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Mayor Mamdani Joins Astoria Mosque for Ramadan Iftar

BQE Admin on March 25, 2026

BY MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

The scent of home-cooked food drifted through the halls of the Masjid Islamic Unity & Cultural Center as families gathered shoulder to shoulder, waiting for sunset to break their Ramadan fast. Children leaned over railings to catch a glimpse of the evening’s guest while elders greeted one another warmly. On this night, the mosque at 31-33 12th St. welcomed a familiar visitor: Mayor Zohran Mamdani, returning to the Astoria neighborhood he once represented as a state assemblyman.

Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, joined dozens of Bosnian New Yorkers on March 17 for iftar, the nightly meal that ends the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. The visit felt less like a formal appearance and more like a reunion. Children gathered around him excitedly while longtime mosque members, affectionately called “uncles and aunties,” welcomed him with handshakes and embraces before the community prepared for maghrib prayer.

The evening opened with remarks from the mosque’s main imam, Kemal Bektesevic, who greeted Mamdani and spoke about the community’s hopes for the city and their connection to the mayor.

“Brother is someone who is close to the heart, someone you care about honestly,” Bektesevic said. “Not just because you are a brother, but because we truly hope you will make a change in this city and that we will feel the warmth of that change.”

Reflecting on the political journey that brought the mayor to their mosque, the imam shared a personal story about voting for the first time after encouragement from younger members of the community.

“I was raised in a way where I never went to a polling station,” Bektesevic said. “Then the youngsters in my community came to me and said, ‘Let’s do something.’ A friend and member of our community told me about you, and I said, ‘Okay, let’s try.’”

He said Mamdani’s campaign gave many in the community a sense of optimism.

“I’m not saying we have done a lot,” Bektesevic said. “But you gave us a very big hope that, Inshallah, we will see you succeed. That’s why I say: keep going straight and make us proud, and make proud all those who worked hard for you.”

Moments later, Mamdani stepped forward to address the congregation, greeting the crowd with a familiar Ramadan blessing.

“Ramadan Kareem, Ramadan Mubarak,” he said. “It is such a joy and a pleasure to be here, not just as your mayor, but as your brother.”

Mayor Mamdani visited the Masjid Islamic Unity and Cultural Center in Astoria to break his Ramadan fast last week. Photos by Mohamed Farghaly.

For Mamdani, the visit carried personal significance. Before becoming mayor, he represented Astoria and Long Island City in the state Assembly, and he recalled working with members of the mosque years earlier on community efforts to help neighbors in need.

“This is a return home for me,” Mamdani said. “Before I was your mayor, I was an assembly member for Astoria and Long Island City, and as I was just sitting here next to brother Ismail, he was showing me text messages that I sent him in 2019 and 2020 where I was asking him if he would sponsor some iftars that we would give to those in need in the neighborhood.”

The mayor thanked mosque leaders and the young people who recited prayers earlier in the evening, calling them reminders of the community’s future.

“Our youngsters who are here with their beautiful recitations remind us that the future is always what we are striving for,” Mamdani said.

He also reflected on the history many Bosnian families carry with them in New York, referencing those who fled war and genocide in the Balkans before rebuilding their lives in the city.

“Many in this community came here after a genocide, came here out of necessity to find a place of safety,” he said. “Hardship brought many Bosnians to New York City, yet I’m grateful for the ease that you have delivered to our city, in shaping our neighborhoods and shaping the very places that so many know as their home today.”

As the call to prayer approached, the room grew quieter. Dates and water were passed along tables as families prepared to break their fast together. Mamdani spoke about the meaning of Ramadan beyond abstaining from food and drink.

“Many people think of Ramadan solely as a time characterized by fasting from sunup to sundown,” he said. “But I look forward to Ramadan because of what it means in terms of reflection, recommitment and giving meaning to the things that we lose sight of.”

The mayor also thanked the congregation for participating in civic life, saying their engagement helped reshape the city’s political landscape.

“I would not stand before you as the mayor of this city if it wasn’t for every single New Yorker who told themselves that this would be the time they would participate,” Mamdani said. “You saw yourself in the city that is also your own. You saw yourself in its politics. You saw yourself in its future.”

As the fast was finally broken and the community moved for the meal, the evening blended faith, food and conversation. Plates filled with traditional dishes, children darted around the room and elders shared stories late into the night.

For Mamdani, the gathering served as both a celebration of Ramadan and a reminder of the neighborhood that helped shape his political journey.

LaGuardia Crash Kills 2, Investigation Delayed Amid Federal Shutdown

BQE Admin on March 25, 2026

BY COLE SINANIAN

cole@queensledger.com

LAGUARDIA — Chaos and delays have gripped travelers at LaGuardia after a fatal crash left two pilots dead and shut down the airport overnight.

At 11:40pm Sunday night an Air Canada plane operated by the regional carrier Jazz Aviation crashed into a Port Authority vehicle in an apparent miscommunication with Air Traffic Control. In an audio recording from the volunteer-run website LiveATC.com, an air traffic controller can be heard telling the vehicle to cross the runway, before repeatedly saying “stop” in the moments before the collision.

