UNVEILED: $4B Plan For New LGA

As they might say on HGTV, LGA is a complete tear-down. Therefore, according to plans unveiled today, a completely new single $4B terminal will be built in the current parking lot, after which the ramshackle four old terminals will be razed. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Vice President Joe Biden today held a joint press conference about the project, which is presently slated to begin early next year.  Lots of renderings are in the promo clip below.

RELATED: LGA is currently the 20th busiest US airport, just behind PHL and ahead of FLL. JFK, which is also in Queens, is ranked 5th with double the passenger volume of LGA. ATL remains, by far, the nation's busiest airport with nearly double the traffic of JFK.

QUEENS: De Blasio Marches In The LGBT Inclusive St. Pat's For All Parade

NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio helped carry the banner at the LGBT-inclusive St. Pat's For All Parade in Queens. Last year De Blasio boycotted the main parade in Manhattan but has not yet said if he will again this year.

Cuomo Proposes Rail Link To LGA

During his State Of The State address, yesterday New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed connecting LaGuardia Airport to New York City's rail system via a new AirTrain line. Adding rail service to LGA is an idea that has been pitched and abandoned several times in recent decades.

Cuomo’s plan involves a 1.5 mile long LGA AirTrain running over the Grand Central Parkway, connecting with MTA’s 7 subway line, as well as the Long Island Rail Road’s Port Washington branch at the Mets-Willets Point station. A typical ride from Grand Central Terminal to Willets Point is about 30 minutes via the subway, while the Long Island Rail Road currently only stops at the station during sporting events at Citi Field or Arthur Ashe Stadium. The AirTrain plan was just a small portion of a larger speech given by Governor Cuomo on Tuesday morning, with only a few details set in stone as of yet. The joint Port Authority and MTA project is initially estimated to cost $450 million, and construction could be completed within five years after all approvals are granted, according to a short statement released by the Port Authority.

Cuomo did not elaborate on a source of funding for the project. Next week the MTA is expected to authorize a subway and bus fare increase, raising the single-ride price to $2.75 and the price of a monthly pass to $116.50. Cash tolls on the Verrazano Bridge will rise to $16.00. (The Port Authority operates the bridges and tunnels to Jersey.)

RELATED: AirTrain service to JFK launched in December 2003 after five years of construction that ended up costing nearly $2B. That line, however, is much longer than the one proposed for LGA.

Seen In Queens

My buddy Tom came across this sign in Jackson Heights.

SUNDAY: Queens Pride 2014

If Queens were a standalone city, its 2.3M population would rank fourth* in the nation, just ahead of Houston.  But despite the massive size of the borough, the ten block-long Queens Pride parade in Jackson Heights, which will be held this Sunday, has a charming small town feel. Some of the pubs in the neighborhood become de facto gay bars for the day and there are a half dozen actual gay clubs that are mobbed by early afternoon. Just off the parade route Queens Pride stages a several block-long street festival which is flanked by entertainment stages at each end. Highly recommended.

*Queens would rank fifth if you put Brooklyn on such a list.

QUEENS: Subway Derails, Multiple Injuries

A Manhattan-bound F train derailed today in Woodside, Queens. Many passengers were evacuated via a tunnel hatch to the street.

At least 19 people were hurt after a train derailed near a Queens subway station on Friday, officials said. About 1,000 people were riding the Manhattan-bound F train when it slid off the track near the station at Broadway and 65th St. in Woodside about 10:30 a.m., officials said. "You could just feel yourself coming off your seat," said Irvelle Cadet, 24, who was riding on the seven-car train to a job interview. "I was sideways at one point. Then the conductor came over the speakers to say it derailed." Transit officials said they will be looking at the speed of the train and the condition of the tracks to determine what caused the derailment.

Queens Street To Be Named For PFLAG Founder Jeanne Manford And Son Morty

JMG reader Brandon tips us that street in front of the former Queens home of late PFLAG founder Jeanne Manford and her son Morty Manford will be renamed their honor. Final approval of the change is expected before the naming ceremony next weekend. Jeanne passed away in January 2013 at the age of 92. Morty Manford, an assistant New York State Attorney General, died of AIDS in 1992 at the age of 41.

