Work on motivations for using Facebook also supports the distinction between connection-promoting and non–connection-promoting use. A longitudinal study conducted across two time points looked at the impact of Facebook use on adolescents’ well-being. Use motivated by compensating for insufficient social networks predicted increased loneliness at follow-up, while use motivated by the desire to connect with other people predicted decreased loneliness at follow-up (Teppers, Luyckx, Klimstra, & Goossens, 2014). The authors explained these results by suggesting that compensation motives led to passive use and connection motives led to active use, but they did not measure this distinction directly. However, other research has empirically distinguished between passive Facebook use (defined as consuming information without direct exchanges) and active Facebook use (defined as activities that facilitate direct exchanges with others). Across two studies using experimental methods and experience sampling, passive Facebook use was linked to declines in well-being, while active Facebook use was not (Verduyn et al., 2015). In other words, the effect of using social network sites depended entirely on the nature of that use.
(Now, if you’re looking for the Unambiguous Evil narrative here, I think it requires the further step to observe that social media is not designed to allow one to navigate toward only that subset of use that will serve one well, but rather to optimize metrics that I’d guess turn green from that passive use…)
A small change in plans: I'm starting law school in the fall. I'll be attending the CUNY School of Law right here in Queens to become a public interest-focused lawyer.
On a recent morning inside an ornate federal courtroom in downtown Brooklyn, Maria became a naturalized citizen.
She was one of 100 people from 40 different countries taking the oath of allegiance to uphold the U.S. Constitution. For the 49-year-old who immigrated from Indonesia in her early twenties, it was the culmination of more than two decades of life in this country.
The federal judge overseeing the ceremony, Pamela Chen, told the crowd she herself was a daughter of Chinese immigrants and understood both the joy and the struggles that immigrating to America can bring.
“We are stronger as a nation when we remember our shared history as a nation of immigrants,” Chen said.
“Like fabric,” she went on, “cross-stitching makes us stronger.”
And so, the judge continued, “as a child of immigrants, I encourage you to dream big for yourself and your family.”
But for Maria, what might have been a joyful experience was instead one tinged with sadness. While she’d finally secured citizenship in her adoptive country — one where she’d given birth to two U.S. citizen children and worked her way up to a job in accounting — nine days earlier, her husband’s two-decade journey had brought him into the dank interior of an ICE detention cell.
THE CITY is withholding Maria’s full name and all but the first initial of her husband’s name — S. — so as not to impact the deportation effort against him.
“Today is a mixed emotion,” Maria said, speaking shortly after her naturalization ceremony on a bench in Cadman Plaza Park outside the courthouse. “I was reminding myself, thank God, not so many people can get this opportunity. Everyone wants to live here, wants to become a U.S. citizen.”
Maria’s long-awaited naturalization might have been an important step towards reopening S.’s immigration case, and another opportunity for him to fight for the right to remain in the United States with his wife and two citizen children who are now 14 and 18.
“I told my husband, ‘just be patient, when we get this citizenship then we can get your case moving,’ but unfortunately before that…” she said, as her voice trailed off.
‘Hungry for God and Willing to Serve’
Maria and S. moved to Queens from Surabaya in 2001, in the wake of massive riots targeting ethnic Chinese enclaves that spread out to cities all across the Indonesian archipelago, killing hundreds of people. Maria and S. are both Christians of Chinese descent, and the mob violence there also targeted churches.
“They don’t like Christians. They don’t like Chinese. That’s why when we came here,” Maria recalled, saying the couple saved up enough money for her to move to the United States and move in with a friend in Elmhurst, Queens first, before S. joined her several months later. The couple rented a room together and both worked at restaurants for most of their careers.
The couple could only afford one asylum application at a time so S. applied first, going through a years-long process before he was denied in 2007. Maria then began her application when she was pregnant with the couple’s second child. Her application was successful and she began the process of becoming a naturalized citizen while her husband fell into the shadows, one of more than an estimated 800,000 undocumented New Yorkers.
Life carried on, with Maria working her way into an accounting job. S. went from restaurant work to online selling and working in a warehouse. Their two kids grew up in Woodside. Their Pentecostal church in Elmhurst became a home away from home. The whole family attended services multiple days a week, with S. working as an usher and Maria as a greeter.
“This guy is an integral part of the family,” said their pastor, who declined to be named, concerned about consequences for the church community. She said S. was always willing to do whatever the church needed, often cleaning and organizing events, with a boisterous presence that made the time together fun. “He’s truly, genuinely hungry for God. He’s willing to serve.”
‘Don’t Worry, Come Back, See You Later’
For years, regular check-ins with immigration officials loomed over the family. At first S. had to go every few months, reporting to 26 Federal Plaza to assure the agency he was living a law-abiding life. Eventually that receded to just once a year, but if the family ever wanted to leave the state, S. had to first report to 26 Federal Plaza to let the agency know, which he did dutifully, Maria said.
His most recent annual appointment was in March, his first check-in under the second term of President Donald Trump, who’s pledged a mass deportation campaign the likes of which the country has never before seen.
At his March appointment, S. was told to return in three months, with his next check up date set for June 16. The couple consulted with a lawyer who told them “just be prepared.”
Last month, when the time came, “we were not thinking anything bad, even in the morning he just woke me up and said ‘I’m going.’” Maria recalled.
“‘OK, don’t worry, come back, see you later,’” she’d replied. “How can we be prepared? We cannot prepare anything. They are the ones who have to prepare what to do next, right?”
Maria and her daughter Natalie outside Cadman Plaza after Maria’s citizenship ceremony. Maria became a citizen a week after her husband was detained by ICE at a check in. June 25, 2025 Credit: Gwynne Hogan/ THE CITY
The day before S.’s appointment was Father’s Day. The family ate dinner together. After dinner Maria’s 14-year-old daughter Natalie said she snuck a quiet moment with her father.
“I told him I’m really thankful you’re here,” she recalled. But still, she wasn’t dwelling on his upcoming appointment, Natalie told THE CITY. “I tried not to think about it. I left it in the back of my mind.”
‘Treated Like a Criminal’
But on the day of S.’s ICE check-in, Maria felt nauseous. Her husband once again reported to 26 Federal Plaza waiting with dozens of others in the early morning. It’s one of several locations where immigrants in various stages of deportation proceedings are required to report to ICE periodically.
