Queens News - Local News

Two-Month Relationship Turned Deadly as Victim was Stalked, Threatened A jury convicted a man of stalking and torching his girlfriend's apartment following a break up. -Photo by Queens DA's Office By Dan Gesslein Queens Voice September 20, 2023  QUEENS - A Brooklyn man will spend the next three decades in prison for setting his girlfriend’s apartment on fire during a stalking spree where he threatened to kill her. The relationship lasted only two months. Prosecutors said the victim and her children are alive because they fled to a domestic violence shelter before the boyfriend torched the apartment.  Steven Somerville, 52, of Bushwick Brooklyn was sentenced to 27 to 29 years in prison after a Queens jury convicted him of arson and stalking the victim. Prosecutors said the married Somerville became obsessed with his girlfriend who worked at the same job as him. When the relationship ended Somerville started terrorizing the victim.   Prosecutors said Somerville capped a three-da

Falls are  a leading cause  of injury-related death and hospitalization for older adults in NYC, so VSNY offers tips on how to avoid falls. -Photo by VSNY By Abigail Fortune, Senior Physical Therapist, VNS Health Bronx Voice  September 19, 2023 HEALTH - As we transition into fall, we’re all ready to welcome cooler weather, the holidays and cozy activities. However one thing we don’t want this autumn is…well, a physical Fall! Falls are a leading cause of injury-related death and hospitalization for older adults in NYC, and nationwide result in millions being treated in emergency facilities. This week is National Falls Prevention Week, an important time to remind everyone to stay as safe as possible and prevent falls before they happen, especially given that most falls occur in-home.  As a licensed senior physical therapist with VNS Health , my colleagues and I work to keep our patients safe from falls in their homes. We educate them and their family caregivers so the

Robber Wore Motorcycle Helmet - Fired 1 Round Police are searching for this man in connection with an armed robbery in Queens. -Photo by NYPD By Dan Gesslein  Queens Voice September 18, 2023 QUEENS - A motorcycle helmet-wearing gunman robbed a man outside a Queens 99 Cents store and made off with $60,000 in cash.  At around 3 pm on September 15, a 47-year-old man who was in front of a 99 cents store at 48-16 Skillman Avenue, was surprised by a man wearing a motorcycle helmet and holding a gun.  Cops said the man, who was dressed all in black, fired one round into the sidewalk. The gunman then removed money from the victim, hopped on the back of a moped and drove off northbound on 49th Street.   Cops said the gunman stole $60,000 in cash.  Investigators released surveillance video of the suspects.  The gunman was last seen wearing a black motorcycle helmet. With the visor up, the suspect wore dark glasses to hide his eyes. He wore a black jacket and black pants. The video a

Mayor Eric Adams delivers remarks detailing how the NYPD is combating auto theft. -Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office. By Mayor Eric Adams Community Op-Ed  September 14, 2023  NEW YORK - Not only is New York the greatest city in the world, it is the safest big city in America. Since day one of this administration, public safety has been our priority. And for the last 20 months, we have delivered on our promise to drive down crime. Our precision policing model is working.   Our streets, neighborhoods, and subways are safer. In almost every major category, crime is down. Shootings have declined 26% for the year, homicides are down nearly 10%, and transit crime is down over 4% for the year.   This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the men and women of the NYPD. Every day, they are making our city safer—and New Yorkers can feel the results. They feel safer.   But we can always do more and one category we are zeroing in on is Grand Larceny Aut

Cops are looking for a teenager who tried to rob a woman at knifepoint at the Elmhurst Avenue train station. He was last seen riding a scooter across the train platform. -Photo by NYPD By Dan Gesslein  Queens Voice September 13, 2023 QUEENS - Cops are looking for a teenage robber who rode a scooter through a subway station and threatened a straphanger with a knife. At around 10:30 pm on September 7, a 44-year-old woman exited an “E” Train at the Elmhurst Avenue Station. As she walked the platform, a teen on a scooter rode up to her and asked if he could use her cell phone. The woman refused and kept walking.

Police are looking for this man in connection with an attack outside a mosque in Queens. -Photo by NYPD By Dan Gesslein  Queens Voice September 12, 2023 QUEENS - Cops are looking for a slipper wearing attacker who sucker punched a man who escorted him out of a mosque. The victim was knocked out cold with one punch. Cops said a man wearing distinctive bright orange slippers entered a mosque at 37-46 Crescent Street at around 6:15 am on September 8. Once inside he began an argument with a 42-year-old man.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams hosts “Talk with Eric: A Community Conversation." P.S./I.S. 191 – The Riverside School for Makers and Artists, 300 West 61st Street, New York, NY. September 6, 2023. -Photo by Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office By Dan Gesslein Queens Voice September 9, 2023 NEW YORK - In order to meet the costs of dealing with the surging migrant crisis Mayor Eric Adams is calling on all city agencies to enact a 5 percent cut in spending.  Adams announced the cuts as part of a plan to handle the ballooning migrant crisis which the mayor said will cost the taxpayers $12 billion over the next three years without federal and state support.  In an effort to maintain the city’s fiscal strength, the Adams administration is actively working to reduce housing and other costs by transitioning migrants out of the shelter system and humanitarian emergency response and relief centers to more cost-effective shelters, in addition to looking closely at other ways t