🌱 Mayor Adams To Dismantle Encampments + $1.5M In Drugs Seized

Morning, 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 today in town.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny and breezy. High: 33 Low: 22.

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Here are the top three stories today in Queens:

1. According to the MTA, there are nearly 350 homeless people living across nearly 90 subway stations. As part of New York City Mayor Eric Adam's subway safety plan, "every encampment in [the] system" will be dismantled. "I am sending the right message that our subway system must be safe and reliable for our riders," said Adams. (Daily Mail)
2. On Tuesday night, three Queens residents were arrested after authorities seized $1.5 million worth of drugs from a pair of Woodside apartments. Prosecutors reported on Thursday that the two apartments on 48th Street were being used as narcotics packaging mills. Members of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF) seized over five kilograms of suspected heroin and fentanyl. (Sunnyside Post)
3. A female hotel clerk at the Floral Park Motor Lodge has been accused of trafficking a homeless woman who couldn't pay her rent. 28-year-old Ida Copeland of Queens' Hollis neighborhood was charged with sex trafficking and promoting prostitution; 29-year-old Adam "Damian" Lee faced the same charges in addition to two counts of rape. According to the Queens County District Attorney's Office, when the 35-year-old homeless woman told Copeland she could no longer stay at the hotel, Lee appeared at the woman's room and stated she would now work for him. (WPIX 11 New York)

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Today in Queens:

• DIY: Plant Propagation I: Starting Crops From Seed - Glen Oaks Branch Library (10:00 AM)
• Crosswords - Far Rockaway Branch Library (10:30 AM)

From my notebook:

• Last week, the Flushing community joined Flushing United to advocate for permanent affordable housing on College Point Boulevard. (Twitter)
• Discover how a boy from Jamaica, Queens grew up to create one of the world's most coveted brands. Read the full profile of Kith's Ronnie Fieg here. (Robb Report)
• Have you checked out Mighty Quinn's BBQ yet? The eatery opened up in Forest Hills over the weekend. (Facebook)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed. I'll see you soon!

— 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.