At a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Senator Alfonse D’Amato threw his support to the idea of building a sports complex in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park…. Queens Transit riders experienced the results of a slowdown in service; company management blamed the union and the union blamed management….

With little fanfare, Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro was appointed to head the Democratic Party’s platform committee. The appointment to the highly visible position increased speculation that a woman, specifically Ferraro, might be nominated for the Number Two spot on the Democratic National ticket. Ferraro told the Tribune, “I think the talk is terrific… I’m not running… You don’t run for vice president… You do your job, and you see what happens....”

In February, the phone company revealed that it had spent $12 million toward establishing a separate 718 area code for Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island, though the Public Service Commission had not yet given its go-ahead to the plan. Several weeks later, the PSC approved the area code, slicing the Big Apple. The decision prompted vociferous criticism from local residents and elected officials….

Four Cardozo students were declared finalists in the Westinghouse Science Talent search, tying Bronx Science for the highest number of finalists from a single school.... Schools Chancellor Anthony Alvarado and Queens College President Saul Cohen jointly announced their plans to create a new accelerated program high school in Queens. The proposed Townsend Harris High School sparked protest from some parents and local school officials, who felt the funds would be better spent on the present schools and that the new school would draw away many of their local talent....

The Department of Environmental Conservation called the Edgemere landfill in the Rockaways “one of the worst” in the state....The DEC also rejected an appeal by Con Ed asking to convert to coal at its Ravenswood generator plant without using coal scrubbers.... Governor Mario Cuomo came to Queens College for a “community forum,” at which he fielded questions and spoke about the budget, taxes and a proposed tuition hike at CUNY. Borough President Donald Manes presented the governor with a wooden red seat, that Manes said, “symbolizes what we see as our new sports complex in Flushing Meadows....”

Doug Prescott and Tom Manton both won Queens seats in 1984. It was also the year the Tribune explored Police patrol cutbacks.

March came in like the proverbial lion as the Supreme Court refused to hear the two-year-old case between New York City and the Federal Department of Transportation over the trucking of nuclear waste through the borough. The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case opened the way for Brookhaven Laboratories to transport nuclear waste through the borough. Though the DOT stated that the odds of a “catastrophic release” were one in two million, a spokesman for Representative James Scheuer said, “If the one incident in 200 million years happens on the Long Island Expressway in Flushing.... it doesn’t matter what the statistics are for the next 200 million years.”...

The Board of Estimate approved the sale of nine acres in College Point for the building of a wholesale flower market.... A staff member at Queens Borough Hall, Angelo Marano, was arrested and charged with the throat-slashing murder of his girlfriend in Valley Stream. It was reported that, when police arrived on the scene, Marano was dressed in a red dress and a woman’s wig. He was immediately suspended from his $17,900-a-year position at the borough president’s public information office....

Tenant organizer and borough activist Aaron Weiss died at the age of 61....As the New York State primary approached, Walter Mondale bowled a few frames at Whitestone Lanes, Gary Hart chug-a-lugged a Guinness at Donovan’s Pub in Woodside and Jesse Jackson delivered his ringing oratory from the pulpits of several local churches....

Queens Festival ‘84, replete with a mini Statue of Liberty, Miami’s Playboy Bunnies, Double Dutchers and Don McLean, was proclaimed a success by sponsors….The Hunters Point development plan, after countless delays because of political squabbling in Albany, finally was approved in June. The bill allowed commercial and retail development in the under-used waterfront that some had labeled the “Gold Coast.” Still, questions as to what would be built remained, and some officials feared that real estate prices in the area, if not controlled, would drive out small businesses and the limited residential dwellers....

As July began, the borough was still drying out from the rainstorm on June 30 that dumped six inches of water and caused extensive flooding. As a result, Borough President Donald Manes called for Queens to be declared a federal disaster area... Mid-July found Queens stepping prominently into the national political spotlight. Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro officially became the first woman to become a candidate for national office on a major party ticket. In addition, Queens native Mario Cuomo gave the keynote speech at the Democratic Convention, bringing the delegates to their feet. The spectacular reception given the speech increased speculation that the governor would himself be seeking the presidency in 1988....

Locally, Senator Ted Kennedy made an appearance at Borough Hall to formally endorse Congressman Joseph Addabbo in his campaign against challenger Simeon Golar....

In August, Democratic candidates Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro kicked off Campaign ’84 on the steps of Queens Borough Hall. Mondale, who must have been standing downwind, declared, “I smell victory in the air.” Ferraro said it was a “privilege” to represent the people of the 9th Congressional District and that she was “heartened by the warm flow of wishes and encouragement” she had received.... The Hunters Point waterfront development project finally received legislative approval. Signed by Governors Kean and Cuomo, the legislation authorized the Port authority to repair the sewers, bulkheads and infrastructure in the 68-acre area to make way for private development.

Also announced was a two-year, $6 million renovation of Flushing Meadows Zoo. The zoo would specialize in North American animals and would be run by the New York Zoological Society.... In October, the announcement that Queens was to be the site of a new stadium was hailed by local officials, but soon after the Sportsplex Corp. chose the borough, the plan was criticized, principally by Mayor Ed Koch, because it did not recommend a domed stadium. This, some officials have said, was the reason the proposal’s appeal had diminished....