Category Archives: Uncategorized
The city Buildings Department approved plans to stick a fork in the footprint of a famous restaurant in Rego Park. Documents showed a portion of the 62-96 Woodhaven Blvd. building has been slated for demolition to make way for a seven-story, 114-unit apartment development, the Long Island City-based Criterion Group said. The news came one month after the famous Joe Abbracciamento restaurant closed up shop after 60 years in businesses. Owner John Abbracciamento said he was still unsure as … Continue reading
The School Sisters of Notre Dame in Woodhaven are holding a raffle to benefit the group, which provides a variety of free resources to residents – including GED and English language classes. Tickets are $2 each, and the winning prizes are $100 Metro cards. Tickets may be purchased as the SSND Educational Center, located at 87-04 88th Ave. The SSND have for years been lauded by area leaders for being a vital part of the community. The organization, which launched its Educational Center … Continue reading
The American Legion Auxiliary is holding a raffle to benefit “Operation Comfort Warriors,” or military men and women who have been wounded while serving their country. Tickets are $20 each, and only 150 tickets will be sold. The first prize is $1,000, the second prize is $350, and the third place winner will take home $150. To purchase tickets, please contact Jennifer Farley at jfarley13729@yahoo.com. The American Legion Post 118 in Woodhaven is also looking for help to send a box of goods … Continue reading
Project Sunshine, a nonprofit working with more than 15,000 volunteers throughout the city, is honoring the men and women who have poured their efforts into brightening the lives of children at hospitals in Queens. The group celebrates “Project Sunshine Month” in April, during which it raises awareness and support for the organization through a series of events and programs. It also recognizes its volunteers during “Project Sunshine Week,” which falls from April 22 through April 29 and culminates with the … Continue reading
As the weather gets warmer – well, other than this week – and students’ thoughts turn to summer vacation, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park) is encouraging South Queens youngsters to keep learning even when they don’t have to go to class. Goldfeder this week announced his annual Summer Reading Challenge, which he said helps to keep students’ minds active and encourage academic activity outside of school walls. Children who participate in the program will be awarded an Excellence in Reading … Continue reading
Food pantries across Queens, and the city, have experienced a spike in the number of people reaching out to them for help in recent years – but it’s not just people who need help with hunger. The Calvary Mission Food Pantry in Richmond Hill, as well as the Blessed Sacrament Food Pantry just across the Queens border in Brooklyn, are in need of cat and dog food donations. Individuals working at both pantries have said that many people will seek food for their beloved animals, but they often have to turn them away because … Continue reading
A Brooklyn man is about to spend 10 years of his life behind bars for breaking into nearly a dozen homes in Forest Hills, Ridgewood, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, and Howard Beach, and stealing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, cameras, computer equipment, and other items, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said last week. Mario Girau, 29, pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary and third-degree criminal possession of stolen property last month and was sentenced last Thursday. “This defendant is … Continue reading
The city Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are hosting a public workshop on Wednesday, April 23 to discuss improving bus service, traffic flow, and safety along Woodhaven and Cross BayBoulevards. All are welcome to attend, and participants will have the opportunity to share transportation experiences and needs, learn about transit improvements taking place this year, and discuss plans to implement what is known as “select bus service.” The meeting will be held April 23 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at … Continue reading
Growing up in Richmond Hill and Flushing, Amy Wu has long been a proud resident of the borough that she said can often get the shaft by individuals who denounce it as a “suburb of Manhattan” – or an “outer borough that isn’t Brooklyn,” as she states on the Kickstarter website she launched last week to raise money for a project that aims to explore Queens through interviews, photos, and a resource directory. Originally thought of for a graduate school … Continue reading
Maspeth High School will host its first ever science fair on Friday, April 25, at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and first, second, and third prizes will given out. The school, which opened in 2011 and began in its current location at 54-40 74th St. in September 2012, has boasted a number of recent firsts, along with the science fair. School officials announced just last week that Maspeth HighSchool Green Club member Thomas Farrell was selected as one of 15 winners – from 1,200 entries – for the … Continue reading
A Jamaica man pleaded guilty last week to having sexual contact with two 7-year-old girls in South Ozone Park last year, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Lee Samuel, 26, who had been held without bail since his arrest last May, pleaded guilty in Queens Supreme Court to touching one girl on the butt as she was tying her shoe and to engaging in a sexual act with another young girl, according to the DA. “The defendant has admitted to … Continue reading
Following a year and a half of battling with everything from insurance companies to Build it Back, Broad Channel residents received some good news this week: the city has agreed to permit the Parks Department to immediately begin replanting trees destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. The decision comes in response to a letter sent by Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park) last month, when he urged the city Department of Design and Construction to give the go-ahead to replace the greenery that … Continue reading
City officials have a message for motorists on Atlantic Avenue: Slow down. Atlantic Avenue will be the first major road in the city to undergo a speed reduction as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” plan to significantly curb traffic-related fatalities, city Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said last week. The first of 25 planned arterial slow zones will be installed along eight miles of Atlantic Avenue, from Brooklyn Heights to Woodhaven, this month, and the speed … Continue reading
Standing along the historic “Canyon of Heroes” route in lower Manhattan, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and a group of veterans this week urged the city to work with the U.S. Department of Defense to host a celebration welcoming home individuals who served their country in Afghanistan and Iraq. The legislator; Vincent McGowan, a Vietnam Marine veteran and founding president of the United War Veterans Council of New York; and representatives of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, as … Continue reading
Hundreds of Woodhaven’s youngest athletes celebrated the 56th annual WORKS Little League Opening Day parade Saturday morning, when they marched down Jamaica Avenue and into Forest Park to kick off the much-anticipated season. Close to 800 people – including players, coaches, parents, and other volunteers – participated in the event, which has for more than half a century drawn individuals from throughout the neighborhood for a day filled with sportsmanship and camaraderie. Marchers gathered at PS 60 to begin the … Continue reading