Mayor holds “constituent hours” at Borough Hall
Gave residents chance to speak with city agency reps
Getting out the vote in Little Guyana
By Evan Triantafilidis
They came dancing with a mission.
Members of the Caribbean Equality Project and the Asian American Federation, in partnership with the South Queens Women’s March, hosted the inaugural Little Guyana Votes Festival in Richmond Hill last weekend.
Held on 120th Street between Little Punjab Avenue (101st Avenue) and Little Guyana Avenue (Liberty Avenue), the event also featured cultural music performances by Taranng Dance Group, PPE distribution, Hurricane Ida relief resources and COVID vaccines.
The Indo-Caribbean community is the second-largest foreign-born group in Queens, and fifth-largest in the city.
Christina Motilall, a member of South Queens Women’s March since last year, says she connects with the platform’s mission of providing resources to an underserved community.
“My family goes through the issues that South Queens Women’s March is trying to tackle,” said Motilall, whose parents are from Guyana. “I feel like I connect with it culturally, and I want to make a difference too. This is what representation looks like,” said Motilall.
The festival culminated in over 30 new registered voters, 250 free culturally responsive grocery bags distributed and over 40 completed excluded workers fund applications, according to Mohamad Q. Amin, founder and executive director of the Caribbean Equality Project.
“This is our home, this is our country, and immigrants have always been essential,” said Amin. “We must protect immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights and grant undocumented people and asylum seekers a pathway to citizenship, freedom, and liberation.”
The event was joined by community leaders, including council member Adrienne Adams, who emphasized her priority on the diverse constituents of the district.
“I recognize that all of us have been marginalized and forgotten about, not thought about and not cared about,” she said. “So when I became elected, I knew things had to change.”
The event coincided with National Voter Registration Day, held annually on the fourth Tuesday in September. According to U.S. Census data from 2020, roughly one in four eligible Americans are not registered to vote.
To familiarize locals with the voting process, residents cast ballots for categories like which local eatery has the best doubles, a common street food snack from Trinidad and Tobago, and shared their preference for one of two well-known Richmond Hill grocery stores, Singh Farm and Patel Brothers.
Queens Night Market to host fundraiser for Ida recover
Will open for the fall season this coming Saturday
9/11 mural restored on 20th anniversary of attacks
By Evan Triantafilidis
A mural honoring three local residents killed in the 9/11 attacks has been given new life with a fresh coat of paint.
The faces of Marcello Matricciano, Edward Lehman and James Cartier can be seen on the wall of N&R Deli at the corner of 25th Avenue and 77th Street in East Elmhurst.
Originally painted in 2015 by nonprofit group Groundswell, a restoration process was started after funding was secured by the Queens Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber president and CEO Thomas Grech said he noticed the mural was in need of a touch-up during one of his many breakfast trips to the deli. The chamber’s headquarters is located not far away.
“One day in July, the phone started ringing when I was getting my eggs,” said Grech. “I went out to answer the phone and I looked up at this wall. For those of you who haven’t seen it lately, it was starting to peel.”
Soon after, local artists Benny Guerra and Carlo Nieva began scraping and peeling off the old paint that had been weathered and beaten over the past six years.
“We tried to save as much of the original paint as possible,” said Guerra. “By the time we peeled all of it off, about 60 percent of the mural needed attention.”
The artists referenced photographs taken from the mural’s original dedication, applying a coat of primer and color-matching the old and new paint.
The 16-by-40-foot mural will soon be given another clear coat to extend its life even further.
“My favorite part is the integration of the old World Trade Center towers with the Freedom Tower,” said Nieva. “They are patriots.”
Deputy Chief Kevin Williams of the NYPD extended his thoughts to the families of the 9/11 victims who were in attendance for the rededication of the mural.
“I think this is symbolic of the American spirit and the New York spirit,” said Williams. “Over the years, this mural may have been battered and worn, but same thing as that day. We came back, made it stronger, and made our country better.”
John Cartier, the brother of one of the victims honored in the mural, expressed his gratitude for all those involved in restoring the mural. He remembers his brother, who died at 26 years old, as full of life and always having something funny to say.
“I think it’s important as family members to recognize all of you who have carried us through a time of darkness,” said Cartier. “All of you in this neighborhood were the light. You guys gave us hope to continue forward.”
