🌱 Long Island Expressway Renaming + Urban Resource Institute

Happy Saturday, neighbors! Here's what's going on around town today.

First, today's weather:

Warmer with clouds and sun. High: 87 Low: 68.

🏡 Are you a local real estate agent? Let us help you generate leads, build your brand in Queens and stand apart from the competition. Click here to learn more.

Here are the top three stories today in Queens:

1. The Long Island Expressway will eventually be renamed to memorialize the late NYPD Detective Anastasios Tsakos. State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic announced on Thursday that the Long Island Expressway (LIE) overpass, located at Francis Lewis Boulevard and Horace Harding Expressway, will be renamed “Detective Anastasios Tsakos Memorial Bridge.” The officer was killed in the line of duty on Apr. 21, 2021, when he was struck and killed by an intoxicated driver. (QNS.com)
2. A friend is lending a hand after a 75-year-old fruit vendor was brutally attacked at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. Esperanza Rodriguez was the victim of a brutal and heartless crime last month, where her attacker hit her three times and damaged her eye. Rodriguez's friend Yessenia Loja, a nurse who befriended Rodriguez during her commute to work, has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for her recovery. (WABC-TV)
3. A Queens shelter is the first in the borough to provide a safe haven for domestic violence survivors — and their pets. At the Urban Resource Institute's new shelter located in Queens, 62 families and their pets can be housed in apartments that include everything for families from cribs to kennels. According to the shelter's CEO Nathaniel Fields, 48 percent of domestic violence victims don’t want to leave their pets behind. (PIX11 New York News)

Today in Queens:

• Celebrate Our Community!, At Charles Drew Park In Jamaica (2:00 PM)
• Victor Provost: Steel Pannist, At Flushing Council On Culture And The Arts (7:00 PM)
• NICE ONE! Stand Up Comedy, At Culture Lab LIC (9:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• If you're looking for some fun this weekend, check out this list of nine things to do in Queens! (QNS.com)
• The Queens Chamber of Commerce took more than 40 restaurants up to Albany for its annual Taste of Queens. (Facebook)
• In two weeks, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards will lay out his vision to realize a fairer future for all Queens families in his 2022 State of the Borough. To attend the address at the LaGuardia Community College on Jun. 3, register here. (Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• 1ST OPEN HOUSE!! *By Appointment Only* Traditional Wolosoff Tudor in Forest Hills (May 21)
• Local Musicians team up with Clean Rite Center and Subway Restaurants for Clothing Drive (May 21)
• Electronics Recycling Event, Saturday the 21st, 10 am to 2 pm (May 21)
• 1ST OPEN HOUSE!! Forest Hills Tudor Townhouse Treasure (May 22)
• OANA Monthly Meeting (May 23)
• Nutrition! Art! Music! Free Workshop for Seniors with Hospital for Special Surgery (May 25)
• The Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade (May 30)
• The Learning Experience- Summer Camp Ages 2-10 years old LIMITED Space Available (May 31)
• Add your event

Announcements:

• Tryouts @ Port Washington Soccer Club (Details)
• Behind The Scoreboard – Celebrating Buck Lai During Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (Details)
• Add your announcement

Job listings:

• Salon coordinator (Details)
• Add your job listing

Other classifieds:

• Marble Pedestal for Sale (Details)
• Add your classified

That's it for today. I'll be back in your inbox Monday morning with your next update!

— Miranda Fraraccio

About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander, now living in New York. 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, drinking tea, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer.