Category Archives: Uncategorized
Flying thousands of feet in the air, her destination point more than an hour away, Howard Beach resident Jennifer Fernandes recently faced one of the scariest moments of her life as her 12-year-old son had a severe allergic reaction to the nuts served to him on the plane and suddenly was unable to breathe. “He had one nut, and his tongue went numb and then he couldn’t breathe,” Fernandes said of her son, Jonathan. “I saw him holding his neck; … Continue reading
Calling a damaged and collapsed fence running along part of the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge and Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach an “eyesore,” Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park) this week urged the National Park Service to clean up the area that residents said has been a problem spot following Hurricane Sandy. “Our hardworking families have been through enough after Sandy, and they deserve a neighborhood that they can be proud to call home,” said Goldfeder, who penned a … Continue reading
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, left, led an informational seminar Monday at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center to help Queens residents learn more about the Affordable Care Act – the federal health care reform law commonly referred to as Obamacare. As part of the session, Katz helped individuals sign up for health coverage under the ACA before the current open enrollment period ends March 31. Jamaica Hospital Medical Center Bruce Flanz, right, joined Katz for the event, which also featured assistance for residents offered by multilingual health … Continue reading
The numbers are remembered easily, but swallowed hard, rolling off their tongue, but sinking, heavily, into stomachs lined with anxiety, after having to cite them so many times in the nearly year and a half following Hurricane Sandy. For Broad Channel resident Sophia Vailakis-DeVirgilio, there’s the $250,000 flood insurance plan – and the $69,000 that was awarded. For Palmer Doyle, of Belle Harbor, there was also the $250,000 flood insurance plan that was supposed to help him piece his life … Continue reading
Queens dogs in danger of being left out in the cold during this frigid winter recently landed some help from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the nonprofit New York Cares and the NYPD. The three organizations partnered to launch “Operation Gimme Shelter,” a pilot program to provide free dog houses to at-risk pets, which comes in the wake of an increased number of reports to the NYPD about dogs left outside without property shelter during … Continue reading
The streets of Rockaway were flooded with the sounds of bagpipes and many a reveler decked out in green last Saturday, when thousands of people celebrated the 39th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. “This is our second parade since Sandy, and Rockaway is coming back,” Michael Benn, president of the Queens County St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, told a cheering crowd. Many of those attending Saturday’s festivities – the second largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York City – … Continue reading
When Amy Wu walks down the streets of Queens – whether it’s Jackson Heights or Richmond Hill or Jamaica – she sees an outpouring of stories, all those countless pieces of people – their histories and passion and failures – that almost always go unsaid as everyone rushes past one another in a world that can seem to have very little patience for even the tiniest of small talk. But it is these stories that Wu wants to hear – … Continue reading
As cars become increasingly more tech savvy, the new gadgets, such as GPS, can certainly make life easier – but it comes at a price, according to a New York lawmaker who is urging federal regulators to limit the amount of information companies can collect on drivers. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Sunday that he is calling on the Federal Trade Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to protect drivers’ privacy. While he praised the boost in … Continue reading
After two children who were supposed to be under state protection were beaten to death, Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi is calling for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to restore millions of dollars that has been slashed from funding for the Child Welfare Service. As the state has axed funding over the past three years, carving about $20 million that was once allocated for Child Welfare Service reimbursements, a number of tragedies involving children have occurred – and while legislators are not directly … Continue reading
The fourth annual Queens World Film Festival returns to the borough on March 4 to March 9, screening smart and innovative films from both local and international artists. This year, attendees will be treated to 127 films that vary from horror and romance to LGBT shorts, features, narratives and international documentaries. The festival will open at the Museum of the Moving Image and then shift to three venues in LIC and Jackson Heights. According to organizers, the festival celebrates the … Continue reading
Christian ‘Tian’ Doran marched to the beat of a different drum. Coming from what his father described as a “family of accountants,” his parents, Bellerose residents Steve and Cindy, said their son diverged from the path and threw much of his passion into music, art, and philosophy – but it was when he began to fight to preserve and reuse the New York State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows Corona Park that they said he began to come into his own … Continue reading
The number of reported domestic violence cases has increased dramatically in South Queens – but police said such a spike is only the tip of the iceberg to representing the magnitude of the crime in the area, and officers are urging victims to speak up about what they said is an epidemic that has taken root across not just the borough, but the entire country. The plea for victims to reach out – whether it’s to police or a variety … Continue reading
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz will team up with hospitals in Jamaica and Elmhurst to offer two informational seminars in early March in an attempt to help residents learn more about the health care options available to them and address concerns or questions individuals have regarding the Affordable Care Act – often referred to as Obamacare. The seminars at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Elmhurst Hospital Center will include a multilingual group of health care officials, and the forums are … Continue reading
Kathryn Mallon, the head of the city’s Build it Back program, announced her resignation from the problem-ridden initiative last week, and her official departure on Friday, Feb. 28 is being lamented by Queens residents and elected officials. “Kathryn Mallon was dealt a pretty crappy hand,” said Broad Channel Civic Association President Dan Mundy, Jr. “By the time she got there in October, it was an absolute disaster. Now, her leaving the program is a big loss. She’s a workaholic. She … Continue reading
Sam Esposito, a former cop from Ozone Park who has sat on Community Board 9 for years, was one of 28 people arrested Tuesday and indicted in a massive ongoing Social Security fraud investigation, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said. Tuesday’s arrests follow Vance’s announcement in early January that 106 defendants were charged with participating in a massive fraud against the federal Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits program that resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars from … Continue reading