Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office By Mayor Eric Adams Op Ed   NEW YORK - Every day when I’m out talking to my fellow New Yorkers across the five boroughs, I hear the same things. All of us want a strong economy, safe streets and subways; more affordable housing; support for working families and a great education for our children.   When I took office as your Mayor a year ago, I pledged that we would Get Stuff Done in these areas, and I am proud to report that we have done just that. The economy is roaring back, with over 150,000 private-sector jobs added between January and October. Subway ridership is higher than it has been in two years. Tourism has recovered to 85% of pre-pandemic levels, supporting jobs across every sector, from hotels to restaurants, bars and shops.   After two years of the COVID pandemic, New York City is back. I can feel the energy everywhere I go, and I can see the difference from when I was on the campaign trail.   Much o

As a driver tried to fill his flat tire, a thief snuck into his car and stole items. Cops say the thief punctured the victim's tire to set up the robbery. By Dan Gesslein Queens Voice December 23, 2022  QUEENS - Cops are looking for a pair of crooks who staged an elaborate way of robbing a driver by puncturing the man’s tire and robbing him as he tried to fix his flat.  Investigators said that at around 8 pm on November 21, two men walked up to a car in front of a fish market on Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven. The men punctured the rear passenger tire.  Seeing his tire gauge go off in the car, the 62-year-old owner drove to a nearby service station on Parsons Boulevard. Following close behind him were the two men who punctured the tire.  Surveillance video then shows the driver get out of his car parked in front of the gas station’s air compressor. As he bent over to fill the rear tire, the video shows one of the men walk from across the street. The man the

Rendering NEW YORK  – Con Edison is monitoring the winter storm that is expected to hit our region tonight, and Friday and mobilizing to respond to any service problems that may occur.   More than 700 outside workers have been scheduled to address power outages that may arise in New York City and Westchester County.   The wind could bring down power lines, causing customers to lose service and creating a safety hazard. In addition, road salt will mix with melting ice and could damage underground electrical wiring and lead to outages.   The company urges members of the public to stay away from downed wires. They may be live.  For your safety, we may guard downed wires until crews make repairs. Our personnel may be in unmarked cars but will always have Con Edison identification.   Restoration Plan The priority for restoration will be critical customer facilities that have an impact on the public, such as mass transit, hospitals, police and fire stations, and sewage an

A Queens man has been charged with beating one child to death and injuring another at a homeless shelter.  QUEENS - Prosecutors have charged a Queens man with beating his 3-year-old child to death inside a homeless shelter as well as abusing another child. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Shaquan Butler has been indicted for murder, endangering the welfare of a child and other crimes in connection with the death of his 3-year-old son and the physical abuse to a second child in an Elmhurst shelter last month.  According to the indictment, on November 13, at approximately 7:40 p.m., Butler was in an apartment at the Pan American Hotel in Elmhurst when he allegedly struck his 3-year-old son multiple times causing lacerations to the child’s liver and internal bleeding. The child’s mother and his two young siblings were in the apartment at the time as well.  Responding to a 911 call, the New York Fire Department arrived at the hotel and found the 3-yea

By Dan Gesslein  Queens Voice  December 16, 2022  QUEENS - Cops released new photos of a perv who played with himself on a Queens subway train at a busy station.  At around 12:45 am on November 9, a 37-year-old woman was on board a southbound R Train at Queens Plaza Station. She looked up to see a man exposing himself and masterbating. The straphanger used her cell phone to take a photo of the perv. Annoyed, the man got up and walked away from her to sit at the other end of the subway car.  Police originally released the female rider’s cell phone photos of the suspect. However, a recent investigation turned up surveillance photos of the suspect as he entered the subway turnstile.  Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at  1-800-577-TIPS  (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at  https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/  or

Police are searching for this man in connection with a string of robberies in which thieves spray an unknown substance in the victims' eyes and steal their items. By Dan Gesslein Queens Voice December 14, 2022  QUEENS - Seller beware. A robbery crew is targeting people looking to sell high-end items like Rolex watches and luxury handbags to people they meet online. In each of the cases the muggers spray a substance in the victim’s eyes before taking their bling.  The first case took place around 1 pm on November 19 in Fresh Meadows. Investigators said a 21-year-old man was meeting a seller for his Rolex watch in front of 73-46 194 Street. Before the sale could be carried out the would-be buyers sprayed an unknown substance in the victim’s face. As he doubled over clawing at his eyes, the crew pulled the watch off his hand and fled.  At around 6:20 pm on November 23, a 32-year-old man agreed to meet a man to sell his watch at  156 th Street and Horace Harding Expressway ne

Be mindful of tips to avoid getting the holiday blues. Photo by VNS By Susan Clayton Meyer, Program Manager, Behavioral Health at VNS Health  HEALTH - We all know the stereotype of the “perfect” winter holiday season—family coming together from across the country, extravagant gifts, huge meals with everyone around the table, decorations, parties, social gatherings, and of course the requisite perfect winter weather. However, life is a lot more complicated than a Hallmark holiday movie (for starters, how DOES the hair of those Hallmark movie heroines always stay so perfect in the snow?).  The truth is, for many people the holidays can be a trigger for feelings of grief, loneliness, stress, and fatigue. As the National Alliance on Mental Illness found , 64% of those with a mental illness say the holidays exacerbated their symptoms, while three out five Americans report that their mental health is negatively impacted by the holidays.  It’s important to remember that what might b

Photo by  Diane Bondareff/Mayoral Photography Office By Mayor Eric Adams NEW YORK - While I was on the campaign trail, I met many New Yorkers who expressed their desire for a safer city.   New Yorkers want to feel safe in their neighborhoods, at their places of worship, in the subway and on the streets. I vowed to make public safety my top priority, and under the bold leadership of NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, our efforts are paying off. We have a lot more work to do, but I want to be clear to New Yorkers: we are making progress.   For the first time this year, we saw a drop of 1.2% in overall index crimes in November compared to November of 2021.  What does that mean? It means that in November of 2022 compared to November of 2021, we saw a 32.8% decrease in shootings, a 14.1% decrease in rapes, a 6% decrease in burglary, and a 5.5% in grand larceny.   We have also removed more than 6,750 guns from our streets so far this year. Gun arrests are at a 27-year high.