Showing posts with label Jackson Heights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jackson Heights. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

de Blasio's "Blizzard of the Century" turns out to be, just like the mayor himself, very much a bust

"Historic" blizzard pounds six inches into New York

It was one of the most "historic" blizzard busts in New York City.

Really, folks, it was just another snow storm.

Contrary to the soaring, aspirational rhetoric of Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City), who had proclaimed this week's blizzard as "historic," snow fall totals didn't reach anywhere near expected forecasts of 18 to 24 inches.

Only 4 to 6 inches of snow fell on New York City, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-New York). Subways service, which had been shut Monday night, resumed Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. with limited availability.

A walking tour of Jackson Heights, Queens

RELATED


Blizzard a Bust For NYC as Worst Fears Fail to Materialize (NBC News)


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Monday, September 15, 2014

In Jackson Heights, NYPD arrest and handcuff man, aggravating his injuries

Commissioner Bratton and Mayor de Blasio say we have community policing, but the police can't even speak Spanish to communicate with the community. And when I translated that the man's arm is broken, the cops put him in a impossible situation, and they painted the man as uncooperative. The man has an injured or broken arm ; he's handcuffed, but the cops complained that the man would not stand up. Before I started filming with my iPhone, I witness one police officer putting his foot on the small of the man's back to hold him down.

Monday, April 21, 2014

VIDEO : Fire in Jackson Heights, Queens on 37th Avenue

PUBLISHED : MON, 21 APR 2014, 10:05 PM
UPDATED : TUES, 22 APR 2014, 10:33 AM

VIDEO : A five-alarm fire broke out late Monday afternoon in a large office building at 74-09 37th Avenue, between 74th and 75th Streets in Jackson Heights, Queens. The fire began at about 5:30 p.m., said one witness, who works at the pizza shop across the street from the burning building. There were three minor injuries, NY1 reported.

Jackson Heights residents coming home from work were blocked as they walked up several streets from the major transit hub at Roosevelt Avenue, about one block away from the fire.

At one point and out of caution, firefighters burst through the fourth floor windows of the building next door using the high-pressurized hose water to stop the blaze from spreading.

It took about six hours for firefighters to put out the fire. Witnesses saw three ladder companies hosing down the fire. A fourth ladder company was on the scene, but it was not actively engaged in fighting the fire. It's not known if that fourth ladder company, had it been hosing down the fire, could have extinguished the blaze sooner. Several firefighter engines were on the scene in the blocks around the burning building. The top two floors of the building could be seen as having been destroyed the the fire.

The billowing smoke from the burning building covered several apartment buildings downwind from the fire, blanketing an entire area from 74th Street and 37th Avenue to 76th Street and Northern Blvd., and perhaps beyond.

Medical offices are located in the first floor of the burning building, along with an Italian restaurant. In the upper floors, a small college, Plaza Business Institute, shares space with several businesses, NBC4 New York reported. It is estimated that the whole building is now considered destroyed, effectively putting an end to hundreds of jobs that people had with the businesses, the business college, and law and medical offices in the building.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Jackson Heights Crap : Whose Garbage Is Really Worse ?

In Latest Jackson Heights Garbage Controversy, Scandal Depends On Eye Of Beholder

Last week, New York City Councilmember Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) appeared at a news conference outside of the Starbucks on 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, to complain about what he saw as a nuisance : the garbage that the coffee shop stacked outside the alley gate on 79th Street, near the coffee shop's backdoor.

Hearing it told by Councilmember Dromm and neighbors, employees of the coffee shop do not neatly bag nor tie the shop's garbage when the bags are placed out for collection. "Open bags of coffee grinds, food and other trash is often strewn around, residents said, and is usually left out for 12 hours or more," DNAinfo reported. However, the photo posted by Queens Crap showed that the garbage placed on the sidewalk for pickup was actually tied and neatly stacked against the curb. Presumably the neighborhood residents, who are complaining the loudest about the Starbucks garbage bags, are the residents of the building at 35-56 79th Street, which butts up against the backside the alley, where Starbucks stores it garbage.

