s English Reagents Exam. She yelled out how the largely immigrant population at her school in Ridgewood competes with specialized high schools in math and science contests. “We know our students are not … Continue reading
Calvin Covington was driving a bus full of sixth-graders home from I.S. 77 in Ridgewood when he smelled smoke. He passed Eliot Avenue on Fresh Pond Road and dismissed the smell as coming from the gas station there, but after driving another mile, the smell persisted and he recognized the acrid scent of wires burning. He pulled over as soon as he could at 74th Street and 58th Avenue in Maspeth and started filing 28 kids off his bus, still not … Continue reading
Police are asking for help locating a man who robbed a bank in Maspeth on Saturday, Feb. 4. He’s described as a black male in his 30s who is 5-feet-11-inches tall and weighs about 190 pounds. An NYPD spokesperson said the suspect entered a Chasebank at 69-55 Grand Avenue and passed a note demanding money to a teller. The employee handed over an unknown amount of cash and the suspect fled. Between Jan. 14 and Jan. 24, men robbed four … 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
Whether or not New Yorkers are getting more frustrated waiting behind sanitation trucks, Maspeth and Middle Village’s councilwoman is calling for the uniformedworkers to get the same protection other city employees do when dealing with the public. Last week, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) introduced a bill to increase the penalty on anyone who assaults a sanitation worker. According to the Sanitation Department, there were six incidences of violence reported involving sanitation workers and civilians in 2010, but in first … Continue reading
One man went on a graffiti binge through Middle Village, indiscriminately marking up about two blocks with yellow spray paint on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 31, police said. At a meeting of the civic group Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together, the commanding officer of the 104th Precinct said cops don’t know what set off the painting spree, but they caught him nonetheless. “We’re still not sure what he was doing,” Capt. Michael Cody said. “He’s in custody now. … 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
Parents rallied Tuesday at their local Community Education Council meeting, putting pressure on the Department of Education to install a new system for parents to request bus service for kids who must walk a hazardous route to school. At the CEC 24 meeting that covers a swath of Queens including Middle Village and Ridgewood, parents in the audience cheered as the council voted unanimously to support a resolution asking to reveal an opaque process that parents say covers life and … 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