Iryna Shkurhan
Iryna Shkurhan
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Congresswoman Meng Presents Solutions to Thwart Mail Theft
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com To combat a surge in mail theft, Congresswoman Grace Meng was joined by NYPD’s 104th Precinct and the United States
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Astoria Bookshop Turns Page on 10 Years
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Astoria Bookshop celebrated their 10 Year Anniversary on Monday, as well as a grand reopening in a new location, with
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Meng Awards 1 Million for Small Business Legal Desk
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Small businesses in Queens will soon have access to free legal advice in five different languages through a new pilot program
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Spiritual Center Regrounds in LIC
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com On 50th Avenue in Long Island City, just off Vernon Boulevard, the smell of incense spills onto the sidewalk. At
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Boys and Girls Club Celebrates Hip-Hop’s 50th
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com In honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, hundreds of kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Queens
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New Law Targets Landlords of Unlicensed Smoke Shops
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com New legislation passed by the city council last month is seeking to hold landlords, not business owners, accountable for the
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Pols Rally Against Corona Vendor Crackdown
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com The vendors who normally fill up Corona Plaza by selling some of the city’s top ranked food were forced to
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LIJ Forest Hills Celebrates 70 Years With Special Guests
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com In honor of 70 years of treating the Forest Hills community, staff at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills hospital celebrated with
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Expecting Queens Mothers Can Now Apply For Unconditional Cash
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com A philanthropic program that gives unconditional cash to expectant mothers for the first 1,000 days of their child’s life is expanding
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Organizers Push Ardila to Resign With Sit-In
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Three community members held a sit-in for over ten hours in Assemblyman Juan Ardila’s Sunnyside office last week, in an effort
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Shower Power Addresses Lack of Hygiene Resources for Migrants
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com While many organizations are tackling food insecurity, Shower Power is one of the few providing proper hygiene resources to the
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Carpenters Union Slams City For False Willets Point Promise
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Over a hundred carpenter union members rallied at City Hall on July 13 for what they say are false promises
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BP Secures $17 Million For Queens Parks and Libraries
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. ended the city’s 2023 fiscal year with securing $10 million for parks across the
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Meng Awards 100 Suits With Funding For Youth Employment Program
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Kevin Livingston started 100 Suits for 100 Men in 2011 after seeing underprivileged men in his community lack business attire
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311 Launches Portal to Report Obscured License Plates
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com New Yorkers can now report delinquent drivers for obscuring their license plates through a simple 311 online portal. More and more
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Schulman Will Represent District 29 in Second Term
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com City Councilmember Lynn C. Schulman secured just over fifty percent of the vote in the democratic primary on July 27, landing
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Smoke Shop Where Murder Occurred Closed Permanently
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com An illegal smoke shop on Jamaica Ave in Richmond Hill, where an employee was murdered during a daytime robbery in
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U.S Health Secretary Visits Flushing to Discuss Culturally Competent Healthcare
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com The U.S Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, visited Flushing on June 30 to join Congresswoman Grace Meng and
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Julie Won Secures Second Term
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com In District 26, incumbent City Councilmember Julie Won secured a second term in office following a Democratic primary election victory on
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More Protesters Than Kids Show Up to Drag Story Hour
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Outside of the Long Island City branch of the Queens Public Library, two antagonistic groups gathered during a drag story
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Cornell and Salvation Army Join Forces to Bring Nutrition to Families
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com For the first time ever, the Salvation Army partnered with Cornell and Cornell University Cooperative Extension- New York City (CUCE-NYC)
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Glendale Residents Celebrate Passage of Train Waste Bill
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com In a victory for local residents who reside by train tracks, a bill requiring waste being transported by rail to
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Kiwanis Club Celebrates Scholarship Recipients
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Maspeth’s Kiwanis Club celebrated its annual scholarship recipients, alongside parents and community members, at a luncheon at Maspeth Town Hall on
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Borough Hall Farmstand Returns With Locally Grown Produce
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com For the third year in a row, the Queens Borough Hall Farmstand will give local residents access to a variety
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Asian-American Advocacy Groups Endorse Grasso for DA
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Two significant Asian-American advocacy groups – New York City Residents Alliance and Asian Wave Alliance – endorsed former Judge George
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Speaker Adams Joins Schulman on Forest Hills Small Business Tour
By Iryna Shkurhan |ishkurhan@queensledger.com City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams joined City Councilmember Lynn Schulman on a tour of small businesses in Forest Hills on Thursday,
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Center for Gay Seniors Celebrates Pride
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Dozens of gay seniors, with some allies sprinkled in, gathered for a Pride Month social at the Kew Gardens Community
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DA Katz Receives Slew of Endorsements Ahead of Vote
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Current Queens District Attorney Melina Katz collected a wide range of endorsements weeks out from election day. Most notably, Mayor
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Students Beautify Benches With Social Justice Messages
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Students from 11 public schools in Queens painted benches in Cunningham Park with underlying social justice themed messages through a nonprofit
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Fuoco Music Center to Celebrate 50 with Concert
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Walking inside Joe Fuoco’s Music Center is asking to be transported back in time to the days when music was
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Rain Didn’t Stop Sunnyside Pride
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Rain and thunder didn’t stop Sunnyside from kicking off LGBT Pride Month with the second annual SunnyPride on June 2.