Jackson Heights Crap-Starbucks-79th Street photo Jackson-Heights-Crap-Starbucks-Garbage-Neatly-Bagged-Tied-Stacked_zps85bbd38f.png

If the photo of the Starbucks garbage is to believed -- and there's no reason not to -- it's not known if after Starbucks employees place the garbage bags on the curb that they are later opened by the people, who open up neighborhood recycle bags to scavenge for glass bottles and aluminum cans that can be exchanged for a cash deposit at neighborhood grocery stores. The photo of the Starbucks garbage bags only shows a few black garbage bags, which should only contain items that cannot be recycled, such as coffee grinds, food waste, or other trash. By far the majority of the garbage bags that are stacked along the curb are made of clear plastic, which should only contain recyclables. Because people, who scavenge for recyclables know that they would only be contained in clear bags, there is less reason for the black bags to be opened once Starbucks employees set the bags out on the curb. It's bad enough that there are people, who open up recycling bags in search of an item that can be exchanged for a 5¢ deposit, but if scavengers are opening up the black bags in search of food items, then perhaps city officials should be addressing the larger problem of poverty or homelessness that drives people to open up garbage bags in search of aluminum cans or leftover sandwich crusts -- and not targeting Starbucks over the garbage bags it puts out for waste and recycling collection. There's a larger problem that's apparently being left unaddressed here.

It's ironic that the residents of the apartment building at 35-56 79th Street, which is adjacent to the Starbucks, would complain about the Starbucks garbage bags. The residents of 35-56 79th Street are responsible for their own garbage, which lays in plain sight from the sidewalk along 79th Street. There are metal pipes, an errant baby stroller, and other construction materials laying in the alley alongside 35-56 79th Street. It's not known if the Starbucks employees, who must use the shared alley, have ever complained about the garbage belonging to the apartment building next door.

Jackson-Heights-trash-3556-79th-Street-image-0_zps8819c484.jpeg

The press conference outside the Starbucks was supposed to also feature State Sen. Jose Peralta, but he did not show up to join Councilmember Dromm and concerned neighbors. The Starbucks company originally opened its location in Jackson Heights as a result of lobbying by Sen. Peralta, The New York Times reported in 2008. The Queens Crap blog observed the irony that Sen. Peralta had suddenly turned against Starbucks when it was he, who had lobbied the national chain to open a coffee shop in Jackson Heights.

Judging by the high number of other posts about garbage on the Queens Crap blog, cleaning up Queens is a huge concern for residents. It is odd that of all Queens, or more specifically Jackson Heights, that the garbage put out by Starbucks would merit such a controversy.

On 74th Street and 37th Road, for example, only a few blocks away from the Starbucks, the city offers no garbage canisters to collect trash near what is arguably the largest transportation hub in the borough.

Jackson Heights Crap-74th Street and 37th Road photo Jackson-Heights-trash-74th-Street-photo_zpsb9e3fe05.jpg

On 74th Street, some of the garbage bags, which are placed on the sidewalk, are left open, leak grease and other muck, and stain the sidewalk. While it is true that there is a perception in Jackson Heights that 74th Street needs to be cleaned up, the reality is that the city makes no resources available, like garbage canisters or regular garbage collection, to keep the sidewalks clear in that part of Jackson Heights.

Which is to say that it doesn't seem to make sense why Starbucks is being targeted for its garbage, when there appears to be more pressing areas in Jackson Heights, which need the attention of city officials.

Unless it is because the residents of 35-56 79th Street live on an expensive block, and, by comparison, the businesses located along 74th Street are being deliberately denied city resources, because those business leaders there lack affluence or influence that would translate into government responsiveness ?

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Fire on 78th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens

There was a fire this morning in an apartment building on 78th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens. Several fire trucks and ambulances arrived on the scene. It appeared that two ladies were brought out and given oxygen. One was seen being put into an ambulance. The other must have already been taken away. Standing outside along the sidewalk, some residents appeared as if they had just grabbed a coat to put on over their pajamas.

