Community Corner
Hochul Calls For Fed Support For Rockaways Flooding + Santos Responds
The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Queens.
Good morning, Queens! ❄️
- ❄️ Governor Kathy Hochul, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and other lawmakers toured the Rockaways Saturday in the wake of Winter Storm Elliot. Hochul said she will ask the government to declare the Rockaways a disaster area in order to expedite federal support.
- ❓ Congressman-elect George Santos finally responded Monday to accusations that he lied about his employment history and education, calling the blatant inaccuracies on his resumé a "poor choice of words."
- 🗳 Nearly two months after the Nov. 8 midterm elections, the winner of the race for the 23rd Assembly District still remains unclear, with just a single vote separating the candidates.
🌤 Partly sunny. High: 42 Low: 32.
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Here are the top stories in Queens today:
1.On Saturday, Governor Kathy Hochul, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and other lawmakers toured the Rockaways, which was hit with up to three feet of water Friday as a result of tidal flooding from Winter Storm Elliot. Hochul announced that she plans to ask the federal government to declare a disaster area in the Rockaways and parts of western New York in order to quickly bring necessary resources to help affected residents recover. Congress Member Gregory Meeks also mentioned that he has been in conversation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to expedite financial assistance to victims of the severe flooding.
2. Republican representative-elect George Santos admitted Monday to lying about his employment history and college education during his successful campaign for a seat in the U.S. House, according to a report from The New York Post on Monday. Santos's admission comes after The New York Times last week called into question the life story that he had presented— challenging whether the 34-year-old attended Baruch College and NYU, or worked at Citigroup and at Goldman Sachs. Court filings, documents, and interviews show no record of Santos having attended either university, or having worked at either financial firm. On Monday, the newly elected lawmaker described the major inconsistencies in his resumé as a "poor choice of words." "My sins here are embellishing my resume," Santos said. "I'm sorry." He added: "I own up to that. … We do stupid things in life." Following his response, Santos has been hit with a new wave of calls to resign.
3. Nearly two months after the Nov. 8 midterm elections, the winner of the race for the 23rd Assembly District still remains unclear, with just a single vote separating incumbent Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato from her Republican challenger Thomas Sullivan. With an initial count and a hand recount offering conflicting results, the representative for the waterfront district, which runs from Breezy Point in the western Rockaways east to Rockaway Beach and then up through Broad Channel to Ozone Park, remains up in the air. "As it stands right now, Stacey has a one-vote lead," Matt Rey, a spokesman for the assemblywoman, said Tuesday. But he added, "More ballots will have to be counted." Those uncounted ballots — which number nearly 100 — will be accounted for on Jan. 4, which will be the official end of this tortured election process.
4. Department of Sanitation crews were at work Tuesday removing about 169 outdoor dining structures that have been either abandoned or had a history of violation. The Dept. tweeted on Tuesday a photo of an abandoned dining shed in Rosedale, Queens, and wrote that residents may call 311 to suggest that a shed for removal. The city intends to to bring restaurants' outdoor dining structures to compliance before resorting to destroying them.
🗞 Hungry for more news? 🍽 Snack on these headlines:
- Bayside Posts Third Highest COVID-19 Positivity Rate (Patch)
- Shaq's 'Big Chicken' restaurant chain eyes expansion to Bayside (Queens Courier)
- Caught on camera: Husband strikes wife with SUV on Queens sidewalk with 3 children in vehicle (CBS News New York)
- Winning Take 5 lottery ticket worth more than $32,000 sold in Queens (PIX11 New York News)
- Queens College offering veterans, military service members on-the-spot admissions (Queens Courier)
- City's failure to get detainees to doctors continues (Queens Daily Eagle)
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🗓 To Do Today in Queens:
- Volunteer at 9 Million Reasons / Evangel Food Pantry (8:45 a.m.)
- Stretch, Stroll, and Strengthen! (9 a.m.)
- Kids Week: Nature Puppet Show (1 p.m.)
- A Kwanzaa Celebration for Children and Families (2 p.m.)
- Borough President Richards Hosts Annual Kwanzaa Celebration (5 p.m.)
- Illuminate The Farm (5 p.m.)
- Air Dry Clay Workshop (5:30 p.m.)
- Creatine Crashing Comedy Open Mic (5:30 p.m.)
🗣 Queens Chatter:
- 🚨FREE citizenship legal advice TODAY: "Have a citizenship issue that requires legal advice? A Mandarin & English-speaking attorney from @CUNYCitizenship will be in my office tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to help. Call 646.664.9400 or email citizenshipnowinfo@cuny.edu to make an appointment.
" (Council Member Sandra Ung via Twitter) - 🎁☺️ Successful toy drive for Queens' children living in shelters: "Our Queens General Assembly and Immigrant Welcome Center spread cheer for our littlest neighbors in shelters with Holiday Toy Drives last week! With our partners Athletes for Charity, M&M Angels, Rockaway Women for Progress and Sisterhood of Destiny, we donated $3,500 worth of toys. Thank you to our QGA partners for their generosity and the shelters that welcomed us so that we could help our kids and families — regardless of their immigration status — in shelters enjoy the holiday season with toys and gift cards that will help them create lasting memories. All this work is emblematic of who our QGA members are — leaders we were proud to celebrate with at QGA's 2022 Closing Ceremony last week. It's an honor to serve this borough alongside these dedicated public servants, and I can't wait to see what's ahead for this group in 2023." (Queens Borough President Donovan Richards via Facebook)
- 🚮 Extra services for flood-impacted Queens residents: "Sanitation Update! In order to make things easier for flood-impacted residents, @NYCSanitation will be making pickups all throughout the week. This means that residents will not need to wait until their regularly scheduled pickup date to get rid of flood-damaged items." (Council Member Joann Ariola via Twitter)
- 👋 Say hello to an alpaca and a hen, why don't you?: "Make the most of the last days of 2022 by stopping by the farm and saying hello to our goats, pigs, alpaca, sheep, steers, and hens! Stroll through a bucolic 47 acres of farmland during its winter break from major crop production, and browse the shelves in the Con Edison Reading Room for a cozy moment. Before heading out, be sure to pick up farm-fresh eggs (Wednesdays through Sundays) in the Farm Store!" (The Queens Country Farm Museum via Facebook)
- 🩸Cash in on your free menstrual products: "REMINDER: you can use your HSA/FSA to buy menstrual products by 12/31. I worked on my bill for years and it finally got signed into law last year. Take advantage of it! https://essence.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/menstrual-product-purchase-health-savings-account/" (Congresswoman Grace Meng via Twitter)
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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Wednesday! I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow with a new 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
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