News, Events & Local Businessess in Middle Village Queens
Logistics Specialist 1st Class Brenda Ike has been doing her part to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Assigned to the Navy’s Medicine Readiness and Training Command Bremerton, Ike has been managing supply and medical repair for 84 departments and branch health clinics.
She has procured supplies and PPE for the command’s efforts to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
The Queens resident attended Christ the King High School and joined the Navy in September 2009.
Read more about her story here.
Amid a days-long heat wave, Con Edison is asking customers in Middle Village, as well as in Forest Hills and Glendale, to conserve energy while company crews repair equipment.
Con Ed has also reduced voltage by 8 percent in the area, bounded by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and 51st Avenue, the Jackie Robinson Parkway, Queens Boulevard and the Brooklyn borough line, as a precaution to protect equipment and maintain service as crews make repairs.
This zone houses 116,300 Con Ed customers, many of whom have experienced blackouts since the utilities provider posted its request Monday night.
Customers have been asked “not to use energy-intensive appliances such as washers, dryers, microwaves and, if not needed for health or medical reasons, air conditioners, until the equipment problems are resolved.”
According to Con Ed, the number of power outages in Queens is recorded at 179 as of 3:15 p.m., down from nearly 900 this morning. As of the same hour, the company anticipates service to be restored to these households no later than 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.
New Yorkers can report outages, in addition to checking service restoration statuses, at ConEd.com/reportoutage, with the mobile app, or by calling 1-800-75-CONED.
Earlier this week, Councilman Robert Holden delivered new shuffleboard equipment to a group of local seniors at Juniper Valley Park.
“It was truly gratifying to encourage our local seniors to get out and enjoy summer with some brand-new shuffleboard equipment,” Holden said. “Juniper Valley Park would practically be unrecognizable without seeing these longtime friends playing on these courts.
“It should give our community a great sense of normalcy and hope to see them back in action, especially after COVID-19 hit our seniors so hard,” he added. “We should all follow their example of getting back to doing the things we love while still wearing masks and protecting each other.”
A 37-year-old man from the Bronx has been charged with second degree murder and other crimes in connection with a deadly hit-and-run on Metropolitan Avenue near Metro Mall last Tuesday, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
A 25-year-old man died as a result of the crash with the box truck.
“This is a tragic incident that was caused by the alleged criminal actions of this defendant,” Katz said. “The defendant is in custody and faces very serious charges.”
Ramon Pena, 37, was charged with second degree murder, second degree manslaughter, third degree grand larceny and other crimes, including leaving the scene without reporting death and other traffic violations.
If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
On June 30, Pena allegedly stole the box truck that was parked with keys in the ignition from 101st Avenue in Jamaica. The truck was seen “striking in excess of 20 parked and moving cars” along Humboldt and Metropolitan avenues.
The truck went through multiple red lights and drove on the wrong side of the street.
Pena allegedly struck the 25-year-old victim, Hamlet Cruz-Gomez, who was driving a Honda CRV, while he was exiting the Metro Mall parking lot.
The defendant then jumped out of the box truck after the collision and ran away into the nearby Metropolitan Avenue subway station. Police apprehended him inside the station.
According to Katz, Pena doesn’t have a valid drive’s license and has no driving history in the state.
Councilman Bob Holden and Community Board 9 Chair Kenichi Wilson are hosting a free COVID-19 antibody testing event in Middle Village today.
The event, with Advanced Cardiovascular Diagnostics, will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Juniper Boulevard South and 78th Street.
Please note that the antibody test is free with no co-pay, if you have insurance, you will be asked to show it.
Schedule your appointment here. Walk-ins are also welcome.
On Monday, June 29, State Senator Joe Addabbo reopened his district offices in Middle Village and Howard Beach.
The Rockaway office, however, will remain closed as renovations continue on the building.
During the shutdown, Addabbo’s offices were open but ran at reduced hours, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., while staff had staggered schedules.
Since Monday, the offices has returned to operating full-time, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Although in-person services have resumed, all constituents are asked to wear a mask upon entering the offices.
The Middle Village office is located at 66-85 73rd Place. Their phone number is 718-497-1630.
In the hotly-contested race for Queens borough president, former Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley is in second place as we wait for absentee ballots to be counted.
Hundreds of thousands of voters turned out, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, to vote at their polling places. But tens of thousands more voted through absentee ballots.
We likely won’t know the results of every primary race until July.
But according to unofficial results from the New York City Board of Elections, with 96 percent of precincts reporting, Councilman Donovan Richards is leading all BP candidates with 41,915 votes, or 37 percent.
Crowley, who racked up major union endorsements, received 31,781 votes, or 28 percent.
Other Democratic candidates include Councilman Costa Constantinides with 17,164 votes (15 percent), Anthony Miranda with 16,613 votes (14.7 percent) and Dao Yin with 5,028 votes (4.4 percent).
Though Richards is leading by a decent margin, we will wait until all ballots are counted to declare a winner.
The Democratic nominee will likely face Joann Ariola, the Republican’s pick, in the general election in November.
In the 6th Congressional District, which includes Middle Village, Congresswoman Grace Meng defeated challenger Melquiades Gagarin and Sandra Choi.
With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Meng, who is seeking re-election to her fifth term in office, received 15,181 votes, nearly 61 percent of the district.
Gagarin, a progressive activist, won 5,261 votes, or 21 percent. Choi, another first-time candidate, received 4,318 votes, good for 17 percent.
Though the district leans heavily Democratic, Meng will still face Republican nominee Thomas Zmich in the general election in November.
On the state level, Assemblyman Brian Barnwell and State Senator Joe Addabbo did not face primary challengers.
At this week’s virtual Community Board 5 meeting, District Manager Gary Giordano said the start of construction for the renovation of the turf soccer/football field and running track at Juniper Valley Park has been pushed back.
It was supposed to start in March, Giordano said, but the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown paused all work.
On the Parks Department website, the project timeline says construction will begin in August 2020 and is projected to be completed in August 2021.
The $4.6 million project was funded by the City Council.
Past completed projects at Juniper Valley Park include the bocce court renovation, spray shower renovation and hockey rink renovation.
The office of the Queens Borough President is hosting a Queens Jobs Recruitment Fair tomorrow afternoon from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Ten organizations are participating in the job fair, including Child Center of NY, Council for Airport Opportunity, NYC Health + Hospitals, Queens Centers for Progress, Queens College, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Open and more.
Non-participants can also tune in via livestream.
RSVP for the virtual job fair here.