🏫 Queens Schools Get $11 Million In Funding + Another Death On Rikers

Good morning, Queens! 😎

🐫 Look, I'm probably not the last person you'll hear this from today but happy "hump" day. Here are today's headlines:

• 📚💸 Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced that $10.875 million in capital funding will be distributed to 56 schools across Queens this year.
• 😔 Another inmate died on Rikers Island Monday bringing the death toll this year to eighteen -- the highest since 2013, when about twice as many people were incarcerated.
• 🚌 The city has built only 5.4 miles of protected bus lanes so far this year, far less than the 20 miles of new lanes mandated by city law. Advocates are now calling on the Adams administration to speed up implementation of the woefully-behind-schedule lanes.

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☀️ Mostly sunny. High: 69 Low: 52.

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Here are the top stories today in Queens:

1. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced Tuesday that $10.875 million in capital funding will be distributed to 56 schools across Queens this year. This allocation will fulfill the commitment Richards made during his 2022 State of the Borough address to fund more hydroponics labs in schools across the borough. Hydroponics labs, which allow plants to grow without soil, will help schools expand their STEM curriculum while also helping to combat food insecurity among students. The capital funding will also benefit schools in other ways: $2.3 million will be allocated to technology like computers and iPads to schools across the borough, and 10 schools will be splitting $1.9 million for improving their science labs and acquiring new science technology. Richards has devoted a total of $22.3 million in capital funding to schools in Queens since he took office in December 2020. (*side note: 🥬 I personally have tried hydroponic lettuce and it is delicious -- better, even, than dirt-grown lettuce.)

Queens Courier

2. According to four people with knowledge of the incident, Gilberto Garcia, 26, died of a suspected overdose at a jail facility on Rikers Island Monday — the 18th death in the jail system this year. It was exactly three years to the day from the start of Garcia's pretrial detention in the city jails after being arrested for first-degree robbery in Manhattan. Garcia was found in bed in a cell l at about 12:15 p.m. by an officer who called for emergency responders. When medical staff arrived, they found Garcia was cold and his skin appeared blue, suggesting he had been dead for at least two hours. Despite this, they tried for 30 minutes to resuscitate Garcia who unfortunately could not be saved.

The New York Times ; New York Daily News

3. Elected officials and advocates gathered at a rally in Jackson Heights Tuesday to demand the Adams administration speed up the implementation of new protected bus lanes across the five boroughs as mandated by city law. Among other things, the New York City Streets Plan — unveiled last year — requires the city to build 150 miles total of new lanes all over the city by 2026, including 20 miles this year and 30 miles each subsequent year. So far, the city has only completed 5.4 miles of new lanes this year, according to a tracking tool from straphanger advocacy group Riders Alliance.

AM New York Metro

4. Queens native and veteran Black explorer J.R. Harris, 78, has adventured through the wilderness areas of over 50 countries over the past 50 years and says he doesn't plan on hanging up his hiking boots anytime soon. Harris has explored some of the most remote areas on the planet, including Patagonia and the Australian Outback. This unquenchable thirst for adventure began when Harris' parents sent him to a Boy Scout camp at the Catskill Mountains in southeastern New York. Then, on a 1966 trip to Circle, Alaska, after he graduated from Queens College, while gazing across at the mountains and "wondering what else was out there," Harris decided he wanted to be an explorer.

CNN

5. New York State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo announced Tuesday that he requested more than $700,000 from the city to fund new cop cars and cameras for Forest Hills and Kew Gardens police precincts. The allocated funds would allow Queens' 102th, 103rd, 106th, and 112th precincts to each buy one $50,000 midsize sedan or crossover vehicle for use by the Community Affairs Officers and two Argus cameras.

Patch

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🗞 Hungry for more news? 🍴Snack on these headlines:

• 3 Ways To Celebrate Dia De Los Muertos In Queens (Patch)
• Queens group promotes civic engagement during Fall Harvest Festival (Caribbean Life)
• N.Y.C. Buildings Commissioner's Phone Seized in Criminal Gambling Probe )The New York Times)
• Construction worker falls from Queens bridge and is struck by car on highway below (New York Daily News)
• A Three-Time USA National Member: Flushing Student Athlete (Patch)

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🗓 To Do Today in Queens:

• Volunteer at 9 Million Reasons / Evangel Food Pantry (8:45 a.m.)
• Pomonok Community Farmers' Market (9 a.m.)
• Día de los Muertos / Day of the Dead (2 p.m.)
• Teen Tech Time: Game On! (3:30 p.m.)
• Family Craft Night (6 p.m.)
• Children's Book Club (6 p.m.)
• Zumba Nights at Unidad y Fe (7:30 p.m.)
• Mindful Astoria: Wednesday Meditation Gathering Online (7:30 p.m.)

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🗣 Queens Chatter:

• 🍬🐾 Did you all get your paws on some candy on Monday?: "I hope you all got your paws on some candy on your trick-or-treating run like I did… Great seeing so many excited families and awesome costumes down at the Jackson Heights #Halloween Parade tonight! Shout out to Saquon Barkley for coming out too — you're a lot shorter in person though." (Queens Borough President Donovan Richards via Facebook)
• 🍯 Winning quote from Winnie-the-Pooh: "Here is the winning quote, chosen by you, in our #BannedBooks. "A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference." -Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne. Vote for the Quote Sweepstakes! Thank you for celebrating the #FreedomToRead!" (Queens Public Library via Facebook)
• 🛂 Passport event for first time applicants this Saturday: "Join us Saturday for an upcoming passport event for first time applicants in partnership with the @uspostalservice and Majority baptist church." (Nantasha Williams via Twitter)
• 🎥 Free screening of Ramin Bahrani's new film: "Oscar nominee Ramin Bahrani's new film, 2ND CHANCE, follows the inventor of the modern bulletproof vest, continuing his fascination for the perilous pursuit of the American Dream. Join us NOV 7 for a FREE PREVIEW SCREENING with Bahrani in person! RSVP: https://movingimage.us/event/2nd-chance/" (Museum of the Moving Image via Twitter)
• 🎾 Serving up tennis in Queens: "Time to work on that tennis serve! So excited to welcome @Commonpoint_Qns as the new concession holder of the tennis center at Alley Pond Park! Whether it be tennis, pickleball, or flag football, Commonpoint will hold programs that keep our kids and community active year-round!" (Council Member Linda Lee via Twitter)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! I'll be back 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