RELATED: On Pride weekend last June, a plaque was posted in the West Village to mark the location of the first PFLAG meeting in 1973. The Manfords founded PFLAG after Morty was beaten while distributing pro-gay flyers outside a 1972 political meeting in Manhattan.

QUEENS: Irish Drag Activist Panti Bliss Joins Gay-Inclusive St. Patty's Parade

Many more photos are at Panti's Twitter page. Also marching in today's parade were NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio and members of the City Council, all of whom are boycotting the main parade in Manhattan for banning gay groups from participating.

Quote Of The Day - Maureen Dowd

"I have long been opposed to gays marching in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue. It isn’t because my father was a past national president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which ran the parade for a century and started the rule that no gays need apply. Faith and begorrah, heaven knows I have nothing against gays. I have something against Irish parades. It has just always seemed strange to me that gays were fighting so hard for so long to bust into such a hoary, boozy, corny tradition. Didn’t they have something more fun and cool to do? But certainly, if gays want in, they should get in. And that’s why Mayor Bill de Blasio is right to blow off the parade in protest of the Putinesque restrictions." - Maureen Dowd, in a New York Times column that slams Bill Donohue and includes a quote from Panti Bliss. "If they’re not kind of gay, they’re not really a parade. A heterosexual parade seems to me an organized walk in the traffic lane."

NOTE: For non-New Yorkers wondering what's with all the fuss, NYC's St. Patrick's Day Parade is a really big deal. Organizers bill the event, which launched in 1762, as the "largest and oldest civilian parade in the world." An estimated two million people attend the parade, which features 150,000 participants. Sao Paolo's gay pride parade, it should be noted, regularly claims attendance of three to four million and over 200,000 participants, but anti-gay groups claim that figure is wildly exaggerated. And Macy's claims that attendance at their Thanksgiving Day Parade is about three million.

Bill Donohue Has The St. Patrick's Sadz

"There is a growing contempt for tolerance and diversity in the homosexual community, and among their supporters, especially in New York. The latest example is the ruling by the New York City Council Speaker banning an official City Council presence, banner, and Sergeant-at-Arms in this year’s march. When a government agent prohibits the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, a tradition that has been honored for hundreds of years, it is an obscene exercise in censorship. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade does not permit pro-life activists to march under their own banner, but that hardly makes this Catholic event anti-life; it simply means this is not a day that centers on abortion. Ditto for gays: it is not about them. They are the only ones who are feigning exclusion (gays can march, just so long as they blend in like everyone else)." - Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue, who thinks those hundreds of group that march behind their own banner are "blending in."

RELATED: This Sunday, Queens will host the LGBT-inclusive St. Patrick's Day For All Parade. Irish activist and drag personality Panti Bliss will march in the parade. The grand marshal will be openly gay and openly HIV+ former New York state Sen. Tom Duane. Mayor Bill De Blasio, who announced his boycott of the main parade earlier this month, will march in Queens.

NYC Council To Boycott St. Patty's Parade

"St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a day when everyone can be Irish. Unfortunately, in New York City the Hibernians seem to have disavowed that old Irish tradition and have not allow LGBT people to march in the 5th Avenue St. Patrick's Day parade under their own banner for more than 20 years. In Ireland, not only do gay groups march but they often win awards for the best contingent. The Hibernians must return to their Irish roots and heritage, become hospitable and allow LGBT groups to fully participate. Enough is enough. I am extremely proud that the NYC Council under the leadership of Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has taken a strong stand against bigotry and will not participate in the parade until LGBT people are treated equally." - Openly gay NYC Councilman Patrick Dromm (D-Queens), via press release.