Remnants of Ida bombard Queens
Late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, the remnants of Hurricane Ida arrived in New York City, bringing torrential rains and massive flooding.
The storm took the lives of multiple people in Queens and Brooklyn, and caused massive delays and suspensions throughout the city’s transit system.
Right before midnight, Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency. “Stay off the roads and avoid all unnecessary travel,” she urged with a tweet.
Mayor Bill de Blasio quickly followed suit, declaring a state of emergency within the city. “We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” the mayor tweeted.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency Wednesday night, marking only the second time that the organization has issued such a warning in the city.
At around 10 p.m. police responded to a 911 call for flooding in the corner building of 64th Street and Laurel Hill Boulevard in Woodside. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a 50-year-old man, 48-year-old woman and a two-year-old boy all unconscious in a basement apartment. The three were all pronounced dead at the scene.
In Forest Hills, officers responded to a 911 call and found a 48-year-old woman unconscious in her apartment complex. She was rushed to a hospital where she later died.
Closer to midnight, officers responded to reports of a flooded basement apartment on 183rd Street near 90th Avenue in Jamaica. The cops found a 43-year-old woman and 22-year-old man unresponsive at the scene. The man was declared dead and the woman passed away later at a hospital.
Flooding on 84th Street in Jackson Heights claimed the life of an elderly 86-year-old woman.
In Brooklyn, a 66-year-old man was found unconscious in a basement apartment at the corner of Ridgewood and Autumn avenues in Cypress Hills. He was later pronounced dead.
The flooding caused widespread suspensions and delays throughout the subway system. On Thursday morning, service was entirely suspended along the 3, C, E, Z, and W lines. All other trains were listed as either partially suspended or delayed.
Video on the popular Instagram account Subway Creatures showed entire stations partially submerged in water, including the 45th Street station of the R Line along 4th Avenue in Sunset Park and the Dekalb Avenue stop in Downtown Brooklyn.
Pouring rain also pounded through gaps in the roof of Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing, disrupting the second-round of play in the U.S. Open. Heavy winds blew concession stands throughout the venue as fans attempted to return to their cars and safely leave.
Remnants of Ida bombard Queens
Late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, the remnants of Hurricane Ida arrived in New York City, bringing torrential rains and massive flooding.
The storm took the lives of multiple people in Queens and Brooklyn, and caused massive delays and suspensions throughout the city’s transit system.
Right before midnight, Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency. “Stay off the roads and avoid all unnecessary travel,” she urged with a tweet.
Mayor Bill de Blasio quickly followed suit, declaring a state of emergency within the city. “We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” the mayor tweeted.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency Wednesday night, marking only the second time that the organization has issued such a warning in the city.
At around 10 p.m. police responded to a 911 call for flooding in the corner building of 64th Street and Laurel Hill Boulevard in Woodside. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a 50-year-old man, 48-year-old woman and a two-year-old boy all unconscious in a basement apartment. The three were all pronounced dead at the scene.
In Forest Hills, officers responded to a 911 call and found a 48-year-old woman unconscious in her apartment complex. She was rushed to a hospital where she later died.
Closer to midnight, officers responded to reports of a flooded basement apartment on 183rd Street near 90th Avenue in Jamaica. The cops found a 43-year-old woman and 22-year-old man unresponsive at the scene. The man was declared dead and the woman passed away later at a hospital.
Flooding on 84th Street in Jackson Heights claimed the life of an elderly 86-year-old woman.
In Brooklyn, a 66-year-old man was found unconscious in a basement apartment at the corner of Ridgewood and Autumn avenues in Cypress Hills. He was later pronounced dead.
The flooding caused widespread suspensions and delays throughout the subway system. On Thursday morning, service was entirely suspended along the 3, C, E, Z, and W lines. All other trains were listed as either partially suspended or delayed.
Video on the popular Instagram account Subway Creatures showed entire stations partially submerged in water, including the 45th Street station of the R Line along 4th Avenue in Sunset Park and the Dekalb Avenue stop in Downtown Brooklyn.
Pouring rain also pounded through gaps in the roof of Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing, disrupting the second-round of play in the U.S. Open. Heavy winds blew concession stands throughout the venue as fans attempted to return to their cars and safely leave.