Across the street from 26 Federal Plaza another such office sits, a location that became a mass arrest site on several recent days in May as people appearing for check-ins got handcuffed and led out of the building. Unlike that office, arrests at 26 Federal Plaza ICE check-ins aren’t visible; instead people enter the building and simply never leave on their own accord.
The couple text-messaged throughout the morning, with S. telling Maria the office was crowded and it seemed to be taking longer than usual. Then he told her he was getting taken to the ninth floor. “If they need to review more, then they will send you to the ninth floor,” S. told Maria. At 12:30 p.m. she got another update, “only two people left.”
Maria, in a panic, texted a friend who replied, trying to calm her down: “Don’t worry. You will be a citizen, you have citizen children. Don’t worry.”
S. texted again minutes after that, to tell Maria he was being arrested and to alert the family’s pastor and his lawyer. It was Natalie’s last day of freshman year in high school.
“I was so happy to be done,” Natalie said, before she got the call from her older brother telling her that “Mom needs the support right now.”
S. spent two days and one night inside 26 Federal Plaza before being moved to Delaney Hall, the new ICE lock-up in Newark, New Jersey.
He called Maria shortly after arriving in Jersey to lament the conditions he’d been jailed under in Manhattan.
“He was crying when he called me. He said he’s being treated like a criminal, this is in my lowest part of life,” Maria recalled. S. told Maria 18 people had been locked in one small room inside of 26 Federal Plaza, sleeping on the floor with no showers or way to brush their teeth and given granola bars and cookies twice a day.
“It’s not human,” Maria said.
Because 26 Federal Plaza isn’t officially a detention center, ICE has turned away members of Congress seeking to oversee the conditions prisoners are held in there — even as the building has become the centralized location where dozens of people arrested by ICE in New York City each day are detained. As the number of ICE arrests has soared in recent weeks, some people have been held there for days as the agency figures out where to send them next.
‘No Mercy’
In the month and a half since S.’s arrest, his son graduated high school.
“We say he was there in spirit,” Natalie said, with S. calling during a celebratory lunch. “He felt really happy, but I could feel the sadness in his voice that he wasn’t able to be there.”
In his absence, Natalie said she’s been spending more time than before at church.
“I felt more motivated to devote myself to helping out in the church since that’s what my dad did,” she said, though “without my dad’s presence it just feels kind of off.”
Still, she added “I know he’ll eventually come back, I just have a lot of faith.”
Maria, for her part, has been praying and fasting for her husband’s release. Her lawyer filed a stay of removal to try to keep ICE from carrying out S.’s deportation, while friends and family have reached out to elected officials to try to drum up support.
S’s arrest shocked the tight-knit church community, who had not imagined Trump’s deportation agenda would strike so close to home.
“He’s going to deport all the criminals. Of course we like that, that our community is going to be safer. Everyone is going to follow the rule, the law,” the pastor said.
“Who knew they were going to deport regular people, this is crazy,” she added. “We love this country because this is a country that obeys the rule of law. At the same time, how can they just separate families? It feels like there’s no mercy.”
It was an emotional reunion, Maria said, noting her husband seemed deflated beyond recognition.
“My husband is very outspoken, very outgoing,” she said, but now “he looks so humble.”
Though Maria hadn’t been able to vote last fall, she said she understood Trump’s stated desire to deport people who committed crimes here.
She believes the president might not know that those efforts had now ensnared her own family, who fled persecution in their home country to be able to practice Christianity in peace here.
“I also want this country to be safe and I understand Trump wants to do this kind of thing to protect the citizens of the United States,” Maria said, but, she added, “It’s just extreme. It’s too extreme.”
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An original technicolor print of Star Wars (before all of Lucas’s tinkering) was recently shown in Britain. “It was very clear — without a doubt — that Han shot first.”
Following the passage of the city’s budget, Mayor Eric Adams announced a new office was created to assist immigrant residents find pro bono legal services. Photo credit Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By Noah Powelson
As the city’s public defender landscape heads toward a potential crisis, the city this week announced plans to create a new office to connect New Yorkers with free legal services.
Mayor Eric Adams announced the creation of the Mayor's Office to Facilitate Pro Bono Legal Assistance on Tuesday, a new mayoral office intended as a repository of legal resources that New Yorkers can access to find legal representation and services.
The office itself will not be giving legal representation to New Yorkers, but will instead serve as an information hub that connects clients with pro bono services in the public and private sectors. The mayor said the office is intended to streamline the process of finding affordable representation, and will send clients to law school clinics, not-for-profit legal services organizations and other government-sponsored programs.
The office was created after the passage of the city’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which included an additional $76 million for free legal assistance to immigrants, bringing the total budget for immigrant legal services to over $120 million. Funding for the new pro bono office will be separate from the $76 million, but their funds will be administered by the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs.
The mayor said the office was created, in part, as a response to the increase in arrests being made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in New York City – Adams has been criticised for his efforts to allow ICE to conduct investigations out of a Rikers Island office that has thus far been held up in the courts.
“In the United States, everyone is entitled to legal representation, but too often, the cost of legal fees places effective counsel out of reach for too many,” Adams said in a statement. “At a time when many immigrants in our city live in fear of being detained or deported, the new budget includes $121 million in related legal services for New Yorkers, more than any other major city in America, and the most in the city’s history.”
Legal aid services are a lifeline for low-income New Yorkers who lack the means to afford their own representation, and are doubly vital for immigrants.
At a demonstration outside City Hall last week, before the city passed a budget that expanded funding for immigration legal services, elected officials and legal advocates demanded more be done to protect immigrants from ICE raids.
“When you go to immigration court on any given day, you will speak with dozens if not hundreds of people who are terrified, without legal representation, waiting to see if they are next to be detained by ICE agents,” Brooklyn City Councilmember Alexa Avilés said at the City Hall rally on June 26. “If you sit in on hearings, you will hear people say that they were unable to find legal representation because of lack of services, [there is] an incredibly long wait list at pro bono organizations.”
What’s more, the city is currently at risk of the largest public defender strike in 30 years as a dozen legal services providers represented by the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys union are demanding higher pay and benefits from their respective employers.
As of reporting, legal aid services represented by ALAA have let their contracts with their organizations expire on June 30, and no information on a new deals to avoid a mass strike has been made. Currently eight legal aid organizations, including the Legal Aid Society, have passed strike authorizations votes.
If a mass strike does happen, courthouses across the city could face massive disruptions that will grind many courts to a halt as thousands of public defenders stop working.