The aircraft — Air Canada flight 8648 — had just landed on Runway 4 from Montreal when it struck the vehicle as it crossed the tarmac. The flight’s two Canadian pilots were killed in the crash, while two Port Authority officers, identified as Sgt. Michael Orsillo and Officer Adrian Baez, were hospitalized and are in stable condition.

“First of all, my heart goes out to the families of the two pilots, Canadian pilots — certainly a very tragic outcome — and also the dozens of individuals who were injured, some seriously, some have already been discharged in the hospital,” said Governor  Kathy Hochul, addressing the press on Monday morning.

She continued: “I spoke with a number of people, including Kathryn Garcia, the relatively new executive director of the Port Authority, who’s been doing all the media briefings… We’re working in close contact with them.”

The Air Canada flight carried 72 passengers and four crew members. Gothamist reported that 41 passengers were hospitalized and 32 had been released by Monday morning.

Speaking at a Monday press conference at the airport, Mayor Zohran Mamdani thanked New Yorkers whose travel plans were disrupted for their patience and vowed to support federal investigators.

“I want New Yorkers to know that the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of this accident and that we will not rest until the conclusion of that investigation,” Mamdani said. “We’ve been coordinating closely with our partners across govern ment since late last night, and we will continue to do so.

“I’m grateful for the work of dedicated first responders, including the men and women from the NYPD, the FDNY and NYCEM, who arrived on the scene within minutes, treated injuries, and handled a chaotic scene with incredible professionalism and poise,” Mamdani continued. “I also want to commend those who were thrust into a frightening accident and reacted not only with composure, but by extending a hand to the person next to them.”

The crash brought dozens of canceled flights at LaGuardia Monday morning. Meanwhile, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staffing shortages caused by an ongoing government shutdown have hampered the investigation.

At a news conference Monday, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy said that long lines at TSA have delayed the start of the investigation, with some NTSB specialists still arriving early Tuesday morning. According to a New York Times report, the NTSB had to call TSA at a Houston airport where an investigator en route to LaGuardia was caught in a 3-hour line to “beg to see if we can get her through,” Homendy said.

“It’s been a really big challenge to get the entire team here, and they’re still arriving as I speak,” she said Monday.

The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down since mid-February due to Congress’ failure to pass spending bills regarding immigration enforcement. The shutdown has left Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers around the country without pay, leading to widespread staffing shortages that have caused major delays and long lines at airports nationwide.

As of Tuesday morning, little information was available about what led to the crash as investigators have yet to have a full day on scene.

LaGuardia reopened early Monday morning, with its first flight scheduled to depart at 2pm Monday.  Sunday’s incident marked the first fatal crash at LaGuardia in 34 years.

QED Astoria Retains Identity One Year Into New Ownership

BQE Admin on March 25, 2026

BY MARYAM RAHAMAN

ASTORIA — Free municipal condoms, the Real Housewives, and conservative Christian radio all came up during last Thursday’s Paid Protest show at QED Astoria, where a sold-out crowd laughed uproariously as five comics and their host Anders Lee married political themes with comedy.

QED Astoria, founded in 2014 by comedic storyteller Kambri Crews, boasts a variety of programming, from free toddler storytimes to adult spelling bees to comedy shows in languages reflecting the full diversity of Queens. For the past few months, the venue has been the home of Paid Protest, a monthly Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) comedy show fundraiser.

Proceeds from last week’s show went to the organization’s Immigration Justice Working Group. Signatures were also collected to petition for DSA candidates Aber Kawas and Diana Moreno. Performers included Rufat Agayev, Gastor Almonte, Aidan Kelly, Taylor Petty, and Srilatha Rajamani.

Though QED is not strictly a comedy club, young New York City comedians have long flocked to it as a testing ground for performing. In November 2024, Crews announced she would close the venue unless a buyer stepped in. It was announced two months later that comedian Hannah Lieberman, a former QED performer, would take over.

Lieberman moved to the city after college to attend acting school, graduating right into the pandemic. In the midst of working odd jobs and auditioning for commercials, she leaned into the “inkling” that she wanted to do stand-up. After a bringer night (when comedians are required to bring audience members) that worked “better than it had any right to go,” Lieberman realized she wanted to perform and produce shows. When she moved to Astoria, QED and its community were a natural fit.

“It’s the first club where I headlined. It’s the first club where I produced a show,” Lieberman said. “This club meant so much to me already, and it was already my home base. It was kind of like kismet.”

Comedian Hannah Lieberman is the new owner of QED Astoria.

This rendition of Paid Protest featured several comedians who had been performing at QED for years, including Agayev, Almonte, and Kelly. Almonte says that while other comedy spaces might struggle long-term because they focus on big names, QED has invested in giving young artists stage time. One of his favorite memories was getting to have his son see what he does, taking pictures and holding the microphone after a show.

“As much as I love other stand-up spaces, I probably wouldn’t have felt as comfortable bringing my seven year-old into those environments.”

