One man was killed in an early-morning fire last Thursday, according to the FDNY. On May 2, emergency personnel received a 911 call about an individual trapped in a garage that was in flames at 181-15 89 Ave. in Jamaica at 1:57 a.m., an FDNY spokesperson told the Chronicle.Twelve units comprising 60 fire and EMS personnel rushed to the scene and put out the blaze by 2:39 a.m. EMS pronounced the victim, Tamashwar Bhajan, 46, dead at the scene, an NYPD spokesman told the Chronicle via email.  City Department of Buildings inspectors were alerted to the fire at 4 a.m. and...…One man was killed in an early-morning fire last Thursday, according to the FDNY. On May 2, emergency personnel received a 911 call about an individual trapped in a garage that was in flames at 181-15 89 Ave. in Jamaica at 1:57 a.m., an FDNY spokesperson told the Chronicle.Twelve units comprising 60 fire and EMS personnel rushed to the scene and put out the blaze by 2:39 a.m. EMS pronounced the victim, Tamashwar Bhajan, 46, dead at the scene, an NYPD spokesman told the Chronicle via email.  City Department of Buildings inspectors were alerted to the fire at 4 a.m. and...WW…

A New Jersey man was arrested for threatening to “shoot up” John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.According to the charges, on April 30 at approximately 8:30 a.m., the estranged wife of Darnell King, 39, was in Terminal 5 at JFK Airport after returning from an overseas flight when she received a text message and video from King, the DA’s Office said. He said he was going to meet her at the airport and that the recording was his “last will and testament.”In the video, with a firearm visible in the passenger seat, King allegedly said, “I’m...…A New Jersey man was arrested for threatening to “shoot up” John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.According to the charges, on April 30 at approximately 8:30 a.m., the estranged wife of Darnell King, 39, was in Terminal 5 at JFK Airport after returning from an overseas flight when she received a text message and video from King, the DA’s Office said. He said he was going to meet her at the airport and that the recording was his “last will and testament.”In the video, with a firearm visible in the passenger seat, King allegedly said, “I’m...WW…

After more than a decade of work, an advocate for a statewide sickle cell detection education bill is delighted that Gov. Hochul signed it into law on Dec. 8.Merlene Smith-Sotillo, co-founder of the Sickle Cell Awareness Foundation, located at 108-03 164 Place in South Jamaica, told the Chronicle that she has fought for the bill since October 2011.Smith-Sotillo’s son, Syd Sotillo, the co-founder of SCAF, died from the hemolytic version of the disease, which causes organ failure, at age 30 in April 2012. Her daughter, Cathyann Sotillo, is also afflicted by the disease and takes the drug...…After more than a decade of work, an advocate for a statewide sickle cell detection education bill is delighted that Gov. Hochul signed it into law on Dec. 8.Merlene Smith-Sotillo, co-founder of the Sickle Cell Awareness Foundation, located at 108-03 164 Place in South Jamaica, told the Chronicle that she has fought for the bill since October 2011.Smith-Sotillo’s son, Syd Sotillo, the co-founder of SCAF, died from the hemolytic version of the disease, which causes organ failure, at age 30 in April 2012. Her daughter, Cathyann Sotillo, is also afflicted by the disease and takes the drug...WW…

The City Council’s vote on an educational sickle cell disease bill last week was a long time coming for one of the legislation’s advocates, who has a daughter afflicted by the disease and lost a son to it.“It’s been crazy, it’s exciting,” Merlene Smith-Sotillo, co-founder of the Sickle Cell Awareness Foundation, told the Chronicle. “It encompasses all people who have sickle cell in New York.”Intro. 0968B, which the Council unanimously approved on Nov. 2, will amend a city code to improve health outcomes for individuals affected by the disease. It will accomplish that by requiring...…The City Council’s vote on an educational sickle cell disease bill last week was a long time coming for one of the legislation’s advocates, who has a daughter afflicted by the disease and lost a son to it.“It’s been crazy, it’s exciting,” Merlene Smith-Sotillo, co-founder of the Sickle Cell Awareness Foundation, told the Chronicle. “It encompasses all people who have sickle cell in New York.”Intro. 0968B, which the Council unanimously approved on Nov. 2, will amend a city code to improve health outcomes for individuals affected by the disease. It will accomplish that by requiring...WW…