The new Mayor’s Office to Facilitate Pro Bono Legal Assistance may be one such tool the city can use to find those attorneys willing to work.
A City Hall spokesperson told the Eagle that the mayor’s office has to determine the potential impact of the new pro bono office. The spokesperson said it will take some time as they establish themselves and spread the word about their services, but the office has the potential to help thousands of New Yorkers.
The office plans to act as a networking resource for attorneys as well, connecting them with pro bono services and organizations in need of skilled or specialized attorneys. Additionally, the pro bono office will offer clients guidance on other financial, housing, and social services they may be eligible for.
“Through the Mayor’s Office to Facilitate Pro Bono Legal Assistance, we will help New Yorkers access a directory of existing, free legal services and reduce barriers so that they can bring legal actions, defend themselves, and protect their civil liberties,” Adams said.
The new pro bono office will work with groups like the New York City Bar Association, legal aid groups and law school clinics to spread awareness of legal aid resources available to city residents. NYCBA said they were looking forward to seeing the office’s work, but did not provide information about what involvement they will have.
"We welcome any effort to improve access to justice for New Yorkers and look forward to learning more about how the City Bar can support this work," a city bar spokesperson told the Eagle in a statement.
The City Hall spokesperson said they couldn’t announce which organizations will be partnering with the pro bono office yet, but the deputy mayor and the office’s incoming director are working on connecting with a variety of organizations as they get set up and running.
Running the new office is Makousse Ilboudo, who previously served as a court attorney for the Mayor’s Office of Asylum Seeker Operations. Originally from the Ivory Coast, Ilboudo immigrated to the city at a young age and has worked with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the New York City Department of Social Services and the New York City Law Department on asylum and right-to-shelter cases.
“Access to legal counsel should not be reserved for only those who can afford it,” Ilboudo said in a statement. “As someone who has dedicated my career to public service, I am grateful to Mayor Adams and First Deputy Mayor Mastro for selecting me to lead this exciting new office, which I know will serve all New Yorkers, especially our most vulnerable, and I am looking forward to continuing the work I started to protect asylum seekers and immigrants in-need of legal services.”
Ilboudo will report directly to First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, according to the Mayor’s office. Mastro was the alleged architect behind the city’s efforts to bring ICE back to Rikers Island.
“This is the logical extension of this administration’s successful efforts to match asylum seekers with pro bono counsel,” Mastro said in a statement. “With the latest budget allocation of more than $120 million for legal services, we are helping immigrants defend their legal right to stay in this country and keep their families together.
“Because of these investments, we are able to continue delivering the kinds of legal services this administration has skillfully spearheaded for this community over the past three years as we have managed the asylum seeker crisis,” Mastro added.
As the summer heat rises, so does the thrill of racing beneath the sun.
There’s no better way to connect with the running community than by taking on races that test your endurance amid soaring temperatures. Cool down with a frozen treat at the NYCRUNS Queens Ice Cream Social 5K, or take a jog down memory lane at the NSRF Nostalgic 90s 5K and 5M.
This scorching season offers no shortage of races across the borough.
From Rockaway Beach to Woodhaven, Queens is where the competition heats up.
Many of this month’s races take place along the Rockaway Beach boardwalk—so don’t forget the sunscreen, and lace up your fastest pair of sneakers.
Rockaway Beach. File photo by Bill Parry
Here are some of July’s must-run races to check out before catching some rays.
Enjoy the coastal views of Rockaway Beach for this festive holiday race at 8 a.m. The registration fee is $69.90 for the half marathon and $48.70 for the 5K. Please note that registration ends on Friday, July 4 at 8 p.m. Upon arrival, check in at Beach 94th Street at 6:30 a.m. to receive your race bib and t-shirt. In the post-race section, participants will receive a finisher’s medal and snacks.
This Forest Park race touts itself as “the only short distance trail race in the city.” The race title is in homage to a canine with a pink nose — aptly called “Pinky the Pacer” — due to their relentless love for running “several thousand miles” in the trails of Forest Park. For the duration of the race, trail running enthusiasts need not worry about entering bridle paths or concrete roads.
Runners of all levels are invited to take on the hills to set a personal best. With a start time of 9 a.m., the registration fee is $45.00 — the price will increase after Friday, July 11 at 11:59 p.m. Before toeing the start line, all race bibs must be picked up on site. Please note that dogs are welcome to participate in the race, provided they are under the watchful supervision of their owners. An assortment of finisher’s medals will greet the runners after the finish line. The top three male and female finishers will receive a prize. More information will be provided to registrants a week before race day.
Choose your battle and run through the fast, flat course of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park at 7 a.m. The registration fees are $37.00 for the 5K, $60.00 for the half marathon and $37.00 for the half marathon relay. All prices are fixed through Thursday, July 10 at noon. Please note that there is no race day registration.
All participants will receive a custom race shirt, custom finisher medal, finisher photos and a fruit smoothie. If you wish to register for the half marathon relay, the $37.00 price is per team member (with a maximum of two to four team members per team). The time limits for each race are one hour for the 5K and three hours and 15 minutes for the half marathon.
Hosted by Queens Distance Runners (QDR), this Bell Boulevard race is a must-run for neighborhood locals and the surrounding running community. With a start time of 9 a.m., the course consists of two loops, where runners run through 35th Avenue and Crocheron Park. Please note that all current students at Bayside High School and Cardozo High School are eligible for a complimentary entry. To receive the code, email qdrunners@gmail.com at your earliest convenience.
The registration fee for the 5K is $38.98, but it decreases to $33.80 for QDR members and $28.63 for QDR+ members. Half of the proceeds will be donated to the Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps, a volunteer-led ambulance service for residents in Northeast Queens (e.g., Glen Oaks, Floral Park, Bellerose).
Run with nostalgia at this Forest Park race with an 8 a.m. start time. The registration fees are $47.26 for the in-person 5K, $52.43 for the in-person 5 miler, $49.33 for the virtual 5K and $54.60 for the virtual 5 miler. Add $10.35 to have your race bib mailed to your address.
All participants will receive a t-shirt, a finisher’s medal and post-race refreshments from All Round Foods and Waterloo Sparkling Water. Monetary donations will benefit the Never Stop Running Foundation (NSRF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the growth of endurance athletes.
