In an effort to raise money for the families of fallen police officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, the NYPD and FDNY men’s volleyball teams held the first annual game in their honor at Maspeth High School over the weekend. Malcolm Brissett, officer at the 77th Precinct and captain of the NYPD volleyball team, organized the event. “I’m thankful for everyone’s love and support during this difficult time,” said Brissett. “We lost two officers in the line of duty, two officers who sacrificed their lives by protecting others. It’s important we give back to them.” Before the game began, attend ..read more

Every year, nostalgic signs are also works of art vanish from our city’s landscape. Last week, preservationists rescued the vintage H. Goodman Furs sign at 116-07 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills. This columnist facilitated a donation to the New York Sign Museum/Noble Signs, which was co-founded by David Barnett. Also contributing to the project were preservation Evan Boccardi, Lovett Realty, and the space's new tenant, who opened Legit Fit NYC. H. Goodman Furs dates to 1908. It was founded by Hyman Goodman in the Bronx, then owned by his son Jack Goodman, followed by his son Marvin Goodman ..read more

The WWI Soldiers & Sailors Memorial, Remsen Cemetery’s WWI Memorial, the Captain Gerald MacDonald Statue, and the Spirit of Communication are just some of the significant sculptures in Forest Hills. A sculpture of Spider-Man may soon be joining them. “As a child, Spider-Man was my favorite Marvel character,” said Larry Ng, an entrepreneur who has called Forest Hills home since 1983. “What is interesting was that he was a normal teenager who did normal teenage things with normal teenage problems. “I always thought it would be a good idea to have a Spider-Man statue somewhere in Forest Hi ..read more

Queens residents honored the memory of slain NYPD officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, who were shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call in Harlem on January 21. Their funeral services were held within days of each other at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, Mora’s just hours before a candlelight vigil hosted by Borough President Donovan Richards at Borough Hall last Wednesday. The vigil also honored the service of officer Sumit Sulan, a Queens resident who was at the scene and shot the suspected gunman, likely preventing more violence from happening. Local reli ..read more

Students from PS 101 in Forest Hills received a sweet treat on Tuesday morning, exchanging hand-drawn illustrations for chocolate in the name of supporting a good cause. Aigner Chocolates in Forest Hills hosted the art-for-chocolate swap, receiving over 1,500 pictures that will be delivered to sick children at Forest Hills LIJ and Elmhurst hospitals. Rachel Kellner, co-owner of Aigner Chocolates on Metropolitan Avenue, said the initial goal was to collect 100 flower-themed drawings for the swap. “Aigner’s vision is to share our passion for the art of making chocolate and to make the world a ..read more

Members of the nonprofit New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) members last week shared how their immigration status prevents them from being able to get steady work. Around two dozen members waited an hour outside NICE headquarters in Jackson Heights wearing masks that said “Citizenship for All” as Senator Chuck Schumer listened to testimonials about how undocumented status affects immigrants' lives. Araceli Cerrano is an undocumented immigrant who spoke at the meeting about how her immigration status is literally threatening her life. Cerrano has kidney issues and is on dialysis three ..read more

In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this annual date, the UN urges every member state to honor the six million Jewish victims and at least five million prisoners of war that were affected by the Nazi genocide during World War II. Shirley Gravenor’s grandfather Stefan Kuras was a farmer in Sandomierz, Poland, at the time. “When Germany invaded Poland and began rounding up Jews, my grandfather went to my uncle and offered to help him and his family hide,” she ..read more

As Regional Plan Association (RPA) celebrates its centennial year, a variation of one of their proposals to connect Queens and Brooklyn via rail is finally gaining some traction thanks to the recent support of Governor Kathy Hochul. The Queens Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a webinar with Maulin Mehta and Kate Slevin of RPA, who shared an insider’s view of the Interborough Express, which would use existing freight rail lines to connect neighborhoods from Jackson Heights to Bay Ridge. Since 1929, RPA has released four regional plans, which have contributed to some of the region’s most no ..read more

At the age of 15, Prakash Churaman says he was forced to confess to a crime he maintains he had nothing to do with. Initially convicted of the murder of his best friend, Taquane Clark, in South Jamaica in late 2018, Churaman says he was denied from presenting evidence that would have acquitted him. He was sentenced to nine years to life, before having the conviction overturned by the Appellate Division court in June 2020. Churaman, who is of Guyanese descent, was held in pretrial detention at Rikers Island for nearly four years before he was afforded his first trial. When he was waiting on ..read more

Elected officials are calling on the city housing courts to postpone evictions after the state’s eviction moratorium expired earlier this month, putting thousands of New Yorkers in jeopardy. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Bronx Deputy Borough President Janet Peguero led the collective call to urge action at the state and federal level to prepare for what could be an “avalanche of evictions,” according to Levine. Levine specifically demanded that no eviction cases move forward if a tenant does not have legal representation, saying judge ..read more