Dec. 30, 2018 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
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Looking back on 2018 in Queens
BY ZACH GEWELB
We’ve certainly had an interesting
year in Queens.
In 2018, we’ve seen some high
profile people die, shocking
upsets in the political world,
young sports stars realize their
dreams and celebrities perform
in the borough.
We had to say goodbye to
state Sen. Jose Peralta after
his sudden passing right before
Thanksgiving.
Peralta had just been defeated
by Jessica Ramos in the Nov. 6
midterm election, but his strong
presence in his district and
throughout Queens was clear,
given the thousands of people
who mourned the senator after
his death.
Peralta is survived by his
wife, Evelyn, and sons Matthew
and Myles.
Queens also mourned the
death of former state Sen.
Frank Padavan.
Padavan served as the senator
for State Senate District 11
from 1973 to 2010, the secondlongest
serving state senator
in New York history.
He was unseated in 2010 in a
close race won by Tony Avella.
Flushing-born former First
Lady Barbara Bush died in
April following a battle with
an unspecified illness. She
was 92.
Bush — whose maiden name
was Barbara Pierce — was born in
1925 at Booth Memorial Hospital
in Flushing.
She became the first lady
during the presidency of
George H.W. Bush and was the
mother of the 43rd president,
George W. Bush.
The ever-changing business
landscape in Queens took no
time to rest in 2018, with several
high profile establishments closing
LL COOL J COMES HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Queens native LL Cool J spends time with some kids during the fifth annual Christmas on Merrick event in
Jamaica. Photo by Nat Valentine
its doors, making way for
new businesses in the borough.
The owners of the familyowned
theater MovieWorld
announced that they would be
showing their last film on July
3, much to the disappointment
of loyal patrons.
Meanwhile, news broke in
July that Lowe’s Home Improvement
would be moving
into Douglaston Plaza after
MovieWorld and Macy’s shut
their doors at the shopping
center.
In the western part of
northeast Queens, Flushing
residents welcomed a popular
fast-food establishment to the
neighborhood.
A new Sonic Drive-In celebrated
the grand opening of its
Roosevelt Avenue location in
September to much fanfare.
As for education, Queens
College was named one of the
nation’s best colleges by the
U.S. News and World Report’s
2019 Best Colleges edition.
The college – located in Flushing
– ranked 14th out of the 47
schools on the list that featured
several City University of New
York institutions.
A Far Rockaway resident
was determined to open a charter
high school in time for the
2019-2020 school year.
Regina Glover had announced
her plans for Legacy
Academy on New Year’s Eve
with the hopes of revitalizing
urban education in the Far
Rockaway area with a comprehensive
program.
Two Bayside elected officials
were proposing to keep school
doors locked at all times.
City Councilman Paul Vallone
and state Assemblyman
Edward Braunstein said the
city Department of Education
policy keeping front doors unlocked
is a safety issue.
Braunstein said granting
public school principals the authority
to confirm whether or
not an individual represents
a threat before allowing them
into the school could prevent a
dangerous incident from taking
place.
As 2018 comes to a close, we
at TimesLedger want to say
we are honored to have played
a part in delivering the news
throughout the year and are
looking forward to continue
doing so in 2019 and beyond.
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