Bask in the summer breeze and enjoy the views of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, where you are rewarded with ice cream (or an ice pop) after completing the 5K. With a start time of 9 a.m., participants are encouraged to pick up race bibs and merchandise at 7 a.m. The registration fee is $38.50 for members and $55.00 for non-members until Tuesday, July 8. After this date, the price increases to $42.00 and $60.00, respectively, until online registration ends.
NYCRUNS employs a pace-based corral system to ensure a safe experience for all participants. Please note that runners must be at their assigned corral at least 15 minutes before the 9 a.m. start time. Additionally, all participants will receive race photos from MarathonFoto a few days after completion of the race.
On a hot summer evening, there is nothing better than enjoying a family-friendly 5K surrounded by bubbles. With a start time of 6 p.m., the one-mile race promises a colorful evening of community fun. The registration fee is $48.70 for participants aged 13 and above, and $22.20 for participants aged zero to 12.
All participants must pick up their race bib at the Rockaway Beach Amphitheater, located at 1-12 Cross Bay Parkway. The post-race amenities include a t-shirt and a finisher’s medal. As of press time, there are 77 spots left. Secure your spot before registration ends on Friday, July 18 at 11:59 p.m.
Organized by Trials of Miles Racing, Kilgore Racing and Brooks Running, this popular beach race features a flat course at the boardwalk, followed by a post-race dive into the coastal waters and a lively after-party. This year, there will be three waves at the start line — the Open Wave at 6:30 p.m., the Men’s Wave at 7:05 p.m. and the Women’s Wave at 7:30 p.m. Please note to indicate your goal time in the registration form to ensure a correct wave placement. All participants will receive an exclusive floral-themed visor.
To enhance the competitive edge, prize money will be awarded to the top three finishers in the Open Wave, Men’s Wave and Women’s Wave: $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place, and $250 for third place.
Queens Distance Runners (QDR) is hosting its second July race at Rockaway Beach with a start time of 8:30 a.m. The registration fees are $28.63 for the 5K and $38.98 for the 10K. All monetary donations will support QDR’s mission to create race events that benefit Queens-based neighborhoods, small businesses and locals. All participants will receive an exclusive giveaway and race photos.
Dress up as your favorite superhero at this 5K run/walk or one-mile walk in Forest Park, starting at 8:30 a.m. The registration fees are $38.98 for the in-person 5K run/walk, $28.63 for the one-mile walk and $38.98 for the virtual 5K run/walk. Please note that all fees will increase after July 6, followed by a third and final price increase on race day. The registration fee for participants aged 10 to 17 is $18.28 until July 6. All participants aged nine and under can enter free of charge. If you wish to add to your costume, spend an additional $25.00 for a cape and mask.
A pair of runners donning Statue of Liberty visors at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Corona, NY. Photo by Kent Ng
All proceeds will benefit the Steven Spectrum Career Project, a nonprofit organization that strengthens the neurodivergent community through professional development, helping individuals succeed in their career paths. After completing the race, participants will receive a finisher’s medal, race photos and stretch sessions with a licensed flexologist. This family-friendly event is sponsored by Ridgewood Savings Bank, Planet Fitness and Stretch Lab.
Queens Council Members Shekar Krishnan, Linda Lee, Sandra Ung and Julie Won gathered on the steps of City Hall Wednesday afternoon alongside Manhattan Council Member Carlina Rivera to celebrate the “historic” $2.5 million budget investment to support the implementation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history curriculum in NYC schools.
The elected officials were joined by representatives from a number of AAPI and immigrant groups on the steps of City Hall, including the Chinese American Planning Council, Korean Community Services, South Asian Youth Action (SAYA), Asian American / Asian Research Institute (AAARI), Asian American Education Project (AAEP).
Credit John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit
Advocates celebrated the inclusion of the Education Equity Action Plan in the recently-passed FY2026 budget, which allocates $2.5 million to advance the AAPI studies curriculum in public schools across the city. The City Council voted unanimously to approve the $116 billion budget Monday.
A number of elected officials celebrated the inclusion of the Education Equity Action Plan in the budget, including Krishnan, who described the measure as an “important step” in ensuring all history is “taught in our classrooms.”
“I understand firsthand the importance of this curriculum,” Krishnan stated, adding that the budget also delivered “big wins” for families, schools and immigrant communities by providing funding for expanded services in city libraries alongside funding for a “historic” universal child care pilot program.
Won, meanwhile, said the AAPI curriculum represents a “meaningful step” toward enriching public school education in New York City.
“This initiative will supplement the existing Black and Latino studies curricula, offering students a more inclusive and accurate understanding of our city’s rich and diverse history. Every child deserves to learn about the communities that have shaped New York City, and how our histories are deeply connected,” Won said in a statement.
Ung said AAPI history is often overlooked in US history classes and said the investment will help ensure students have a deeper understanding of American history.
Credit John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit
“The rich and complex history of the Asian American community is often overlooked when we discuss United States history. This funding is about helping students from all backgrounds develop a deeper understanding of their classmates, their neighbors, and the diverse city they live in,” Ung stated.
Lee noted that over 1.2 million members of the AAPI community call New York City home and said funding a new curriculum pays tribute to the “vital contributions” that the AAPI community makes to the city.
“As one of the first Korean Americans to serve on the Council, I’m proud to join my colleagues in securing $2.5 million in the city budget to support the development of an AAPI curriculum in our schools,” Lee said in a statement. “By introducing AAPI studies, we’re fostering a more inclusive and enriching educational environment.”
John Chin, interim dean at AAARI, said the funding will help the city’s education reflect the diversity of New York City. Chin said AAARI has partnered with the Asian American Education Project to help bring the the new curriculum into classrooms across the city through teacher training and student-led storytelling.
“With dedicated support for teacher training and student-led storytelling, we’re building a model that centers local communities and gives students a voice,” Chin said in a statement.
Credit John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, meanwhile, said in a statement that will ensure that students across the city see themselves reflected in their studies.
“Building on the success of the Black Studies and Latine Studies curricula, the Council is proud to invest $2.5 million in the city budget to develop and promote an AAPI curriculum,” Adams said. “These educational materials, advanced in partnership with our community partners, will ensure our scholars see themselves reflected in their education, and that our educators are equipped with the tools to teach AAPI history.”
Dedicated cycling space along 31st Avenue connects New Yorkers to existing bike infrastructure while enhancing safety for all road users. NYCDOT
July 3, 2025 By Queens Post News Team
The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) has completed the first phase of a major redesign of 31st Avenue in Astoria, transforming the corridor into a bike boulevard aimed at improving safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists.
