32 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 28, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
year in review
NOVEMBER
2017 Queens general election recap
Th ere were few surprises in the
November general elections in Queens.
Almost all of the key races were lopsided
in favor of the incumbents. Mayor
Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate Letitia
James and Comptroller Scott Stringer
easily won their reelection bids. Queens
voters also re-elected Queens Borough
President Melinda Katz to her second
term. Th e wildest race of the night
occurred in District 30 where incumbent
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley faced
off against Juniper Park Civic Association
President Bob Holden. Th ough Crowley
won the Democratic primaries handily,
Holden held a 133 vote lead aft er the initial
count on election day. New Yorkers
also passed two proposals on the ballot:
one cuts public pensions for convicted
government offi cials, and the other creates
a 250-acre land bank that allows local
governments to request land for projects
in exchange for the state acquiring the
250 acres.
City begins complete overhaul at
Flushing High School
Th e city is clearing house at a Flushing school in an eff ort to “turn around” conditions
at the struggling institution. Flushing High School will be completely re-staff ed,
according to a city Department of Education (DOE) spokesperson. Teachers and
staff must begin re-applying for their positions and will be interviewed by city-designated
staffi ng committees “over the next several months.” Th e entire process is
expected to be completed by the end of this school year. Th e DOE will also conduct
recruitment events in the spring and summer for new applicants. Th e number of
hires will be determined based on the number of students attending the school. Th e
school at 35th Avenue and Union Street will not close during the process in an eff ort
to create a seamless transition for its nearly 2,000 students.
Whitestone residents want answers on
major development project
Aft er uncovering more changes to a
long-disputed Whitestone development
project, residents and a local elected offi -
cial are calling for increased transparency
from a state agency. On Nov. 27,
state Senator Tony Avella and a group
of local residents met at the Waterpointe
site at 151-45 Sixth Rd. to voice alarm
with recent updates from state offi cials.
Previously an industrialized zone, the
nearly 12-acre site has been a topic of
concern in the neighborhood for a number
of years. Edgestone Group LLC, the
site’s current owner, is working to remediate
the site - which is covered with
toxic soil - under the oversight of the
state’s Department of Environmental
Conservation. In late September,
Community Board 7 received an
“Explanation of Signifi cant Diff erence”
fact sheet from DEC informing them that
the city agency has modifi ed the cleanup
agreement with developers. Board members
noted that the modifi cations restrict
the developer’s ability to build the agreed
upon single-family homes.
Burglars hit six businesses along
Bayside’s Bell Blvd.
A string of six commercial burglaries took place along Bell Boulevard between
38th and 42nd Avenues sometime between Nov. 18 and the early hours of Nov. 20,
an NYPD spokesperson said. Perpetrators hit three businesses on 38th Avenue and
three at 42nd Avenue, according to police. Th e aff ected businesses include the following:
Sterling Pharmacy at 38-01 Bell Blvd. had $2,000 and prescription medications
stolen; Tanko Japanese Fusion at 38-05 Bell Blvd. had $500 in cash stolen;
Michael’s Place Salon at 38-07 Bell Blvd. was broken into but nothing was stolen;
H&R Block at 42-04 Bell Blvd. was also broken into but nothing was stolen; Paradise
Furniture at 42-02 Bell Blvd. had $1,000 worth of tools stolen. Each of the businesses
fi led reports with the 111th Precinct.