North/Northeast 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.

Bartlett Dairy has gotten final approval to build a distribution center in Springfield Gardens that also will serve as the company’s new Queens corporate headquarters.

Bartlett and the New York City Economic Development Corp. announced on June 13 that the City Council granted “overwhelming approval” for the company’s application under the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.

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

The city’s latest project to improve safety along Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights isn’t even finished — but people are already beginning to benefit.

The Department of Transportation is in the process of building ten pedestrian islands between 70th and 92nd streets in the middle of the busy thoroughfare that are flush with the street level but have built-up curbing protecting on both ends.

Mayor de Blasio, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan), Council Finance Chairman Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) and members of the City Council announced an agreement last Friday for an approximately $92.8 billion budget.

“The Fiscal Year 2020 Adopted Budget creates greater fairness for all New Yorkers,” de Blasio said. “We’ve reached an agreement that promises to create a pathway to pay parity for our early childhood education providers to address recruitment and retention issues, expands services that prevent unnecessary detention and fights the widespread national attack on access to abortion care.”

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.

The heart of Queens and its incredible diversity can be experienced through its small businesses. Immigrant entrepreneurs start with an idea to bring a small bit of their home country to their home borough. From founding tech companies to water bottling, to cutting hair and much more, entrepreneurs work tirelessly in order to realize their dreams and put food on the table for their families.

Now every weekend through Sept. 8, New Yorkers can learn more about the history of immigrant small business owners — as well as their realities today — for free at the Tenement Museum.

Around two dozen cops went to the scene by Crocheron Park after a shocked jogger called in to report seeing a dead baby there, published reports said. Paramedics even showed up and pronounced it dead.

But it was just an ultra-realistic doll.