Sigh: The police are looking for a man who attempted to rob a 94-year-old woman. WABC 7 reports, "Police say the suspect knocked on the victims door in the Richmond Hill section of Queens, pushed his way in and attempted to grab a chain from around her neck. The suspect was unsuccessful in grabbing the chain, and the victim suffered minor injuries. Police say the suspect is a Hispanic male, 30-35 years old, 160 lbs. with a mark on his left cheek." Contact Crime Stoppers with any information. Last week, the police released surveillance video of a man who beat up and robbed an 85-year-old Bronx woman. more ›

The Jamaica Avenue J is about to get a makeover that will hopefully make residents of Woodhaven and Richmond Hill, Queens slightly less bummed out when they're walking to the subway. MTA officials told City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley this week that that part of the span will be repaired and painted forest green next year, according to the Daily News. Currently the underside of the tracks are covered in chipped paint, dirt and grease—decades worth of it, at that. more ›

A Richmond Hill man is accused of pretending to be an immigration officer so he could pull off $1.75 million of green card and real estate scams that exploited 19 West Indian immigrants. Shane Ramsundar, 50, allegedly dressed like an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer—armed with an air gun and a fake badge—and convinced immigrants he could help them buy property or become legal residents. more ›

If Jack Kerouac were still alive, he'd be turning 88 today! The author and voice of the Beats made his way all over New York City during his lifetime (the Columbia Spectator just visited some of his old urban haunts)—but his life in Queens was never really well documented, even though he lived there for 12 years (leaving in 1955). more ›

Buttkiss, the old Queens fish we wrote about last year, has made it all the way to NPR! The black pacu is about to turn 44 years old (though we were told he was 41 back in September), which is twice the normal lifespan of these fish. more ›

Following the 40th anniversary of Jack Kerouac's death (which was yesterday), a fan of the author is speaking out again about the lack of recognition the beat gets in his one-time home borough of Queens. more ›

"Big fish eat little fish," says the wisdom of the city. Meet Buttkiss, the black pacu who has eaten more than 175,000 fish during his residence in Queens. “We feed him twenty-five goldfish every other day,” says Steve Gruebel, the owner of Cameo Pet Shop in Richmond Hill. You do the math. He’s been in the shop continuously since 1970, becoming a Richmond Hill landmark in that time. more ›

Is this the year for Queens to shine? Richmond Hill was just voted the best place in the state to buy an old house, and the title comes from none other than This Old House magazine (the show recently did their first ever NYC renovation in Brooklyn). A spokeswoman for the mag told NY1, "We picked Richmond Hill Queens because it's got lots of old homes that retain their beautiful original period details like wrap around porches and interesting siding details and things like that." She also notes that a starter home there will likely cost you less than $300,000. And what's this? The founder of the Richmond Hill Historical Society says, "for the price of a studio in Manhattan or in Park Slope or parts of Brooklyn, you can get an entire house here complete with a pool and porch. And maybe if you are lucky, a sleeping porch on the second floor." Okay, we were sold with the whole sleeping porch thing, but would you make the move? Either way, maybe this will help get the district landmarked, which has been an ongoing battle for over a decade. And perhaps This Old House can help out Far Rockaway next. more ›

When the Hindu celebration of Phagwah (also known as Holi) rolls around, it's a rite of spring—and Richmond Hill, Queens. According to NY1, the parade is a "Hindu cultural celebration where participants walk around with their face colored with special dye to represent the colors of spring. The celebration also commemorates the triumph of good over evil, and recognizes unity among different races." The Parade's Grand Marshall Chunelall Larine further explained, "The inner meaning is the integration of people with various backgrounds different races, we can all live together in harmony and we can be as beautiful as we look with all this colors splashed on us." more ›

Early yesterday morning, an 18-year-old woman was attacked in the Richmond Hill section of Queens. WABC 7 reports the woman had been walking down a street when an man wielding a gun "took her to the back of a building where she was robbed and sexually assaulted." According to the Daily News, the victim ran back home and "hysterically pointed out her attacker to [her boyfriend] and his friends." The group tried to chase the suspect, but he got into a waiting car. The police do not think this incident is related to the two apparently serial rapists, but there was a recent gunpoint robbery in the neighborhood. The boyfriend said, "If I find out who did it before the police find out, it's not going to be a happy case." more ›

A 24-year-old woman was sexually assaulted and robbed while waiting for a bus at busy Richmond Hill Road at 7:30PM. The bus stop, between Vassar and Merry Mount Streets, is, as the Staten Island Advances points out, just a "quarter-mile from both the Staten Island Mall and the 122nd Precinct satellite police station." more ›

There's a great NY Times article about the overcrowding at Richmond High School in Queens. The building was meant for 1,800 students, but 3,600 students attend the school. How is that possible? Well, there are 22 trailers "encased within chain-link fencing, occupy the school’s former yard, evoking the ambience of the Port Elizabeth container-ship terminal." Ha! more ›

