Caption Linky Restler

The Expendable

IBT

An FDNY firefighter has died from a heart attack after he was fired as part of the city's initiative to allocate funds for its migrant crisis, leaving his widow and children struggling to run their home. Derek Floyd, 36, suffered cardiac arrest and died on April 15, just four months after the city fired him as part of a budget crunch to fund migrant services.

Floyd was one of the about 10 Fire Department employees categorized under the "long term duty" — people either injured on the job and assigned office work or absent due to prolonged illness. They were terminated just weeks before Christmas, as per sources within the FDNY.

Floyd's death has left his grieving widow, along with his six-year-old son Ethan and two-year-old daughter Abigail, facing the daunting possibility of being unable to afford their home.

Floyd, a veteran who completed three tours in the Middle East with the Marines, had been assigned to a desk job within the Fire Department chaplain's office because he had suffered another heart attack in 2019 while he was in the Fire Academy.

 While working in the chaplain's office on modified duty, Floyd helped coordinate the funerals of deceased FDNY members.

Despite being a married father of two young children, he was striving to get medical clearance to return to active duty as a firefighter before his termination.

Floyd was close to qualifying for additional medical benefits for his family and over $600,000 worth of death benefits when he was dismissed, leaving his family without any support despite his years of service.

Following his dismissal from the FDNY, Floyd found a job with a non-profit organization helping veterans. However, the salary was a lot lower than what he earned with the FDNY, the benefits were limited, and the demanding hours prevented him from spending time with his 6-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.

"He used to be so present for, like, our kids and stuff," Cristine said. "Being a firefighter was something he was really passionate about. He was really a big-time, like, family person, he was all about his kids.

"If Derek would have stayed on, he would have had a life insurance policy with the FDNY. That would have helped out financially because right now, it's really bad. I'm honestly swimming in a lot of debt," his grieving widow revealed.

Now the MTA does this

 

 AMNY

The MTA plans to boost service on various express bus lines in a bid to spur drivers to switch to mass transit as congestion pricing takes effect in New York City.

Express buses with the highest weekday ridership will see additional trips per day starting in June should the plan be approved by the MTA Board this week, according to a document posted on the MTA’s website. The routes take riders from outer borough neighborhoods with comparatively scant train access, or none at all, to the heart of Manhattan.

The routes that will get beefed up service are the BM2 and BM5, both of which run between southeastern Brooklyn and Midtown Manhattan, as well as the SIM1C, SIM4C, SIM23, and SIM24 between Staten Island and Midtown.

The MTA says the intention of the boost is to incentivize drivers to switch over to mass transit as it prepares to implement congestion pricing on June 30.

“This is belt and suspenders,” said Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit, at the MTA Board meeting on Monday. “You’ve often heard us say that we have capacity in the subway system and the bus system, largely because of COVID. But this is an opportunity for us to continue to improve express bus service in these corridors.”

The plan will be funded with $883,000 per year from the state’s Outer Borough Transportation Account, which is funded by a surcharge on taxi and for-hire vehicle trips. The OBTA also funds toll rebates on outer-borough bridges and will fund a new monthly discount for city riders of the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North.

Congestion pricing is expected to take effect in Manhattan below 60th Street on June 30, with a $15 toll charged to most motorists and a higher toll for trucks. The plan has survived numerous rounds of public review but could still be derailed if any of a number of lawsuits are successful.

 Still way too little and much too late. 

"Affordable" nature

QNS 

 City officials, elected leaders, developers and community members gathered at the location of a formerly vacant illegal dumping ground on Beach 44th Street Wednesday to cut the ribbon at the new 35-acre Arverne East Nature Preserve and Welcome Center along the Rockaway waterfront in Edgemere.

 he preserve represents phase one of an ambitious Arverne East development project, which will transform more than 100 acres of underutilized space between Beach 32nd Street and Beach 56th Place into 1,650 units of housing — 80% of which will be affordable, serving low-income and middle-income individuals and families — in addition to retail and community space, a hotel and a tap room and brewery.

“The Rockaway renaissance takes another historic step forward,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. “What was once a vacant, overgrown illegal dumping ground for decades is now a stunning hub of wildlife and a successful example of what community-centered sustainability looks like. I could not be prouder of this project or of the Arverne East development as a whole, which represents transformational change for a community that had previously been ignored for generations.”

 Richards added that future generations would benefit from resources he never had while growing up at the nearby Ocean Villages apartments staring at the blighted oceanfront parcel of land. Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson, who grew up in Far Rockaway, said he looks forward to the completion of the preserve and called the Arverne East development a once-in-a-generation investment.

 The community can have affordable housing and environmental sustainability while enjoying local flora and fauna,” Anderson said. “The welcome center will be a fitting centerpiece of this relationship our neighbors will share with the environment. I hope this model of the first net-zero community in New York City will be an example emulated by others.”

 

 

Man shot to death in front of nite club

  

AMNY

Queens police are investigating an early-morning shooting on Monday outside a nightclub that left a man dead.

Officers from the 106th Precinct responded to the scene of a male shot at approximately 1:04 a.m. on April 29 near the Caribbean Fest Lounge at the intersection of 117th Street and Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park.

When officers arrived, they found a male covered in blood after being shot multiple times throughout his body, including his head, chest, leg and abdomen, law enforcement sources said.  

 EMS were on scene and transported the victim to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. 

Six unknown caliber shell casings were recovered on scene, according to police sources. No arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing. 

The name of the victim is being held pending family notification, police said.  

 Actually there were 23 shells found. 

A little more unaffordable housing in Queens

 

 Queens Post

A total of 1,412 units across six upcoming luxury buildings are expected to transform the Queens Plaza area in Long Island City by creating much-needed housing in the area.

All six projects are expected to be completed as early as this year and no later than 2026. As each project nears completion, the housing units will be put on the market.

One of the projects anticipated to be completed this year is the Noble, at 27-09 40th Ave. This luxury condominium building will consist of 46 units across six floors. Among the amenities for homeowners are indoor parking, bike storage, a residents lounge, a fitness center, rooftop terraces and personal storage lockers. The building is also pet-friendly. This project was developed by Gus Vorillas and Tony Raouf, and the architect is HCN Architect.

The other project expected to be completed in 2024 is the Mason, at 40-46 24th St. Another luxury condominium building, the Mason, will consist of 42 units across six floors. Amenities for each unit include washers and dryers and Latch keyless entry doors. A majority of the homes there will have private outdoor spaces. Jasper Wu is the developer of this project and the architect is My Architect P.C..

You can feel the rent trickle down already.

 

Citibike found raped and left for dead in Elmhurst

MTA's new $$$ummer Of Hell