Viewing NYC Articles in Queens

[VIDEO] Inside New York City's Forgotten Coast

2026-05-06T12:00:00-04:00

This video explores Edgemere, a working-class community on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, known for its vulnerability to coastal flooding from both Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. A decade after promises were made to fortify the area following Superstorm Sandy in 2012, residents express frustration over the lack of progress in flood mitigation efforts, contrasting it with significant investments in areas like Lower Manhattan's "Big U" project. Historically, urban planner Robert Moses envisioned the Rockaways as a place for the city's poor, leading to public housing projects and numerous empty lots today. The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (NYC HPD) acknowledges the delays and challenges in implementing the "Resilient Edgemere" plan, particularly the dropped project to raise the shoreline along the bay. Despite these setbacks and the constant threat of flooding, residents like Jackie Rogers, who cultivates "The Garden by the Bay", and Baba Ndnanani, who survived Sandy by sleeping on his refrigerator, remain determined to stay, highlighting the deep community attachment and the socio-economic factors that prevent many from relocating.

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[VIDEO] ABANDONED 1964 New York Worlds Fair

2026-05-04T12:00:00-04:00

This video delves into the intriguing and somewhat troubled history of the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair. It highlights how Walt Disney was enlisted to help transform Flushing Meadows Corona Park, then New York City's largest dump, into a grand theme park. The fair, though a marvel of its time, was dismantled after just two years. The video explores the park's origins on the same site as the 1939 World's Fair, detailing the planning process, conflicts with the Bureau International des Expositions, and the significant financial investments made by various corporate sponsors and countries. It also touches on the social context of its opening day, including civil rights protests. Key attractions like the Carousel of Progress, It's a Small World, and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln were introduced at this fair before being moved to Disneyland. Today, structures like the iconic Unisphere and the crumbling New York State Pavilion remain, serving as relics of an ambitious event that significantly impacted the landscape of theme park entertainment and even featured in the film Men in Black.

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[VIDEO] Inside Rikers Island’s Jail Kitchen

2026-05-02T12:00:00-04:00

This video offers a rare glimpse inside the Gary A. Spitzer Central Kitchen at Rikers Island, New York City's notorious jail complex. Chefs like Mr. Ageda and Mr. Kirby work 24/7 to prepare thousands of meals daily for staff and people in custody. Strict security measures are in place, with knives chained to heavy machinery and all utensils meticulously accounted for by correction officers, including Officer Lync and Officer Stoute. Detainees, referred to as people in custody (PICs), assist with tasks like washing dishes and moving food wagons, but are not permitted to handle the food itself. Detainees, such as Nadine Leach, who was a chef before her incarceration, are paid $1.45 an hour, significantly below New York City's minimum wage. The video highlights several challenges, including a ban on salt in Rikers food (a policy introduced by former mayor Michael Bloomberg) and the high prices of items at the commissary, as criminal justice reporter Reuven Blau explains. Historically, Rikers operated as a penal farm, but transitioned to bulk food production in the 1930s. Food quality has been a long-standing issue, prompting various reforms over the decades. With New York City's plan to close Rikers by 2027 and open smaller borough-based jails in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, a new, healthier plant-based menu is being developed with the help of nonprofit Hot Bread Kitchen. The city's plan, endorsed by officials like State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, aims to improve conditions for those incarcerated.

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[WATCH] How the Mafia Turned New York’s Trash Into a Billion-Dollar Goldmine

2026-05-01T12:00:00-04:00

This video delves into the shadowy history of how the Mafia quietly seized control of New York City's trash industry, transforming mundane waste into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. Starting in the 1930s, post-Prohibition, mobsters like Vincent Squilante, through the Greater New York Cartmen's Association, systematically intimidated independent haulers and forced businesses to pay inflated prices for garbage collection in territories carved out across the city. This lucrative racket, overseen by figures like Carlo Gambino, expanded from commercial waste to municipal contracts and eventually into waste disposal, including landfills in Staten Island, New Jersey, and Upstate New York. The mob's involvement led to environmental disasters like toxic dumping and elevated cancer rates in communities. Despite federal investigations and a high-profile raid in Apalachin, New York, the mob's control remained largely intact for decades due to a pervasive culture of silence, political corruption, and law enforcement focusing on other crimes. Key figures like Squilante and his successor, James Failla, remained largely untouchable, living lavish lives funded by illicit trash money. It wasn't until the 1990s, with new RICO statutes and the establishment of the New York City Trade Waste Commission, that the Mafia's stranglehold on the industry was finally broken, allowing legitimate companies to bring transparency and competitive pricing to the collection and disposal of the city's 15,000 tons of daily waste.

