🌱Santa Muerte Community Grows In Queens+ Unapposed CB10 'Nasty Letter'

Good morning, Queens! 😎

• 💀 A Mexican religious subculture surrounding the folk deity Santa Muerte is growing in Queens and, according to some scholars, Santa Muerte's followers make up the fastest-growing religious movement among people from Latin America.

• ✉️ After its meeting last Thursday, Community Board 10 has voted in favor of sending a "nasty letter" to the Department of Transportation.
• 😔 A large group gathered at the Flight 587 Memorial in Rockaway, Queens on Saturday to commemorate the victims who died when American Airlines Flight 587 crashed on Nov. 12, 2001.

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🌞 Mostly sunny. High: 48 Low: 35.

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Here are the top stories today in Queens:

1. A Mexican religious subculture surrounding the folk deity Santa Muerte, which translates as "St. Death," is growing in Queens, and some scholars say Santa Muerte's followers make up the fastest-growing religious movement among people from Latin America. Olivia Ebertz, the writer of this Gothamist article, made a documentary film in 2016 about Santa Muerte and her following, which Ebertz says has exploded in the past few years since she made the film. Ebertz takes a well-attended Nov. 5 birthday party held in Santa Muerte's honor in Corona, Queens as evidence of the community's growth. Followers of Santa Muerte say she watches over the marginalized and undocumented without judgment, a quality that attracts members who have expressed disillusionment with the Catholic Church's harsh stance on LGBTQ people, its scandals, and its history of brutal colonization of Indigenous Americans.

Gothamist

2. After its meeting last Thursday, Community Board 10 has voted in favor of sending a "nasty letter" to the Department of Transportation after the chair of the Transportation Committee shared news that parking spots in the neighborhood will be sacrificed to the Carshare program. The vote to send the strongly worded letter was passed unopposed. The pilot rideshare program will include four locations — two in South Ozone Park, one in Ozone Park and one in Richmond Hill — and will provide on-demand access to vehicles for short-term use, designating dedicated parking spots for the use of eligible carshare organizations, according to the DOT's website. Now, residents of CB 10 are upset for two reasons: losing precious parking spots to rideshare vehicles, and being told, not asked, that the pilot program would occur in their neighborhood.

Queens Chronicle

3. A large group gathered at the Flight 587 Memorial in Rockaway, Queens on Saturday to commemorate the victims who died when American Airlines Flight 587 crashed on Nov. 12, 2001. The tragic incident is known as the second deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history — 260 people on board that plane and five on the ground were killed when the plane crashed less than two minutes after taking off in Belle Harbor, Queens. New Yorkers at the time were put on edge by the crash, which occurred just two months and one day after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, however investigators later determined that a flawed design in the plane's rudder and inadequate pilot training was what brought the plane down. At the ceremony on Saturday, the names of the victims were read after a moment of silence at 9:16 a.m., the time when the plane made an impact.

Spectrum News NY1

4. A pair of armed intruders are at still large after breaking into a Bayside home last Thursday, tying up a 67-year-old woman inside, and stealing approximately $50,000 cash from inside the home, as well as some jewelry. The home invasion robbery occurred around 12:40 p.m. when authorities said the thieves entered the home near 200th Street and 34th Avenue through an unlocked back door. Once inside, one of the men pulled a gun on the woman and demanded money. The duo then covered her eyes with duct tape and led her to an upstairs bedroom where they tied her wrists to a bed post as they grabbed the cash. They fled the scene in an "older model gray four door sedan with tinted windows." The woman, who was later taken to the hospital with minor injuries, was able to free herself from where she was tied and called the police.

NBC New York ; AM New York Metro

5. Congressman-elect George Santos flipped from blue to red New York's 3rd Congressional District, which now includes a small slice of eastern Queens, and all of northern Nassau County, after redistricting. With regard to the success of Republicans on Long Island last week, Santos said the key to the GOP victories was in the messaging. "We just spoke directly to the people about how we felt and it resonated," Santos said.

PIX11 News

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

• NYC Girl Scout troops come roaring back after pandemic pause (New York Daily News)
• Jackson Heights man indicted on narcotics, weapons charges (Queens Ledger)
• Man struck in head with wooden board, killed after dispute outside Queens gas station (CBS News New York)
• Family offers $35k reward for information on death of woman (26) in Queens (LMFM News)
• Teen charged in fatal shooting near NYC high school was in 'wrong place at wrong time': sister (New York Post)

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From our sponsor:

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🗓 To Do Today in Queens:

• Friends of Maple Grove: November Art Exhibit with Gail Meyers (8:30 a.m.)
• Compost Build Community Volunteer Days 2022 (9:30 a.m.)
• Chair Fitness (2 p.m.)
• Vic Hanson Afterschool Program (3 p.m.)
• Queens Hip Hop 101: A Master Class (4 p.m.)
• The New York Winter Lantern Festival: Illuminate the Farm (5 p.m.)
• The Collections of Natural Greek Fabrics and Ilias Christopoulos (5 p.m.)
• Peroni, Pizza, & Pasta Party (6 p.m.)

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🗣 Queens Chatter:

• 🔗 The interconnectedness of all beings: "The Noguchi Museum is delighted to announce Cui Fei (@cuifei77) as one of two runners-up for the 2022 Open Call for Artist Banners. Titled 'Tracing the Origin,' Fei's series of banners depict found grape tendrils organized into symbolic manuscripts in the Chinese calligraphic format. These designs make reference to the ancient Chinese concept of nature, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of all beings. In Fei's words: "My work emphasizes the commonalities that link us together in spite of cultural, racial, and national differences: we can all relate to nature; everyone can recognize and identify the tendrils; but the "text" cannot be read by anyone—which puts all viewers on equal footing. The work encourages openness and seeing beyond first appearances."" (The Noguchi Museum via Facebook)
• 🏗 A preeminent master of moderism in architecture, Moshe Safdie: "Explore the works of renowned architect Moshe Safdie, one of the preeminent masters of modernism, who is known for his amazing designs of cultural, educational, and civic buildings around the world. Join us on Tuesday, November 15 at 6PM. https://queenslibrary.org/calendar/the-great-architects-series--moshe-safdie/004894-1022" (Queens Public Library via Twitter)
• 🎉 Get ready for a celebration of diversity and disability this Saturday: "Join us for a Celebration of Diversity and Disability on Saturday, 12/3 from 12:00-3:00pm. Free and fun for all ages, programs include art-making workshops, movement and dance, and more! This event is free with registration: https://qnsmu.se/diversity" (Queens Museum via Twitter)
• 😔 RIP to the victims of Flight 587 and condolences to their families: "21 years later, our hearts are still with the victims of Flight 587 and their families. They will never be forgotten." (NYC Speaker Adrienne Adams via Twitter)

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Events:

• Berkeley College Open House (November 19)
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Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you tomorrow morning for 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