Ridgewood
RIDGEWOOD — A teenager was arraigned this month on charges he stole a cell phone during a massive fight on a G train subway car in Ridgewood, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Comment.
Astoria
By Rebecca Henely
The door handle and the walls of Butcher Bar may be adorned with vintage cleavers, but the owners of the new butcher shop and barbecue restaurant in Astoria are committed to a kinder carnivorous meal.
Comment.
Corona
The holidays came early for Cisco and Spangles, two Andean bears at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo. Zookeepers gave the bears the gifts so that they could exercise their minds and bodies.
Comment.
Long Island City
By Tammy Scileppi
Queens’ arts and cultural venues celebrated an exciting chapter in 2011, replete with renovation and reorganization.
Comment.
Douglas Manor
By Rich Bockmann
Shore Road with its scenic vistas of Little Neck Bay gets a little too close for comfort to the picturesque surroundings at times, but not for long.
Comments (1).
Corona
CORONA — Police said a Corona apartment was the scene of a violent heist attempt Dec. 8, when a young woman apparently tried to set up her drug dealer.
Comment.
Floral Park
The Queens County Farm Museum held its annual Holiday Open House.
Comment.
Event
By Rich Bockmann
Photo by Christina Santucci
Many Hollywood films have at the center of their plots the destruction of a great metropolis at the hands of Mother Nature, and in 2011 Queens came closer than any year in recent memory to resembling a high-budget disaster flick.
Comment.
Jamaica
By Ivan Pereira
A group of Jamaica tenants has taken its landlord to court on grounds that the company left them in intolerable conditions despite numerous complaints and calls for help.
Comment.
Jamaica
LONG ISLAND CITY — A Long Island man was charged with seven robberies in a one-month period, all similar in nature and focused on one area in Long Island City, according to documents from the Queens district attorney.
Comment.
Queens Village
QUEENS VILLAGE — A 24-year-old Long Island man was arrested nearly two weeks ago for holding up a gas station with a fake gun, the Queens district attorney’s office said.
Comment.
Douglaston
By Rich Bockmann
The Douglaston Fairway will honor the memory of a fallen city Police Department officer by donating a portion of its sales to a scholarship fund established for the four teenage daughters he left behind.
Comment.
Astoria
By Rebecca Henely
A man and a woman the police had been searching for in connection with 12 burglaries in Astoria have been arrested and charged in some of the incidents, authorities said.
Comments (1).
Jamaica
By Ivan Pereira
It was a down year for parents, students and teachers at Jamaica High School and three other southeast Queens schools after the city finally moved ahead with its plan to shut down the institutions, but their supporters said they will continue to fight in 2012.
Comment.
Real Estate
By Joe Anuta
It has been a year of striking deals and submitting plans for development projects in Queens, but the borough has seen little physical progress and sometimes fierce opposition to ambitious proposals as 2011 draws to a close.
Comment.
Real Estate
Holiday decorations light up the night.
Comment.
Queens Village
By Ivan Pereira and Christina Santucci
Lystra Huggins still remembers the day her mother came home with one pair of roller skates for her to share with her brother Leslie. She was 9, Leslie 10, and it was the day their family moved into a new house in Trinidad.
Comment.
Fresh Meadows
By Rich Bockmann
Roberta Heller, 74, said her favorite thing about Stan Fish is the jokes he tells, although the few he recited at her Fresh Meadows home one day last week were not suitable for print.
Comments (1).
St. Albans
By Ivan Pereira
City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) has been gearing up to make a big run during the 2013 election season, according to records, and the southeast Queens elected official is getting some major support online.
Comment.
Animals
Hercules, the French bulldog, is the winner of the TimesLedger Newspapers’ first Queens Critter contest. His owner is Afrodite Pogiatzis of Astoria. Pogiatzis said the 1-year-old pup is a “sweet boy.”
Comment.
Whitestone
By Joe Anuta
An abandoned plot of land in Whitestone has been an eyesore and health hazard in the community for around a decade, and a lawmaker said the city has passed the buck onto private agencies without ensuring something is done.
Comments (2).
Maspeth
By Howard Koplowitz
The city Department of Transportation has been circulating fliers with maps of the Maspeth bypass plan for trucks that the agency says will prevent double parking and congestion, but civic leaders say the literature is nothing but confusing.
Comment.
Flushing
FLUSHING — Police were searching for a man wanted in connection with a bizarre robbery and sexual assault in the 109th Precinct.
Comment.
Bayside
Members of the Oratorio Society of Queens take the stage on the Queensborough Performing Arts Center in Bayside for their annual holiday concert, commemorating the organization’s 85th anniversary.
Comments (2).
St. Albans
The 113th Precinct held this year’s Holiday Party at Thomasina’s in St. Albans.
Comment.
Flushing
FLUSHING — A Brooklynite stabbed two men more than a dozen times in downtown Flushing last month, according to documents from the Queens district attorney’s office.
