The family of Queens 19-year-old Win Rozario called for the firing of the two officers who shot and killed him after he called 911 for mental health reasons in March. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach By Ryan Schwach The family of 19-year-old Win Rozario on Wednesday condemned the NYPD, the mayor and the handling of a March trip to the family’s Ozone Park home by a pair of officers who shot and killed the teen a few minutes after arriving. The Queens Bangladeshi family, alongside advocates and elected officials, stood on the steps of City Hall this week and called for the firing of NYPD officers Sa ..read more

Construction of the parking garage and community facility expected to be attached to the Queens borough-based jail in Kew Gardens. The city unveiled a $4 billion construction contract for jail this week that would run through 2031, four years after the 2027 deadline to close Rikers Island. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye By Jacob Kaye Queens’ borough-based jail set to be built in Kew Gardens will cost taxpayers at least $4 billion and could be completed four years after the city’s legally-mandated deadline to close Rikers Island, city records show. According to a proposed contract between the ..read more

Members of Queens Community Board 5 heard the proposal for the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, a citywide plan intended to change zoning in the five boroughs. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach By Ryan Schwach The Adams administration officially began rolling out its controversial plan to rezone a large swath of the city, known as the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, last week. It began in Queens, where the Department of City Planning began its public review process for the proposal that is intended to bring “a little more housing to every neighborhood.” The Land Use Subcommittee of Qu ..read more

Queens elected officials rallied against a Jackson Heights smoke shop on Wednesday as the city gains more enforcement powers.Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach By Ryan Schwach As the city gets the ability to shutter illegal cannabis shops across the five boroughs, Western Queens electeds targeted a single one in Jackson Heights this week. On Wednesday, officials and parents spoke in front of Hazeland, an illegal smoke shop on 82nd Street in Jackson Heights, which is perched directly across from a Pre-K to 12 school. Officials spoke out against the shop, which like many others targeted by community m ..read more

Judges Cassandra Johnson and Wendy Li will face off for the Democratic primary race for Surrogate Court judge. Photos via campaigns By Jacob Kaye The race for the coveted spot on Queens’ Surrogate Court bench is down to two. Queens attorney Donna Furey was booted from the ballot in court on Monday, leaving the upcoming race for Queens Surrogate Court judge between current judges Cassandra Johnson and Wendy Li. Though Furey, an Astoria-based attorney, was first ruled to be ineligible for the primary race by the city’s Board of Elections, a judge on Monday confirmed the ruling, finding that she ..read more

Graphic footage was released of the police shooting that left Ozone Park teen Win Rozario dead after he called 911 amidst a mental health episode in March. Screenshot via State Attorneys General’s Office  By Ryan Schwach Less than three minutes after arriving at an Ozone Park home around a month ago, two police officers shot and killed a teen having an apparent mental health crisis as his brother and mother watched, newly released body-worn camera footage shows. On Friday afternoon, Attorney General Letitia James released the harrowing footage of the March 27 shooting, which left 19-year ..read more

Julie Milner is running for the Civil Court bench in Queens as a Democrat. She’s tweeted in the past seemingly calling for the president's execution. Photos via Milner/X By Jacob Kaye Julie Milner, an attorney running for a spot on Queens’ Civil Court bench, is a prolific tweeter. Sometimes taking to the social media site X – formerly known as Twitter – a dozen or more times in a single day, Milner often posts her daily Wordle score, wishes congratulations to those finding success or sends her sympathies to those going through hard times. She retweets stories from news outlets about local cul ..read more

The Center for Community Alternatives has called on Governor Kathy Hochul and lawmakers to take a judicial nominee’s record into account when considering whether or not they deserve a second term on the bench. The group, which led the campaign against Hochul’s chief judge pick last year, argues judges are often shuffled through without any scrutiny of their record. File photo by Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul By Jacob Kaye A little more than a year after successfully lobbying the State Senate to reject the governor’s chief judge nominee for the first time in history, the advo ..read more

Mayor Eric Adams walked back previous comments saying he could shut all illegal pot shops in 30 days once given the authority. Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office. By Ryan Schwach Though Mayor Eric Adams has said for months that if given the power, he could close all the city’s illegal smoke shops in 30 days, now that he’s been given that power, the mayor says he may need a little more time. At his weekly “off-topic” press conference on Tuesday, Adams walked back previous statements in which he said that he could close all the illegal smoke shops in the city once given the authority to by ..read more

City Councilmember and Chair of the Committee on Criminal Justice Sandy Nurse criticized the Department of Correction’s detainee grievance process during a hearing last week.File photo by John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit By Jacob Kaye Missed medical appointments, alleged sexual harassment and abuse, dirty cells and frequent violence – detainees on Rikers Island have had a lot to complain about. However, the city’s Department of Correction appears to rarely listen. Lawmakers in the City Council slammed top officials with the DOC last week during a hearing on the agency’s detainee grievance ..read more