It’s been about a year since Lieberman officially took over last March after shadowing Crews. As a former nanny, she’s added a lot of after school and children’s programming, in addition to changes that reflect the 25 year age gap between her and Crews—such as a Disney Channel original movie night in the form of a drinking game.

Marrying comedy and politics is not a new ownership change. Though Paid Protest has become part of regular programming under Lieberman, Crews previously held fundraisers for Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at QED. To Lieberman, being honest about the venue’s political leaning is important.

“This is very much a progressive place. I think that’s reflected in our comedy too,” she said. “If you averaged open mics across the country, ours are the most welcoming to women.” For her, political comedy is to not only “shed a light on injustice,” but to keep herself “sane.”

“What eventually will happen is they’re going to try and shut down spaces like QED where people criticize the government,” Kelly said. “It’s insanely, insanely important.”

QED’s upcoming events can be viewed on Instagram @qedastoria or on their website qedastoria.com.

A Response to Robert Hornak’s Column on Welfare

BQE Admin on March 25, 2026

GEOFFREY COBB | gcobb91839@Aol.com

Author, “Greenpoint Brooklyn’s Forgotten Past

I read Robert Hornak’s frankly disturbing piece about Social Welfare spending in New York City. He makes a spurious claim that he does not in any way adequately prove: New York City’s social welfare spending is creating poverty, not alleviating it. When I finished Mr. Hornak’s article, I was not surprised to learn that he is the former Executive Director of the Queens Republican Party because his piece is less a serious discussion of poverty in New York City than a thinly veiled attack on New York Democrats.

Mr. Hornak correctly points out that New York City spends more per capita than anywhere else in the nation, yet he fails to mention what is obvious to anyone who lives in New York City: it is the most expensive place in the country to live, so New York has to spend more to help its impoverished citizens. He makes the dubious and unsubstantiated claim that New York City is involved in malfeasance on “an unimaginable scale.”

If Mr. Hornak actually knows any impoverished New Yorkers, it does not show in his article. I am a retired public high school teacher who taught for many years in Flatbush, one of the city’s poorest areas. Many of my students were growing up in poverty, some of the 450,000 or so impoverished children in our city. Like the vast majority of the city’s poor, their parents worked minimum wage jobs, often two jobs, trying to make ends meet. As of January 1, 2026, a worker in New York City earning the minimum wage of $17 per hour has  a gross weekly income of $680 and after taxes that person brings home monthly between $2,200 and $2,350, after federal, state, and city taxes, as well as FICA deductions, in a city where the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is approximately $3,000 to over $4,000+ per month without considering other necessary expenses.

Mr. Hornak does not mention that the Trump administration slashed SNAP payments, which provide food stamps for some 1.8 million New Yorkers to put food on the family table. For many households, cutting snap means a  loss of their ability to afford an adequate supply of groceries, putting people at risk of skipping meals, incurring debt, or turning to emergency food services for the first time. I can tell you from first-hand knowledge that every school day  many of my students ate a school breakfast and lunch because their working parents could not afford to buy food for these meals for their kids. The family dinner was often purchased solely thanks to the SNAP funds President Trump recently bragged about cutting in his State of the Union.

Growing up in poverty obviously puts children at risk and the city is responsible to protect these children. Protecting kids sadly costs real money.  Presently, one in ten children in the New York City Public Schools System is homeless and many are at risk for domestic violence. Mr. Hornak called the large spending by the Department of Homeless Services and the Children’s Services “unfathomable,” which sadly reflects how far removed he is from the realities of daily living New York City’s hundreds of thousands of impoverished children face each day.

Mr. Hornak also fails to mention a huge factor in social spending by New York City. Republican Governors have gleefully shipped migrants to New York City. More than 210,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since spring 2022, with tens of thousands bused directly by Southern states. Texas alone reported transporting over 37,100 migrants to NYC since August 2022. Some 64,000 migrants remain in city shelters, a huge drain on the city’s budget. The influx has cost the city billions of dollars and necessitated the creation of over 100 emergency shelter sites.

Mr. Hornak touts Florida’s lower poverty rate without mentioning that many parts of Florida are rural and that Florida has a huge percentage of wealthy retirees skewing the poverty figures. He fails to mention that nearly a million children live in poverty in Florida and that six Florida counties have poverty rates in the thirtieth percentile, well above New York’s City’s 26%.

Reading Mr. Hornak’s piece, there is a mean spirited, underlying assumption that social spending actually leads to higher rates of poverty. It implies that the poor are somehow lazy and shiftless and they would be better off if the government stopped trying to help them. New York needs to have a serious discussion about poverty, but Mr. Hornak’s simplistic contention that social welfare spending worsens poverty is simply not borne out by the facts. I suggest he actually spend time with the millions of New Yorkers who need help to make ends meet. Cutting funds is only going to make poverty worse, not better.

