From the office of Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. National Night Out Against Crime is upon us once again on Tuesday, August 3, and what an amazing event it is. This annual national community-building event helps promote a healthy police-community partnership throughout the country in order to help make our neighborhoods safer and better places to live for everyone. The […]
Substitute Teacher Busted in Classroom Gun Threat
A substitute teacher at a Maspeth middle school was arrested on July 21st after he threatened to shoot a class of nine students, ages 11 and 12, police said. Police said Alejandro Rocha, 52, was teaching an art class at IS 5, the Walter Crowley School, when he became enraged and announced, “If you don’t do as you’re told, I’m […]
Community News
‘Batteries Included’ in New Power Plant Approval The New York State Public Service Commission has given a nod to Con Edison and partner 174 Power Global for development of a large battery system at the former site of the Charles Poletti power plant on 20th Avenue in Astoria. Approval by the state energy regulator is a major step in the […]
Signal Problem Halts Queens Subway Service
A sudden signal problem forced the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to suspend service on multiple lines throughout Queens on Monday afternoon, sending frustrated straphangers racing to find alternate routes as temperatures soared to near 90-degrees in the city. The Queens signaling system lost power at about 1:45 p.m. on July 26th, near the 71st Avenue-Continental Avenue subway station in Forest […]
FAA Approves AirTrain to LaGuardia
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan for a new AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport, paving the way for construction to start by early 2022 on the approximately $2.1 billion project. The FAA approval ends a decades-long attempt by transit advocates to build an extension from the Astoria Boulevard N-W elevated station, either over the Grand Central […]
Crime Watch
Gunman Misses Target, Fires Into Sunnyside Library Police are searching for a crazed gunman who opened fire on another man on Saturday afternoon, missing his target and instead blasting at least one round through a window at the Sunnyside Library branch at 43-06 Greenpoint Avenue. Cops said the two men were involved in a shouting match outside an apartment building […]
Remembering the 200th Anniversary of the 1821 Greek Revolution: The Filiki Eteria Museum, Ukraine
It all began in Odessa, Ukraine. Greek merchants Nikolaos Skoufas, Anastasios Sakalof and Emanuel Xanthos started the revolutionary group called Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends in 1814. A virtual program entitled “Children of the Diaspora of the Five Continents describe, learn and narrate the 200 years of the Revolution of our Greece” showed us a museum devoted to the […]
Vaccinations Or Weekly Testing Mandate for All City Workers
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that he would be expanding upon an earlier vaccine mandate to include all of the city’s 340,000 municipal workers. According to the announcement, the approximately 45,000 workers employed in residential and congregate care settings like nursing homes and hospitals must show proof of vaccination by August 16th or submit to weekly testing. The […]