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[VIDEO] History of Queens, NY

2026-04-30T12:00:00-04:00

This video delves into the rich history of Queens, New York, tracing its origins from the geological formation shaped by glaciers around 18,000 BCE to its present-day status as a diverse and dynamic borough. It explores the early settlements of Algonquin-speaking natives, the arrival of Dutch and English explorers and settlers, and the establishment of communities like Flushing and Jamaica. The narrative covers Queens' role during the American Revolution as a loyalist stronghold, its agricultural growth in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the impact of the Long Island Rail Road on its development. The video highlights key 20th-century milestones such as the opening of the Queensboro Bridge, the construction of LaGuardia Airport, and the hosting of two World's Fairs at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, marked by the iconic Unisphere. It also touches upon the borough's population growth, increasing diversity fueled by immigration, and resilience in the face of challenges like Hurricane Sandy, celebrating Queens as a borough of unique and vibrant neighborhoods.

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[VIDEO] Day in the Life at NYC's BBQ Joint

2026-04-28T12:00:00-04:00

This video follows the inspiring journey of chef Ruben Santana, owner of Bark Barbecue, as he brings his unique Dominican-Texas style barbecue to New York City. The day begins early in a Queens warehouse, where Ruben and his team meticulously prep and smoke various meats like brisket, ribs, and pulled pork. Before heading to his main location, Ruben enjoys a traditional Dominican breakfast at Bridge Coffee Shop in Dumbo, showcasing the flavors that influence his barbecue. The video then transitions to his stall at Time Out Market in Dumbo, where he serves a diverse crowd of barbecue enthusiasts, sharing the story of how his backyard pop-up during the pandemic evolved into a celebrated culinary destination, marking him as the first vendor invited to the market without a pre-existing brick-and-mortar location.

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[WATCH] New York City in the 1970s

2026-04-27T12:00:00-04:00

The video documents New York City's struggles in the 1970s, a decade marked by economic collapse, rising crime, and widespread urban decay. Factories closed, jobs vanished, and a phenomenon known as "white flight" saw the middle class depart for the suburbs, leaving behind struggling communities. Public services deteriorated, leading to piled garbage, crumbling infrastructure, and graffiti-covered subways that commuters feared. The city faced near-bankruptcy, famously rejected by President Gerald Ford, and the 1977 blackout plunged NYC into darkness, sparking widespread looting and fires, especially in areas like The Bronx. Despite these immense challenges, New Yorkers displayed incredible resilience, fostering new cultures like hip hop and punk rock, and slowly rebuilding their communities from the ashes.

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[WATCH] Can $68BN Save New York’s Subway?

2026-04-25T12:00:00-04:00

The video highlights the challenges facing the NYC Subway system, from aging infrastructure and chronic delays to fare evasion. It introduces the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) ambitious $68BN 2025-2029 Capital Plan, the largest spending plan in New York's history, aimed at modernizing the network. Key upgrades include new R211 trains with wider doors and enhanced security, accessibility improvements at stations like Smith-9 Streets Station, and the crucial transition from fixed block signalling to Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) on nine lines, expected to significantly boost efficiency and reliability as demonstrated on the L and 7 lines. The plan's funding partly relies on the controversial Congestion Pricing scheme, which has faced legal challenges from various New Yorkers and New Jersey. Historically, the subway experienced a period of decline in the 1970s due to underfunding and crime, followed by a major revitalization in the 1980s and 90s, only to see maintenance neglected again due to debt and vanity projects. The video also touches on the extraordinarily high construction costs in New York, citing the Second Avenue Subway as a prime example of projects running vastly over budget and schedule. Despite its issues, the subway remains a vital, unique, and beloved part of New York City life.

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[VIDEO] A Day at NYC’s Most Exciting Mexican Restaurant

2026-04-20T12:00:00-04:00

In "A Day at NYC's Most Exciting Mexican Restaurant," Bon Appétit spends a day behind the scenes with Chef Yara Herrera, owner and Executive Chef of Hellbender in Ridgewood, Queens. As a first-time owner and executive chef, Yara navigates the daily challenges of running her own restaurant, from meticulously checking closing checklists and unpacking fresh deliveries to preparing signature Mexican dishes. The video highlights the intricate process of making salsa macha, crafting churro batter, expertly breaking down fish for aguachile amarillo, and prepping labor-intensive empanadas, all while fostering a collaborative team environment and ensuring consistency before service begins.

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[WATCH] Can You Swim In NYC's Rivers?

2026-04-19T12:00:00-04:00

The video explores the long-held belief among New Yorkers that swimming in the East River is dangerous and unhealthy. The host, Jack Coyne, investigates the historical context of New York Harbor's pollution, detailing how, after colonization, overharvesting of oysters and the dumping of human waste and industrial refuse rendered the waters lifeless by the mid-1900s. While the Clean Water Act of the 1970s led to improvements, a significant sewage problem persists due to the city's combined sewer system, which overflows untreated sewage and stormwater into the harbor during heavy rain. Coyne joins the Billion Oyster Project, an organization working to restore a billion oysters to New York Harbor to naturally filter its waters, to conduct water quality tests, showing that the water can be clean on clear days but becomes unsafe after rainfall. He also meets with Urban Swim, which organizes safe open-water swimming events, demonstrating that with proper precautions and support, swimming in these waters is possible and is becoming a powerful form of environmental advocacy.

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