An Evening With The Kew Forest Republican Club

BQE Admin on March 25, 2026

BY ANDREW KARPAN

In the basement of the White Radish in Kew Garden, the room was cramped with a tightly-packed group of some fifty or so people celebrating the downfall of Jasmine Crockett.

“With those two candidates going down, you know, Crockett and Al Green, I mean, I feel like there’s real change coming,” said an excited Kathryn Donnelly, one of the co-founders of the Kew Forest Republican Club, a new group that formed earlier this year, splintering from other Republican groups in the county.

When someone said that those were contests, involving candidates in Democratic Party primaries in the relatively faraway terrain of Texas, Donnelly didn’t demur.

“These are radical people, look, you know, probably, those are the worst, I think,” she added. “The radicals really have to go.”

Donnelly would know something about that. Until earlier this year, Donnelly was one of the three leaders of the Central Queens Republican Club, before ditching the group with a handful of stragglers and began booking meetings of her own in mid-size restaurants in Forest Hills. Their kick-off was in January, inside the similarly compact Aged Steakhouse nearby. (“Sorry, it’s a little tight down here but we didn’t have the funds to rent another restaurant, but maybe we will in the future,” said Donnelly, apologetically.)

“A lot of people who are here used to be members of that club,” said Bart Haggerty, a local Republican district leader. “And had issues with that club,” he added. Haggerty went on to detail one of those, a territorial fight: “And one thing we’re committed to here is that we’re not going to invite Democrats to speak in our club. And that club has chosen to do that repeatedly. We’re Republicans in the end, and I’m not interested in giving Democrats a platform to stand on.”

Irene Gakin, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union who runs both a travel agency in Queens and a community Facebook group (“I put in the rules of the group, it says, pretty clearly, that political posts will not be allowed.”) said she’s been a Republican since coming to the country. She was among the many in her party who split for Andrew Cuomo during last year’s election, believing that the party’s nominee, Curtis Silwa, didn’t have a chance. She made no bones about her feelings about Zohran Mamdani, the Democrat who had won.

“He’s a radical, his views are anti-Israel and that’s painful. And I’m disappointed to say the least,” said Gakin.

Andy Okuneff (left) said he “informally” supported Trump in the 2024 election. Photos by Andrew Karpan.

The group, in its first official meeting, had hoped for the blessing of one of Mamdani’s political opponents, Joanne Ariola, among the handful of outspoken Queens Republicans in the Democratic Party-controlled City Council. Ariola, however, could not make it, with Donnelly explaining something that had to do with family arrangements falling through.

The group would have to make do with Joseph Chou, an immigrant from Taiwan who runs a car repair business and who was also running a longshot campaign for Congress against Grace Meng, the longtime Democrat from Central Queens. His campaign slogan read: “Not Left, Not Right, Just Truth.”

“And you know they paint Republicans as so anti-immigration. No, we’re pro-immigration because we built this country,” said Chou. “But we built it the right way.” There was a smattering of applause.

The message perhaps resonated with Alfonso Nunez, a Dominican immigrant from Rego Park, who described himself as a Republican “for the last 20 years.” These days, he drives for Uber and was wearing a gold-colored Donald Trump toupée under a Trump 2024 vizor.

“Before, there were crazy bikes, riding on the sidewalks,” he said. “After Trump won, everything was different.”

“It comes down to breaking one party-rule,” said Andy Okuneff, a Republican from Brooklyn and the only person in the room wearing an Aphex Twin t-shirt. He had volunteered for the Trump campaign in 2016, handing out pamphlets in Reading, Pennsylvania. He had only “informally” supported Trump in the most recent election, he added.

“We have the highest taxes on earth and see trash on the streets. Ultimately, we want to lower taxes. That’s the direction we’re pushing,” said Okuneff.

St. John’s is Sweet Once More!

BQE Admin on March 24, 2026

Johnnies beat Kansas, await Duke in first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999

Dylan Darling is swarmed by teammates after his buzzer-beating layup as St. John’s advanced past the second round for the first time in over two decades! Photos courtesy St. John’s basketball.

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

For the first time since 1999, the St. John’s Red Storm are dancing beyond the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. A dominant showing against the #12 University of Northern Iowa Panthers and a gritty win over the #4 Kansas Jayhawks put the Johnnies into the Sweet 16, where they take on top overall seeded Duke.

Storm Watch in San Diego

The Red Storm opened with a 13-0 lead in their opening round matchup in San Diego. While the UNI Panthers boasted one of the best defenses in D1 hoops, they were no match for a fast paced and physical St. John’s squad.

The Johnnies led by as much as 21 in the opening half, going into the break up 47-28. To nobody’s surprise, leading the way was Zuby Ejiofor with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and a pair of blocks. The St. John’s senior was left off all three All-American but showed off on the national stage, dominating on both ends of the floor.

The Red Storm stifled the Panthers’ offense, forcing Northern Iowa to shoot a measly 39% from the floor and 21% from three, well below their season averages. UNI only got two points off the bench, though Trey Campbell and Leon Bond III both had solid games as starters.