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Queens Leaders Push for Federal Recognition of Diwali
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Congresswoman Grace Meng was joined by local Queens pols and advocacy leaders on May 26 to announce her introduction of
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Maspeth’s Candlelight Vigil Honors All Vets
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com At the intersection of Grand Ave and 69th Street, dozens of Maspeth residents paid their respects to all veterans at
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Middle Village 8th Grader Wins Gold at MathCon in Chicago
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Mark Primak, an 8th grader from P.S./I.S. 49 in Middle Village, was one of the gold medalists at this year’s MathCon
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Bus Brings Free Mammograms to Glen Oaks Women
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com A free mammogram screening bus stood on Union Turnpike in Glen Oaks on Friday, May 19 to give women the
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Psychiatric Nurses Balance Their Own Mental Health
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Referred to by many as the backbone of healthcare, nurses are indispensable to the public health system and the wellness
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Julie Won Talks Misogyny, Housing and Education
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Julie Won isn’t scared of conflict and confrontation, in her own words – she thrives in it. Since assuming office
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CB2 Demands Response from Ardila
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Western Queens pols and Community Board 2 members pressed Assemblyman Juan Ardila to acknowledge sweeping calls to resign at their
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Senior Job Fair Returns to Kew Gardens
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Clad in professional attire with a surplus of printed resumes on hand, over a hundred older adults arrived at the
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5 Community Fridges For Giving and Taking
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com In an effort to address food insecurity during the pandemic, community fridges started by regular New Yorkers popped up across the
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Councilman Proposes Rich Pay More For Parking Tickets
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com What if your income determined how much you would pay for a parking ticket in NYC? South Brooklyn City Councilman
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“Hitchhiking” Lanternfly Makes Early Appearance This Spring
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com The invasive spotted lanternfly is back for the season. In past years the species emerged from their egg masses in May,
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Tunnel to Towers Tees Off For Vets
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Stephen Siller, a Brooklyn firefighter, was heading to play a round of golf after his shift when he heard that a
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Artists Use NYCHA Scaffolding as Canvas
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com A city-wide art program that gave artists the opportunity to transform scaffolding at public housing sites into community-specific murals came
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A Free Tree on Earth Day
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com For Earth Day on April 22, Queens locals lined up at the Queens Botanical Garden parking lot in Flushing to secure
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Mental Health Center Revamped in Woodside
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com The Child Center of NY in Woodside was renamed the Cohen Family Wellness Center after a philanthropic couple donated
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Eviction as Retaliation: ‘Good Cause’ Could’ve Protected This Fresh Meadows Family
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com After years of moving around between Pakistan, Canada and Texas, Sumra Sajid and her family were finally able to call a
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AOC Rallies for Progressive Priorities in State Budget
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com “Welcome to the People’s Republic of Astoria,” declared Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the April 12 rally for progressive legislation to
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Queens BP Announces New Community Board Members
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Younger, less white and more reliant on public transportation. This is what the newly appointed members of community boards across
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Seven Spots to See the Bloom in Queens
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com With each unfurled petal and new splash of color, we settle into the new spring season. All across the city,
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Remaining Outdoor Dining Sheds ‘Eyesore’ to Some Residents
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com What started off as a lifeline for restaurants during the pandemic is now becoming a nuisance for residents and businesses
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State’s First Woman-Owned Marijuana Dispensary Opens in Jamaica
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com With a line of eager customers stretched around the block, the first legal adult-use cannabis dispensary in Queens opened its
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Community is Therapy at Venture House
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Venture House stands unassuming on Hillside Ave in Jamaica, Queens with its yellow brick exterior and arched windows. To a
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Astoria Starbucks Workers Strike, Again
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com Workers at two unionized Starbucks in Astoria joined over a hundred stores across the country to strike for fair labor
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Recognizing 50 Years on Community Board 5
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com For over 50 years, Paul Kerzner has devoted his life to taking care of Ridgewood and surrounding neighborhoods. In
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Queens Native Climbs the Alvin Ailey Ladder
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com At five years old Patrick Gamble put on his first pair of ballet shoes, and has since danced his
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Townsend Student Codes App for Good Posture
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com What started off as nudges from his mother to sit up straight, turned into a congressional contest win for Vincent Yip
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Eats in Queens Restaurant Month Tackles Food Insecurity
By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com This March, Eats In Queens Restaurant Month partnered with over 200 diverse eateries across the borough — and raised thousands