Queens News - Local News

Cops Looking for the Man with the Golden Gun The NYPD is searching for a pair of gunmen who robbed an Astoria cellphone store. -Photo by NYPD By Dan Gesslein Queens Voice November 12, 2024 QUEENS - A pair of scooter riding gunmen shot a cellphone store worker during a robbery in Astoria, cops said. Investigators are hoping the robber’s golden handgun could lead to his arrest. At around 6:45 pm on November 8, a 40-year-old employee was working inside a cellphone store at 32-78 Steinway Street in Astoria. The store’s surveillance camera recorded the robbery.  At first a man wearing a bike helmet walked into the store and asked questions about items. When a second man walked into the store, the first pulled a gold semi-automatic handgun out of his pocket and racked it. The gunman turned and pointed the weapon at the clerk demanding cash. The second man ran up to the counter with his gun drawn.  Cops said there was a struggle with the employee and the robbers. T...

  The president elect has promised mass deportations, but New York is still a sanctuary city and officials said they don’t want to stir anxieties  This article originally appeared in The City. By  Katie Honan NEW YORK - A subdued Mayor Eric Adams tried to reassure New Yorkers Wednesday, in the wake of former President Donald Trump election night win, urging protection for the city’s undocumented immigrants while not offering many details amid threats of mass deportation. “I want to congratulate President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance and wish them all the best as they work to promote the interests of all of the people,” Adams said at a press conference.  “Our main team will work with the coming administration for the good of all New Yorkers.” He added that, as the nation’s largest city, he would work with the mayors of other cities to come up with a “real agenda.”  Adams was flanked by his deputy mayors and other top staffers, including o...

  Many early voters said they hadn’t thought much about the Assembly race again pitting Democratic incumbent Stacey Pheffer Amato against Republican Tom Sullivan. This article originally appeared in The City. By  Haidee Chu QUEENS - Incumbent Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Queens) is once again facing off against Republican challenger Tom Sullivan after holding onto her seat by just 15 votes two years ago.  Many local early voters, though, said on Thursday they’ve paid little mind to what’s expected to be a tight rematch, instead letting the names at the top of the ticket carry the rest of their ballots. “I really, really haven’t paid attention to it, to be honest,” said 78-year-old Emilia, a 45-year Howard Beach resident who declined to provide her last name, of the Assembly race as she spoke to THE CITY after casting her ballot at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy in Howard Beach, Queens.  “It never even came up in conversation.”

By Mayor Eric Adams Op-Ed  Queens Voice  November 4, 2024  NEW YORK - Recently, I was with community leaders and senior officials in our administration on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, which is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in our city. It is where New Yorkers from all over the world come to live, work, raise their families, and strive for the American Dream.  However, Roosevelt Avenue — a major thoroughfare with the 7 train running above it — has become a site of crime, disorder, and exploitation as illegal brothels, illicit vendors, and unlicensed food carts have taken over and quality-of-life offenses have skyrocketed.   It was not my first-time visiting the neighborhood. In January, I was there as we shut down 12 illegal brothels. And year to date, the NYPD has made over 3,000 arrests and issued over 9,500 summonses in the area. But we know arrests and summonses alone won’t get the job done, and that we must bring together partners from across governm...

By Julia Morrill  Queens Voice  November 3, 2024 An infectious disease expert explains the symptoms of Mycoplasma pneumonia, which has seen an unusual uptick among young kids. This article originally in NewYork-Presbyterian Health Matters. NEW YORK - A surge in cases of Mycoplasma pneumonia, commonly known as walking pneumonia, among young kids has raised concern about the respiratory infection.  An advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week reported a rise in all age groups since the late spring through the fall, with a notable increase in the percentage of children between ages 2 and 4 (from 1% to 7.2%). In previous years, most infections were observed among school-aged children and adolescents. Mycoplasma pneumonia is caused by a type of bacteria called Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and it typically spreads in the spring and summer. An estimated 2 million infections occur each year in the U.S., according to the CDC. It is sometime...

Gunman Opens Fire on Quiet Block The NYPD is searching for this man in connection with a shooting on a quiet block in Hollis. -Photo by NYPD By Dan Gesslein Queens Voice November 2, 2024 QUEENS - Cops are looking for a shooter who is no slave to fashion. The suspected gunman who opened fire on a residential street, was wearing a jacket that looked like a Hefty Bag.  The NYPD released surveillance video of a man who opened fire on a quiet street in Hollis, Queens.  At around 8:45 pm on October 26, a man dressed in black pulled out a gun and fired across the street from 191-24 Hollis Avenue, cops said. The gunman then ran away.  Investigators did not state who the intended target was. 

Sheriff Anthony Miranda has repeatedly overruled a city tribunal that rejected cases alleging stores illegally sold pot. A Queens Supreme Court justice ruled both the enforcement law and his actions unconstitutional. By Rosalind Adams , and Haidee Chu This article originally appeared in The City. NEW YORK - Scores of shuttered cannabis shops across New York City may have a new opportunity to challenge closure orders issued by Sheriff Anthony Miranda and potentially reopen, after a judge ruled on Tuesday that a recently enacted local padlock law didn’t provide sufficient due process. City and state officials vowed shut-downs will continue and, in interviews, lawyers and officials agreed that the ruling won’t do much to challenge the law in its entirety in the short term.  Operation Padlock to Protect, launched in May, sent sheriff and NYPD officers to inspect stores and order them closed for as long as a year for unlicensed cannabis sales.  Under the law authorizing t...