🌱 Temporary Housing Project + Queens Hospital Capacity Update

Good morning, Queens! Like many of you, the Patch team is taking some time off to celebrate the New Year, so there will not be a newsletter in your inbox tomorrow. We appreciate your understanding of this slight pause in our schedule, and I will be back on Monday with the next edition of the Queens Daily! Now, here's everything happening around town today.

First, today's weather:

Patchy morning fog. High: 51 Low: 49.

Here are the top stories today in Queens:

1. After decades in prison, one woman has transformed two buildings in Brooklyn and Queens into temporary housing for people trying to change their lives after prison. Donna Hylton said that after 27 years in prison, she was at a crossroads. She made the decision to rebuild her life and build a safe place for formerly incarcerated people to stay and get back on their feet. (WPIX 11 New York)
2. State health officials in New York reported to the federal government Dec. 29 that approximately 77 percent of inpatient beds and 73 percent of intensive care unit beds in hospitals across the state were occupied. Around 17 percent of inpatient beds and 22 percent of ICU beds statewide were filled by COVID-19 patients, they reported. (Queens Patch)
3. On Thursday, New York reported another round of sobering statistics stemming from the omicron coronavirus wave, as the statewide hospitalization count spiked by 63% in a single week, and the daily case tally hit a record 74,207. 22% of COVID test results in the Empire State came back positive in the latest daily batch of data. (New York Daily News)

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Today in Queens:

• Ravel Penthouse 808 New Years Eve NYE 2022 At The Penthouse, 8-08 Queens Plaza South (8:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• The New York City Building has been in Flushing Meadows Corona Park for over 80 years and has housed the United Nations, the 1939-1940 and 1964-1965 World’s Fairs, and now, the Queens Museum! (Facebook)
• Queens Public Library will remain closed from Dec. 30 until Jan. 2 in observance of the New Year. (Facebook)
• Congrats to Queens' own Kevin D. Kim for his appointment to President Joe Biden Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders! (Facebook)

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You're officially in the loop for today. Have a very happy New Year!

— 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.