WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 30, 2021 19
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.
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.
The 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.
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.
The 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.
The new 105-foot structure will
house a 25,000-square-foot, two-level,
multipurpose community space, plus
more than 600 public parking spots.
The structure is being built on the
west side of the existing parking lot at
Union Turnpike between 126th Street
and 132nd Street.
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.
Rendering courtesy of the mayor’s offi ce
EMS rushed the victim to Elmhurst
Hospital, where he was pronounced
dead a short time later.
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.
The popular national retail chain has
leased 31,000 square feet at One Court
Square, 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.
The new Target in Long Island City
would be the eighth location to open
in Queens.
YEAR IN REVIEW
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