Amanda Salazar

Spring cleaning season is upon us as April dawns and it’s time to start rethinking our ways of cleaning. If your clothes haven’t been seeming as fresh and clean as you’d like after doing your laundry, maybe it’s time to try something else. Western Queens has a whole slew of locally owned and operated laundromats and dry cleaners to choose from. In fact, here are just eight of these local clothes cleaners.

Spring isn’t just a time for cleaning — it’s also a time of fresh starts and renewal. If you’ve been thinking about redesigning your home, now is the perfect time to renew your space. Whether it’s as big as a complete overhaul of your home’s interior design or as small as getting a new lamp, there’s a small business in western Queens that can help you breathe new life into your space. Here are 10 local home décor and furniture stores to check out this spring.

When we talk about wealth, most of us immediately think of money - banknotes, savings accounts, and income. However, our lives are enriched by a lot more than just finances, and therefore, our definition of wealth must change and grow.

Have you ever encountered an individual who appeared to be highly attuned to the emotions of others, demonstrated great self-control, and exuded a sense of calm and collectedness that made them a delight to be around? Chances are that this person has a high level of emotional intelligence, which contributes to them being so pleasant.

Imagine being asked to walk through a setting without using your vision at all, unable to tell if there are obstacles in front of you or turns up ahead or drops in the path. Now imagine that this is the first time you’ve ever walked; in addition to learning the landscape, you’re learning the physical mechanics of the motion. That is the experience for toddlers with blindness as they’re learning how to crawl and walk.

Some migrants came to New York to escape drought. The city’s putting them in a flood zone.

By George, what holiday is this? It’s Presidents’ Day! The day falls on the third Monday of every February in the United States. In 2024, it is on February 19. When the holiday began, it celebrated just one president — the first, which was George Washington. Later, the day came to include other presidents, especially Abraham Lincoln.
Both Washington and Lincoln had birthdays in February. And that deserves a birthday potty.

Valentine’s Day is almost here! The February 14 holiday is all about love. People with heart eyes for each other are often called “love bugs.” You can make your own love bug out of paper. Read on for steps to make a lovely snail with a heart shell!

New year, fresh start. Now is a great time to start trying out new ways to keep yourself on track and focused on your work. Whether you’re a student, have a full-time job or are somewhere in between, these nine productivity apps can help you stay organized and get your work done in a timely manner.

Across the country, schools require students to participate in fitness tests. Children are expected to run laps at pace with an audio track, to count how many consecutive sit-ups they can perform, and to step on a scale for weight measurements. A few weeks later, they receive a pamphlet with their results.

The word gets thrown around a lot in casual speech — when someone talks too much about themselves, they’re called narcissistic; an arrogant person gets labeled a narcissist. But there’s more to narcissism than that.

Laughter, caroling and Christmas cheer filled the air at the John Malone Community Center, 2331 Bergen Avenue, on Tuesday, December 19th. That’s because it was Millennium Development’s annual tree lighting.

A string of reindeer fly across the night sky, Santa’s sleigh trailing behind them. In a display case, Disney’s Mickey and Minnie dance in front of a castle, all decked out for Christmas. On the balcony, an army of nutcrackers watch over the front yard.

Blue, teal and white. These made up the color scheme of Brooklyn’s Home for the Holidays’ Hanukkah display, which was made up of dreidels, yarmulke-wearing bears and sparkling menorahs. Brooklyn’s Home for the Holidays is a multi-story private home at 1102 East 72nd Street that sets up dazzling displays for every holiday, all created by the home’s 22-year-old resident, Austin Ferrazzano.

Imagine a super-cold drop of water in the sky. The drop meets a bit of pollen or dust and freezes onto it. This forms a tiny ice crystal. As the crystal falls, water vapor freezes onto it, growing the shape. This is what we call a snowflake!