Flushing

Assemblymember Ron Kim officially endorses Andrew Yang for mayor

Jacob Henry
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Assemblymember Ron Kim officially endorsed Andrew Yang for mayor in Flushing on Friday. (Photo: Jacob Henry)

Assemblymember Ron Kim welcomed Andrew Yang to his district on Friday in Flushing, and officially endorsed the candidate for mayor of New York City.  

“He’s a leader of principle of character and a vision,” Kim said.  “It is time for bold policies that center around New Yorkers closest to the pain and that’s why I’m proud to endorse Andrew’s policies.”

Yang visited NYCHA’s Bland Houses with Kim, where many residents were left without gas for months over the summer.

“No one should be living without heat in the 21st century in New York City,” Yang said. “There are resources we can activate to invest in these complexes to help make them safer, more modern, and make repairs that should have been made years ago.”

Kim and Yang followed this by a walking through La Jornada, Queen’s largest food pantry, where the mayoral candidate spoke about how it was designed to feed thousands, but “is now being asked to feed ten times that many.”

“That should not be the case in the richest city in the world,” Yang said. “We can do better than that.”

Kim also brought Yang to the site of where immigrant sex-worker Yang Song jumped to her death in 2018 after harassment by New York police officers.

“There are many people working as migrant workers in the sex industry that have been victimized and harassed,” Yang said. “We need to decriminalize sex work here in New York City to show a model for what the better approach is.”

Kim said that he is endorsing Yang for mayor because the candidate is not just here for a photo, but to see the community’s real struggles, which have been made even worse due to the pandemic.

“Our poverty and pain cannot remain invisible to the top executive of our city,” Kim said. “I am proud to endorse Andrew Yang for mayor.”

Yang also spoke about how New Yorkers are frustrated with the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, and even wished that workers at the food pantry could be vaccinated.

“I wish that the protocols were more reflective of the situations and realities that people are facing everyday,” Yang said. “A lot of us want the state and the city to get on the same page. As mayor, I will be intent on working very closely to make sure that New Yorkers are not frustrated.

Throughout all this, the mayoral candidate was seen taking pictures and saying hello to dozens of Flushing residents who seemed excited about the prospect of having Yang running their city.

“We will alleviate extreme poverty in New York City and have a guaranteed minimum income,” Yang said. “that is my pledge as mayor.  That was championed by Martin Luther King and many others.  It is decades and generations overdue but we will make it happen.”

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Read more: Queens Ledger

TONIGHT: Silent march against domestic violence

Dan Rose

kafsc-19th-silent-march-against-domestic-violence

The Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC) is partnering with 20 community organizations for the 19th annual Silent March Against Domestic Violence tonight in Flushing.

The march begins at 5:30 p.m. in front of the 109th Precinct at 37-05 Union Street and ends at Flushing Library, which is located at 41-17 Main Street.

The main purpose of the march is to bring the community together to raise awareness on domestic violence and to show support those who face it.

KAFSC and its partners will emphasize three key messages:

  • Domestic violence DOES exist in our communities
  • Victims of domestic violence NEED to know their rights
  • Our community needs to work together to PREVENT and END it.

Donate blood for a pair of Mets tickets

Dan Rose

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Mets fans, here’s your chance to give back.

The Amazins’ are hosting their summer blood drive today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Citi Field’s Foxwoods Club. Fans who donate blood will receive a voucher redeemable for two tickets to a select Mets home game in 2016.

Fans should enter at the Hodges VIP entrance and may park in Lot G off 126th Street between the Right Field Gate and Roosevelt Avenue.

If you come between noon and 1 p.m., you’ll also get a chance to interact with Mr. Met.

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Flushing celebrates Lunar New Year this Saturday

Dan Rose

lunar new year parade
On Saturday, February 13, Flushing will hold its annual Lunar New Year parade. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at the corner of Union Street and 37th Avenue. Always a popular event, the parade is expected to attract 100,000 people.

Want to be one of the nearly 10,000 marchers at the parade? You can march with the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce. Meet up in front of their office at 39-01 Main Street, Suite 511 and enjoy some hot coffee and donuts. Then everyone will head off to the parade together. For more info, visit their event site.

There will also be a fireworks display after the parade near the intersection of 39th Avenue and 138th Street.

Cops busted for taking bribes and warning of police raids at Flushing Karaoke bars

Dan Rose
Wikimedia Commons/Joi Ito
Wikimedia Commons/Joi Ito

There was a lot more than singing going on at several Karaoke bars in Flushing. Two police officers from the 109th Precinct have been arrested for charges of bribe-taking and more at the karaoke clubs.

Lieutenant Robert Sung, 50, and Detective Yatyu Yam, 37, might end up in prison for a 15-year sentence for taking brides from the clubs’ managers in exchange for dodging drug arrests and giving the clubs warnings that police raids were coming.

