Tenants, electeds demand federal funding for NYCHA
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“For far too long, our public housing infrastructure needs have been left unaddressed, left to get worse.”
Queens DACA applicants wonder what comes next after federal ruling
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“When the news came that they stopped taking applications, it was a blow.”
Read MoreQueens families get a boost from NYC Kids Rise
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“Because of the relationships and systems set up… we were quickly able to mobilize to get resources into the hands of families in our community.”
Read MoreQueens electeds slam de Blasio’s vendor crackdown
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“How can you honor vendors as essential workers in the Hometown Heroes Parade, and now send officers to harass them for providing an essential service?”
Read MoreWeprin honors Queens doctor on his 102nd birthday
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“Perhaps, a commitment to making things better for people in need is the secret to longevity.”
Read More‘Stop dividing us’: Queens shares hopes for redistricting
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“The lines divide us in a way that dilutes our ability to be a strong voice… stop dividing us, keep us whole.”
Read MoreQueens Defenders launch program to teach kids about their rights
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“Every single wrongful conviction happened because the 4th, 5th and 6th were not known.”
Read MoreQueens Council on the Arts moves to LIC
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“Our new location is designed to be inclusive, fully accessible, and welcoming to the different needs of artists in our diverse borough.
Read MoreJamaica residents fight waste transfer stations
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“Somebody’s making money off this waste and the community is suffering.”
Read MoreCOVID cases on the rise in Queens neighborhoods
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“We’re definitely watching the situation with the cases with concern.”
Read MoreFlushing Library to close for major repairs
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Flushing Library will close for a heating and cooling system overhaul. Photo via Youngking11/Wikimedia Commons
By Rachel Vick
Later this summer, Queens’ busiest library branch will be shutting its doors while the Queens Public Library works to fix the Flushing Library’s 23-year-old ventilation system.
The heating, ventilation and cooling system stopped working in May and the branch will close once the city stops using it as a vaccination hub.
“We know very well that the library is the center of community life in Flushing and that it is an invaluable resource,” said Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott. “So many people have been looking forward to the library’s reopening and unfortunately it is unclear when this will be possible.”
“Replacing the HVAC system will take considerable time — it is an extremely complicated system — and we are working with the City to determine the best plan of action for installing a new one, and to evaluate options for a temporary solution,” he added.
Because the city owns the building and is responsible for major upkeep, they are required to follow the design-bid-build process for the replacement.
The city installed portable air conditioners in May that were unable to keep up, according to QPL. Vaccination efforts were forced to relocate to buses parked outside the building, with staff using the building as a staging area and for bathrooms.
They are now in the process of moving the vaccination site to another institution.
“This work, along with the construction of a new, second public elevator, is enormously complex,” Walcott said. “We look forward to updating the community with further details as they become available.”
Advocates pressure Cuomo to sign parole reform bill
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“As New York attempts to rebuild after the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot afford to spend $680 million a year locking people up with no benefit to public safety.”
Read MoreBorough Board approves plan for hotel special permits
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“Queens and the city as a whole needs smart development.”
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Celebrating the life of Louis Armstrong
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How genuinely pleased and proud would Louis Armstrong be to know that the young men who captivated the revelers at a Celebration of his Life portrayed a performative instinct that typified the power, passion and drama of his very own consummate artistic self-expression. Photo by Francie Scanlon
By Francie Scanlon
July 6, 2021 marked the half-century anniversary of the transition of Louis Armstrong, who passed in 1971.
It's amazing to reflect how his funeral the following Friday, July 8, 1971, in Corona, Queens witnessed the presence of honorary pallbearers including Mayor Lindsay, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Frank Sinatra. Such was and still is the profundity of his legacy.
Today those gathered for this annual tribute sponsored by the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation experienced what the triumphant trumpeter reported in the 1960s concerning his intention about audiences.
Armstrong emphasized that "...he lived for that audience" and surely today's performers delivered big-time by totally aligning with his then stated expectation, "...what you're there for is to please the people".
Photo by Francie Scanlon
A dog leaps with delight into the air keen to get a closer look at the Armstrong Block Party menu. Photo by Francie Scanlon.