Santa came early and dumped some carnivorous coal down the throats of vegetarians in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood this weekend. The NY Press has reported that the beloved Veggie Castle – so named because it was converted from an old White Castle fast food restaurant – has abruptly closed. The Veggie Castle was as famous for repurposing the White Castle as it was for its vegetarian twist on Caribbean classics, offering such delicacies as jerk tofu, curried tofu and a steaming vegan soul food buffet. more ›

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a stabbing on 168th St. and Hillside Ave. in Queens, a sexual assault at Stanton and Attorney Sts. in Manhattan, and a missing child on Himrod St. in Brooklyn. Artist Eve Mosher is outlining in chalk the high water lines that floods will reach every four years by 2080 if global warming continues unabated. The project can be seen at her site highwaterline. Six-year-old Natalie Shea is now a... more ›

Your overstuffed kitchen drawer of take-out menus is minuscule compared to the menus Daniel Rayas collected over a four month period. Newsday has a fantastic profile of the Texan grandfather who moved to New York City to help care for his newborn granddaughter and found a flexible part-time job that has taken him all over the city. Looking to make some money to pay for room and board, Rayas responded to an ad on Craigslist offering cash for collected menus. It was placed by online eatery guide Allmenus.com, and they put him to work immediately, offering $2 per menu collected. more ›

The police continued to look for the robbers who shot a Queens bodega owner in the face on Monday night. Bolivar Cruz, a Dominican immigrant, is still on life support; the Post reports that two of his seven daughters were working in store at the time and that Cruz tried to protect them. According to Police Commissioner Kelly, Cruz did take out a gun (unlicensed) but did not get a chance to fire it. It's unclear whether the robbers saw Cruz's gun. Cruz is not expected to survive. more ›

Early yesterday morning, a fire broke out inside a Met Food Market in the Richmond Hill area of Queens. And it turned out a number of workers had been locked inside. Apparently some workers had been removing floor tiles with a blowtorch, but it's unclear if that was the cause of the fire. more ›

• Tody on the Gothamist NewsMap: a carjacking in Staten Island; a missing patient at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn; and a fatal accident in Queens.
• The Staten Island carjacking, which included a police chase, injured three people, including a child and a police officer. One suspect is in custody and police are on scene looking for a possible 2nd suspect.
• The fatal accident in Queens was a small school bus striking a 23 year-old woman in Richmond Hill. The bus had special-ed students from St. Joseph's - the students are uninjured.

Juan Franjul turned himself in for Saturday's sad hit-and-run death of 12 year old Jacob Colon. Franjul had gotten into an accident where he tried to get the other driver to accept money instead of reporting it to the police; when the driver refused, Franjul drove off, ran a red light and hit Colon in the Richmond Hill section of Queens. Franjul is a mechanic who had been returning the car to the owner. more ›

When 24 year old Priscilla Pimentel didn't go home to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving, her family was worried. Her brother and sister went to her home at 102-9 87th Avenue in Richmond Hill and found Pimentel stabbed to death in her bathtub. She was stabbed in the chest and arms, her hands were bound behind her back and the body of her pet pit bull was next to her. A neighbor said, "Her sister ran out crying and screaming. I went upstairs and saw her in the tub with the dog." And apparently paint was found all over the room and on Pimentel's and her dog's bodies - possibly to hide evidence. more ›

The Metrocard is dispensable in ways that the MTA probably never guessed. In fact, the subways seem to be the transport of choice for suspected sex attacker, Peter Braunstein, who has been dodging the police for the past two weeks. The NY Post says that the NYPD has been able to track Braunstein's whereabouts because he purchased an unlimited Metrocard with his credit card, putting him at West Fourth Street and near Richmond Hill on various days. But the lagtime between receiving the information and getting detectives there takes a while - and Braunstein's unlimited card expired. We supposes the MTA never installed a special alarm if someone's card was swiped through, sort of like a "You're the millionth shopper" acknowledgement. more ›

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Fernando Ferrer's overstatement about his NYC public education (a master's at Baruch, after years of Catholic schooling) has lead to Mayor Bloomberg's campaign to issue press releases and certain tabloids, as Gawker points out, to enjoy creating insane covers and some serious questioning about blogging as candidates. It turns out that Mayor Mike doesn't write his own posts either! Shocking! Ferrer was asked about the offending post while with Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, who said, "What is this obsession with blogs? Does anybody care about education in this city?" Then someone (NY State Senator Schneiderman, according to the Politicker) said to Dean, "You started it!" Gothamist would like Dean to tell us how Ferrer will win Murray Hill (YAY!!!) and Richmond Hill and the Rockaways and... more ›

At that point, the group spotted Ms. duFresne; her fiancé, Jeffrey Sparks; and another couple. They had come from a nearby bar, where they celebrated Ms. duFresne's new job at a local nightclub. more ›