FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 30, 2021 • YEAR IN REVIEW • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
year in review
Queens’ top stories from June 2021
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
As 2021 comes to an end, QNS has
compiled a list of the biggest stories,
events and people of Queens that grabbed
our attention this year.
Here’s a look back at the top stories for
the month of June.
Construction underway
on borough-based jail
in Kew Gardens
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that
construction is underway on the parking
garage and community space alongside the
new jail that will rise adjacent to Borough
Hall and the Queens Criminal Courthouse.
Th e construction marks the fi rst major
activity in the borough-based jails program,
an $8.3 billion eff ort to construct
four new, smaller, more humane jails in
Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and the
Bronx, to replace the jail complex on
Rikers Island.
Th e new 105-foot structure will house a
25,000-square-foot, two-level, multipurpose
community space, plus more than
600 public parking spots. Th e structure is
being built on the west side of the existing
parking lot at Union Turnpike between
126th Street and 132nd Street.
Target plans to open new
store at One Court Square
in Long Island City
A new Target store is coming to One
Court Square in Long Island City. Th e
popular national retail chain has leased
31,000 square feet at One Court Square,
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that construction is underway on the parking garage and community space alongside the new jail that will rise adjacent
to Borough Hall and the Queens Criminal Courthouse.
making it the newest tenant in one of
the tallest towers in the western Queens
neighborhood.
Target will take over the second fl oor of the
53-story building, which connects directly to
the lobby. Savanna, a real estate investment
management fi rm, is in the midst of upgrading
One Court Square with an $85 million
capital improvement program.
Th e new Target in Long Island City
would be the eighth location to open in
Queens.
Suspected gang member
slain in Corona: NYPD
Detectives in Queens were looking
for the suspect who gunned down an
alleged gang member on June 2. Police
said the shooter blasted the 29-year-old
man in the head near a home on 108th
Street off Van Doren Street in Corona.
Offi cers from the 110th Precinct, in
responding to a 911 call about the shooting,
found the wounded victim unconscious
and unresponsive on the sidewalk.
EMS rushed the victim to Elmhurst
Hospital, where he was pronounced
dead a short time later.
LaGuardia AirTrain project
delayed after Queens
congresswoman urges
further federal review
Final approval of the $2.1 billion
LaGuardia AirTrain project has been
delayed by the federal government just
as shovels were set to hit the ground on
construction of the controversial light
rail system.
Rendering courtesy of the mayor’s offi ce
Th e Federal Aviation Administration
announced it would take longer than
expected to reach a decision on the fi nal
approval of the project, known as a Record
of Decision, citing concerns over the environmental
review process and intense
pushback from the community around
LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst,
and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez, who represents the area.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Courtesy of Port Authority
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