March 24, 2021 By Christina Santucci A fundraiser set up to help three men who were wrongfully convicted of a 1996 double homicide and spent 24 years behind bars has raised more than $40,000. The funds are being distributed among George Bell, Rohan Bolt and Gary Johnson who had been wrongfully convicted of killing Ira… Read more »
March 24, 2021 By Allie Griffin Public school parents have another opportunity to send their kids back to in-person classes for the remainder of the school year, starting today. The city has opened a second opt-in period to students who enrolled in full remote learning to switch to the hybrid learning model in which students… Read more »
March 23, 2021 By Allie Griffin Council Member Eric Ulrich is calling on Department of Education to change its protocols on school closures–to prevent school buildings from shutting down and reopening so frequently. Ulrich penned a letter to Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter urging her to reconsider the current DOE policy that requires school buildings… Read more »
March 21, 2021 By Christian Murray The race to be the next mayor of New York City is heating up and last week we talked to one of the candidates–Maya Wiley. Wiley will be competing in the Democratic primary on June 22 against Eric Adams, Scott Stringer, Andrew Yang, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Ray McGuire… Read more »
March 22, 2021 By Allie Griffin New Yorkers as young as 50 years old will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine beginning tomorrow morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. Cuomo lowered the current vaccine-eligibility age — which is 60 in New York State — by ten years. He first lowered it from 65 years old… Read more »
March 19, 2021 By Allie Griffin Council Member Costa Constantinides has endorsed Donovan Richards–the incumbent–in the Queens Borough President race. Constantinides, who unsuccessfully competed for the borough president spot last year, said Richards has performed well since he took office last year–following his victory in the special election. “Since taking office in December, he has… Read more »
March 18, 2021 By Allie Griffin An East Elmhurst man was arrested Wednesday, nearly a year after he crashed his car into another vehicle in Maspeth, killing a 35-year-old father of two. Galib Dervisevic, 21, was collared on charges of criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving and speeding–for the March 23, 2020 collision that left Staten… Read more »
March 18, 2021 By Allie Griffin More than $2 million in public campaign funds was distributed Monday among 33 candidates in Queens who are running to represent various districts in the borough. The candidates, who each received varying amounts, were awarded the money by the NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB) through the city’s matching funds… Read more »
March 18, 2021 By Allie Griffin Two Council District 26 candidates are holding a vigil Thursday in remembrance of Asian Americans killed in bias attacks over the past year — including the victims of the Atlanta area shooting Tuesday night. Julie Won and Steve Raga, two Asian American candidates, are hosting the vigil at Bliss… Read more »
March 17, 2021 By Allie Griffin The city is deploying members of the NYPD counter-terrorism unit to Asian neighborhoods across the city after a gunman shot and killed eight people–including six Asian Americans–at three Georgia spas Tuesday night. Mayor Bill de Blasio — who called the mass shooting “nothing less than domestic terrorism” — said… Read more »