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CBS News
5 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Kissena Park users say many of the drinking fountains, restrooms and more are out of service
For the bocce enthusiasts who gather daily at Kissena Park, surface conditions have long been an obstacle. "The court is very bad," Rafael Shalom said. Players say court maintenance depends on running water, but for years, the spigots have run dry. "This is a regional park in downtown Flushing, the park is filled on weekends, and there's no water," arborist and park steward Carsten Glaeser said. He estimates one-third of the park is without functioning drinking fountains, sprinklers, or restrooms, causing concern as temperatures climb. "I get aggravated, and so does everyone else that comes here," park regular Julio Mora said. The Department of Parks and Recreation told CBS News New York the outage can be traced to two broken water service lines. The agency says it is seeking $25 million in capital funding for repairs. Advocates say New York City parks are chronically underfunded, receiving about half a percent of the city's overall budget. But some residents worry other parks are getting priority. "There's always some parks capital going on somewhere," Glaeser said. "But we don't see anything here." In a statement, Councilmember Sandra Ung told CBS News New York that her office has allocated $12 million for Kissena Park improvements, writing in part: "I remain committed to working with my colleagues in government to secure the necessary funding and push this project forward so that families in my district can once again enjoy all that Kissena Park has to offer." New legislation passed by the City Council requires city parks to install at least 50 new outdoor drinking fountains by 2035. Kissena Park regulars hope their park will be first in line. You can email Elle with Queens story ideas by CLICKING HERE.
Epoch Times
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
New York Libraries Receive Fake Bomb Threats Targeting Falun Gong Parade
NEW YORK CITY—Several New York libraries on April 20 received threats targeting a parade organized by Falun Gong practitioners. Multiple Queens Public Library branches received bomb threat emails on the night of April 20 demanding that they stop a Falun Gong parade. The threats came a day after Falun Gong practitioners held a thousands-strong Global Tuidang Center, an organizer of the Saturday parade, received a similar email around the same time. The sender claimed they will drive into the parade participants while sending another group of assailants to Dragon Springs, which is home to the headquarters of Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York-based arts group the Chinese regime has tried for years to disrupt using political and economic pressure, according to a copy of the email The Epoch Times reviewed. The email apparently mistakenly assumed that there would be a parade on April 25, the actual anniversary of the 1999 rally. Parade organizers said they believed that the scale of the Saturday event might have caught the sender's attention, prompting them to action. Elisabeth de Bourbon, a spokeswoman for Queens Public Library, told The Epoch Times the library learned about the threats on Monday and evacuated the library building in Flushing, a neighborhood known for its large ethnic Chinese population. She said they were 'grateful to our staff members for remaining professional and calm throughout the incident.' Related Stories 4/11/2025 4/18/2025 The library's Main Street branch w as the end point of the Falun Gong parade, while a few other branches not on the April 19 parade route also received threats. Police cars and an ambulance arrived at the site on the morning of April 21 and temporarily blocked off roads for investigation. They eventually determined the library safe, and opened it to the public shortly before noon, after a roughly two-hour delay. It was the second round of such threats targeting Falun Gong parades in about half a year, after intimidators emailed The Epoch Times in Chinese in September 2024, taking credit for Cybersecurity experts who recently Flushing councilwoman Sandra Ung, whose office kept in contact with the 109th Precinct police and Queens Public Library officials throughout Monday morning, thanked the law enforcement for their swift response. 'There is no place in our city for threats of violence, especially those meant to stifle free speech or intimidate individuals for exercising their right to peacefully assemble,' Flushing councilwoman Sandra Ung told The Epoch Times. She noted that 'Flushing is one of the most diverse communities in the country, and that diversity is our strength.' 'No one should be made to feel unsafe or unwelcome for celebrating their cultural, spiritual, or political identity,' she said, adding that she hopes all residents remain vigilant and report any suspicious or threatening behavior to the proper authorities. Martha Flores-Vazquez, a New York State Assembly district leader for Flushing, said the case heightens the importance of protecting this diaspora. 'It's a scare tactic, but we need to take it seriously and protect our good citizens of New York City,' she told The Epoch Times. 'I think that it's horrible that they've gone this far, and that we need to do everything possible through the use of intelligence to capture and make an example of who it is that is behaving this way, because it's detrimental to the world.' Martha Flores-Vazquez, a New York State Assembly district leader for Flushing, speaks at a Falun Gong rally in Flushing, New York, on April 19, 2025. Mark Zou/The Epoch Times The threat email parallels a recent intimidation campaign targeting Shen Yun, which also draws attention to the abuses against Falun Gong in China in its performances. The classical Chinese dance company, in the past year, has seen dozens of violent email Taiwanese authorities recently The faith group Falun Gong teaches living in accordance with the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, along with meditation exercises. Around 70 million to 100 million people took up the practice in China by 1999. The Chinese regime, seeing its popularity among the people as a threat, launched a systematic campaign to eliminate Falun Gong, putting any Chinese who refused to renounce the faith in On April 25, 1999, about 10,000 people Falun Gong practitioners participate in a parade to call for an end to the persecution in China, in Flushing, New York, on April 19, 2025. Zhang Jingyi/The Epoch Times Flores-Vazquez attended the April 19 parade and spoke at the rally that followed, telling the audience they 'stand together.' She stayed for hours at the evening vigil, like the attendees there, held a lotus flower in remembrance of the people killed in China for their belief. The Chinese Communist Party has 'done the worst,' she said. She added the email intimidation campaign 'really has to be taken seriously.' 'A higher level of government has to get involved,' she said. Stopping the parades would suit the regime's goals, because such events help expose the regime's misdeeds, said Michael Yu, one of the event organizers. 'Evil is always afraid of light,' he told The Epoch Times. The FBI told The Epoch Times in a statement that the agency can neither confirm nor deny conducting specific investigations, and referred to the NYPD. The New York Police Department didn't respond to The Epoch Times' request for comment. Linda Lin contributed to this report.
