One man died and four others were injured when a catwalk utilized by construction crews
buckled, leaving the workers dangling by a "thread" underneath the Queensborough
Bridge ... an agreement between city and state officials paved the way for construction to
finally begin on the 
long-awaited rail link from Kennedy Airport to the subway and the Long
Island Rail Road ...
One of the best and most well-liked people at Queens Borough Hall passed away ... James
"Buz" O’Rourke was a long-time friend of Borough President Claire Shulman,
and a friend and spokesman for the communities and members of the borough’s uniformed
services ... a Tribune front page alerted readers to an $11,000 reward for
information on the man who killed Sgt. Walker Fitzgerald in Jackson Heights on Sept. 6 ...
Queens Democrats continued to line up in support of Rudy Giuliani’s reelection ...
Queens DA Richard Brown announced his decision to try an alleged Queens cop killer under
the state death penalty statute ... George Bell, 20, would face death for killing off-duty
Police Officer Charles Davis and Astoria merchant Ira Epstein in December 1996 ... and a
community advisory panel gave the nod to the city Fire Dept. to open shop at Fort Totten
...
A Criminal Court judge ruled that members of co-op boards could be held criminally
responsible for decisions and actions of the boards ... a first "wave" of
workers were laid off at the Swingline plant ... three Queens cops were cleared by a grand
jury of charges they murdered a Woodhaven man during an arrest for domestic violence ...
and a Tribune front page exposed internal problems at the Playground for All
Children – Flushing Meadows’ prototype facility for children with disabilities
...
Amiee Leonardo of Bayside became a dog’s best friend ... she stopped kids in
Jamaica from stoning a four-month-old stray puppy, then took the little dog for medical
care and found him a home ...
Douglas Manor was landmarked in October ... the affluent eastern Queens community
joined 70 other historic districts in NYC ... a team of violent shotgun-toting bank
bandits terrorized eastern Queens ... Trib Action Desk activist Jennifer Maurici
brought readers the good news about a Hamilton Beach man who won his battle with the city
and was finally going home ... the Tribune examined a Flushing school board’s
role in a bomb threat that changed the face of a school board election ... and the
147-acre Fresh Meadows residential and retail complex was sold for $215 million to three
major real estate interests ...
A Tribune article sought to clarify the city’s landmarking qualifications,
and the MTA vowed to add trains to the infamous No. 7 line ... the move would ease the
commute for straphangers beginning in April 1998 ... a $1 million city funding package
promised to send rockets soaring skyward again from the Hall of Science in Flushing
Meadows ... and Halloween came screeching into Kissena and Flushing Meadows Park, as a Tribune
feature visited Queens’ spookiest sites ... Queens cops laid down the law to would-be
Halloween troublemakers ... ’97 was the most crime-free Halloween in years ...
Judge Loren Duckman was "relieved" of his judicial powers by a NY State
committee that found the judge had abused the bench ... and Jeremy Olshan took us through
the upcoming election with predictions made by "Prognosticating Pundits" ... a Tribune
Election Section took readers through the issues in the days just prior to their visit to
the polls ... and Police Officer Tommy Fahey lost his battle with cancer on Oct. 7 ...
nearly one-thousand people - family, friends and fellow cops, filled a Long Island church
for Tommy’s funeral, where he spoke through his partner to his family and the
community that he said "helped (him) die with dignity"...
