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Queens

Chief’s Concerns Over Wall Covering

Monday, January 11th, 2010

FDNY Chief Brad Walls surveyed the facade of the Whitestone Shopping Center as his firefighters from Battalion 47 approached the flamed-filled Lollipops Diner.

Before the firefighters could turn their hoses on the blaze, the restaurant’s front window melted and the fire jumped to the awning. The overhang burst into flames and rained melted plastic onto the sidewalk like a fire-laden waterfall.

Concerned for his firefighters’ safety, Walls pulled back the battalion.

Bets Off For Aqueduct Flea Market

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Dorothy Singh could barely contain her rage as she spoke about the future of the Aqueduct Racetrack.

For 25 years, the Ozone Park resident has sold shoes and clothing as a vendor at the flea market, held in the track’s parking lot on weekends and Tuesdays. But the proposed expansion of the track, with the addition of Video Lottery Terminals (VLT), could put an end to the market’s time at Aqueduct.

“A lot of people make their living here. What would we do next? Where would we go?” she said.

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Artful Compromise on Graffiti Battle

Thursday, November 19th, 2009
The city’s graffiti removal crews came and went several times, painting over the scrawls on the side of Manolo’s Mexican Restaurant on Greenpoint Avenue with an even coat of beige. Once, Mayor Michael Bloomberg even came to the Sunnyside restaurant to tout the city’s new graffiti removal program.

Nevertheless, time and time again, the black scribble crawled back across the brick, like spiders immune to pesticide.

Now, the restaurant’s owner, Manuel Morocho, 33, is considering a different, more colorful approach to his problem by inviting graffiti artists to paint his wall.

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Grads Bid to Save High School

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Stella Maris graduates are banding together in a last-ditch effort to save their school.

The alums have started a foundation aimed at keeping the 66-year-old all-girls Catholic school open and are considering several plans – including letting boys enroll.

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The Death of a Hospital

Friday, October 30th, 2009

Sinatra School Opens on High Note

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Immigrants Eye a Return Home

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Remittance Pittance for Ecuadoreans

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Kindergarten Day Care Crisis

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009