Category Archives: Rego Park
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
With subway trains zipping overhead at the corner of Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park, local legislators and transportation advocates last week shared their vision of what a reactivated train would bring to central Queens. In a joint press conference on Feb. 9, State Assemblymen Phil Goldfeder and Mike Miller joined others in calling for the rehabilitation of the currently defunct Rockaway Beach Rail Line in order to have trains actively connecting communities in central and southern Queens, as well as … Continue reading
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn called plagiarism the biggest compliment you can pay during her annual State of the City address on Feb. 9. Quinn was talking about how she and Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) are—as Quinn put it—plagiarizing the idea of Fashion Week to create a citywide Design Week. The two are aiming for May 2013 for the first event that could include community-driven events throughout all the boroughs. But with the planning phase just starting, details are … 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
For Arno Heller, 91, of Rego Park, the road to receiving one of the highest-ranking medals awarded to a soldier was along one—one that was 68 years in the making. Heller was born in October 1920 in Hamburg, Germany, where he lived in his Jewish household with his mother, Paula, his father, Emil, and his sister, Ingrid. Life growing up was simple, with sports and school filling his youthful days. “[Hamburg] was just like any place else in the world,” … 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
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