Category Archives: Middle Village
While Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) has more than five times the amount of money in her campaign war chest than her Republican opponent, civic activist Craig Caruana, the two candidates raised almost the same amount of money over the past two months, according to their most recent filings with the city Campaign Finance Board. Crowley raised $8,665 from March 12 to May 11, the most recent campaign finance filing period, while Caruana landed $8,375 in the race for … Continue reading
A group of eager cyclists showed up to a meeting on Saturday to help put central Queens on the road to bike-ability. Congregating at Maspeth High School for a gathering organized by Community Board 5 and the Department of City Planning, about 30 cyclists armed with markers drew potential bike paths onto maps of central Queens in an effort to help the city determine where bicycle lanes and racks might be placed. They traced paths rode regularly and blazed new … Continue reading
Prompted by a request from Queens residents last year, city officials are looking into bringing bike lanes to the area covered by Community Board 5 – and they’re asking for input on a plan that some civic leaders say could calm traffic congestion and create the bicycle infrastructure that the borough’s central neighborhoods lack. The Department of City Planning, the city Department of Transportation and CB 5 will host a community meeting on Saturday, May 11, from 11 am to … Continue reading
More than two dozen volunteers came out in support of the Junper park Civic Associations clean-up on Saturday to clean and paint the dual overpass at Eliot Avenue and 60th Lane. The Juniper Juniors, of the the Juniper Park Civic Association, organized the event with the support of Maspeth High School’s Green Club and Earth Day volunteers from Stop and Shop. This marked the second successful pairing between the Junios and the Maspeth High School’s Green Club. The first event … Continue reading
Flanked by legislators, neighborhood leaders and family – including his 96-year-old grandfather – and armed with harsh words for tax increases and fines on small businesses, civic activist Craig Caruana officially launched his campaign for Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s (D-Middle Village) seat representing Council District 30 on Monday. “There’s so much going on in the country that, as just one person, you can fall into the trap of thinking there’s nothing you can do about it – but you can,” Caruana, … Continue reading
Middle Village Prep (MVP) conducted its first lottery for its inauguration class on Tuesday, April 16, 2012. MVP is a charter middle school serving grades 6 through 8, whose goal is to provide a small-school experience in a nurturing environment. “We are excited to welcome MVP’s first 120 students,” said MVP Principal Rivera. “MVP will give District 24 students the opportunity for a vigorous academic schedule in a small classroom environment, which will prepare them for academic success in a … Continue reading
In an effort to both clean the environment in Queens and conserve energy, Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens) helped secure $3 million in this year’s state budget to upgrade the first of a number of antiquated high-emissions trains which are owned and leased out by the Long Island Rail Road to haul freight throughout the borough and beyond. Hevesi was backed by several other Queens’ politicians including Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) and Borough President Helen Marshall who recently wrote an … Continue reading
In a recent survey of 45 large city parks, including 17 in Queens, Middle Village’s 56-acre Juniper Valley Park scored best in terms of its overall level of maintenance. The park scored 98 out of 100 for an A+ on the 2012 Report Card for Large Parks by the nonprofit New Yorkers for Parks, a city parks advocacy group. In 2011, the first year of the group’s annual survey, Juniper scored a 93, second best in the city. The report … Continue reading
After months of exploring a potential run against Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), civic activist Craig Caruana said this week he is likely poised to soon make an official announcement that he is launching a campaign for the district covering the area in which he grew up. “We’ll probably make a decision within the next week or so,” said Caruana, 29, a Middle Village native. “I wanted to make sure I could raise the money to do it and that … Continue reading
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) announced today that she will bring Congress to Queens by holding her first “Congress on Your Corner” event at the Middle Village Library on Wednesday, March 27 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The event will afford local residents the opportunity to meet one-on-one with their new Congresswoman. Constituents can have Meng address their problems, discuss their concerns and listen to their views. Or they can simply stop-by to say hi and shake her hand. … Continue reading
A concerted effort of epic proportion to replace antiquated locomotives responsible for hauling NYC garbage has been launched by the founders of CURES, Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions. The group was founded back in 2009 by two Middle Village/Glendale residents, Mary Parisen and Mary Arnold. Since then, the two civic dynamos have enlisted the cooperation of a total of 14 civics organizations in surrounding areas including, Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, Ridgewood and Forest Hills. The pair say they were … Continue reading
Councilmember Eric Ulrich joined Century 21 Real Estate Broker Anne Marie Chirichigno for a ceremonial ribbon cutting at her new offices on Myrtle Avenue in Glendale. Chirichigno has enjoyed a successful brokerage in Howard Beach for many years and recently decided to branch out into the western part of Queens incorporating the areas of Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and other nearby communities into her network. The new office will be staffed with many professional agents and … Continue reading
A Middle Village native, 54-year-old Joseph Benzinger, was found dead in his room at the Crown Motel in Elmhurst late Saturday night. Police say the cleaning staff at the hourly rate hotel found his body shortly before midnight. He had been strangled and had a shirt wrapped around his neck. A news report highlighting comments form Maria Ortiz, a motel desk clerk at Crown, spoke of a “nice guy.” Describing Benzinger as a regular customer at the motel. “He was … Continue reading
To Middle Village’s own Eric Ritter, “Life in the Fast Lane,” is much more than a classic Eagle’s tune. It’s the way Ritter rolls, both figuratively and literally. Ritter, 50, an auto technician for Hillside Honda in Jamaica, flies out to Utah three times per year in August, September and October to race a specially-equipped, enclosed body, aerodynamic car atop Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, 3,500 feet above sea-level. “It’s definitely a blast of a ride,” said Ritter, who back in … Continue reading
Although neither an official announcement, nor a final decision has been made according to insiders at what could be Craig Caruana’s campaign, serious considerations are being made by the Middle Village born activist to run for the seat in the 30 th district currently represented by Elizabeth Crowley. “We will make a decision in the next few weeks,” Caruana said in a statement. ” …I have been in touch with community leaders about possibly running. If I run, the campaign … Continue reading