St. John’s pulled away in the second frame, going on to win 79-53. Ejiofor tallied a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards to go with his 4 blocks. Bryce Hopkins added 13 points and Dillon Mitchell pulled down another 9 rebounds.

In the other matchup in San Diego, #4 Kansas took on the #13 Cal Baptist Lancers. It was a fairly comfortable matchup for Bill Self’s squad, holding their opponents to just 18 first half points before fending off a decent second half comeback attempt. 

Presumptive #1 overall NBA draft pick Darryn Peterson scored 21 in his NCAAT debut. Dominique Daniels Jr. led the Lancers with 25, but it wasn’t enough for Cal Baptist as they fell 68-60.

Zuby Ejiofor recorded a double-double in the tournament opener against Northern Iowa.

For Whom the Bells Toll

The matchup between Rick Pitino and Bill Self marked the second straight year Hall-of-Fame coaches clashed in the second round. In the 2025 tournament, John Calipari’s Arkansas took down Kansas in the opening round before downing the Red Storm in round two.

This year both coaches were safe from the Razorbacks, who advanced to the Sweet 16 in the West region where they take on #1 Arizona. Still, Kansas vs St. John’s marked the third time coaches with 2+ national titles clashed in March Madness.

The Johnnies shot early and often, showing confidence even when the three pointers stopped falling. They took an early advantage but weren’t able to build a gap against Kansas in the first half. St. John’s took 23 three pointers in the opening half, setting a record for a team coached by Rick Pitino. They only hit seven, with three of those shots coming in the opening three minutes of action.

“They don’t believe we can shoot and we’re proving them right,” said Pitino during an in-game interview. “But we’re gonna keep on shooting them until they go in.”

The shooting got more conservative in the second half, as the Red Storm went 4/12 from downtown. They were able to coast into the back end of the half up 14 points, their largest lead of the night, but Kansas began to chip away at the deficit.

Up just one point, Bryce Hopkins came up clutch with the biggest three of the night. The senior transfer didn’t hesitate as he caught and shot from the elbow to put the Johnnies up by four with 1:30 left to play.

Bryce Hopkins connected on a few clutch threes against Kansas, including one to put the Red Storm up by four points with under 2 minutes to play.

The Jayhawks stayed close, scoring to bring the lead down to two before Peterson drew a shooting foul to tie the game from the free throw line. With a few fouls to give, Kansas intentionally fouled to limit the Red Storm shot clock to just over three seconds for the final possession.

Three seconds was all that was needed as Dylan Darling drove into the lane for a quick layup as time expired. The Red Storm piled onto the junior guard, celebrating his only made field goal of the night.

The 67-65 win marks the first trip to the Sweet 16 this century for St. John’s, setting up some thrilling matchups in Washington DC this weekend.

Darling’s game-winner was his first made field goal of the game, a testament to the junior guard’s confidence.

Johnny vs Goliath

Now the biggest test of the year awaits Pitino and the Red Storm. The Duke Blue Devils struggled against #16 Siena in the opening round, but they looked much more like the tournament’s top seed as they thrashed TCU in the round of 32. Still, they wouldn’t be the first #1 seed to crash out of the tournament, as the defending champion Florida Gators fell to #9 Iowa in the second round, the biggest upset of the tournament so far.

It will be another test against future NBA talent as Duke features the Boozer brothers, Cameron and Cayden. The freshman fraternal twins will look to carry Duke to a 6th ever program title, and interestingly enough the Blue Devils defeated the Red Storm at some point in each of their previous title-winning campaigns.

The other Sweet 16 matchup in the East Region features another Hall of Fame coach in Tom Izzo. His #3 Michigan State Spartans will take on a future Hall of Famer in Dan Hurley and the #2 UConn Huskies in what’s sure to be an incredible matchup in DC.

Should the Johnnies and Huskies both advance, it would set up a remarkable BIG EAST rematch on one of the biggest possible stages.

Ejiofor was dominant in his first two games. How far can the Red Storm captain carry this St. John’s squad?

Tip-off between the Red Storm and Blue Devils will be at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC on Friday, March 27 at 7:10pm. The Huskies and Spartans will play afterwards at 9:45pm. The winners will clash in the Elite Eight on Sunday, March 29.

Red Storm Enters 2026 NCAA Tournament as East’s 5 Seed

BQE Admin on March 19, 2026

St. John’s blows out UConn in BIG EAST Final to claim back-to-back conference titles

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

Earlier this season, it seemed like back-to-back BIG EAST regular season and tournament championships were out of the question for St. John’s. The UConn Huskies sat comfortably in the nation’s top-10 all season long while the Johnnies struggled against a tough non-conference schedule before faltering against the Friars in early January.

However, after their defeat to Providence the Red Storm went 18-1, culminating in a conference tournament championship tiebreaker against UConn. St. John’s defeated the Huskies in the first matchup of the year, 81-72 at MSG. When the Red Storm visited Hartford for the return game, UConn responded with a 32-point win to snap their 13-game winning streak.

