Category Archives: Uncategorized
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz on Tuesday announced the appointment of Melva Miller as Deputy Borough President, effective immediately. Miller succeeds Leroy Comrie, who left Borough Hall in January to begin his first term as state senator for the 14th District. Katz made the announcement at the Queens Chamber of Commerce Networking Breakfast at St. John’s University. She cited Miller’s background in tackling borough business issues as one of the main reasons why she tapped her for the deputy post. … Continue reading
Following the announcement last week that New York City will be implementing a ban on curbside disposal of electronics waste as of January 2015, Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr. has penned a letter to the Department of Sanitation requesting more drop-off locations for old equipment. The ban is the third and final phase of the NY State Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act law, governing annual statewide recycling starting in 2011. The law covers electronic items including but not limited to: … Continue reading
While comprehensive immigration reform remains a hot-button political issue, the city last week unveiled a new resource to help recently arrived immigrant children and their families connect to government and nonprofit services. Designed by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, this guide provides information about health insurance and access to care, mental-health clinics, school enrollment, food pantries, homelessness prevention, legal services and more. It will be distributed widely for use by city agencies, schools, nonprofit organizations, and immigrant children and … Continue reading
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown (c.) named Assistant District Attorneys Elizabeth Speck and Kanella Georgopoulos as the dual recipients of the Queens District Attorney’s 23rd Annual Hal Miller Weinstein Memorial Award. The award is presented to a member of the District Attorney’s first-year class who most exemplifies and embodies the exceptional spirit, boundless enthusiasm and deep commitment to public service as did the late Assistant District Attorney Hal Miller Weinstein, a first-year prosecutor who tragically died in April 1992 … Continue reading
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Beach) last week recognized the community service of Broad Channel Civic Association President Dan Mundy, Jr. Goldfeder presented Mundy with a framed copy of the Jamaica Bay Protection Bill, together with the initial 2012 press release announcing the legislation and the pen used by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign the bill into law earlier this year. Goldfeder consulted Mundy during the research and drafting of the new law, which prevents the dumping of toxic chemicals into … Continue reading
The next time you find yourself at the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue, take a quick look around. You might catch a driver or bus passenger or pedestrian heading north on the boulevard craning their neck toward the elevated subway station and that mysterious face that has stood sentinel over the roadway for more than 20 years. And thanks to a new book that features the 250 permanent works of art throughout the city’s vast transportation network, curious … Continue reading
After an exhaustive national search, the Queens Museum Board of Trustees last week named Laura Raicovich as the borough cultural institution’s new president and executive director. Raicovich, 41, replaces long-time museum head Tom Finkelpearl, who earlier this year was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio as the commissioner for the city Department of Cultural Affairs. She will assume her new position on Jan. 1, 2015. “Laura has spent the past two decades strengthening arts institutions, realizing the visions of artists, … Continue reading
De-cluttering a home went from a chore to a way to go green and bring awareness and action to the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle” on Sunday at the bi-annual Recycling Day in Forest Park. Since 2009, state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) have organized the recycling event twice a year for constituents and donators to recycle unwanted electronics, paper and household items in an effort to encourage their districts to become more environmentally friendly. … Continue reading
All aboard the (brand new) bus. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday approved more than $80 million in federally funded contracts awarded to a Minnesota bus manufacturer for the delivery of 120 new low-floor transit vehicles: 75 low floor 60-foot articulated diesel buses and 45 low floor 40-foot diesel buses to be used by MTA Bus Company. The combined total award to New Flyer of America is $80,072,520. The 40-foot bus costs $496,267 per bus, with the contract also providing … Continue reading
Bill de Blasio’s successful mayoral campaign was built around his “Tale of Two Cities,” which highlighted what he saw as unprecedented socioeconomic inequality facing the Big Apple. One of the ways in which he sought to bridge that pervasive gap was through education, particularly after-school programs, and last week he visited Richmond Hill to applaud the efforts of educators and raise awareness of enrollment applications for these enhanced after-school activities. De Blasio and city Department of Youth and Community Development … Continue reading
A new piece of legislation is looking to link up veterans with benefit counselors across the city. City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) announced a bill last week that would provide veterans with benefit counselors in each borough through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The councilman said he launched the initiative with hopes of helping veterans get their hands on the benefits already at their disposal. “One of the biggest difficulties facing New York City’s veterans is access to … Continue reading
A city Comptroller Scott Stringer audit singled out the city Housing Authority for failing to follow its own regulations in hiring low-income New Yorkers. NYCHA, the audit said, did not make sure that contractors working on its capital projects were following federal law – which coincided with the group’s own regulations – mandating the employment of NYCHA residents and low-income residents Stringer said. The misstep ended up costing low-income residents hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential wages, the comptroller … Continue reading
One idea, a lot of hard work and determination, 250 cyclists, a sea of volunteers, a ton of donations, four local ambulance corps and a full compliment of NYPD officers from 5 precincts across Queens and Brooklyn–that’s what went into “The Loop”, a hugely successful cycling fund-raiser held in Howard Beach on Saturday . It began when Howard Beach resident Ann Marie Gurino was asked to assume a position on the Board of Directors of New York Families for Autistic … Continue reading
Broken windows, overgrown grass and an unkempt front yard are only the beginning for residents living on 95th Street in Howard Beach. Complaints over unwanted – and sometimes illegal – activity have plagued neighbors living along the street for the better part of two years, and now residents there compiled a petition of more than 100 signatures over a period of less than two weeks pleading for help. “Something needs to be done,” said one neighbor, who did not want to … Continue reading
Woodhaven residents were slapped with another delay as they waited for a partially collapsed building on Jamaica Avenue to come down. After being told that work would begin at the 78-19 Jamaica Ave. building by July 14, demolition plans were once again put on hold because of a lapse in communication between architects and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as the agency reviews the plan. Now, a judge will have to set an entirely new timeline of events, officials said. Martin … Continue reading