Michael Shain

3 weeks ago | qchron.com | Michael Shain

This year’s Queens Jazz Orchestra concert at Flushing Town Hall — a fixture of the Queens jazz world for nearly two decades — has been canceled, a victim of funding cuts from the Trump White House. The orchestra’s director, jazz saxophonist Antonio Hart, instead will bring his own touring group to the hall June 20 — the date set aside for the QJO — to keep the event alive in hopes the unique jazz night can return sometime later.

Mar 20, 2025 | qchron.com | Michael Shain

Five years after the earth-rattling start of the Covid pandemic, officials last weekend marked those days with solemn ceremonies honoring those who battled it and those who died from it. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, which served as the city’s unofficial ground zero during the early days of the siege, was the backdrop of choice for those ceremonies — including a visit from Mayor Adams last Friday and an hour-long vigil on Saturday organized by state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Jackson Heights).

Mar 17, 2025 | qchron.com | Michael Shain

Five years after the earth-rattling start of the Covid pandemic, officials last weekend marked those days with solemn ceremonies honoring those who battled it and those who died from it. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, which served as the city’s unofficial ground zero during the early days of the siege, was the backdrop of choice for those ceremonies — including a visit from Mayor Adams last Friday and an hour-long vigil on Saturday organized by state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Jackson Heights).

Feb 14, 2025 | qchron.com | Michael Shain

Elected officials representing Northeast and Eastern Queens are pleased that Gov. Hochul has announced the closure of the controversial Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center situated on the grounds of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village. Councilwoman Linda Lee (D-Oakland Gardens), Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) and state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-College Point) issued a statement on the closure on Feb. 13.

Jun 20, 2024 | qchron.com | Michael Shain

Like Cinderella, the Queens Jazz Orchestra comes out to party just one night a year. While the name has the ring of solid permanency, the orchestra is in fact a confection — a concert of top-rank jazz whipped up by Flushing Town Hall each year nearly from scratch. The personnel of the 17-piece band changes from year to year, depending more or less on who on a long list of jazz journeymen is free that night.