The contest in Connecticut opened the door for the Huskies to win their second outright regular season title in over 20 years, but two late conference defeats to Creighton and Marquette allowed St. John’s to claim a consecutive BIG EAST crown on the final weekend of action.

The St. John’s Red Storm went back to back in both the BIG EAST regular season and tournament for the first time in program history! Photos by Noah Zimmerman

 

Red Storm v Huskies III

The Red Storm didn’t trail for a moment in their first two BIG EAST Tournament matchups, winning a season series tiebreaker against Providence before taking down the Seton Hall Pirates. They carried that momentum into the championship game, opening with a quick 10-0 lead.

That advantage ballooned as large as 17 in the opening half. Zuby Ejiofor was dominant on both ends, Dillon Mitchell was searing through the air for dunks, and Bryce Hopkins kept scoring as the trio once again dominated the floor.

UConn was able to keep the deficit to 13 at the break, going on to mount a 2nd half comeback. A 9-0 run cut the lead to just 7 points but Ejiofor knocked down a three to help the Johnnies maintain control.

The battle of the bigs was terrific as UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr. took on Ejiofor. The Huskies senior scored a team high 17 points, also leading the team in rebounds with 7. Ejiofor finished with 18 points, tied with Hopkins for the game high. He brought down 9 rebounds, picked up 3 steals, and recorded 7 of 8 Red Storm blocks.

St. John’s pulled away in the final minutes, winning 72-52. For the second straight year, the Red Storm conquered the BIG EAST, and for the 4th straight season the regular season winner repeated as conference tournament champions.

The Red Storm have been on fire in 2026. Their only losses this year came in early January against Providence and in late February at UConn.

 

A Top-10 Ranked 5 Seed?

The Red Storm were one of a few teams handed brutal draws on Selection Sunday. Despite coming in at #10 on Monday’s AP National Rankings, St. John’s were given the #5 seed in a brutal Eastern Region.

Atop the region is the #1 overall seeded Duke, who the Johnnies would face in the Sweet 16 should they win their opening two rounds. If they’re somehow able to unseat the top team in the nation, a fourth matchup against UConn could await St. John’s with a place in the Final Four on the line.

However, the focus must remain on opening weekend. While the #5 vs #12 matchups are famed for dramatic upsets, St. John’s were drawn against a Northern Iowa team that doesn’t have the physical presence to stop the Red Storm’s three-headed frontcourt monster. 

The Johnnies fell in the 2nd round in 2025 to John Calipari and #10 Arkansas, and it will likely be another 2nd round battle between Hall of Fame coaches as Rick Pitino faces Bill Self and the #4 Kansas Jayhawks.

All three matchups between the Red Storm and Huskies have been thrilling, even though two of them ended up fairly lopsided. Will they meet again in the Elite Eight?

 

Dance, Johnnies! Dance!

The second half of the season has been nothing short of magical for St. John’s. Now it’s time to see if Pitino can help the Red Storm carry that magic into late March.

Tip-off in the opening round against Northern Iowa is slated for Friday, March 20 at 7:10pm in San Diego. The winner advances to the second round to play either Kansas or Cal Baptist on Sunday the 22.

The East Regional matchups (Sweet 16 and Elite 8) will be held at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. on March 27 and 29 with the Final Four and NCAA Championship tipping off at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on March 4 and 6.

Where to Play Pickleball in NYC

BQE Admin on March 19, 2026

NYC’s fastest-growing sport has courts everywhere—if you know where to look.

Pickleball has exploded across New York City in the past few years, and nowhere is that more evident than in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. From neighborhood park courts to organized indoor games, players of all skill levels can find a place to play almost any day of the week. Whether you’re a beginner picking up a paddle for the first time or a seasoned player looking for competitive games, the boroughs offer a growing network of places to hit the court.

One of the best parts about pickleball in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan is how accessible it is. Many local parks have converted tennis or handball courts into pickleball courts, giving residents the chance to play for free in their own neighborhoods.

In Queens, popular outdoor spots include courts at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village, Astoria Park, and Forest Park, where players regularly gather for open play. These courts often become lively community hubs, especially during warm evenings and weekends.

Over in Brooklyn, players flock to courts at McCarren Park in Williamsburg, Marine Park, and Prospect Park, where pickup games and friendly competition are easy to find. The outdoor scene is relaxed and social—show up with a paddle and chances are you’ll quickly find a group looking to rotate players in.

The outdoor season in New York typically runs from spring through late fall, and many players enjoy the casual, community-driven atmosphere that park play offers.

When the weather turns cold—or when players want a more structured experience—indoor pickleball courts provide a great alternative.

Across Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, several gyms and sports facilities host organized pickleball sessions, leagues, and clinics. Indoor courts offer reliable court time, consistent lighting, and a more controlled playing environment.

One of the easiest ways to find these games is through Conquer Pickleball, the leading pickleball games app helping players discover courts and organized games across the city.

