Queens residents filed into an Elmhurst elementary school last week to hear MTA officials pitch the Interborough Express, a proposed light rail line to connect Queens to Brooklyn that could eventually eliminate an aggravating and time-consuming trip through Manhattan for thousands of riders a day.

City Council Speaker and Hollis native Adrienne Adams shook hands with a cadre of judges who took the seats usually occupied by jurors watching lawyers argue civil matters. Audience members enjoyed lunch and speakers counted the contributions of the many African American workers who are part of the court system.

As New York City’s jail system emerges from its deadliest year in a decade, a controversial proposal to intercept and digitize mail sent to incarcerated people will be reviewed by an internal committee, officials with the Board of Correction announced on Tuesday.