Unveiled Wednesday by NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, the new street design features over 26,000 square feet of added pedestrian space, a two-way protected bike lane and intersection upgrades meant to slow turning vehicles and reduce crashes.
“31st Avenue’s innovative redesign as a bike boulevard will help protect pedestrians and cyclists, support Open Street operations, and strengthen connections to the 16.5 lane miles of protected bike lanes, and 21 lane miles of standard bike lanes and shared lanes in the area,” said Rodriguez. “Streets are public space, and designs like this show that we can reimagine the use of public space to benefit all road users.”
The project, which runs from Vernon Boulevard to Steinway Street, establishes a critical east-west cycling connection in Western Queens. It builds on the popularity of the 31st Avenue Open Street, a community-led initiative that has hosted weekend programming and expanded public space access since its launch during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Newly installed planters and granite blocks improve visibility and painted curb extensions along 31st Avenue. NYCDOT
Traffic-calming measures include new one-way traffic patterns, intersection treatments that reverse vehicle flow to discourage speeding, and painted curb extensions that reduce crossing distances. The DOT also installed planters, granite blocks, and hardened daylighting features to improve visibility for all road users.
According to DOT data, 53% of daily trips in Astoria are made on foot, 34% by bicycle, and only 11% by car, making the redesign a direct response to how residents already use the street. The added bike infrastructure connects seamlessly with existing protected lanes on Crescent Street and Vernon Boulevard, and further supports cycling access to the Queensboro Bridge, where the Adams administration recently doubled space for cyclists and pedestrians.
NYCDOT
New bike-specific signals, flashing yield signs, and stop signs along the corridor also aim to improve safety, particularly at intersections, where most crashes occur.
The project was developed in partnership with the 31st Ave Open Streets Collective and The Horticultural Society of New York (The Hort). Between 33rd and 35th Streets, the new shared street design supports flexible use, allowing for regular weekday traffic as well as weekend Open Street programming. Granite blocks in this stretch provide informal seating, while delineating space for pedestrians and cyclists.
A shared streets design supports operations for the 31st Avenue Open Street by expanding pedestrian space with painted sidewalk extensions. NYCDOT
The transformation of 31st Avenue marks another milestone in the city’s Vision Zero initiative, launched in 2014 to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries. In recent years, the DOT has accelerated efforts to expand bike lanes and reclaim space from cars, including projects on Skillman and 43rd Avenues in Sunnyside, Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, and Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights.
The city plans to continue expanding protected bike infrastructure citywide, with more than 30 miles of new lanes slated for completion in 2025.
For updates on Open Street events and operations on 31st Avenue, visit 31aveopenstreet.org.
Seven Scents offers delicious Chinese BBQ, drinks, and more. Photo credit: Seven Scents.
July 4, 2025 By Jessica Militello
Long Island City continues to grow at a rapid pace, and nearly every week brings a new restaurant or business to the neighborhood. Frequently named one of the fastest-growing communities in the city, LIC has become a vibrant hub for families, food lovers, and trendsetters alike. From Chinese BBQ to upscale Japanese fare and bubble tea, this Western Queens neighborhood is buzzing with fresh culinary options.
If you’re looking to explore something new this summer, here are a few of the latest openings to check out:
Seven Scents offers authentic Chinese BBQ, including grilled beef skewers, spicy chicken, and cold dishes like scallion oil tofu shreds. The sleek and modern space is open for dinner and offers flavorful food at budget-friendly prices.
Cyan Izakaya is an upscale new Japanese restaurant in LIC. Photo credit: Cyan Izakaya.
Cyan Izakaya is a new Japanese restaurant in the area for lunch and dinner. The space has dishes like bluefin nori and A5 wagyu nori, as well as sushi and sashimi plates, wagyu fried rice, and much more. The restaurant has an upscale vibe, perfect for date nights or dinner with friends.
Gyu Kaku recently expanded its delicious Japanese BBQ to the Western Queens community. Photo courtesy of Gyu Kaku’s Instagram.
Gyu Kaku has expanded to a new space in LIC, bringing their delicious Japanese BBQ to the Western Queens neighborhood. The new restaurant is perfect for an assortment of get-togethers, whether you’re meeting for dinner with friends, looking for a date night spot, or just want to try something different.
American Latte is a new addition to American Brass, offering coffee creations and a beautiful view. Photo credit: American Latte.
American Latte is the latest cafe to pop up in the area, serving an array of hot and cold drinks, located inside American Brass. The new space provides a gorgeous setting to start the day, and has housemade pastries and delicious coffee creations.
Mysttik Masaala offers authentic Indian cuisine to the LIC area. Photo credit: Mysttik Masaala.
Mysttik Masaala is a new Indian restaurant that recently expanded to a storefront after growing quite a following from its popular food truck. The new eatery offers dishes like Samosa Chaat and chicken tikka masala and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Laankee has bubble tea treats and Hong Kong style coffee creations. Photo credit: Laankee.
Laankee is a new bubble tea shop that expanded from its location in Chinatown in Manhattan. The bubble tea shop has favorites including their iced lemon tea, peach oolong milk tea, Hong Kong-style coffee drinks, and more.
In April, I went to Brooklyn to talk with a crew of early-career technologists. Y’all, it’s a rough time to be trying to start your career. I wanted to give them a real acknowledgement of that, and also some optimism about how it will work out in the long run.
The key takeaway is that the ups and downs of the employment market are usually cyclical, and although they are emerging at a down part of the cycle, there will be other parts. I also told them that whatever they are doing, even if it’s not what they trained for, can be helpful and useful in their future careers, if they pay attention and stay curious. The people who know the most about point-of-sale terminals are often the people who spend all day babying them. No experience is wasted time, even if it wasn’t the plan.
Your career is long, and it has a lot of fluctuations, but you’ll never regret being curious about your industry, your role, and how people interact with computers.
What does a Support Engineer do and how could it ever be interesting? If you’re curious about the life of an Application Support Engineer, whether you have read the job description or not, then join me as I share my unique and rewarding journey in this role at SonarSource that will help you understand more about the job and my transition into a one-of-a-kind, nonpareil opportunity in my life (my opinion, of course).