One of the fire trucks deployed a giant ladder that made loud noises as it was secured to the edge of the building's roof. Apartment dwellers across the way from the building could hear the loud sounds made by the ladder company and by rescue sirens. Once rescue was completed, fire officials arrived in SUV's to assess the damage. Once the building was deemed safe, the building's residents were let back in. One resident speculated that it may have been a space heater that started the fire.

If it turns out that that building isn't providing enough heat to its residents, I hope that complaint gets registered with the FDNY.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Global Supermarket in Jackson Heights reopens, but union workers were not rehired

About 2 dozen union members, neighborhood residents, and members of Occupy Queens stood outside the new Global Supermarket at 75-07 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, to protest this morning the new supermarket owner, who refused to rehire former supermarket employees. The supermarket changed hands after the former owner, then operating under the name of Trade Fair, fired all of its employees and shut down right before Christmas in an ultimate act of union-busting against its employees.

Union employees at Trade Fair had been demanding better working conditions, and the supermarket had become the site of many demonstrations last year. Some of last year's demonstrations had even attracted mayoral candidates, including former Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who spoke at one protest last April :

Because the labor problems have dragged on from the previous owner to the successive owner at the Jackson Heights location, it was important to former Trade Fair employees that Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens) showed up this morning in a sign of solidarity with the former employees.

Some activists, including Congressman Crowley, distributed flyers, informing the community about the corrupt actions of the new supermarket owner. Other activists collected signatures on a petition, demanding that Global Supermarket rehire the former Trade Fair workers. Some of the former Trade Fair employees had been members of a local service union, Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW.

During this morning's protest, few neighbors walked in Global Supermarket. If local residents continue to express their disapproval with the new owner, perhaps the new owner will make the commercially-responsible decision : to rehire the former Trade Fair employees ? Otherwise, the store may fail anew -- and end up closed, for good.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

VIDEO : Broken Lever Voting Machine - Queens 63rd Election District - No Paper Ballots - NYC Primary Election Day

VIDEO : Broken Lever Voting Machine - Queens 63rd Election District - No Paper Ballots - NYC Primary Election Day

Voting problems with the single lever voting machine for the 63rd Election District in Jackson Heights, Queens. I was detained by a police officer and nearly taken into custody for using my iPhone to take a photograph and video of the broken voting machine.

We were denied paper ballots, as you will hear on the video. They tried to let us use another voting machine, but then we were taken back to the using the broken 63rd ED lever voting machine after it was "reset."

I'm taking a risk by uploading this video, but I feel it is important to document what happened and to register my vote.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Christine Quinn No Show At Jackson Heights Mayoral Forum

Several activists stood outside the Jewish Center in Jackson Heights tonight, to protest Christine Quinn's dismal record on LGBT equality, NYPD discrimination, and restrictions on the use of birth control.

Tonight's protest, which had been announced well in advance, was a success, activists said, because Christine Quinn cancelled her appearance at this forum.

2013-04-11 Protest against Christine Quinn - Condom Banner photo Image_zps30c06990.jpg

Tonight's mayoral forum was sponsored by the New Visions Democratic Club, by the Lesbian Gay Democratic Club of Queens, and by City Councilmember Daniel Dromm.

Activists distributed over 300 flyers outside of tonight's mayoral forum. In their interaction with passers-by and with the attendees at tonight's mayoral form, activists often mentioned how Christine Quinn was primarily responsible for extending term limits to allow Mayor Michael Bloomberg to steal a third term, how Christine Quinn's use of slush funds creates a culture of corruption in City Hall, and how Christine Quinn has failed to hold the NYPD accountable for discriminating against innocent New Yorkers.

2013-04-11 Protest against Christine Quinn - Protesters photo IMG_4260_zpsbc8753f7.jpg

LGBT activists question why Christine Quinn, who is the highest elected openly LGBT politician in New York City politics, does not stand up to the NYPD. The NYPD have demonstrated a pattern of discriminating and falsely arresting innocent LGBT New Yorkers if they carry condoms. Police claim that if LGBT New Yorkers carry condoms, then the condoms are evidence that LGBT New Yorkers are engaged in prostitution.

Activists displayed a banner, which portrayed a condom locked in a handcuff to represent how NYPD are trying to crack down on safe sex practices -- forcing us to return to backward Victorian times.

