The Year of the Ox begins on Feb. 12, according to Chinese tradition, and hard work, prosperity, and wellness are on tap. This augurs well for Queens Botanical Garden, which is celebrating Lunar New Year with festive décor, giveaways, Black History Month activities, and a plant sale until Feb. 28. Drop in to the Visitor

Shop locally. Order directly from individual websites. Write positive reviews. Do “shout outs” on social media. Buy gift cards. Send love letters. Queens Economic Development Corporation’s MadeInQueens program has joined forces with 43 other business boosters across New York City to deliver messages of love and support to small businesses via the Sweethearts Shop Local

Smiles mixed with conversations about the art of the deal when the Queens Economic Development Corporation and the NYS Empire State Development Corporation hosted a virtual diploma ceremony for their most recent Entrepreneurship Assistance Center training program on Tuesday, Jan. 26. Between October and December 2020, the 17 graduates completed a rigorous, 20-session training on

Is Richmond Hill open for business? The Southeast Queens neighborhood has two vibrant, diverse shopping centers — Liberty Avenue and 101st Avenue between the Van Wyck Expressway and Woodhaven Boulevard, but there are sanitation and marketing challenges, according to a new Commercial District Needs Assessment that the Queens Economic Development Corporation created with NYC Small

Not to be confused with Roti or Bhatura, Paratha is a flaky, ghee-fried flatbread that’s popular in the Indian Subcontinent. The most common Bangladeshi version (sheka or cheka) has countless crispy layers, but is still chewy, and it goes with just about any kind of meat and vegetable. Plus, it can scoop up curries, dip

Sandpipers are tiny wader birds that complete roughly-19,000-mile treks from Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego to the Artic and back every year. Deborah Cramer is a nature writer who followed some sandpipers, or red knots, on their annual migration and wrote about it in her book, The Narrow Edge: A Tiny Bird, An Ancient Crab, and