🌱 Two Victims Drown In Far Rockaway + Queens Fire + Angry Birds Store

Hello, neighbors! It's me, Miranda Fraraccio, your host of the Daily. Here's everything you need to know about what's happening locally.

First, today's weather:

Pleasant with sunshine. High: 79 Low: 63.

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Here are the top three stories in Queens today:

1. On Friday night, two people drowned in two separate incidents a few blocks apart in Far Rockaway. Friday's rough surf and rip currents made swimming more dangerous, even in areas with lifeguards. On Beach 108th Street in Far Rockaway just after 6:00 p.m, a 16-year-old girl was pulled from the water and later died at an area hospital. At the same time on an unguarded stretch of Beach 98th Street, a man between 18- to 20-years-old was removed from the water and was pronounced dead at an area hospital. At the time of this writing, neither victim has been identified. (WABC-TV)
2. A fast-moving fire damaged five homes in Queens over the weekend. On Friday afternoon, the Ozone Park fire prompted a five-alarm response from the FDNY to 125th Street around 2:30 p.m. Due to strong winds, the initial fire spread and damaged at least four neighboring structures within a couple of hours. Police confirmed that two people had died in the inferno hours after the fire was under control; a third body was found on Saturday, according to FDNY officials. (NBC New York)
3. An Angry Birds-themed retail store is coming to Flushing. Later this year, the owners of the popular video game will open the company’s first-ever retail store inside a Flushing mega-development. Rovio Entertainment Corporation will open the store, called iSwii by Angry Birds, stocked with the country’s largest collection of Angry Birds merchandise at Tangram — a massive mixed-use development located on the corner of College Point Boulevard and 39th Avenue in downtown Flushing. (Queens Post)

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Today in Queens:

• Compost Build Volunteer Days, At Queens Botanical Garden (9:30 AM)
• Yoga At The Castle, At Bayside Historical Society (12:00 PM)
• Music Of Count Basie Lester Young Illinois Jacquet And Fats Waller, At Glen Oaks Branch Library (5:00 PM)
• Immigration Heritage Month: Beat The Blues Concerts Present Larger Than Life’s Latin Pop Tribute, At Glen Oaks Branch Library (7:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Don't miss the Queens Botanical Garden's Queens at the Garden event on Wed, Jun. 22! Enjoy a drag queen performance by Janae SaisQuoi, one of four queens ready to get their pride on. Also enjoy DJ Music, pride-themed crafts, and after-hours access to the Garden. (Queens Botanical Garden via Facebook)
• A message from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards: "Black history is Queens history. It is American history. And we cannot tell the story of this borough or this country without telling the story of the Black experience. Few dates on the calendar carry more historical weight when it comes to our history than Juneteenth." (Queens Borough President Donovan Richards via Facebook)
• A major drug trafficker and 12 others were arrested in a citywide, multi-agency drug bust. (New York Post)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Monday! I'll see you around.

— 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.