I’m a former dev bootcamp graduate of MakerSquare back in 2014, then I worked at a fintech company and immediately thereafter as a software developer. I really enjoyed the development process: given some requirements, go build this thing, test it, then release it *wipes hands*. However, after some time, the routine of creating yet another API plumbing job didn’t satisfy enough of my desire to learn.
This Is Not Your Typical Support Engineer Role
Let’s be honest, the role of “Support Engineer” can be a tough sell.
“So what? It’s just some support desk job. You answer some tickets, you tell the devs to go fix bugs, you tell the product managers to add a feature, meet the SLA… YAWN”
For many, the word “support” evokes images of call-centers, quotas, ever-tightening SLAs and evening/weekend shifts. It’s seen as entry-level work--a gateway to other, more dignified roles. It’s a stigma that is all too easy to internalize.
As a former software developer implementing features and architecting microservices and cloud deployments, I had those same thoughts when I first heard about the SonarSource Support Engineer role.
“Support” You mean like... not be at the front-lines of development and just help customers? How is that exciting? How do I grow from creating and building things to just being an abutment to the company?”
Sure, those are acceptable reactions to some support desk jobs. There’s a certain routine and rigamarole that these jobs have, but there’s always a reason people like these jobs: using software you like, the chance to help people, working with people who have similar interests and intentions as you do, freedom to learn what you want, etc. Support jobs are fun for these reasons, but their drawbacks also make people shy away from them. At SonarSource, we keep the interesting parts of support AND we do it differently.
After about 6 months into my journey at SonarSource as a support engineer, I want to tell you the role has been worth it and why I gave up my developer lifestyle for a support role.
What does Support at SonarSource look like?
SonarSource offers a single level of support. Period. No Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3… Whether a customer is small or large, they receive the same level of support.
We are not merely a human face to documentation. We provide education of the platform as well as expertise.
We are fair to customers and we are the customer’s advocate when discussing feature changes and product evolution with a transparent and honest voice.
We aim to nurture a long-term relationship that allows customers to be self-driven experts of their own platform.
We assign tickets to ourselves -- either because we are interested in the topic, are an expert, or want to learn more by doing.
Our goal is to get all customers an initial answer to their questions within 1 business day.
The vast majority of our interactions with customers takes place using ServiceDesk, rather than jumping into troubleshooting calls.
Any CI/CD tools (Jenkins, GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, TeamCity, and on and on)
Delegated authentication methods like LDAP or SAML
ALMs (GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Bitbucket)
Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure DevOps, GCP)
SCM internals (git, svn)
Databases (Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server)
All of this because SonarQube Server integrates with all of this and more. That’s why I enjoy this job: I get to play with all these technologies while helping people solve their problems.
I Can Make an Impact on the Product and the Company
What makes working at SonarSource really interesting, aside from a unique Support model? Onboarding as a support engineer was a steady, progressive process lasting a few months or so, which gave me time to soak in the uniquely worded work culture. With both American and European tastes, my favorite concept so far was “circles” of people working on initiatives.
The idea is that you or anyone else have the power to make a change within your team, workflow, or the company so you create a group of people, or circle, to resolve the problem or improve a situation. This is a wonderful way to make an impact at a company that supports empowerment to make change happen all the while allowing the “right to fail”. There is no hard-pressed goal to always make change, but achieving delivery of your intent is what is more valued. Challenging status-quo when sensible and always making an effort to collaborate to become “smarter together” are also important concepts I learned about SonarSource work culture. SonarSource was founded in 2008 and we have now grown to nearly 200 employees, and so the flat organizational feel of a startup has now grown into a team-based organization, where Support Engineers continue to instill and endure that same SonarSource spirit.
Here’s what my day-to-day generally looks like this, from morning to evening from the US side (in case you didn’t know, SonarSource is based in Geneva, Switzerland!):
8:30 AM Wake up and prepare for standup (review current ticket statuses)
8:45 AM Global standup (review any important tickets with the team)
9-10 AM Attend important meetings with teammates on side projects, catch up on news on other projects, pair program on a ticket
10 AM-12 PM Respond to tickets, experiment new language features, explore new CI tool
12-1 PM Lunch
1-1:45 PM Continue responding to tickets, prepare for the afternoon standup with US Team
2-5 PM Respond to tickets, work with teammates on solving a ticket together, help/chat with community members using SonarQube for IDE/SonarQube/SonarCloud
That’s basically it: aside from answering tickets, there’s a lot of freedom to explore new technologies, collaborate on projects to help improve the products or company workflow or work life in general, and help users in our open community forum use our products. SonarSource provides SonarQube Community Build and SonarQube for IDE as open-source software that is available for forking or studying, so contributing back to the community users is twice the benefit in using SonarSource products.
In summary, you will enjoy SonarSource and the Application Support Engineer job if you enjoy any of the following:
Learning ANY of the modern technologies of an adept software developer, devops engineer, or sysadmin
Working on projects that you choose via volunteering and effect change that you see important to the company
Helping people enjoy using SonarSource products while getting maximum value from them
If you find yourself nodding your head, SonarSource is a great fit for you. If you want to know more, just message us!
I am fully preparing myself to die under this new American regime. That’s not to say that it’s the end of the world. It isn’t. But I am almost 50 years old. It will take so long to do anything with this mess that this is the new normal for *me*.
I do hope a lot of you run. I hope you vote, sure. Maybe do a general strike or rent strike. All great!
But I spent the last week reading things and this is not, for ME, an electoral fix. So now I will spend time reflecting on how to integrate this normal into my understanding of the future.
Most of this will be personal. Some of it will be public — how we move in the world.
Right now, I know that I need to make a decision on my risk sensitivity. How much can I take? I also need to meditate HARD on accepting the randomness of that risk. No amount of strategy can protect me.
I’ve been thinking something like this for a few months now. We will fight, we will resist, etc. But we will also not live the lives we picked out and planned on. They’re not available anymore.
Since Trump regained office, I’ve talked about this both gently and bluntly to try to help people understand that we lived in one era but we’re going to die in another.
I am, at least. I know my probable life expectancy and, at 61, have about 15 years left.
We’re all going to have to start planting shade trees we fully know we’ll never sit under.
Cottom nails how I’ve been feeling for the past few months (and honestly why it’s been a little uneven around KDO recently). America’s democratic collapse has been coming for years, always just over the horizon. But when everything that happened during Trump’s first three months in office happened and (here’s the important part) shockingly little was done by the few groups (Congress, the Supreme Court, the Democratic Party, American corporations & other large institutions, media companies) who had the power to counter it, I knew it was over. And over in a way that is irreversible, for a good long while at least.
