Queens News - Local News

  The new Portland Loo bathroom at Joyce Kilmer Park has opened at a cost of $1 million as seen in this. -Photo by David Greene By David Greene  Queens Voice August 13, 2025 NEW YORK - The Parks Department has announced a new pilot program where five new public bathrooms will open across the city. The one Bronx bathroom at Joyce Kilmer Park has opened to mixed reviews—especially after residents learned of the $1 million price tag and patrons could be observed by sickos from outside the bathroom. On July 1, Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa announced the installation of five new “Portland Loos” at a cost of $6 million as part of the “ We Outside Summer ” pilot program. A press release about the new program states that the bathrooms “get built faster and for a fraction of the cost.” The Adams Administration plans to spend $150 million in the construction of 46 new bathrooms and renovating 36 existin...

United in Grief - City mourns slain immigrant cop A police officer approaches heckler and pro-Palestinian activist Aldo Rafael Perez at a memorial service for slain NYPD Detective Didarul Islam outside of the 47th Precinct on Laconia Avenue on August 1. -Photo by David Greene By David Greene  Queens Voice  August 12, 2025 NEW YORK  - A somber crowd estimated at 15,000 gathered in Parkchester to say goodbye to Detective First Grade Didarul Islam , 36, who was shot and killed after a deranged man entered a Midtown office building on July 28. Days after the first Muslim NYPD officer to be killed was laid to rest, a pro-Palestinian protester claimed he was arrested at Islam’s memorial—but the NYPD had no record of the arrest. On July 31, members of multiple law enforcement agencies joined members of the NYPD, the Bangladeshi and Parkchester communities as they surrounded Islam’s family who silently walked behin...

Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s pledge is raising alarms as bankers refuse to finance regulated buildings where costs outstrip income. This article originally apeared in The City. By Greg David The City August 9, 2025 NEW YORK - Every month, Langsam Property Services collects dozens of rent checks from two buildings it manages in The Bronx. But that’s not enough to cover the mortgage and operating expenses. So every month, the buildings’ owner sends another check — for at least $30,000, just to meet the mortgage. The owner of this Bronx building had to pay the bank $830,000 to buy out his mortgage after no other bank would refinance. A promise to freeze rents on all rent-regulated apartments for the next four years helped Zohran Mamdani win the Democratic primary for mayor. But not all rent-regulated buildings are alike.  Following years of limited deregulation, many buildings in high-rent neighborho...