Northeast

Francis Lewis JROTC program sends two more students to West Point
Francis Lewis JROTC program sends two more students to West Point
Education & Kids Melissa Chan 5/20/2013 at 2:01PM

The country’s largest Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program will send two more cadets to West Point. Aaron Lin, 19, and Brian Nepogoda, 17, have been accepted to the U.S. Military Academy. The JROTC program at their high school, Francis Lewis, has sent more than 20 cadets to West Point since 2003. Five of [...]

Bayside mom and son’s mission of hope to Haiti
Bayside mom and son’s mission of hope to Haiti
Northeast Melissa Chan 5/19/2013 at 10:11AM

A Bayside mother and son duo took their humanitarian efforts overseas in a medical mission to Haiti. Sarah Barrett Wren and her 18-year-old son Christopher teamed up with about 30 others for an eight-day journey in late January to help the poor. The group of clinicians provided health check-ups to about 1,200 locals. Nova Hope [...]

Francis Lewis High School drill team wins nationals
Francis Lewis High School drill team wins nationals
Education & Kids Melissa Chan 5/18/2013 at 12:34PM

A Queens drill team left high and dry in September has taken back the national title. Francis Lewis High School’s unarmed team earned an almost perfect score May 6 at the 31st annual National High School Drill Team Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida. “It brings tears to my eyes thinking back to how hard they [...]

Bellerose woman helps sick kids with superhero cape campaign
Bellerose woman helps sick kids with superhero cape campaign
Northeast Melissa Chan 5/17/2013 at 1:06PM

A Bellerose law student is crusading to turn sick kids into superheroes, one cape at a time. Evgenia Soldatos, 23, has started a campaign to give handmade superhero capes to the nearly 100 patients at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children. “I hope it’ll bring them a sense of empowerment,” Soldatos said. “They’ll have a superhero [...]

Historic Fresh Meadows horse stable faces eviction
Historic Fresh Meadows horse stable faces eviction
Northeast Melissa Chan 5/17/2013 at 10:48AM

Horses in a historic Queens barn may have their last trot in a century-old stable. “Everyone’s saddened to see that it’s in jeopardy,” said equestrian master Joy Tirado, 43. The Western Riding Club in Fresh Meadows—and its seven steeds—faces eviction now that property owner John Lightstone, 87, has put the land up for sale after [...]

Whitestone residents arrested for drug possession after reporting home robbery
Whitestone residents arrested for drug possession after reporting home robbery
Northeast Queens Courier Staff 5/15/2013 at 12:51PM

A man and a woman were charged with drug possession after their Whitestone home was apparently robbed. According to a police source, Christina Stold and Timothy Kush, 23, residents of a home on 13th Avenue and 141st Street, were arrested in the early morning hours of Tuesday after four suspects executed a push-in robbery. Around [...]

Community board chair fires back at Walcott over school employee threats
Community board chair fires back at Walcott over school employee threats
Northeast Melissa Chan 5/14/2013 at 2:04PM

The city’s schools chancellor chastised a community board leader after residents allegedly threatened his employees at a rowdy Bayside meeting last week. “I would never allow anyone to be treated in this manner and would expect that you have the same standard,” Dennis Walcott said. The head of the city’s public education system expressed his [...]

Town hall highlights transit issues in northeast Queens
Town hall highlights transit issues in northeast Queens
Northeast Queens Courier Staff 5/13/2013 at 2:37PM

Idle buses and a lack of adequate service are some of the transit problems plaguing northeast Queens, residents say. About 25 people aired their grievances to bus, subway and LIRR officials during a town hall meeting on Thursday. “I think we can all agree that we are under-serviced by mass transit in this district,” said [...]

Alley Pond Park Adventure Course now open
Alley Pond Park Adventure Course now open
Northeast Melissa Chan 5/11/2013 at 2:24PM

Queens rope climbers and zip liners can find a free adventure without leaving the borough. The Alley Pond Park Adventure Course, the only course of its kind in the city, reopened for its seventh season on May 1. The venue boasts a zip line, a climbing wall, a trust fall station, swings and balance platforms. [...]

City may take legal action after contentious Bayside community board meeting
Northeast Melissa Chan 5/09/2013 at 11:29AM

The city might take legal action after two school construction officials were threatened Monday at a contentious community board meeting. Bayside residents were enraged at a proposal by the city’s School Construction Authority (SCA) to build a 416-seat elementary school at 210-11 48th Avenue. They said it would destroy their quality of life, worsen parking [...]