On Saturday, April 6th, the great Bill Cosby drew over 2,000 patrons to the Colden Auditorium at Queens College from all over the NY metro area. The audience laughed with Mr. Cosby as he spun stories and tales on parenting and relationships in his signature style.
Halletts Point redevelopment is back in the news. The NYC EDC, which has backed the East River Ferry, is looking to extend the ferry service to Halletts Point.
From DNAinfo:
City and federal officials are looking for funding from Washington to expand the East River Ferry, pushing a plan that would bring the waterway service to Astoria’s developing Hallets Point peninsula and several other city neighborhoods.
The following was originally published January 4, 2013.
City and federal officials are looking for funding from Washington to expand the East River Ferry, pushing a plan that would bring the waterway service to Astoria’s developing Hallets Point peninsula and several other city neighborhoods.
Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130404/astoria/officials-push-for-east-river-ferry-expansion-astorias-hallets-point#ixzz2Pt1zo2Ax
Image source: Lincoln Equities
The Halletts Point development has been back in the news recently. First, what is Halletts Point? It’s a new development planned for the waterfront along the land mass called Hallett’s Point, a peninsula that juts out into the East River (GMAP) just south of Astoria Park. It is home to the Astoria Houses, Build it Green! and a few other businesses (including the mysterious Hellgate Filming Studios), and Whitey Ford Field.
Here are some of the elements in this development:
According to a presentation given recently by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection at a Newtown Creek Community Advisory Group meeting the phase out a 800,000-gallon sludge storage tank and dock in Greenpoint is moving forward. DEC will replace the dock and tank, which has been in place since 1967, with new infrastructure that is around the corner from the Greenpoint dock on the Newtown Creek and is much closer to the wastewater treatment plant that produces the sludge. This move makes room for an expanded Newtown Park and is a step in the the much larger Greenpoint Williamsburg Waterfront Access Plan.
Google has captured a good picture of a DEP boat docked at the storage tank in Greenpoint (GMAP).
You’ve seen the DEP sludge boats a million times going up and down the East River.
Photo Courtesy Mitch Waxman
In addition to the proposed Queensway, there are quite a few other High Line-esque projects that have either come to life or are in the proposal and planning stages.
There are more than 17k photos in the High Line Flickr pool. This one courtesy of Josiah Lau Photography
The Bloomingdale Trail – Chicago
The Reading Viaduct – Philadelphia
Which way the Queensway will go is still uncertain. We’re of course hoping that whatever gets done (if anything) to this three mile stretch between Forest Hills and Atlantic Avenue is great. Right?
We do understand that making the decision of which way to go will be rough. People have different visions of what the future of the area should look like and what interests should be served. Also, on a more here and now level, some of the rail line passes through commercial areas, some through Forest Park, while a majority passes by private backyards, e.g. privacy advocates and public access advocates have at it! (more…)
In Queens, you can find history in the most unexpected places. Take this gas station in College Point that Scouting New York visited last month. The typical retro service station has a sign in the window that says, “EST. 1868.” Hmm, that’s before the invention of the automobile.
It turns out that the Farrington family business was once a blacksmith shop that made horseshoes, so they’ve always been involved in the transportation industry. Sometime between 1917 and 1920, they adapted with technology and started servicing cars instead.
Here’s a roundup of our top posts in March 2013. As usual, food is a big interest as well as the ever more invisible dividing line between Queens and Brooklyn. ‘A newbie’s guide to Astoria subway stops – the N/Q’ takes the top spot though – and thanks again ghoes to Bushwick Daily for its inspiring A Newbie’s Guide to Bushwick Subway Stops.
5. Do you know where the border between Queens and Brooklyn lies?
What actually divides Queens and Brooklyn? There’s no great wall or border patrol to mark the line between Brooklyn and Queens. The Queens-Brooklyn border issue has been confounding the two boroughs, especially residents of Ridgewood and Bushwick, for hundreds of years.
Hindus celebrated their new year Saturday at the annual Phagwah Parade (also known as Holi) in Richmond Hill. The Holi tradition is to color people with dye and powder, bringing winter to a colorful end. Photographer Jorge Quinteros captured the celebration in a splendid series of portraits.
To see the rest of the portraits, visit the photographer’s website.
In Phoenix for Passover after visiting border and immigration briefings. Thanks @senjohnmccainfor the matzah. twitter.com/ChuckSchumer/s…
— Chuck Schumer (@ChuckSchumer) March 28, 2013