The corruption probe, orchestrated by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, has been going on at the 109th Precinct for about two-and-a-half years, after a witness noticed an exchange regarding under-the-table cash payments between Yam and the manager at Club JJNY, located at 147-38 Northern Blvd in Flushing. Yam also used the app, WeChat, to warn the manager of two Queens clubs about upcoming police raids. Furthermore, he received $2,000 a month from the manager, and even invited him to an August barbecue where the manager delivered one of the $2,000 payments.

Sung instructed an unnamed officer to ignore a deputy inspector’s demand for raids at the clubs, including JJNY. He also told an officer to warn the clubs ahead of state police raids.

Yam was arraigned for second-degree bribe receiving and second-degree receiving rewards for official misconduct on Monday night. He was freed on a $25,000 bail and was suspended by the NYPD. Sung surrendered on Tuesday, with his bail set at $20,000 bond or $10,000 cash.

SING program expands to Queens high school campuses

Dan Rose

SING, a musical program in which students write, cast, rehearse and perform their own musicals, is coming to 20 more high schools, including five in Queens.

Thanks to Taylor Swift, who donated in partnership with the Fund for Public Schools, students from Flushing High School can participate in the public school tradition.

“SING gives our high school students an opportunity to work with their peers, and create and execute a project from start to finish,” said Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “This is a wonderful program for developing passions in the arts and for building school and community spirit. In particular, co-located schools will also be collaborating, bringing new excitement and camaraderie for our high schoolers. The SING students are going to gain skills and experience that they can use in college and throughout their lives.”

Bayside High School, John Bowne High School, Martin Van Buren High School and Thomas A. Edison CTE High School will also have SING.

Students will receive training and support as they build their school’s SING programs.

Wikimedia/official-ly cool

Police looking for man that groped teenager

Dan Rose

Police are looking for a light-skinned man in his early 20’s that reportedly grabbed a 16-year-old girl’s buttocks in Flushing.

According to DCPI, the victim was walking in front of 138-12 60th Avenue at about 1:30 p.m. on November 17, when the man approached her and attempted to engage her in conversation. When she attempted to leave, the suspect grabbed her and then fled the scene.

Surveillance video of the suspect inside a nearby deli just prior to the incident below, courtesy DCPI:

Stop and Shop opens new Flushing location

Dan Rose

Stop and Shop opened its new location at 31-06 Farrington Street this week. The site was formerly a Pathmark but transformed into a Stop and Shop after Pathmark filed for bankruptcy.

An an introduction to the neighborhood, the company donated $2,000 to the local Flushing YMCA.

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Store Manager, Carmine Verdino( right) and Jay Cohen, Marketing Manager/Stop & Shop (left) present a check to Jen Silvers the Executive Director of the Flushing YMCA

Flushing school designated as Blue Ribbon School

Dan Rose

The United States Department of Education has officially designated PS 244 in Flushing – known as The Active Learning Elementary School – as a Blue Ribbon School. The school was awarded the designation this morning by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

“Naming P.S. 244 as a Blue Ribbon School is great news,” said Congresswoman Grace Meng. “This is a tremendous achievement and it further illustrates the great work of the entire school team. I’m extremely proud of P.S. 244’s Principal Robert Groff and all of the school’s students, teachers and staff. Congratulations to each and every one of them on achieving this great national honor!”

The Blue Ribbon Program honors schools whose students either achieve very high learning standards or make notable improvements in closing the achievement gap.

“Thank you to the Secretary of Education for recognizing P.S. 244 as a Blue Ribbon School,” said Principal Robert Groff. “This clearly illustrates the hard work of our staff and families each day. We have been able to build a community of learners for both students and adults alike that makes TALES a truly special place. We hope to continue the success we have had since opening in 2008 and look forward to excelling in the future.”

On Nov. 9 and 10, representatives from every school designated as a Blue Ribbon School, will be honored in a ceremony in Washington D.C.

Photo courtesy NYC Department of Education

Flushing teens to be recognized for summer of service

Dan Rose

KTKD2
This coming Saturday, Sept. 26, teens at Korea Taekwondo will be recognized for their their service projects, which they completed over the summer. The projects include fundraising for the Powerhouse School Program (a free Saturday Program for NYC Children ages 4-14 years old), picking up trash at Flushing Meadow Corona Park, and beautifying the Promise International Ministries property at the College Point Corporate Park.

“My mom and dad would probably yell at me if I just spent the whole summer watching tv and texting with my friends,”said Cion Kang, a 1st dan black belt. “And this is more fun anyway because I get to be with my friends and help people at the same time.”

KOREA  Taekwondo will have Grand Opening House Day on Saturday Sept. 26 from 3-6 p.m., hosted by the Flushing Chamber of Commerce. On that day, Flushing Chamber will give award to the team and elective officials will have mini Taekwondo lesson. For more information, visit http://ktkd.nyc/.