Southeast Queens Scoop Blog - Streetwise Digital News cover Southeast Queens and Jamaica NY: 2026-01-18

Friday, January 23, 2026

Get The Scoop On Tapping Into Business Growth With The Southeast Queens Business Incubator With RDRC

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TAP Into Business Growth with the
Southeast Queens Business Incubator

RDRC Launches Southeast Queens Business Incubator Winter 2026 Program to Scale Local Black-Owned and Developing Businesses

Entrepreneurs across Southeast Queens — especially those building from the Rockaway Peninsula — have a powerful new opportunity to grow, scale, and access major procurement pipelines as the Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation (RDRC) prepares to launch its Southeast Queens Business Incubator (SEQBI) – Winter 2026 session.

Based in Far Rockaway at 1920 Mott Avenue, RDRC is once again stepping forward as a major driver of Black and community-centered economic development in Southeast Queens, offering a 10-week intensive incubator program designed to position local businesses for serious growth.

Program Dates & Structure

According to the official SEQBI flyer, the Winter 2026 session will run from February 4th through April 8th, 2026

Entrepreneurs interested in applying can also attend one of the program’s upcoming Information Sessions, scheduled for:

January 14th, 11AM–12PM

January 21st, 11AM–12PM

January 28th, 11AM–12PM

These sessions will be held virtually via Zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/95324580124.

Registration Form: Click Here

Thursday, January 22, 2026

Get The Scoop On Why Queens Residents Are Fired Up About a Lithium-ion Battery Plant in Historic Addisleigh Park in St. Albans

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Proposed Lithium-ion Battery Plant in Southeast Queens Spurs Community Concern

Southeast Queens NY — A proposal by NineDot Energy to build a lithium-ion Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the St. Albans/ Addisleigh Park area of Southeast Queens has sparked ongoing protests and vocal opposition from local residents and civic leaders.

NineDot Energy, a Brooklyn-based clean energy developer, is planning to build a community-scale battery storage facility — part of a wave of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects the company says will help the region’s energy grid store renewable power, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and meet New York’s climate goals.

Community Safety and Fire Risk Concerns

Many Southeast Queens residents, including members of the Addisleigh Park Civic Association, and Southeast Queens environmental justice groups, are concerned about the plant’s proposed location in a primarily residential area that is rich in history and home to families, seniors, and community institutions.

Critics point specifically to the risk of lithium-ion battery fires, which have drawn national attention because of their intensity and difficulty to extinguish once they ignite. A high-profile fire at a large battery storage facility in California burned for days and forced evacuations — a reminder of the safety challenges associated with the technology.

In St. Albans, residents fear that any such incident near homes, schools, senior centers, and healthcare facilities could have devastating consequences — particularly in a historic neighborhood like Addisleigh Park, known as “Black Hollywood East” for attracting jazz legends, sports icons and cultural figures throughout the 20th century. “One of the biggest concerns is fire,” a community member told local media this summer, noting that once lithium batteries enter thermal runaway — a chain reaction of overheating — the blaze can be nearly impossible to extinguish and release dangerous gases that imperil nearby homes and residents.

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Dr. Gerald Deas: Honoring a Southeast Queens Legend, Healer, and Cultural Light

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Dr. Gerald Deas: Honoring a Southeast Queens Legend, Healer, and Cultural Light

Southeast Queens is mourning the reported passing of one of its most respected men, Dr. Gerald Deas — a brilliant physician, community servant, cultural worker, and elder whose life embodied healing in every sense of the word.

Dr. Deas, reportedly in his 90s, represented a generation of Black physicians who practiced medicine when access to quality healthcare for our people was neither equal nor guaranteed. His work helped lay the foundation for today’s fight for health equity in our communities.

Though major media outlets have yet to formally report his transition, word within the community is that Dr. Deas has become an Ancestor. For those who knew him, worked alongside him, or were healed by his hands and spirit, the loss is deeply felt.

Dr. Deas was far more than a medical doctor. He was a community institution.