Through the app, players can:

  • Find nearby courts in Queens and Brooklyn
  • Join organized indoor and outdoor games
  • Play with friends or meet new players
  • Discover sessions designed for different skill levels

Many of the indoor games hosted through Conquer take place at local gyms and sports facilities, making it simple to play year-round regardless of the weather.

Beyond adult play, Conquer is also helping introduce the sport to the next generation through its Conquer Kids program. The initiative focuses on bringing pickleball to youth across New York City through clinics, school partnerships, and community events. By putting paddles in the hands of young players, the program teaches not only the fundamentals of the sport but also teamwork, confidence, and healthy competition. Conquer Kids has already begun expanding across Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, helping more children discover a sport that is easy to learn, social, and fun to play.

Part of pickleball’s appeal is how social and welcoming the game is. Unlike some sports that require established teams or leagues, pickleball encourages drop-in play, mixed skill levels, and quick rotations that keep games moving.

That community aspect has helped the sport grow rapidly across the boroughs. Players often show up solo and leave with a group of new friends. For many New Yorkers, pickleball has become just as much about the social experience as it is about the game.

“Pickleball has this incredible ability to bring people together,” says Louis Long, founder of Conquer. “Our goal with Conquer is to make it easy for anyone in New York City to find a game, meet new people, and build a real community around the sport.”

If you’re new to pickleball, all you really need is a paddle, a few balls, and a willingness to jump into the action. Outdoor courts at local parks are a great place to start, while indoor sessions and organized games offer a more structured way to improve your skills.

With dozens of courts spread throughout Queens and Brooklyn, and platforms like Conquer helping players find games instantly, there’s never been a better time to pick up a paddle and join the fastest-growing sport in New York City.

You can find courts at PS290 in Ridgewood, Queens, Grand Street Campus in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and in Manhattan on courts on the Lower East Side, West Village, Chinatown, Midtown, Upper East Side, and Upper West Side.

CB2 Floats M Train Extension

BQE Admin on March 19, 2026

BY SIDDARTHA HARMALKAR 

SUNNYSIDE — A proposed M train extension could create a new transit corridor connecting Rego Park to the Rockaways.

Volunteers with QueensLink, a transit-advocacy group, presented new impact assessments of the proposal at the Queens Community Board 2 transportation committee meeting on March 3rd.

The project would open a new north-south transit corridor by reopening the Rockaway Beach Branch and creating four new M line stations, as well as 33 acres of parks and protected bike paths along the long-abandoned stretch of existing railway.

While the proposal has been praised by Queens elected officials, including then-Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in 2023, it has also drawn concerns of overcrowding and potential conflicts with an Adams-era plan to build a linear park along the abandoned railway.

Noelle Hunter, the Communications Director of QueensLink, advocated for the proposal at the March 3 meeting, arguing that its benefits to Western Queens residents would go far beyond an increase in the frequency of existing subway lines.

“They’ll also be able to access an entire half of their borough that for the most part is completely inaccessible right now.”

QueensLink will be publishing an economic impact assessment and a subway ridership study in the coming weeks, Hunter said.

But transportation committee members also worried about conflicts with the Adams administration-funded QueensWay project, which would replace the abandoned land with parks and is set to begin construction this year.

QueensWay has been endorsed by Congress Member Grace Meng and Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi, among several others.

“We don’t want to wait another 60 years for something to be realized that has been studied pretty extensively and can add a lot of value within the next several years,” said Karen Imas, a board member of Friends of the QueensWay.

She highlighted practicality as a core issue in QueensLink’s proposal, pointing to the MTA’s 2023 20-year needs assessment, which found the reactivation of the Rockaway Beach Branch to “not score well in most metrics.”

Hunter said that QueensLink hopes their new studies will convince the MTA to reassess the project.

A survey conducted by State Senator Joe Adabo’s office in 2024 showed that out of the 500 participants surveyed, QueensLink garnered 75% support compared to QueensWay’s 22%.

The first phase of the QueensWay project is set to break ground soon. According to NYC EDC, construction is expected to begin by the end of the year and is anticipated to take 2 years.

Claire Valdez Brings Labor Fight to Congressional Race

BQE Admin on March 19, 2026

Queens’ Claire Valdez Seeks to Expand Workers’ Voice in Congress

By MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

Long before she held elected office in New York, Claire Valdez was a teenager in conservative West Texas making anti-war art. Now a Queens assembly member in District 37, Valdez is running for Congress, seeking to bring her experience as a union organizer and advocate for working-class New Yorkers to Washington. Her campaign frames labor rights, affordable housing, and democratic participation as central to her vision, connecting the struggles she witnessed growing up with the policies she hopes to advance on a federal level.

Valdez grew up in Lubbock, Texas in a Democratic household during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a high school student, she entered a congressional art competition with a piece protesting the wars. It won, sending her to Washington, D.C., to display the work before the very lawmaker she opposed.

“That was my early activism,” Valdez said. “But there was no kind of organization or place to kind of put that political activity in Texas.”

Her path to politics was indirect. After studying in Chicago, Valdez moved to New York more than a decade ago, hoping to build a career as an artist. She worked as an operations manager at SculptureCenter, a small museum in Long Island City, while juggling the financial pressures of life in the city.

