The proposed Kew Gardens parking garage could be the first in New York City to be certified for its sustainability.

Project architects revealed the goal of achieving Parksmart-certified status to the Queens Borough Board at its May 10 meeting. Parksmart is the world’s only certification program that defines, measures and recognizes high-performing, sustainable garages. Only two buildings in the state have been awarded the certification, both of which are in Ithaca. Read more

On Tuesday, 66,516 fifth-grade students began receiving middle school admission offers for the year ahead after the city tested out a process that Mayor de Blasio altered back in December.

Though the total number of applicants dropped from nearly 71,000 last year, reflecting a more general decline in enrollment across the school system, the results also helped the city reach a larger number of economically disadvantaged students from years past. Read more

If the fight against Covid-19 has been a battlefield, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst made up the trenches where the fight was fought room by room, patient by patient and hour by hour.

On Monday, organizers of the Queens International Film Festival, which kicks of its 11-day event next month, chose National Nurses Week to stop by the hospital and pay tribute to the infantry that held the line in Queens during those first dire months. Read more

People on parole are steps closer to having their voting rights restored after Gov. Cuomo signed a bill that will automatically reinstate that privilege for those who were formerly incarcerated of a felony on Wednesday.

The bill is sponsored by Assemblyman Danny O’Donnell (D-Manhattan) and state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) and has been languishing in the state Legislature for approximately a decade. Read more

Months of organizing by essential workers, labor leaders and workers rights activists have led to the New York HERO Act being signed into law by Gov. Cuomo last week.

The bill sponsored by Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) and Assemblywoman Karines Reyes (D-Bronx) requires businesses to have enforceable safety standards to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus and other airborne diseases. Read more

Last week, Gov. Cuomo signed legislation that would extend the eviction moratorium until Aug. 31, but city landlord lobbyists are trying to halt the measure.

The Rent Stabilization Association and the Community Housing Improvement Program, which collectively represent about 30,000 landlords throughout the city, joined other property owners in filing the federal lawsuit May 6, just two days after Cuomo extended the moratorium three months from the original May 1 expiration. Read more

On May 1, Leo Cai, 15, was jumped at Real Good Playground in Rego Park by five teenagers who attacked him while hurling anti-Asian slurs.

On Monday he was back at the site, supported by his family, as state legislators announced bills aimed at averting recidivist behavior following hate crimes. Read more

In the universe of bike retail, there have been two constants over the past year: resounding interest and stifled inventory.

Following national trends, short bike supply has thrown a wrench into the potential boom for shops around the borough even as New Yorkers have flocked to cycling under the pandemic for recreation and commuting. Read more

Data from a Kaiser Family Foundation report issued last week found that fewer than one-third of parents are likely to get their children vaccinated if eligible.

The report comes days before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer Covid-19 vaccinations for preteens and younger teens age 12 to 15 on May 10. Read more

As part of its annual Streets Week! agenda, a set of transit, traffic safety and open space policy announcements, the de Blasio administration committed to reducing the speed limit along 45 miles of streets in 11 locations in the outer boroughs Monday.

Department of Transportation officials said that they targeted roadways with the highest rates of crashes in the city. Read more

The state Senate took a major step in halting the New York puppy mill pipeline last week.

The chamber passed legislation May 5 that would prohibit the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in retail pet stores. It would also authorize collaboration with entities to provide space to showcase cats or dogs owned by certain entities for the purpose of adoption. Read more

Gov. Cuomo announced Monday that State University of New York and City University of New York campuses will require proof of vaccination for students attending in-person classes starting in the fall semester.

“Let’s make a global statement that you cannot go back to school in-person in September unless you have a vaccine. That will be a major motivation to get the vaccine. And if you have to get a vaccine, why would you wait until September, why wouldn’t you get it now?” Cuomo said during a press conference. Read more

The president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce is predicting a powerful breakout within the borough’s business community on the heels of Gov. Cuomo’s ending most restrictions by mid-month.

“It’s very definitely a step in the right direction,” Tom Grech said Tuesday in a phone interview. “Having the subways back 24/7 on May 17, two days before things open up, bides very well for Queens.” Read more

Monday marked the return of 80,000 municipal workers to their offices.

But hundreds of city employees think the return is coming too soon. Read more

John Walter was born, raised and lived in Middle Village.

“We used to say that his biggest adventure was moving from one side of Metropolitan Avenue to the other,” said his son, Brian. Read more

NYPD Officer Anastasios Tsakos was killed on the job by an alleged drunk driver last week, leaving behind his wife and two young children. In the midst of their reeling, they won’t have to worry about paying their mortgage bills, thanks to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

“Officer Tsakos was one of our city’s heroes who went to work to keep us and our city safe and he did not make it home to his wife and children. A family went to bed and woke up to the unimaginable news that they would never see their husband and father again,” CEO Frank Siller said in a statement after revealing the foundation would pay off the East Northport, LI home’s mortgage. Read more

Activists with New York Communities for Change, an economic, social and political justice group, were outside state Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar’s (D-Woodhaven) office Tuesday to advocate for the People’s Campaign for Parole Justice platform.

The platform includes the Elder Parole and the Fair & Timely Parole bills, which support reform that would allow the state Board of Parole to provide an evaluation for parole release to incarcerated people 55 and older with the former, and provide meaningful parole review for incarcerated people who are up for parole through the latter. Read more