RELATED: This Sunday, Queens will host the LGBT-inclusive St. Patrick's Day For All Parade. Irish activist and drag personality Panti Bliss will march in the parade. The grand marshal will be openly gay and openly HIV+ former New York state Sen. Tom Duane. Mayor Bill De Blasio, who announced his boycott of the main parade earlier this month, will march in Queens.

NEW YORK CITY: Irish Drag Queen Panti Bliss To March In Gay-Inclusive Parade

Fantastic news. Irish drag performer and activist Rory O'Neil, whose anti-homophobia speech as Panti Bliss went globally viral, will march in the gay-inclusive St. Pat's For All Parade in Queens this Sunday. Via press release:

Mayor de Blasio, who has marched in the St. Pat's for All Parade for many years, will be joined by Members of Congress Caroline Maloney and Joseph Crowley; Speaker of the New York City Council Melissa Mark-Viverito; Public Advocate for the City of New York Letitia James; New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer; New York City Council Members Daniel Dromm, Costa Constantinides, and Jimmy Van Bramer and others. Consul General Noel Kilkenny will represent the Irish Government. This year's parade will feature an appearance by Irish gay activist Rory O'Neill, also known as Panti Bliss. Bliss recently caught the world's ear with an impassioned speech on homophobia, gay pride and hope, which she delivered in early February at the Abbey Theatre, the National Theatre of Ireland. Panti will reprise her peech--which has received over a half million hits on YouTube--at the St. Pat's for All Concert. This concert will be held at the Irish Arts Center on Friday, Feb 28th. The Irish Arts Center is located at 553 West 51st Street.

VIDEO: Here's that speech one more time.

Seniors Make Deal With Queens McD's

Last week a McDonald's in Queens made headlines after calling the police to evict senior citizens that were spending their days taking up all the restaurant's tables. The New York Daily News now reports that McDonald's management and the seniors have come to an agreement.

It's a McDeal. A group of Korean senior citizens and the manager of a McDonald’s in Flushing have reached a detente over use of the scarce seating area in the fast food restaurant. Management has agreed to ease the 20-minute seating limit during off-peak hours and post signs stating the policy in Korean and Mandarin. In turn, the seniors will give up their seats during the busy hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. if other diners are looking for a spot to sit. “We had to dig deeper to comprehend the pride of a small business owner as well as the pride of our seniors to seek a place to socialize,” said Assemblyman Ron Kim, who helped broker the deal during meetings on Sunday. In addition, the restaurant will look into hiring workers who speak Mandarin and Korean, and a local senior center will provide transportation at the location to give patrons another place to hang out.

Headline Of The Day

This story has been all over the NYC blogs this week and got more traction yesterday from the New York Times.

Shortly after New Year’s Day, Man Hyung Lee, 77, was nursing a coffee in his usual seat in a narrow booth at a McDonald’s in Flushing, Queens, when two police officers stepped into the fluorescent light of the restaurant. Mr. Lee said the officers had been called because he and his friends — a revolving group who shuffle into the McDonald’s on the corner of Parsons and Northern Boulevards on walkers, or with canes, in wheelchairs or with infirm steps, as early as 5 a.m. and often linger until well after dark — had, as they seem to do every day, long overstayed their welcome. “They ordered us out,” Mr. Lee said from his seat in the same McDonald’s booth a week after the incident, beneath a sign that said customers have 20 minutes to finish their food. (He had already been there two hours.) “So I left,” he said. “Then I walked around the block and came right back again.”

RELATED: Many, many years ago when I worked for AMC Theaters I was once assigned to a multiplex in a (now-demolished) derelict West Palm Beach mall that was locally famous for its battles against the hundreds of seniors that spent their days lounging on the mall's benches and "stealing our air conditioning," as one security guard said to me. The mall's position was that the seniors were destroying its reputation among young shoppers "who actually buy things" and were scaring off new tenants. I responded by scheduling weekday 10am shows just for the seniors, which the mall did not appreciate.

Quote Of The Day - John Scarpa

"A sentence of 25 years to life is an incredibly long period of time, judge. Shouldn’t that be reserved for people who are guilty of killing certain classes of individuals? Who is the victim in this case? Is the victim a person in the higher end of the community? Amanda was engaged in a life of prostitution, life of drug use, HIV exposure. She was having sex with other individuals knowing she had the chance of spreading diseases." - Queens attorney John Scarpa, defending his client Rasheen Everett for the murder of transgender prostitute Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar.  The judge slammed Scarpa's comments then sentenced Everett to 29 years in prison.

The Anti-Violence Project has issued a statement:

AVP is calling for a public apology by Scarpa for this outrageous statement that says that transgender women and sex workers should be legally devalued by society. This type of speech is tantamount to hate speech and says that LGBT people, and particularly transgender women, are “other” and not worthy of protection. This hate speech is irresponsible and we are also calling on the Queens District Attorney’s office to issue a public condemnation of Scarpa’s dangerous and offensive remarks.

NEW YORK CITY: Man Stabbed To Death After Allegedly Blowing A Kiss To His Killer

New York City police have arrested a 22 year-old man who says he stabbed another man to death on a Queens street because the victim blew him a kiss. The New York Post reports:

Steven Torres, 22, of the Bronx, went berserk and stabbed 69-year-old Ever Orozco in the throat and chest, on 90th Street in Elmhurst around 1 p.m., police said. Witnesses said the knife was nearly eight inches long. The crazed assailant ran several blocks to Roosevelt and Elmhurst Avenue where a plain-clothes cop grabbed him, witnesses said. The two men did not know each other and Torres told cops he attacked the senior citizen because he had blown kisses in his direction, sources said. Torres was charged with murder as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon, according to police.

ABC New York has more:

The attack happened Monday afternoon on a sidewalk near the entrance to the 90th Street-Elmhurst Avenue station. Police say Torres tried to run from the scene before they apprehended him. Torres reportedly struggled against his cuffs minutes after the brutal crime that left eyewitnesses speechless. "I really don't know what to think," witness Julio Lobaton said. "I'm just shaken because what happen to this poor guy...He was screaming, 'Help me help me.' I tried to intervene, but then he pulled a knife and started stabbing the guy on the floor. Then he went up about three steps came back."

Bystanders chased Torres until the police captured him. Witnesses told the press that he was laughing during the arrest. Police reports do not yet indicate if the victim was gay.

UPDATE: The New York City Anti-Violence Project has issued a statement which includes an important revelation.

We rarely see multiple anti-LGBT homicides in New York City in one year,” said Sharon Stapel, Executive Director of AVP. “Since May, we have seen homicides in the West Village, Harlem and Jackson Heights and we know that any neighborhood in New York City can be impacted by anti-LGBT violence. We are extremely concerned about this disturbing trend of violence against our communities.”

According to the NYPD, Torres has also been charged with the stabbing of a second man, which occurred on September 12th inside 9 Stanton Street near Bowery, because, reportedly, Torres believed that a 47 year old unidentified man was making sexual advances toward him. The second man survived the injuries.

AVP is reaching out to Make the Road NY and other community based partners, the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force and the Queens District Attorney’s Office’s, which are currently investigating this incident, and Council Members Danny Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer.  AVP will be organizing a Community Safety Night for Friday, September 20, 2013 in Jackson Height, Queens.

UPDATE II: DNAinfo has more on the first attack.

Torres has also been charged with the Sept. 12 non-fatal stabbing inside 9 Stanton St., near Bowery, during which he believed a 47-year-old man was making a pass at him, cops said. Torres plunged his knife into the victim's left arm about 1:30 p.m., police said. The victim, whose identity was not released, was treated at Bellevue Hospital, cops said. Torres has been charged with murder as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon, police said. He's also been charged with assault as a hate crime in connection to last week's stabbing.

QUEENS: Interracial Married Straight Couple Gay Bashed By Three Thugs

On Saturday a married straight interracial couple was attacked in Long Island City, Queens by three thugs who shouted homophobic slurs and racial epithets.

