The 22nd annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival took place in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on August 4 and 5 in celebration of the Year of the Dragon. The race started at 9 a.m and lasted throughout the day until about 5 p.m. The tradition of dragon boat racing is an annual Chinese rite commemorating the idealistic poet and reformer Qu […]
St. George’s Church Receives “Sacred” Grants
The New York Landmarks Conservancy has announced 23 Sacred Sites Grants totaling $294,500 awarded to historic religious properties throughout New York state including four Robert W. Wilson Sacred Sites Challenge Grants to the Church of St. Jean Baptiste in Manhattan, St. George’s Church in Flushing, Bedford Park Congregational Church in The Bronx and Emmanuel Baptist Church in Albany. “You don’t […]
Vallone Honors Astoria’s Best Senior Swimmers
On August 8, Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. attended the annual Senior Citizen/Special Populations Celebration Day at Astoria Pool. Vallone, who has attended the event each year he has been in office, presented Giuseppe Purich with the award for 2012 Outstanding Swimmer/Male Senior Citizen. The councilmember also learned to swim at Astoria Pool as a child. The swimming program, now […]
Elected Officials Denounce Shooting At Sikh Temple In Wisconsin
On August 7, Congressmember Joe Crowley, a leader on Sikh-American issues in the U.S. Congress, and city and state officials joined members of New York City’s Sikh community, including representatives of the Sikh Cultural Society and the Sikh Coalition, to denounce the tragic shooting on August 5 at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and to express solidarity with the Sikh […]
Pomonok Mom Charged With Murdering Son
Police arrested a 29-year-old mother of six on Friday night, who is facing charges for allegedly strangling her two-year-old son in their Kew Gardens Hills apartment.Cops said Afriyie Gaspard called 911 at about 8:30 p.m. on August 10, saying she found her son, Isayah Hall, two, unconscious in their apartment at the Pomonok Houses at 155-14 Jewel Ave.Gaspard told EMS […]
Fresh Meadows Mother Accused Of Strangling Two-Year-Old To Death
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced that a 29-year-old Fresh Meadows woman has been charged with first-degree manslaughter and other charges in the strangulation death of her two-year-old son because he was screaming, crying and kicking.The district attorney identified the defendant as Afriyie Gaspard, 29, of 155-14 Jewel Ave., in Fresh Meadows. She is presently awaiting arraignment in Queens […]
Airport Officials Question JFK Security Breach
Federal investigators are trying to determine how a stranded Long Island jet-skier, seeking help managed to breach the Port Authority’s $100 million, state-of-the-art security system at JFK Airport on August 10.A soaking-wet Daniel Casillo, 31, ran to a Delta worker on the JFK tarmac on Friday night and told the worker he “had to swim to JFK and climb a […]
Boro-Wide Blotter
You Can Join Astoria’s Neighborhood Watch!Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. is working with police at the 114th Precinct to establish a Neighborhood Watch comprised of area residents that will act as the eyes and ears of the NYPD.More than 24 residents have so far signed up for the program, which includes training sessions with police at the 114th Precinct. Volunteers […]
LaGuardia CC Students, Faculty Warned Of Legionnaires’ Disease
Students and faculty members at LaGuardia Community College received an email notification on August 2, warning of a potentially dangerous outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease at the school’s Long Island City campus.A spokesperson for the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOH) said the agency alerted school officials in June, that two school employees had come down with the virus […]
Vallone Calls For Return Of East River Fireworks
Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. is on a mission to bring the Macy’s July 4 fireworks display back to the East River.Vallone, in a letter to Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Macy’s requested that the annual fireworks extravaganza be returned to the East River, where “millions of people…are eager to participate in what should be a […]