Since then, I’ve been recalibrating and grieving. Feeling angry — furious, really. Fighting resignation. Trying not to fall prey to doomerism and subsequently spreading it to others. (This post is perhaps an exception, but I believe, as Cottom does, in being “honest and clear” when times call for it.) Getting out. Biking, so much biking. Paying less attention to the news. Trying to celebrate other facets of our collective humanity here on KDO — or just being silly & stupid. Feeling overwhelmed. Feeling numb. But also (occasionally, somehow) hope?
All of this is exhausting. Destabilizing. I don’t know what I’m doing or what I should be doing or how I can be of the most service to others. (Put on your oxygen mask before assisting others, they say. Is my mask on yet? I don’t know — how can I even tell?) I barely know what I’m trying to say and don’t know how to end this post so I’m just gonna say that the comments are open on this post (be gentle with each other, don’t make me regret this) and I’ll be back with you here after the, uh, holiday.
Democratic nominee for mayor, Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani said he may bring his support of the QueensLink proposal to City Hall should he be elected. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
QueensLink, an ambitious and expensive transportation proposal for the World’s Borough has been put on the backburner under the current mayoral administration – but that could change if Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor in November.
The Astoria legislator is a longtime supporter of the QueensLink – a proposal to reactivate a strip of old rail line for a new train route – and told Queens reporters on Tuesday that the transit plan, along with a few other Queens-specific projects, would remain priorities for him should he ascend to Gracie Mansion.
“I think [the QueensLink] will continue to be very important to me,” he said. “QueensLink is something that I've attended public events in support of and ultimately, what it speaks to is that if we want New Yorkers to use public transit, we have to ensure that that public transit is the most convenient option wherever they live.”
The Adams’ administration has given little credence to the QueensLink, instead opting to support a proposal for the same abandoned property known as the QueensWay, a 3.5 mile linear park similar to Manhattan’s High Line.
Mayor Eric Adams announced during his first year in office in 2022 that the city had chosen to pursue the QueensWay over the QueensLink, and began to fund the project with a $117 million grant from the federal government. The planning and designing of the first phase of the QueensWay is currently underway and is expected to run through the end of 2025.
But as the city has pursued the QueensWay, it has also insisted that the new park wouldn’t preclude the possibility of a rebuilt transit line along the abandoned rail that cuts through parts of Central and South Queens.
While supporters of the transit project insist the park would impede the city’s ability to build a new train line there, they also have not given up hope the city will reverse course and work toward bringing a new transit option to the transit desert.
“Mamdani attended our City Hall rally a few years ago, and we welcome his support and believe that it's what's good for Queens, if not New York City in general,” said longtime QueensLink Executive Director Rick Horan, who called QueensLink a non-partisan proposal.
“Good transit doesn't discriminate by race, creed, color, or what party you happen to be a member of,” he added. “We are looking forward to working with the next mayor, whoever it may be, to help make QueensLink a reality.”
Mamdani said that supporting projects like the QueensLink would help him fulfill promises he’s made on the campaign trail to improve public transportation in the five boroughs.
“If we want New Yorkers to use public transit, we have to ensure that public transit is the most convenient option wherever they live,” Mamdani said. “There are too many New Yorkers for whom that hasn't been the case, especially the further you get into the outer boroughs across New York City.
Mamdani campaigned on a plan to make all the city’s buses free, an initiative he first pursued as a legislator. The MTA pilot program to make one line in each borough free was, in part, created as part of an effort to bring better transit to boroughs other than Manhattan.
“When we look at the way that our system looks today, it's still too much of a reflection of the needs as it was in the beginning of the system, where everything had to go through Manhattan, and there's still so much transit that needs to be done in the outer boroughs, across the outer boroughs, for many New Yorkers who don't need to actually go back into Manhattan, ” he said.
While the city’s primary focus has been on developing the QueensWay, the QueensLink has gotten some recent attention.
All three levels of government have continued to give some support to the project. In January, the project got $400,000 through a federal grant to help fund an environmental impact study study, and the state legislature kicked in another $100,000 in the budget.
In April, the City Council passed a resolution calling on the project to be studied.
Like Mamdani’s free bus plan, however, QueensLink would need far more support from city and state officials, as well as the MTA. The transportation agency has not been so keen on endorsing the project, having characterized it as not having enough of an impact to justify its price tag.
The QueensLink plan, which would create a new train route for riders in South and Central Queens, could see new life under a Mamdani administration if the Queens legislator is elected mayor. Map via QueensLink
Mamdani said he was “excited at the prospect of working with Governor Hochul in continuing to deliver, not only record investments, but also outcomes and expanding public transit and access to public transit.”
Other Queens projects
Mamdani also told reporters that other Queens-specific proposals are likely to get some more attention under his administration, including the 31st Street safety plan in Western Queens which would improve streetscapes in the area.
He also said he’d change how the city has, in recent years, addressed quality of life concerns on Roosevelt Avenue.
Mamdani said that rather than send law enforcement into the popular Queens strip to deal with the illegal vendors and brothels that have, in some ways, come to define the area, he would lean toward providing social services to those who live and work there. He blamed the city, in part, for creating the conditions that have fueled problems along Roosevelt in the first place.
“The city has failed all New Yorkers in its inability to create a system of any kind of order and coherence where we are actually issuing the [vendor] permits that we are supposed to,” he said.
At the beginning of his campaign, Mamdani expressed support for a legislative package in the City Council that would expand access to vendor permits.
“We've seen the city government sit on its hands as it refuses to ensure those permits,” he said.
If Mamdani wants to address some of those issues, he will need to win in November and expand his coalition in Queens among the borough’s more moderate and conservative communities. He said he’s already begun to have those conversations with Queens residents in some of the more conservative areas of the borough.
“In the early conversations I've had, especially the Rockaways, is just how there are so many parts of New York City where New Yorkers are feeling forgotten by their city government, where they feel forgotten both in investments that have been made, even time spent and attention given,” he said. “I can tell you that my goal is to represent each and every New Yorker and to ensure that those who've been on the margins are going to be back in the mainstream, and that we're the people at the heart of this politics.”
“I'm looking to be a mayor for more than just the people who voted for me, I'm looking to be a mayor for all eight and a half million people who call this city their home,” he added.
A group of seven talented dancers recently performed at the Queensboro Dance Festival as part of an innovative dance program.
The dancers, Megan Simmons, Shydae Hampton, Briana Glover, Timothy Barner, Jose “Teddy”Castillo, Madisyn Manley, and Toni “Chanel” Flowers, are students from CUNY schools across the five boroughs, including Lehman College, Hunter College, and Queens College.
They are participating in Kofago Taraji, a traditional West African and Caribbean folkloric dance education program developed by Kofago Dance Ensemble founder Kevin McEwen.
From June to September, the program trains 18 to 22-year-old college students of varying performance backgrounds. Kofago Taraji then performs with the Kofago Dance Ensemble at multiple events hosted in the city and New York State.
Kofago Taraji dancers took the stage at the Queensboro Dance Festival on June 7. Courtesy of Jonavennci Divad.
At the start of the program in June, students went through a weeklong intensive program leading up to their June 7 performance at the ongoing Queensboro Dance Festival. During that programming, the dancers did daily six-hour-long classes, where they learned a West African initiation dance called Sole, which hails from Ghana and Senegal. The students will continue to perform in the festival throughout August.
Kofago Taraji is Kofago Dance Ensemble’s inaugural student dance program. It is modeled after the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) in that it provides employment opportunities to students, paying them $16.75 an hour.
The Kofago Taraji program is unique in that it is one of the only summer arts programs that shifts the focus beyond ballet or contemporary dance to the rhythms and movements of the African Diaspora. Flushing Town Hall and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) provided funding for this program.
Dancers performed for Kofago Taraji member, Timothy Barner, who showcased his choreography at the show (Kassoumai) on Saturday. Courtesy of Jonavennci Divad.
Program director and choreographer Serena Maximilian said that McEwen, an educator at Queensborough Community College and Lehman College, wanted to bring African Diasporic dance opportunities to his students. “ He felt that there was something lacking in terms of education and how his student would not necessarily be involved in the community as much as they would like, or they weren’t getting enough opportunities to dance and perform outside of school,” Maxaimilian said. “So he felt the need to create a program where we would guide them. And let them know how concert dance works… how to approach, the African diaspora community in terms of dance, and really understand the learning process, how to ask questions, and how to really get involved in the community,” she said.
Maximilian said around 14 CUNY students competed in a competitive audition process this spring for the summer-long program. The choreographer said that the students have been excited about the learning process and are embracing the various dance styles. “ Any feedback that I give them, they’re very receptive, and it’s always positive energy. I can see them really trying to grow themselves and better themselves in terms of dance,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Jonavennci Divad.
Maximilian emphasized that learning African and Caribbean diasporic dances is important as it widens one’s worldview of “respected” dances and connects to communal lineage.
“ The same level of respect that we have for ballet and modern, we should have the same respect for those traditional dances,” she said. “It is important because it is part of who they are. Like, there is a lineage between, um, people that are from here and people that are from the motherland. Whether you don’t necessarily know where your roots are, that can be an entry point for you,” she said.
Maximilian said that she looks forward to expanding and continuing the program next year, and so far, the students have given positive feedback. “ A few of them got emotional after the show on Saturday. They were just so overwhelmed and just happy to perform, because some of them haven’t been exposed to that. And just seeing the overall community and how the dance community really can come together,” she added.
Photo courtesy of Jonavennci Divad.
Below is the Kofago Taraji Dance Schedule;
Saturday, July 5 Queensboro Dance Festival – Far Rockaway Beach Beach 17th St. Playground 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 19 Queensboro Dance Festival – Roy Wilkins Park Roy Wilkins Park 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 26 Queensboro Dance Festival – Gantry Plaza State Park Gantry Plaza State Park 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday, August 10 Queensboro Dance Festival – Unisphere Unisphere, Flushing Meadows–Corona Park 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Flushing Town Hall has announced its July programming, featuring live jazz performances, borough-wide outdoor concerts, and toddler-friendly theater events that highlight Queens’ longstanding connection to jazz history and community arts.
Located at 137-35 Northern Blvd., the historic venue will continue its Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series while also offering in-theater performances such as the return of the Jazz Jam All-Stars concert and the premiere of Sail Away, a show for toddlers presented by Treehouse Shakers.
On Tuesday, July 9 at 7 p.m., Flushing Town Hall will present the fifth annual Jazz Jam All-Stars concert, featuring 10 musicians who have regularly participated in the venue’s monthly jam sessions. Led by house band leader Carol Sudhalter, the concert will include performances by Angela Arthur, Frank Bergamini, Mimi Block, Richard Braithwaite, Tony Campo, Wajdi Cherif, Gary Davis, Ken Meyer, Keeley Mitchell, and Gerald Thomas.
The concert celebrates local talent and offers both longtime jazz enthusiasts and newcomers a chance to experience the diversity of the genre in a live setting.
Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series continues through August
The Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series, now in its second year, will continue through August 28, bringing free outdoor jazz concerts to parks across Queens. The series celebrates the borough’s jazz legacy—once home to legends including Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, and Ella Fitzgerald—by featuring live performances in public spaces from Jamaica to Astoria.
Queens Jazz Trail Map created by Flushing Town Hall. Photo by Flushing Town Hall.
Upcoming concerts include:
Thursday, July 10 at 7 p.m. – Bryann Carrott at Baisley Pond Park, Jamaica
Thursday, July 17 at 7 p.m. – Rubén Coca Quintet at Rockaway Beach Park, Far Rockaway
Sunday, July 20 at 2 p.m. – Alí Bello & The Charanga Syndicate at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Flushing
Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs for an evening of music in a relaxed, family-friendly setting.
On Saturday, July 12 at 10:30 a.m., Flushing Town Hall will host Treehouse Shakers as they present Sail Away, a live performance designed for toddlers aged 18 to 24 months. The interactive show recreates a day at the beach through theatrical storytelling, live music, dancing, and puppetry featuring seagulls, sea creatures, and toy boats. The performance encourages sensory play and early engagement with the performing arts.
The Treehouse Shakers will be at Flushing Town Hall performing ‘Sail Away.” Photo credit: The Treehouse Shakers.
Sail Away workshop to follow performance
Following the show, families can participate in a themed puppet-making workshop at 11:30 a.m., led by Treehouse Shakers’ artistic director Mara McEwin. The workshop includes nursery rhymes, songs, and guided storytelling activities, along with the creation of stick puppets inspired by the production. Participation in the workshop requires a separate $5 registration fee.
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