🔋Fires Spur New E-Bike Battery Regulation+ Corona Bus Priority Project

Good morning, Queens! 🤙

• 🚲🔋 City Council members rallied outside City Hall on Monday morning in support of new legislation around lithium-ion batteries, which have caused over 200 fires, and six deaths, in NYC this year.
• 🚌 The DOT announced Monday that work has finally begun on the Northern Boulevard bus priority project in Corona.
• ☕️ The third Starbucks in Queens — at the Shops at Grand location in Maspeth — has filed to unionize.

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☀️ Sun followed by ☁️ clouds. High: 47 Low: 42.

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Here are the top stories today in Queens:

1. City Council members rallied outside City Hall on Monday morning in support of a slate of bills that would better regulate the sale of electric bikes and scooters, and increase the city's outreach about how to mitigate the dangers of lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly found in these personal mobility devices. So far this year, nearly 200 fires, and six deaths, in NYC have been caused by lithium-ion batteries. Often, uncertified and refurbished batteries, which are cheaper than laboratory certified ones, are to blame for many of the problems. "This is a crisis, and this is a crisis that will not go away on its own … it requires a legislative solution," said New York City Council Member Oswald Feliz during the rally. "We need to make sure that products sold in the city of New York are safe for New Yorkers." Advocates of electric bikes say that any efforts to regulate their use must incorporate the input of delivery workers who have more of an in-depth understanding of how to use these devices, and, importantly, rely on e-bikes for their livelihoods.

City & State New York

2. The city's Department of Transportation announced on Nov. 14 that work has begun on the Northern Boulevard bus priority project in Corona, and that the busway pilots on Jamaica and Archer Avenues will be made permanent. This announcement comes just two weeks after transit and safe streets advocates rallied on Northern Boulevard in Corona, demanding that the Adams administration move faster in the construction of bus lanes across the five boroughs. "When buses have dedicated space on the street separated from general traffic, they move faster," said MTA New York City Transit Senior Vice President for Buses Frank Annicaro. "And when buses move faster, riders benefit and more people choose buses." The Northern Boulevard bus-priority project will deliver 4.6 miles of bus lanes from Corona to Woodside, ensuring that thousands of Woodside resident have access to faster, safer, and more reliable bus service.

Queens Courier

3. The third Starbucks in Queens — at the Shops at Grand location in Maspeth — has filed a petition for a union election with Workers United NY/NJ. In a letter they sent to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on Monday, the workers wrote: "We are the ones who can make your sales happen, yet we are being treated as if we are not the ones who are the reason this company still stands along with your customers." Another employe at the Maspeth location said: "We feel that management does not adequately address our needs as workers, which is enabled by the fact that management does not have to follow the same rules and standards we as workers are held to."This filing comes as workers at the Meatpacking District Starbucks, the first New York City Starbucks to unionize, have entered their twenty-first day of striking over the presence of bed bugs and black mold inside the location.

Patch

4. As seen in a shocking video released by the NYPD, a 12-year-old girl walking home from school on Oct. 24 was dragged by the necklace down an Elmhurst street by robbers on a motorbike. The cruel duo wrenched the pre-teen down the sidewalk until the chain on her $1,800 necklace broke and they fled. Police say the violent attack is part of a pattern of robberies targeting a total of seven victims in the Queens. Just two days after the Oct. 24 incident, four other robberies took place in a spree that lasted over six hours, which police believe to be connected to the same moped-riding crooks. In each case, the partners in crime approach, and sometimes accost, their victim, rip their necklace off their neck, and speed off on their red motorbike.

FOX 5 New York ; New York Post

5. Forest Hills preservationist and historian Michael Perlman is fighting to save Queens' antique FDNY box pedestals that he says the city has quietly begun to remove. Over the weekend, Perlman created a change.org petition in the hopes that the city will designate the boxes as historic landmark. It has since garnered more than 200 signatures. Perlman fears that the FDNY's removal of the pedestals could threaten those recently restored to their former glory by Woodside resident John "The Fire Alarm Box Guy" Colgan. Colgan has been restoring the boxes to showcase their historic detail since 2012 — a meticulous process that can take months. A prime example of Colgan's work stands on the corner of 67th Avenue and Queens Boulevard, where an alarm box dating back to 1929 was recently refurbished. "I'm worried they're just going to melt them down instead of selling them" Colgan told Patch. "It seems like such a waste of history."

