Nov. 1, 2021 By Allie Griffin More than 2,000 firefighters have called in ‘sick’ as the city’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate took effect Monday. More than half of the 2,300 who didn’t show up for work are believed to be unvaccinated, NBC News reported, and are apparently protesting the city’s vaccine mandate for its public workers…. Read more »
Oct. 22, 2021 By Allie Griffin An Astoria assembly member has joined a hunger strike taking place outside City Hall in support of taxi drivers fighting for debt relief. Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani and more than a dozen yellow cab drivers are on day three of a hunger strike they started Wednesday to demand the… Read more »
Oct. 22, 2021 By Allie Griffin A Queens grand jury indicted a Jamaica man on hate crime charges for allegedly attacking Muslim New Yorkers in three separate incidents over the summer. Naved Durrni, 30, was indicted and arraigned Friday on robbery, assault as a hate crime and other charges in Queens Supreme Court. Durrni, of… Read more »
Oct. 19, 2021 By Allie Griffin Apartment rentals in Queens are largely going for less than they were before the pandemic threw the market in a tailspin, a new real estate report shows. Rent prices continue to trend upward but have yet to reach pre-pandemic costs in the vast majority of Queens neighborhoods, a market… Read more »
Oct. 20, 2021 By Allie Griffin All city workers must get vaccinated for COVID-19 or face unpaid leave under a new mandate Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday. The mandate requires city employees — including police officers, firefighters and sanitation workers — to get at least one dose by 5 p.m. on Oct. 29. It… Read more »
Oct. 19, 2021 By Allie Griffin A group of Auburndale residents, business owners and local politicians are calling on the city to shut down a local bar they say has made their lives a living hell for the past eight months. Dozens rallied outside Kloud Tequila Grill, located at 192-08 Northern Blvd., Saturday to draw… Read more »
Oct. 18, 2021 By Allie Griffin A couple who allegedly stored a stockpile of gun-making equipment in the Rosedale home they shared with their 10-year-old daughter was charged with criminal sale of a weapon and other charges Friday. Lissette Espinal, 32, and Ricardi Kiem, 31, were arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Friday morning on a… Read more »
Oct. 15, 2021 By Allie Griffin A new state law will soon make it illegal to threaten to report someone to ICE as a form of blackmail. The legislation, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law last week, classifies such threats as extortion or coercion under New York law and therefore a crime. “New York… Read more »
Oct. 14, 2021 By Allie Griffin Residential sales prices across Queens grew at the highest rate among the five boroughs over the past year, according to a new report. The median sales price in Queens was $580,000 in the third quarter of 2021, a 17 percent increase from the third quarter of 2020 — representing… Read more »
Oct. 14, 2021 By Allie Griffin Six million New York City residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday. “This is unbelievable,” de Blasio said during his morning press briefing. “Six million people who have gone and done the right thing for themselves and their families,… Read more »