Comment.
Jackson Heights
As part of the Third Annual Jackson Heights Caroling Walk, a group performed winter and holiday songs from all faiths, languages and cultures on 31st Avenue.
Comment.
Forest Hills
The Reform Temple of Forest Hills celebrated Haunkkah with an outdoor Menorah lighting and a sing-along. Some of the selections included “Candlelight” and “Maoz Tzur,” sung by fourth- and seventh-graders.
Comment.
Rosedale
ROSEDALE — Police arrested three men following an afternoon shooting Friday, the NYPD said.
Comment.
Long Island City
By Zach Braziller
Long Island City’s success this season is rooted in its four seniors’ determination to prove themselves. Two years ago, they heard about Jeremiah Brown; last year it was Aaron Williams. The two transfers, who starred for LIC one year after the next, were on hand last week afternoon at LIC to see how far their former basketball teammates have come.
Comment.
Crime
By Joe Anuta, Howard Koplowitz, Ivan Pereira and Christina Santucci
Last year 43 lives were lost to murder in southeast Queens.
It is difficult to determine how many of the 43 homicides were gang-related, but gang violence and easy access to guns coupled with an unwillingness of witnesses to come forward have made it hard for police and prosecutors to do their jobs.
Comment.
College Point
By Joe Anuta
Borough President Helen Marshall gave two thumbs down to plans for another spa in College Point last week.
Comments (1).
Bayside
By Rich Bockmann
At night Bell Boulevard shines under the Bayside Village Business Improvement District’s holiday lights, but behind the scenes what was described as a “toxic” environment led the BID to oust its energetic executive director last week.
Comments (1).
Hunters Point
By Rebecca Henely
The work on nonprofit City Harvest’s new 45,400-square-foot facility in Long Island City is not yet complete, but the organization is already sending out an average of 83,000 pounds of food a week to places that help the five boroughs’ hungry.
Comment.
1) U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner is forced to resign in June after sexting several young woman, setting the stage for the election of Bob Turner, the first Republican to win the Queens seat in 90 years.
Comment.
Forest Hills
By Howard Koplowitz
Heading into 2011, the Queens political scene was supposed to be uneventful, with District Attorney Richard Brown facing no opposition and the foregone conclusion that Democratic judicial candidates would defeat their Republican rivals as they have for every year in recent memory.
Comment.
Bayside
By Rich Bockmann
After decades of slinging hash for Bell Boulevard’s hungry patrons, the Gold Star Diner quietly closed its doors last week, possibly for the final time.
Comments (2).
Diversity
By Rebecca Henely
Before Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill June 24 that would legalize same-sex marriage in New York state, Astoria LGBT activist Brendan Fay and his husband, Dr. Thomas Moulton, helped same-sex couples in New York cross the border into Canada or into neighboring states to get married.
Comment.
Glendale
By Howard Koplowitz
After fate brought him to a Glendale cemetery, Michael Hogan realized that his World War I veteran grandfather’s gravesite deserved a military headstone.
Comment.
Transit
By Rebecca Henely
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last week they had come to an agreement on legislation to allow livery cabs to legally accept street hails in Queens, although two borough officials said they still have problems with the legislation.
Comment.
Flushing
By Joe Anuta
The Chinese national who killed a Flushing woman by beating her to death and removing her organs was sentenced to up to 29 years in prison last week.
Comment.
Richmond Hill
RICHMOND HILL — Police were on the hunt for a suspect who they said crashed and robbed the driver of a cab that he was riding in less than two weeks ago.
Comment.
Whitestone
By Zach Braziller
Campus Magnet entered last Thursday’s basketball contest at Holy Cross red hot, still on a high from wins over Queens AA rivals Bayside and Cardozo. The Knights were aware of their opponent’s recent success and in front of a large crowd full of alumni, treating the non-league tilt with intensity befitting a playoff game.
Comment.
Jamaica
By Ivan Pereira
Jack the Cat may have gone to that big sandbox in the sky nearly two months ago, but that has not stopped his supporters from spreading his story to prevent future pet tragedies.
Comments (1).
Astoria
By Rebecca Henely
Astoria officials were telling their constituents to be aware and close their windows in light of the NYPD’s announcement that the authorities were searching for two individuals in connection with 11 burglaries in the neighborhood in recent weeks and another in June.
Comment.
Transit
By Philip Newman
The MTA has approved a $12.7 billion 2012 budget at an impassioned meeting where several board members vainly tried to restore some of the service cuts imposed last year because of the agency’s financial straits.
Comment.
Astoria
BY Christina Santucci
An accident involving a truck that spilled produce all over the eastbound Grand Central Parkway snarled traffic on both sides of the parkway for hours Tuesday morning. The Breaking News Network reported the truck was overturned on the parkway at 31st Street at 8:13 a.m.
Comment.