8 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 30, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens’ top stories from January 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 is a look back at the top stories for
the month of January.
Queens restaurants take part
in Restaurant Week To Go
A record 570 restaurants, including 45
from Queens, participated in Restaurant
Week To Go in an eff ort to promote eating
locally at a time when indoor dining
was closed. Participating restaurants
provided diners with an entrée and at
least one side dish for lunch or dinner,
all for $20.21. Some of the restaurants
also off ered these deals the
following week.
According to NYC & Company, the
record-setting 570 participants is 200
more than any NYC Restaurant Week
since 1992. Th e organization added that
Restaurant Week To Go aims to allow
customers to safely enjoy restaurants
while allowing the establishments to
“make takeout and delivery a revenue
stream to help get through the winter
months.”
Queens loses nearly 200
chain stores, third-largest
decline in the city
Queens saw an 11% drop in chain store
locations in 2020, the third-largest drop
out of all the fi ve boroughs. Th e Center
for an Urban Future’s 13th annual State
of the Chains report found more than
1,000 chain stores across New York City
closed either temporarily or permanently
Photo by Gabriele Holtermannv
over the past year or nearly one in every
seven locations that were open at this time
last year.
In Queens, 198 chain stores shut their
doors over the past year. Th e report
found the number of chain stores in the
city declined by 13% over the last year,
with 2% closing temporarily and 11%
not indicating whether closures were
permanent.
year in review
Northwell Health’s
urgent care facilities
begin COVID-19
vaccinations
Northwell Health-
GoHealth Urgent Care
became the first urgent
care network in the nation
approved to receive and
administer the Moderna
COVID-19 vaccine. Aft er
receiving its initial allocation,
the New York urgent care
network began vaccinating
team members on the front
line during the fi rst week of
January.
Th e Moderna vaccine provides
the same protective
technology as the Pfi zer vaccine,
and both have similar
effi cacy levels of around
95%. Like the Pfi zer vaccine,
Moderna’s inoculation
requires two shots. However,
the interval between the
Moderna vaccine is 28 days,
while the time frame between
Pfi zer’s doses is 21 days.
Triple shooting at
Kew Gardens hotel
marks fi rst homicide
of 2021: NYPD
One person was killed and
two others were injured in
a shooting at the Umbrella
Hotel in Kew Gardens early
in the morning of Friday,
Jan. 1, marking the fi rst
homicide of the new year,
according to the NYPD.
Offi cers from the 102nd
Precinct responded to a call
regarding the shooting just
aft er 1 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 1.
Upon their arrival, offi cers
discovered three people had
been shot.
A police spokesperson
said the shooting victims
were together at the hotel
and engaged in a dispute
with a group of at least four
people before the shooting.
Photo by Mari Estrella
One person was killed and two others were injured in a shooting at the Umbrella Hotel in Kew Gardens early in the morning of Friday, Jan. 1.
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