Community Corner

🌱Asylum-Seeker Commits Suicide in Family Shelter + New Hate Crime Law

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Queens.

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(Patch Media)

Good morning, Queens! 🐣

I heard there's just one more day until Friday. Until then, get into today's headlines:

  • An asylum-seeker staying at a family shelter in Queens committed suicide over the weekend.
  • New legislation has been proposed to improve the reporting and investigating of hate crimes on college campuses.
  • Little Amal was back in the World's Borough yesterday!

🌩 A couple of thundershowers. High: 73 Low: 52.

Here are the top stories today in Queens:

1. The asylum-seeker who committed suicide over the weekend was staying at a family shelter in Hollis, Queens with her 15-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. The woman, whose name is being withheld, had arrived in New York City from Colombia in May. Several Spanish-speaking families living at the Queens homeless shelter said the facility has been inconsistent in providing essential resources, and that residents have had to rely on translation apps to communicate with staff and social workers, as Spanish-speaking staffers have been largely absent. "We're not allowed to have social lives here. Each person goes in and goes straight to their room. It's very uncomfortable, all the pressure we're under, and we can't have a friend to share it with," Laura said, a Colombian migrant who only shared her first name for fear of being identified by others who may know her. "Sometimes you need someone to chat with, ask how you're doing, why are you down, and there, you can't do that. You're left in solitude, locked in your room."

Gothamist ; New York Daily News ; Documented NY


2. Queens lawmakers and community advocates gathered outside Queens College on Tuesday to announce new legislation to improve the reporting and investigating of hate crimes on college campuses. New York's current law has not been updated in almost twenty years, and does not reflect major advancements in technology — like the internet. The updated bill will require all colleges to report bias crimes on their website, and that these crimes be reported in a separate, clearly designated category of crime. This comes in response to an increase in hate crimes of all kind across the city.

Queens Courier ; Politics NY


3. Little Amal was first welcomed to Queens on Wednesday, Sept. 14, and yesterday she was back again in Corona and Jackson Heights. The 12-foot-tall puppet de­picting a 10-year-old girl from war-torn Syria is a symbol of hope for displaced refugees, and had the diverse community of Queens in her corner. Amira Ismail, a 16-year-old Girl Scout Ambassador, spoke with the Queens Gazette about Little Amal's appearance: "We are here to destigmatize immigrants." She explained that about half of the crowd who gathered at Astoria Park to go over a practice session for Amal's journey were Arab people. "I'm Egyptian and Palestinian. Growing up, and not seeing myself in the media and basically everything else – it was heartbreaking," said Is­mail.

Queens Gazette


4. The suspected hit-and-run driver who killed a 5-year-old boy in front of his father and siblings has been arrested at his Astoria home early Wednesday, police sources said. Xavier Carchipull, 40, has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, driving without a license, and operating a truck that wasn't registered, insured or inspected. The construction worker has been arrested twice before for drunk driving. His six other arrests all involve domestic incidents, including one in 2018 when he choked his 5-year-old daughter. Police had determined early on that Carchipull was the person driving the Dodge Ram pickup, and they attempted to negotiate his surrender, but he continued to evade police until now.

New York Daily News


5. Surpassing a record no one ever wanted broken -- more rats have been spotted in Astoria and Long Island City this year than ever before. According to 311 complaint data, residents have reported 594 rat sightings so far in 2022, up from 591 sightings last year. This impressive spate of rat sightings marks the third straight year that Western Queens has broken its own record.

Patch

🗞 Hankering for more headlines? 👀 Look no further:

  • Creep gropes teenage boy as he waited for 7 train in Jackson Heights (Queens Courier)
  • Better on Vinyl — BierWax in Brooklyn and Queens (Michael Kiser)
  • Queens County Farm Museum Offers Epic Corn Maze Adventure: Have You Tried It? (NBC New York)
  • 84-year-old knocked to ground, robbed on Queens sidewalk (CBS New York)
  • Queens baseball team is heading to the playoffs, finally Queens Daily Eagle)

From our sponsor:

Today's Queens Daily is brought to you by EmblemHealth. What are normal blood pressure levels? Here's what you should know.

🗓 To Do Today in Queens:

  • Farm Community Volunteer Days: Queens Botanical Garden (9:30 a.m.)
  • 25th Anniversary Celebration & Golf Classic (12 p.m.)
  • Compost Beautification Community Volunteer Day (1 p.m.)
  • September Story Hike: Alley Pond Environmental Center (3:30 p.m.)
  • Celebrate Socrates 2022 Annual Benefit Party (6:30 p.m.)
  • Invasive Species Virtual Presentation (6:30 p.m.)
  • Live at Culture Lab LIC! (7 p.m.)
  • Silencio & Culture Lab LIC Present: Gundog (8:30 p.m.)

🎉 Here's something fun:

Remember The Kira -- the new $80 million supportive housing development in Jamaica?

Photo Credit: Ben Gabbe/gabbegroup for New Destiny Housing

On Tuesday, September 20th, BFC Partners hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for The Kira, a new affordable housing development in Jamaica, Queens. The Kira is a mixed-use building developed by BFC Partners with SMJ Development and New Destiny Housing, designed by GF55 Architects. The building is providing affordable housing to the city's most vulnerable population, including DV victims and unhoused New Yorkers. New York State officials commemorated the opening with guest speakers; Dan Tietz (NYS OTDA Commissioner) Thehbia Hiwot (NYS HCR Senior Vice President of Multifamily Finance) and Cecile Noel ( ENDGBV Commissioner) amongst others.

Photo: (left to right) Katelyn Meehan, Vice President, Relationships Manager, Wells Fargo Bank; Yennelin Castillo, Senior Case Manager, New Destiny Housing; Elandra Eastman, Case Manager, New Destiny Housing; Nicole Ketter, Program Director, New Destiny Housing; Alejandra Miranda, Case Manager, New Destiny Housing; Commissioner Cecile Noel, Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence; Brandon Baron, Principal, BFC Partners; Donald Capoccia, Managing Principal, BFC Partners; Nicole Branca, Executive Director, New Destiny Housing; Jill Markowitz; Juan Barahona, Principal, SMJ Development; Commissioner Daniel Tietz, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance; Thehbia Hiwot, Senior Vice President of Multifamily Finance, New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal; Page W. Travelstead, Managing Director Community Lending & Investment, Wells Fargo Bank, Nora Levinson, Board Chair, New Destiny Housing.

🗣 Queens Chatter:

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Alrighty, you're all good for today! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with your next update.

— Emma Radu Fighera

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Queens Daily? Contact me at queens@patch.com

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