Eastern/Southeast Queens News

• Breaking

Today, June 21, is the longest day of the year — meaning the one with the longest amount of sunlight — but it’s kind of a dreary one. Fear not! The weekend should be sunnier, and there’s plenty to do here in Queens. Here’s our weekly list of five possibilities.

• Featured

The seven candidates have been campaigning all over the borough for months. And now, the Tuesday, June 25 Democratic primary for Queens district attorney is just five days away.

Voting sites are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Find out where yours is located at nyc.pollsitelocator.com.

Two East Elmhurst men are facing charges for allegedly selling thousands of untaxed cigarettes from businesses in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan announced last week.

The main defendant, 44-year-old Mohammed Khan of 78th Street, was arraigned on a complaint charging him with second- and fourth-degree grand larceny, first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, violation of tax law cigarette and tobacco products tax, endangering the welfare of a child and possession or transportation of untaxed cigarettes with intent to sell.

• Featured

Ending 16 years as the head of the Catholic Church in Queens and Brooklyn, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio last week submitted his resignation after reaching age 75, as required by church law.

“I remember the words of Archbishop Thomas A. Boland who ordained me a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark when it came time for him to submit his resignation in the early 1970s,” DiMarzio said in an open letter published last week in The Tablet, the diocese’s official newspaper, explaining his imminent retirement.

For decades, the Queens County Democratic Party would select a candidate for a civil court opening and that person would run unopposed in the primary. Not anymore.

The party selection this year is Wyatt Gibbons, a defense attorney with more than 30 years of experience in criminal and civil courts, including time as assistant district attorney. He has been with the Jefferson Democratic Club since 1992 and has helped collect signatures and make phone calls for the club. Five years ago, he let it be known that he had interest in becoming a judge.

City Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) was just made chairman of the Committee on Parks and Recreation last week. But he already knows what his priorities are.

“Safety is the most important thing,” he told the Chronicle on Monday. “We must make sure all the parks are safe to use.”

In case of a fire, wake everybody up. Crawl down low to avoid smoke. Touch doors to see if they’re hot or cold before opening them. And once out of the house, don’t go back in, no matter what.

These were the lessons given to more than 200 students at PS 19 in Corona who were deputized as part of The Hartford’s Junior Fire Marshals program last Friday, during an event, which also featured the Mets’ J.D. Davis and popular mascot Mr. Met.

In response to a brutal hit-and-run crash in Oakland Gardens, the NYPD is asking for your help to identify the whereabouts of a white Subaru Crosstrek and its driver.

The white SUV’s operator smashed into a 47-year-old woman crossing the street at 64th Avenue and 223rd Place around 10:50 p.m. on June 11. She sustained severe head trauma and was taken in critical condition to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, LI.