How can Christine Quinn support this kind of crackdown on the use of prophylactics, if the fact that prophylactics and birth control because legal in 1965 only after decades of attempts by Planned Parenthood to make it legal for people to use contraception.

But that's not all. The NYPD policy on stop-and-frisk also deliberately targets transgenders ; meanwhile, Christine Quinn does not hold the NYPD for discriminating against the LGBT community. The stop-and-frisk program discriminates, and, as a consequence, the City of New York ends up paying hundreds of millions in damages for violating the civil rights of innocent New Yorkers.

Here is one of the flyers, which activists distributed tonight :

2013-04-11 Christine Quinn Stop and Frisk Condom Flyer

What a disgrace for the NYPD to menace the LGBT community like this. In an article in The New York Times last week-end, it was notable that no LGBT leader in this city was quoted here to denounce the institutional discrimination by the NYPD of LGBT New Yorkers. Most notable was the absence or silence by Christine Quinn, the highest elected LGBT official in New York City politics. She is somebody, who has a sensibility of what it means to be treated different because of her identity as a woman and as a lesbian. And yet she has said nothing about how the NYPD treats others in the LGBT community solely based on their identity. And in all the articles about how stop-and-frisk is used by the NYPD against communities of color and other minority groups, there has remained a radio silence about how a municipality can discriminate against people in public spaces based on sex, race, and other factors that are expressly prohibited by the Civil Rights Act. When were municipalities given the option of not enforcing the Civil Rights Act ? And how can the NYPD deliberately violate Griswold v. Connecticut, the landmark case that legalised the use of contraceptives in the United States ? When did carrying contraception or prophylactics become a criminal behaviour ? How can this be ?

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Bed Bugs Infestation at PS 69 in Jackson Heights

NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) - Bed bugs have been found in 15 classrooms in P.S. 69 in Jackson Heights, Queens, according to DNAinfo.com.

New York News | NYC Breaking News

The Department of Education says the problem has been going on since September, but denies there is an infestation.

Some parents see things differently. They say the school has a history of bed bugs. And to make things worse, the kids end up bringing them home.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Stop-and-Frisk Protesters Focus On Christine Quinn

Stop-and-Frisk Christine Quinn

The live streamer and blogger Stop Motion Solo has blogged about the stop-and-frisk protest against Christine Quinn :

On December 30, 2012, 25 to 30 people gathered in Jackson Heights, Queens to demonstrate against the controversial NYPD policy of Stop-and-Frisk, and to hold City Council Speaker Christine Quinn accountable for her support of the policy.

... Needless to say, something is very wrong with some of the current policing practices and it is questionable whether or not Christine Quinn would work towards any reforms at all should she be elected Mayor. She already helped Mayor Bloomberg overturn the term-limits referendum. “City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a potential 2013 mayoral candidate…went out on a limb two years ago to persuade her colleagues on the council to grant the mayor’s request to overturn the term-limits law.”

Read more : Stop-and-Frisk Christine Quinn

Please donate to www.wepay.com/donations/citizen-journalism to support the work by Stop Motion Solo as an Independent Journalist.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Activists Demand That Christine Quinn De-Fund Stop-And-Frisk

Quinn pressed on NYPD frisk policy

From The New York Post :

Dozens of activists blasted the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program yesterday and called on City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to reform it.

“We expect her to share the sensibility that people in this community have when they are being targeted based on the color of their skin and who they are and their identity,” Louis Flores said before a march in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Quinn, a leading Democratic hopeful for mayor next year, has called on Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to reform the controversial practice. She has not yet taken a position on the four bills before the council to curtail it.

The group called on Quinn to cut the NYPD’s budget in order to do away with stop-and-frisk.

Although she negotiates and must approve the city budget every year, she can’t tell Kelly which programs to drop for lack of funds.

Critics decry as racist the practice of cops searching individuals they deem suspicious; Bloomberg and Kelly insist it has led to the city’s dramatic drop in murders.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Push-Pull Relationship With NYPD In Jackson Heights

There's a push-pull relationship going on with the NYPD in Jackson Heights. Some neighborhoods are policed to the satisfaction of business owners, like along 82nd Street, but others not, like along 73rd Street.