“It’s incredibly hard,” she said of trying to pursue art in New York. “It is very expensive to be an artist or just a person in New York City.”

Like many artists, she worked a patchwork of jobs to stay afloat, including years in retail and food service. She recalled long shifts and early mornings at Trader Joe’s while trying to support her creative work.

“I worked seven days a week, just on my feet all the time,” she said. “You don’t even know what to do. You’re just so tired you don’t even know how to fight back.”

One moment stuck with her. When the Affordable Care Act passed, she said the company raised the minimum hours required for employee health coverage, cutting off benefits for many part-time workers.

“To have this benefit just ripped away with no input from employees… it was really heartbreaking,” Valdez said.

Her entry into organized politics came after she took a job at Columbia University in 2018. There she joined United Auto Workers Local 2110, a union representing campus workers.

The experience reshaped her understanding of democracy.

“I went to my first union meeting, and it was 200, 300 strangers in a room who were all talking about what our contract was going to be and what we were willing to put on the line to win it,” she said. “It was the most democratic thing I’d ever seen in my life.”

Valdez soon became deeply involved in union organizing. She was elected to her unit’s bargaining committee and later became unit chair in 2022, representing about 500 coworkers and helping handle grievances and contract enforcement.

“That was my introduction to real politics,” she said.

Her labor activism overlapped with her involvement in the Democratic Socialists of America, which she joined in 2019. Valdez served as membership coordinator and helped run orientation sessions for new members, personally onboarding hundreds of volunteers.

“I think people trust me,” she said when asked why organizers encouraged her to run for office. “I’m consistent. I show up when I needed to show up.”

That network of organizing eventually propelled her into electoral politics. In 2024, Valdez was elected to represent the 37th Assembly District in Queens, which includes Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Maspeth and Ridgewood, where she now lives.

She said her decision to run stemmed from organizing work that exposed the power of state government.

“We were passing  billions of dollars in budget,” she said. “There’s just an immense amount of money, an immense amount of power.”

During her first year in Albany, Valdez said she learned how complicated that power can be. Despite representing districts across the state, many key decisions still come down to negotiations among leadership.

“Our bodies move in a kind of sometimes not democratic way,” she said of the Legislature. “So much of the decision-making at the state level happens in that room.”

Still, she points to several accomplishments she is proud of. Among them is securing a $200 million budget line for the New York Power Authority to build publicly owned renewable energy projects.

“We need a real green transition,” she said.

Valdez has also focused on expanding worker protections, including unemployment insurance. Her office frequently fields calls from residents struggling to access benefits.

“Unemployment insurance is easily the number one issue we deal with in our office,” she said.

Her political outlook has also been shaped by personal experiences outside New York. In 2017, she said, an aunt in Texas who cared full-time for Valdez’s grandfather nearly died after a cold worsened without treatment because she lacked health insurance. The hospital bills included a $70,000 medical evacuation.

Hearing Bernie Sanders speak about health care inequality helped crystallize her politics.

“He was the first politician I heard talk about what a profound disaster this is,” she said, referring to medical debt in the United States.

Valdez now defines her politics through the lens of labor organizing and democratic socialism.

“As a Democratic socialist my belief is that democracy should be in play throughout your entire life — in your workplace and your apartment building and your communities,” she said. “Politics aren’t just something that happens to you. It’s something you have to make happen.”

If elected to Congress, she said much of her focus would be on expanding union power nationwide, including support for federal legislation like the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.

“Just talking about workers’ ability to organize in their workplaces really does advance democracy,” she said.

Her campaign also comes with unusual dynamics. She is seeking to succeed longtime Rep. Nydia Velázquez, whom Valdez praised as “a really good representative.”

“She was one of the first congress members to call for a ceasefire in Gaza in 2023,” Valdez said. “That took a lot of bravery at the federal level.”

Still, critics sometimes question why relatively new lawmakers run for higher office so quickly. Valdez acknowledged the concern but said many key labor battles happen at the federal level.

“I love my Assembly seat and my district,” she said. “But so much of our fights are at the federal level.”

She also said strong organizers should prepare others to lead.

“An organizer’s number one job is to replace themselves,” she said, pointing to fellow housing activist Samantha Kattan as someone she believes could represent the district.

Beyond policy, Valdez believes the future of the Democratic Party depends on grassroots engagement. She points to the surge of volunteers in recent local elections as evidence that voters want to participate directly in politics.

“There’s a real appetite for people to get involved,” she said.

Ultimately, she said her goals in Washington would reflect the same labor values that launched her career.

“I’d want union density to be higher in the United States,” Valdez said. “More unions, better worker protections, less misclassification, and for working people to feel empowered to participate in the political process.”

And despite the pressures of politics, Valdez said she still enjoys neighborhood staples in Queens. Among them is a favorite bakery, Masa Madre.

For now, the former artist and union organizer says her focus remains the same as when she first entered a union meeting years ago:

Building power for workers.

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