18 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 3, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens’ newest elected reps have a big 2019 ahead
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Following major upsets across the borough,
some of the newest Queens lawmakers
will be going to Albany and
Washington D.C. this month to focus on
what they see as some of the biggest issues
for their constituents.
With many gaining important committee
appointments in recent weeks, State
Senators Jessica Ramos and John Liu as
well as Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz
will be pushing mutual agenda items such
as the Reproductive Health Act.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who stunned
Congressman Joseph Crowley in the June
Democratic primary and cruised to victory
in November, has been occupying
headlines to mobilize the nation toward
addressing climate change. She’ll be sworn
in on Jan. 3 as the 14th Congressional
District’s new representative.
Jackson Heights activist Ramos defeated
State Sen. Jose Peralta, who unexpectedly
died in November aft er losing his
seat, and plans to vote in favor of the
S2975A, which pertains to hours, wages
and supplements in contracts for public
work.
“My staff and I are busy this week getting
our district offi ce up and running so
we can best serve our neighbors,” Ramos
said. “As the new chair of the Senate
State Senator John Liu is one of four newly-elected offi cials in Queens taking offi ce this week.
Labor Committee, I am ready to protect
workers’ rights, update our infrastructure
by passing the public works bill, and fi ght
for green jobs. I’m looking forward to getting
the Reproductive Health Act passed
as well as lively discussion about congestion
pricing, single-payer healthcare, and
marijuana legalization.”
File photo/THE COURIER
Cruz campaigned heavily on rent
reform such as eliminating Major Capital
Improvements, or permission from the
state for landlords to raise prices even
on rent controlled units to make up for
repair costs.
Being out of the country, Cruz was not
able to deliver a statement before press
time.
Since announcing his intention to challenge
entrenched state Senator Tony
Avella over the summer, Liu said he was
running in order to codify Roe vs. Wade
into law in New York state through the
Reproductive Health Act in order to protect
the rights of women if it were to be
overturned at the federal level.
“Th e Senate Democrats are ready to hit
the ground running by passing the RHA,
election reforms and securing education
funding for our public schools,” Liu said.
“New Yorkers have given the mandate to
the state Senate to deliver these legislative
priorities.”
Liu will hold a swearing-in ceremony
on Jan. 6 at 1 p.m. at P.S. 203 in Oakland
Gardens.
Congresswoman-elect Ocasio-Cortez
did not respond to a request for comment
on how she will be working to improve
more local issues, but has been championing
a Green New Deal, a proposal to
have the United States on 100 percent
renewable energy by 2035 in an FDR-like
nationwide mobilization.
But in the past week, sitting House
Democrats led by U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi
have sided with the plan of establishing a
committee on climate change, which contrary
to Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal, does
not have the power to depose or subpoena
and will not be able to vote legislation
directly to the fl oor.
QNS.com soars to new heights off top 10 stories in Queens
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
While this year brought forth a royal
wedding, ongoing aft ermath of Hurricane
Maria and the Brett Kavanaugh hearing,
2018 was an equally big year for news
throughout Queens.
Our website has reached incredible
new heights in 2018, thanks in large to
the support from our readers. QNS.com,
which features content from Th e Queens
Courier, Th e Courier Sun, the Ridgewood
Times, the Times Newsweekly, the
TimesLedger, the Bayside Times, the LIC
Courier and BORO Magazine, achieved 7
million page views as of Dec. 12.
At the end of 2018, QNS had 7,431,955
page views for the year. We thank you for
your support this year and beyond!
Here’s a look at the most viewed stories
on QNS.com, which collectively gained
nearly 360,000 page views this year.
On Dec. 11, a 15-year-old boy slashed
a fellow student at Benjamin Cardozo
High School in Bayside, causing a 2 1/2-
hour lockdown. Th e suspect reportedly
got into a verbal argument with the victim
that morning before slashing him with an
unknown object. Th e teen, whose identity
was not disclosed due to his age, ultimately
turned himself in that same day.
In February, Elmhurst’s beloved
Georgia Diner announced that it would
close its doors at its Queens Boulevard
location in March. Th e diner merged with
the Nevada Diner on March 25, bringing
the same great food and the Georgia
Diner name to the Nevada Diner’s location
less than half a mile away.
Jocelyn Zacarias, 14, of Rego Park went
missing on July 5 aft er leaving her phone
at home and not telling her parents where
she was going. Two days later, Zacarias
was found safe and sound.
Students and teachers at Forest Hills
High School underwent a “precautionary”
lockdown in March aft er a reported
shooting threat. Th e culprit, identifi
ed as 16-year-old Ishrak Hossain, was
arraigned for making terroristic threats
that caused the lockdown.
Several medical professionals in Queens
were among 13 who were arrested in June
for their roles in a Medicare and Medicaid
scheme that made millions of dollars in
fraudulent claims.
In April, PropertyShark released its
quarterly report that outlined the city’s
50 most expensive neighborhoods in
the fi rst quarter of 2018. Seven Queens
neighborhoods made the list, including
Belle Harbor, Queensboro Hill and
Auburndale.
Two Queens men, one from Ridgewood
and the other from Flushing, were the latest
borough residents to win big in the
New York Lottery in July. Th e men won
a combined total of $19.5M in the May
30 drawings.
It was reported in July that the borough’s
last Kmart, located in Middle
Village, would be closing in the fall. Th e
closing marked the end of Sears Holdings’
presence in Queens.
Th e Outback Steakhouse location at the
Queens Place mall abruptly closed down
in August. Th e owners of the Outback
Steakhouse chain indicated that the decision
to close the restaurant down “was
based solely on business circumstances.”
On April 24, the body of 17-year-old
Andy Peralta was found in Flushing’s
Kissena Park. Th e NYPD ruled the death
a homicide and started an investigation.
Photo: Mark Hallum/THE COURIER
Armed offi cers exit from Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside in December. A report about a
lockdown at the school was the most read story on QNS.com in 2018.
2019 preview
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