30 THE QUEENS COURIER • YEAR IN REVIEW • DECEMBER 26, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
year in review
The top stories from December 2019
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
HELLO PANDA FESTIVAL
ARRIVES AT CITI FIELD
Th e city’s inaugural Hello Panda Festival touched down
in the “World’s Borough” in December, sticking around
throughout January of next year. More than 120 massively
illuminated and handcraft ed lanterns were on display,
and guests are enjoying great food provided by 30 magnifi
cent vendors at the festival organized by CPAA North
America and Th e World’s Fare.
Th e displays feature more than 300,000 brightly colored
LED lights and several interactive elements. Visitors
can explore six diff erent lantern theme parks, each of
which deliver distinct, immersive experiences. Th e never
before-seen exhibits will be spread throughout the
festival grounds: Dream World, Holiday Wonderland,
Discovery Zone, Interactive Music Zoe, Sports World
and Community Interactive Zone.
Display highlights include the world’s tallest Christmas
tree lantern, life-sized dinosaurs and safari animals, a
huge fairytale castle and a 98-foot-long light tunnel. Th e
Hello Panda Festival is open seven days a week from 5
to 10 p.m.
‘AWKWAFINA IS NORA FROM
QUEENS’ TO PREMIERE IN 2020
Before she became a Hollywood movie star, Nora Lum,
known by her stage name Awkwafi na, was a YouTube
rapper in 2013 living in Forest Hills. Now, she’s returning
to her roots for a new Comedy Central show based
on her life in Queens.
“Awkwafi na is Nora From Queens” is a half-hour scripted
narrative starring Lum — who is the writer and creator
of the highly anticipated series — as a 20-something
growing up in Forest Hills, striving for a larger-thanlife
existence while living with her dad played by “Law
& Order: SVU” icon BD Wong, and her foul-mouthed
grandmother, played by Lori Tan Chinn of “Orange is the
New Black,” and cousin played by “Saturday Night Live”
cast member Bowen Yang.
Prior to landing her own show, Lum has starred in the
fi lms “Ocean’s 8 and “Crazy Rich Asians”, and won Best
Actress for her work in “Th e Farewell” at Th e Gotham
Awards. She has also released two albums, “Yellow
Ranger” and “In Fina We Trust”, and also ventured into
comedy and hosting, making television appearances in
“Girl Code,” “Future Man” and “Saturday Night Live.”
Th e 10-episode series is set to premiere on Jan. 22, 2020
at 10:30 p.m.
QUEENS HOMES RUINED BY
MASSIVE SEWAGE SPILL
A massive sewer backup in South Jamaica left more
than 80 homes fl ooded with raw sewage. Offi cials from
the Department of Environmental Protection said that
the mess was the result of a clogged or collapsed sewer
main. Th e sewage fi lled basements of homes in the area of
Inwood Street and several blocks surrounding that community.
Th e homeowners woke up the following morning
to fi nd up to four feet of putrid black sewage in their
cellars, covering personal property, walls and fl oors,
and destroying heating and electrical devices. Many of
the homes were rendered uninhabitable, and the stench
caused many to feel sick.
Police had closed the 150th Street overpass, where contractors
were on the scene cutting through asphalt to get
to what they say was possibly a 20 inch sewer main up to
40 feet under the ground. Workers say they did not know
where the main was clogged or “more likely collapsed.”
Courtesy of Hello Panda Festival
ACTIVISTS RALLY FOR SAFER
CONDITIONS FOR WORKERS AT
QUEENS AMAZON WAREHOUSES
Community activists, former Staten Island Amazon
warehouse workers, Senator Jessica Ramos and Queens
Borough President candidate Costa Constantinides faced
the cold to protest the future openings of Amazon distribution
centers in Woodside and Maspeth, right outside
of their newly opened warehouse in Woodside on Dec.
16. Athena Coalition, a group of New York, New Jersey
and other national organizations that advocate for working
people in the U.S. — such as Make the Road New York,
one of the organizers at the rally — released a report entitled
“Packaging Pain,” which detailed the “hazardous conditions”
that Amazon warehouse workers face during the holidays.
Some of the fi ndings of that report include an injury
rate that is three times higher than the national average rate.
“For too long, Amazon has been able to get away
with treating workers like robots. Workers leave these
warehouses in pain everyday,” Make the Road Field
Coordinator Juan Goris said. “Th ey feel they don’t have a
choice because a robot determines whether they can put
food on the table for their family. We must bring an end
to these inhumane working conditions which thousands
of New Yorkers have to endure everyday.”
Photo courtesy of Comedy Central
Photo by Todd Maisel
Photo: Angélica Acevedo/QNS
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