A small-dedicated band of anti-war protesters braved a snowstorm to picket outside the Forest Hills office of Rep. Gary Ackerman. Ackerman, the lone Queens congressman to support the President’s Shield-to-Storm shift, argued in House debates that sanctions didn’t stop Hitler and likewise wouldn’t stop Saddam Hussein: “Force or the threat of force stops bullies.”

Rep. Floyd Flake, speaking for the sticking-with-sanctions approach of the Hamilton-Gephardt Amendment, urged: “Let’s give peace a chance.”

Rep. James H. Scheuer called the Solarz/Mitchel resolution, without a peace pause amendment, “a declaration of war that will take a tragic toll on American lives because of lack of wisdom and lack of patience.”

Rep. Thomas Manton, said he and his constituents were “not convinced all of  the alternatives to war have been exhausted.”

As Tribune staff put finishing touches Wednesday night, Jan. 16, on its next-day issue, the sounds of the Gulf War bombings beginning and sirens wailing came through radio and TV news broadcasts. In the days that followed, reservists began assembling in ever increasing numbers at Fort Totten, Bayside, home of the 77th Army Reserve Command, for deployment to the Persian Gulf and elsewhere….

A Tribune investigative team penetrated Queens airport perimeter fencing and — without disclosing in print the precise locations – called attention to the need to close such security gaps during the war’s duration….

A special report by the newspaper spotlighted the adverse economic impact that Middle East developments were having on the air travel industry in general and Queens airport-related employment in particular. However, Dominick Ciampa, then president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, issued a statement calling the war perhaps “just the tonic for what ails the business community.”…

The Coalition to Save Engine Co. 294 joined with other civic groups and the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) to fight in the courts of law and public opinion for the restoration of company 294, based in Richmond Hill and serving also Woodhaven, Kew Gardens and Ozone Park.

Less than a week after the Co. 294 shutdown, two brothers, Walter Stercyk, 49, and Ihor, 45, died in a blaze that gutted their home only blocks away from the firehouse. Mayor David Dinkins and his Fire Commissioner Carlos Rivera denied Co. 294’s removal was responsible for the firefighting response delay. But community residents blamed the administration, calling the Mayor’s  cutback “murder.”…  

An August Trib report focused on the closing of the Queens Zoo as a new zoo opened in Central Park.

Capt. Mario Fajardo of Flushing, an Ecuadorian who became a U.S. citizen, and graduated from the Citadel Military Academy, became the first Operation Desert Storm combat fatality from Queens. He was killed dismantling mines inside Iraq, a mission for which he volunteered in order to spare the men under his command….

In response to the Tribune’s published investigative report on Queens airport security gaps, authorities installed barbed wire and new fencing at locations suggested to them by the paper, which had not identified the openings in its article and photos.

The mayor lent the prestige of his office to the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) proposal to expand U.S. Tennis Open facilities in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park from its then 17-acres to 31 acres, including three new stadiums (see page 39).…

In March, Queens learned of a second Desert Storm combat fatality from the county: Sgt. Patvouvier “Bobby” Ortiz, 27, who grew up in Richmond Hill. He had been killed on a rescue mission behind enemy lines….

The federal tax evasion case against Rep. Rev. Floyd Flake and his wife caved in after the judge made a key ruling in favor of the defendants that the congregation of the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica had set up a church account for the minister’s use….

Nancy Reagan, who would not comment on whether she was a native daughter of Queens, apparently was. She was born on July 6, 1921, as Anne Francis Robbins of Flushing. The Tribune reproduced the birth certificate showing her address as 417 Amity St., which in today’s street and house numbers and names, translates into 149-4 Roosevelt Ave., Flushing. The house is still standing.…

In May, taking a verbal swing at the news media which he regarded as treating him and his administration unfairly, DA John Santucci announced his resignation as the county prosecutor after 14 often-stormy years, bringing to a close a public career that spanned three decades….

New City Council lines gave Queens five new seats, expanding the county delegation from nine in the outgoing 35-member municipal legislature to 14 in the new 51-member body….

Bloomingdale’s announced plans to close its Fresh Meadows store, which opened in 1949. The decision impacted on 127 full-timer workers, 125 part-timers, and 25 executives….

In June, Gov. Cuomo appointed Appellate Justice Richard Brown as interim DA to serve out the unexpired term of retiring DA John Santucci….

Former Mayor Ed Koch began writing a movie review column for the Tribune and other papers of the News Communications group. They included the Manhattan Spirit, Our Town and Dan’s Papers in the Hamptons….

In September, First Lady Barbara Bush visited the Queens Borough Public Library’s main facility in Jamaica to honor and promote its highly acclaimed adult literacy and New Americans programs….

A special Tribune report focused on the fact that the Queens Zoo, reportedly shut down for renovation the same day the new zoo in Central Park opened in August 1988, remained closed despite completion of the work. New York City Parks Commissioner Betsy Gotbaum later announced the Queens Zoo would reopen during the Queens Festival weekend in June 1992….

Stroehmann Bakeries of Horsham, Pa., announced plans to shut down its landmark Taystee bread plant in Flushing alongside the Van Wyck Expressway. Management blamed the high labor costs of production in New York City and its plant’s obsoleteness as too costly to modernize….

The Mario Cuomo for President guessing game was in full swing as the days dwindled down to a precious few before the New Hampshire primary filing deadline….

In December,  Pan American Airlines shut down its business at Kennedy Airport and elsewhere around the country after 60 years as the U.S. flagship airline….