Billie and Jacob James-Vogel say they and a gay friend had been celebrating Billie James-Vogel's 40th birthday in Long Island City and were attacked when they left the bar. They say three men from a nearby car began hurling homophobic and racist slurs at their group before physically assaulting them. Jacob James-Vogel suffered a black eye and a head injury; his wife had a broken toe and other bruises. Billie James-Vogel said she fears her attackers might return. "In this day and age, in this neighborhood, it just kills me," she said of the racial slurs.

UPDATE: NY1 reports than an arrest has been made.

The James-Vogels said that after the cops left, one of their attackers came back pretending to be a police officer while they were waiting in an ambulance. "The EMT drivers didn't let him into the ambulance," Jacob James-Vogel said. "They then followed him and called the police. Police say 28-year-old Nikolaos Katsos was arrested and charged with assault and harassment. Police are continuing to investigate this incident as a hate crime and are looking for others involved. The charges against Katsos could be upgraded.

Anti-Violence Project Reacts To Anti-Gay Incident On New York City Subway

From their Facebook page:

The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) is deeply disturbed by video footage that was shot and posted online by a concerned witness, who has been in touch with AVP about this incident, and who documented a number of incidents of hate violence on a Queens-bound F train on Sunday, June 30th at around 11:45 pm. AVP is reaching out to the NYPD about this incident, and is contacting community partner Make the Road New York, and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the Queens District Attorney’s Office, and Council Member Ruben Wills in Queens.

Video of the incident and my report is here.

NEW YORK CITY: Young Pride Goers Harassed And Assaulted On Subway

My pal Damian alerts us to a video taken as two men harassed and then assaulted a group of young New York City Pride goers on the subway. From the clip's description:

On Sunday, June 30th at around 11:45 PM, I was riding home on the Queens-bound F train following a day of LGBT Pride festivities. Two men were loudly making homophobic comments, such as "Today was a scary day for me. There were fags everywhere." When a group of queer youth got on the train, the men proceeded to harass them, stating that the teens made them want to puke and that they would be killed if they were in Iran. The first assailant then threatened to rape them, at which point I took out my phone to document the incident.

Seeing that he was being recorded, the first assailant lunged at me, violently grabbing my arms while trying to steal away my phone. One of the youth took the phone from me temporarily to protect it and told the assailant he shouldn't attack a woman. When the assailant threatened to punch me, I took the phone back and ran to the other side of the train to push the emergency button and alert the authorities. At this point the second assailant got up and came towards me, grabbing my body and hands to try and get the phone to destroy the evidence. I yelled and told him I was an attorney. An onlooker then got up and stood between the assailants and myself, and another person left to get the train conductor.

The two men reportedly fled the train in Jamaica, Queens.

NEW YORK CITY: Gay Councilman Slams Queens Park Giveaway To Leader Of Anti-Gay Arab Nation

"I was shocked to read in the New York Times that the Bloomberg Administration is negotiating to give NYC parkland away to Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, an oil billionaire that helps rule a country where gays or lesbians is a crime punishable by death. This is outrageous. This is also a country where gay and lesbian people could be subject to chemical castration. It is totally unacceptable. I urge my colleagues in the City Council and elected officials across the state to join me in saying that New Yorkers won’t do business with a murderous regime and we won’t sell, trade or giveaway our public assets to those who discriminate and participate in human rights abuses." - New York City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Queens), on the plan to build a pro soccer stadium in Flushing Meadows.

The sheik, who is worth an estimated $5B, is the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. Gothamist has more on the story.

Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is close to paying $100 million to bring professional soccer to Queens.  The Times says, "The prospective owners are willing to pay a $100 million expansion fee for the league’s 20th team, which could be called New York City F.C. and begin play in 2016, the two people said. That would more than double the expansion fee of $40 million paid by the Montreal team that entered M.L.S. in 2012." If the deal goes through, MLS will take 13 acres in Flushing Meadows Corona Park—and this is contingent upon the City Council and State Legislature okaying it— with the league replacing the 13 acres of parkland to the community at a location yet to be identified.