For more on "The Fire Alarm Box Guy" check out this article by the Queens Ledger.

Patch

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🗞 Hankering for more headlines? 👀 Look no further:

• Veterans Day Parade returns to Middle Village (Queens Courier)
• Long Island Muslims seek a place to bury their dead (Newsday ; Patch)
• Imprisoned Mafia killer Vito Guzzo says he's reformed and wants release; feds say he became a made man behind bars (New York Daily News)
• Queens Man Struck By Wooden Board, Dies, In Corona (Patch)

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🗓 To Do Today in Queens:

• Elmhurst Greenmarket (8 a.m.)
• Northwell Health Safe Place Conference (8 a.m.)
• Friends of Maple Grove: November Art Exhibit with Gail Meyers (8:30 a.m.)
• Volunteer at 9 Million Reasons / Evangel Food Pantry (8:45 a.m.)
• Adult Open Badminton (12 p.m.)
• All The Vibes Tarot Tuesdays (3 p.m.)
• Queens Hip Hop 101: A Master Class (4 p.m.)
• 2022 Annual Frank Camerano Memorial Dinner and Lecture (6 p.m.)
• Understanding Mental Health: Parent Workshop (6 p.m.)

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🗣 Queens Chatter:

• 🚫💦 Do you need a water barrier to protect your home from flooding?:"Our office is proud to team up with @NYCWater and others to bring a HydraBarrier giveaway to District 32. To reserve a barrier, please contact our office at 718-738-1083, or send an email to JGenna@council.nyc.gov" (NYC Council Member Joann Ariola via Twitter)
• 🍽 Get ready for Wednesday's first annual Veterans Day Luncheon: "We are days out from our first annual #VeteransDay Luncheon! We have a dynamic keynote speaker, tasty food, and amazing honorees on deck. Special thx to our sponsors @CarpentersNyc @FoodBank4NYC for making this event possible and our gracious hosts at the #americanlegionpost483"(Councilwoman Selvena N. Brooks-Powers via Twitter)
• 🆓 Free food giveaway TODAY at 3pm: "Food insecurity is a direct threat to the health of our families and our borough. That's why we're partnering with the Hunts Point Produce Market to host a free food giveaway TOMORROW at 3pm at Far Rockaway's First Church of God (Firstcogny). Bags of produce will be distributed on a first come, first served basis." (Queens Borough President Donovan Richards via Facebook)
• 😀 Accessibility improvements at the Queens Botanical Garden: "💪 See it in action! @NY1 News reports from the #QBGFarm's new paved pathway welcoming people of all abilities--made possible by our partners American Rental Association ARA Foundnation, @thetorocompany and @ableequipmentrental. We are so grateful for this transformation at our one-acre Farm, which grows and donates organic produce to local community food pantries to combat#foodinsecurity in NYC." (Queens Botanical Garden via Facebook)
• 🤖 Check out Umar Rashid's work at MoMA PS1: "Currently on view at @MoMAPS1, Umar Rashid's 'Ancien Regime Change 4, 5, and 6' features over 30 new works that mark the final chapters this ongoing series. On view in our recent exhibition, Rashid's 2013 piece can be seen at the Wellin until May 20: http://bit.ly/3MgRREk" (Wellin Museum of Art via Twitter)

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You're officially in the loop for today! I'll be in your inbox tomorrow with another update.

— Emma Radu Fighera

About me: Emma Radu Fighera is a reporter born and raised in Queens, New York. She studied Literature and Studio Art at Hamilton College, where she helped run the only daily publication on campus, The Daily Bull newsletter. This past spring she earned her M.S. from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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