FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 8, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Governor closes schools in COVID-19 hot spots
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
editorial@qns.com
@qns
Schools in New York City’s COVID
hot spots temporarily closed on Tuesday,
Oct. 6, as per orders handed down by
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Oct. 5.
Over the weekend, Mayor Bill de
Blasio said that both public and private
schools in nine ZIP codes with COVID
transmission rates over 3 percent would
close for at least two weeks beginning
Wednesday, Oct. 7. But in order to move
ahead with school closures, the city
needed approval from the state.
Now, roughly 100 public schools and
200 private schools will shutter their
doors for an unclear amount of time.
Governor Cuomo added that school
reopening criteria is still being determined.
Th e majority of the areas experiencing
upticks in the virus are in southern
Brooklyn and encompass Borough Park
(11219), Gravesend/Homecrest (11223),
Midwood (11230), Bensonhurst/
Mapleton (11204), Flatlands/Midwood
(11210) and Gerritsen Beach/
Homecrest/Sheepshead Bay (11229).
Th e remaining three hot spot ZIP codes
are Far Rockaway/Edgere (11691), Kew
Gardens (11415) and Kew Gardens
Hills/Pomonok (11367) in Queens.
Under the city’s plan, students will
transition to remote learning for at least
two weeks and daycare centers will close.
File photo by REUTERS/Carlos Barria
It is still unclear if the city’s daycare centers
will also temporarily close their
doors.
One killed, two injured in seaplane crash: NYPD
BY MARK HALLUM
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
One woman is dead and two men are
critically injured aft er seaplane crashed in
Flushing Bay, fi re offi cials said.
NYPD says the small aircraft , a singleengine
seaplane, went down at around
3:05 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, and slammed
into a concrete pier near the address of
158-11 Riverside Dr. FDNY fi refi ghters
on the scene found all of the occupants
already on the dock.
One woman was apparently dead at
the scene, while a 60-year-old man, was
in cardiac arrest upon arrival of FDNY
and EMS; he was removed to NewYork-
Presbyterian Queens in Flushing. One
man could be seen in the back of an
ambulance, apparently unconscious
before leaving.
A fourth person, a jet skier who assisted
in operations, was also treated for unspecifi
ed injuries.
Fire Commissioner Dan Nigro said at a
press conference that the plane struck the
pier and “broke into pieces” upon impact.
Th e cause of the crash was not known.
Letta Jaucits, who’s home is next to the
pier where the plan crashed, said she ran
out of her home when she heard a loud
noise.
“It sounded like something falling,”
Jaucits said as she looked at debris that
had ended up on deck. Papers and a plastic
bag, along with a bottle of hydraulic
fuel, had fallen next to her pool.
“I came out and the plane was just sitting
there and then the fi remen came running
in to help them,” Jaucits added.
Th e National Transportation Safety
Board will investigate the crash, according
Photo by Todd Maisel
to the Federal Aviation Administration.
With reporting by Todd Maisel.
/WWW.QNS.COM
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