🌱 FDNY Leases Queens School For B-HEARD + COVID-19 In City Rats?

Hey, people of Queens! Miranda Fraraccio here with a fresh copy of the Queens Daily.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny. High: 26 Low: 17.

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Here are the top three stories in Queens today:

1. The FDNY is leasing a closed Queens-area Catholic school to expand training for its Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD) initiative. Officials are looking to expand the B-HEARD program, which pairs EMS workers with social workers to handle mental health emergency calls, across the city. The department first started training operations at the former Our Lady of Grace School in Howard Beach this January. (New York Daily News)
2. According to a study published in Nature Communications, New York City rats could be responsible for the next COVID-19 variant. The study analyzed the "cryptic lineages" of the coronavirus found in the city's sewage system, with research suggesting variants stemming from unsequenced human strains or "non-human animal [reservoirs]." John Dennehy, a Queens College virologist and co-author of the study, noted the rats may have become infected from drinking sewer water or eating feces. Though researchers did not find evidence of the virus currently circulating through the rat population, they suspect the next variant will start with vermin. (Syracuse.com)
3. On Thursday, a Queens man was charged for the November attack on an aspiring Thai model on the Herald Square subway platform. The NYPD reports that 40-year-old Kevin Douglas was charged with the robbery and assault of Bew Jirajariyawetch on Nov. 22; however, Douglas has been in jail since that date for a separate crime. (New York Post)

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Today in Queens:

• Compost Build Volunteer Days - Queens Botanical Garden (9:30 AM)
• DIY: Watercolor Class for Adults: How to Paint Flowers - Astoria Branch Library (10:00 AM)
• Crosswords - Kew Gardens Hills Branch Library (10:30 AM)

From my notebook:

• This Valentine's Day, take a behind-the-scenes look at the iconic Schmidt's Candy, located on Jamaica Avenue. (WCBS 880)
• Join the Queens Museum on Feb. 19 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for the public reception for “Live Pridefully: Love and Resilience with Pandemics” by Community Partner Caribbean Equality Project. According to the museum, the exhibition "celebrates the resilience of queer and trans folk of color, particularly in the time of COVID-19." (Facebook)
• Starting today, Feb. 14, free at-home COVID-19 test kits will be available for pick up at select Queens Public Library locations. (Queens Patch)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Monday off right. See you all tomorrow for another update!

— Miranda Fraraccio

About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander. She works as a staff writer for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners, and is a graduate of The University of Rhode Island, where she earned a degree in Writing & Rhetoric and Communication Studies. In her free time, you can find her traveling, hiking, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer.