🌱 JFK Airport Plans Unveiled + Vax Daddy Running For Assembly

Up and at 'em, Queens! Let's get you all caught up to start this day off on an informed note. Here's everything you need to know about what's happening around Queens today.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 50 Low: 36.

Here are the top stories today in Queens:

1. Plans have been unveiled for a new terminal at JFK Airport. The 2.4 million-square-foot Terminal One, a $9.5 billion project, will be built in phases beginning in 2022. The terminal is projected to be complete by 2030 and will create more than 10,000 jobs. (WPIX 11 New York)
2. The New York City Sanitation Department has installed more than a dozen specialty “smart bins” for residents to compost food scraps throughout Astoria. The smart bins are a part of a residential pilot program, similar to that which was launched in lower Manhattan last week, to test out 24/7 drop-off for compostable materials and food scraps. The smart bins are mostly located along 31st Avenue and surrounding blocks, and can only be opened with a key card by residents who sign up for the pilot. (LIC Post)
3. Two Queens restaurants made Grubhub's list for the Best of 2021: Ten Great NYC Taco Spots. Top Quality, which is located at 10-29 44th Road in Long Island City, offers tacos in nine different varieties and are served in assemble-your-own style. Also on the list is Dulce Cultura, located at 42-20 31st Avenue in Astoria, which opened up just a few months ago. (Gothamist)
4. On Monday, Huge Ma, better known as Vax Daddy, announced he is running for a Queens state Assembly seat. Ma, a Stuyvesant High School-educated son of immigrants from Hong Kon, became an unlikely hero of the pandemic when he figured out a user-friendly way to find empty vaccine appointments in the frantic first weeks of the city’s vaccination campaign. He is challenging veteran Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan (D-Queens), the powerful chair of the education committee in the 37th Assembly District, a seat she has held for 36 years. (AOL)
5. Lithium-ion e-scooter batteries sparked a fire in the basement of an Astoria cafe on Sunday afternoon. Around 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, 60 firefighters rushed to respond to a basement fire at 36-03 30th Avenue — a three-story building with two apartments and a ground-floor cafe, called Create. No injuries were reported, and the fire marks at least the 75th scooter battery fire this year. (Patch)

Today's Queens Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Queens!

Today in Queens:

• Networking Webinar - Glen Oaks Branch Library (12:00 PM)
• Health Chat for Seniors - Glen Oaks Branch Library (2:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Queens Borough President Donovan Richards: "Every voice counts and we want to hear yours! New York City Department of Parks & Recreation is hosting a virtual community input meeting to discuss the reconstruction of William F. Moore Park Wed, Dec. 15 at 6 pm. More info provided upon registration. https://www.nycgovparks.org/planning-and-building/input" (Facebook)
• Queens Chamber of Commerce: "NYS Recovery Grant is still open to small businesses that qualify for up to $50,000 in grants. Join us to learn more about how to apply and ask any questions you have!" (Facebook)
• Nextdoor Neighbor, Queensboro Hill- Parsons&59thAve: "Lost cat, please contact 929 233-8728 if found - Answers to the name : mango Around 3 years old Short wiskers Light orange with dark thin orange stripes" (Nextdoor)

From our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Big Apple Circus is NOW OPEN in New York City! (December 17)
• Add your event

Announcements:

• Behind The Scoreboard – Ed Sullivan’s Huge Lesson For The World (Details)
• Add your announcement

Loving the Queens Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

• Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe
• Get your local business listed in front of readers

Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Tuesday. I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning with a new update!

— Miranda Fraraccio

About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander. She works as a freelance copywriter for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and as an assistant producer for a live-lit storytelling show in Chicago. She holds a degree in Writing & Rhetoric and Communication Studies from The University of Rhode Island. In her free time, you can find her traveling, hiking, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer.