Talk With Bayside Council Member, Local Police At Neighborhood Forum

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A Bayside community group is hosting its April general meeting on Tuesday, with a chance for neighbors to talk with local leaders and law enforcement officials.

The Bayside Hills Civic Association, a group representing the southernmost part of Bayside (plus the surrounding neighborhood), is hosting its monthly general meeting virtually at 8 p.m. on April 26. Due to space constraints, though, only the first 100 people will be able to attend.

Safety will be one of the main topics of the meeting, organizers said, noting that officers from the 111th Police Precinct will attend and offer a neighborhood safety update followed by a talk with Council Member Linda Lee.

This general meeting comes shortly after the Bayside Hills Civic Association's board of directors attended a neighborhood meeting about combating neighborhood crime earlier in the month.

In March, citywide discussions on fighting gun violence amid an uptick in crime became more personal in Bayside after the suburban-like enclave of Queens saw its first shooting incidents of the year.

On March 19, gunfire erupted near 208th Street, hurting one teenager, in a shootout that neighbors and politicians have blamed on a group of so-called squatters living nearby.

A little over a week later, a local high school went into lockdown after a teenager was shot by a fellow student, spurring calls for gun violence prevention measures by local leaders (Lee herself included).

In addition to the conversation about safety, the meeting will focus on neighborhood revitalization efforts, organizers said.

Lee, who represents swaths of northeast Queens including Bayside, will talk about several local neighborhood projects, including efforts to upkeep the Bell Boulevard malls and the Captain Dermody Triangle revitalization plan.

Similarly, the student council from a local elementary school will present an initiative to reduce school litter at the meeting, according to organizers.

For more information on the Bayside Hills Civic Association general meeting on Tuesday, check the group's Facebook page and website, or join the Zoom here.