Around a dozen public defender firms are urging a state regulatory board to temporarily reject a request from the New York State Police to utilize a powerful new form of DNA testing that has been used to solve several prominent cold cases, including the Gilgo Beach serial killings.

The Family of Win Rozario family rallied alongside advocates at City Hall on Thursday after learning that Salvatore Alongi, one of the officers involved in the shooting, had retired, avoiding disciplinary charges from the Civilian Complaint Review Board in an apparent violation of the watchdog group’s agreement with the NYPD.

Lawmakers said Wednesday that they remain concerned about conditions inside the Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence in Long Island City, several weeks after the city pulled out of a federal program that funded the shelter and a week after two Queens officials were turned away when they tried to enter the building.

The Queens District Attorney asked a parole board last week not to release the Queens man convicted of the 1988 murder of rookie NYPD officer Edward Byrne, whose killing sparked outrage nationwide and kickstarted a police crackdown on the violent crack gangs that dominated the city.

“In my practice, I have seen how a decision made in a moment can change the course of a young person’s life. “

“Community-based alternatives to incarceration and post-release reentry programs are proving every day that public safety and decarceration are not competing goals.”

“Families are being presented with a false choice: Send your children to a brand-new, $92 million facility, or continue using an aging building that has been allowed to deteriorate.”

“With the mayoral elections coming up, it's important that we seek out representatives who will do right by their constituents and abolish Rikers once and for all. “

The Oklahoma-based Williams Transco company is proposing a pipeline through lower Hudson Harbor again. New York first rejected this pipeline in 2020, and now we must do it again. What’s good for a Tulsa gas company is terrible for Queens’ health and our wallets.

“For a corporate center that hosts more than a thousand employees every day — including staff at the Department of Corrections, Skanska, numerous firms and the headquarters of the Queens Chamber of Commerce — this change is more than an inconvenience. It is a step backward for our borough’s economy.”