Some neighborhoods are over-policed, because so many innocent people are being subjected to stop-and-frisk, like along Roosevelt Avenue, but others not, like along 34th Avenue.

It seems that prejudice is what drives these disparities, and, for some unmentionable reason, this situation is acceptable by decision-makers. I'm only mentioning the few blocks around where I live. I wonder what the experience is like on the other side of 74th Street, on the other side of Roosevelt Avenue, and on the other side of 82nd Street ?

Photobucket

Join us on Sunday at 1 pm in Jackson Heights for a protest against one of the chief political enablers of the "stop-and-frisk" policy : March Against Christine Quinn and Stop-And-Frisk.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Jackson Heights Hurricane Sandy Initial Damage Photographs

Related : Related : Hurricane Sandy - Political Accountability For Hospital Evacuations

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Initial Jackson Heights - Hurricane Sandy Damage Photographs

Jackson-Heights-Hurricane-Sandy-Closed-Starbucks-37th-Avenue

On Tuesday morning, residents of Jackson Heights, Queens, tried to assess the damage to their neighborhood from the rain and wind gusts from Hurricane Sandy. The local Starbucks was closed, and local people looked disoriented and desperate for over-priced coffee.

Jackson-Heights-Hurricane-Sandy-Downed-Tree-37th-Avenue

There were some downed trees.

Jackson-Heights-Hurricane-Sandy-Closed-Subway-Station

Nobody knows when the New York City subway system will re-open. Many subway tunnels are flooded from the storm surge.

Jackson-Heights-Hurricane-Sandy-Down-Tree-37th-Avenue

The seemingly minor damage in some parts of Jackson Heights was met with gratitude by residents. People in other parts of Queens and the rest of New York City were not so fortunate.

Jackson-Heights-Hurricane-Sandy-Downed-Tree-on-SUV-77th-Street

Now that Hurricane Sandy has moved on, the recovery efforts will get underway.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Eagle Theater Marquee Demolished

The Marquee To The Eagle Theater Was Demolished Today ; This Spring, The Eagle Will Become A South Asian Grocery Store.

From The New York Daily News :

A 1930s-era movie theater in Jackson Heights that became a porn palace before showing Bollywood flicks is about to experience its most radical reincarnation.

A large South Asian grocery store and food court is slated to open this spring in the gutted shell of the Eagle Theater in the heart of Queens’ Little India.

In preparation for the spring opening, the Eagle's marquee was demolished today.

Demolition-of-Eagle-Theater-Marquee-Front-View, Demolition-of-Eagle-Theater-Marquee-Front-View

Here is a side view of the marquee, which was being torn down.

Demolition-of-Eagle-Theater-Marquee-Side-View, Demolition-of-Eagle-Theater-Marquee-Side-View

The new public plaza in Jackson Heights will continue to evolve, as the store fronts change.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Danny Dromm's Reaction To Lack Of NYC Snow Removal Plan

City Councilman Daniel Dromm, standing in front of his office on unplowed 75th Street (in front of stuck cab) in Jackson Heights.

From 1010 WINS Radio: By Juliet Papa

City Councilman Daniel Dromm shook his head and came short of stamping his feet on two feet of unplowed snow on 75th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens.

“The fact that there has been no plow in this neighborhood at all is a disaster,” Dromm said. “It’s hard to understand why the city was so unprepared for this storm because we knew for a long time that it was coming.”

“This is going on day three and usually what we see is a plow coming down the street on the day when the storm starts, then you see something coming the day after and basically the third day you expect it to be clear but that’s not what happened here,” he added.

Many are putting the blame on Bloomberg. “He is not doing what he is supposed to do,” one woman said. ”He’s not running the city, we’re wondering what is happening.”

“I think the Mayor must be living in another world if he thinks that the response to this has been satisfactory,” Dromm said.

Click here to hear Danny on Juliet Papa's report on 1010 WINS.

Please feel free to contact Council Member Dromm's Community Office at: 718-803-6373 if you need any assistance.