USTA Commission up for planning commission vote soon [DNAInfo]
Is 5 Pointz worth preserving? [Sunnyside Post]
Police arrest suspects in Astoria Park brawl [Astoria Times]
Standard Motors ‘Toxic’ [Queens Gazette]
Remains found inside East Elmhurst garbage bag [Queens Courier]
Check out some of the great photos in our QueensNYC Flickr pool!
Photographer: Alan Houston in Astoria
The Pepsi Cola sign in LIC – one of the best known places in Queens
Yesterday we asked the question, “what are the best known places in Queens?” and we got quite the outpouring of answers! The airports got some love, as did Citi Field and The US Tennis Center. Then there’s the Golden Mall and Xi’an Famous Foods (located in the Golden Mall), and we can’t forget the Lemon Ice King of Corona. There are many more. So check out some of the places our readers consider to be best known places in Queens, via twitter.
glorifiedtomato: Rockaway Beach, 5Pointz, The Boulevard of Death.
New Yorkers like to complain about litter, graffiti, and noise
We love maps here at QNYC and were pretty enthused about checking out this one via io9 called “What do New Yorkers complain about?” You can see block by block what was reported on the issues of litter, graffiti, and noise throughout the city. We noticed a few things: there’s a big pink section in Queens just west of Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Corona neighborhood that is red (graffiti). Also, the southeastern part of Queens is pretty blue; Forest Hill and Rego Park seem to be more concerned about noise, too. The data for this map was culled from 311 calls from 2010-2012.
CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism weights in on the potential QueensWay
The subject of the abandoned rail line that could be the QueensWay (Queens’s own high line?) or turned back into a working rail line (Rockaway Beach Branch), has manifested itself into another website, The Line. From the About page:
The Line is a reporting project by Craft I students at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism. We hope to show all sides of the debate, explore what’s at stake and present the key players who want to create the next stop for the Rockaway Beach Branch rail line in Queens.
This is a site worth keeping an eye on, especially if you are interested in hearing both sides of the argument.
Queens has great street art in LIC, Astoria, and Ridgewood’s neighbor Bushwick
Street art charms us, was must admit. Random, pointless, scribble scrabble graffiti doesn’t, but the street art in this article is not about that. But anyway, ArtInfo has put together a list and accompanying slideshow on where to see great street art in NYC. We were happy to see that 5 Pointz in LIC (GMAP), Welling Court in Astoria (GMAP), and almost-in-Ridgewood but Bushwick 5 Points (GMAP) were all included. Not far from the Ridgewood border – again, in Bushwick – is the art on Vandervoort Place between Flushing Avenue and Thames Street (GMAP) and Gardner Avenue between Flushing and Johnson Avenues (GMAP).
We’ve visited Welling Court (and nearby streets), and the art there is really fantastic. And anyone taking the 7 train through LIC sees the amazing aerosol art at 5 Pointz. Walking from the Jefferson L stop toward 17-17 Troutman in Ridgewood – home to many artists of all kinds – you’ll also see some pretty incredible art. Definitely take some time to check it out.
The origins of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatic Center
Watch and listen to former Borough President Claire Shulman talk about how she got the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatic Center to happen – “she used $8 million from the United States Tennis Association and a “birthday present” from Mayor Giuliani to build a state of the art and incredibly popular swimming pool and ice skating rink in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.”
Rockaway Rises – a different side to the Rockaways
We love this new site, Rockaway Rises, which is “a community for sharing and enjoying the positive aspects of life on our fair peninsula.” Visions of the destruction are not to be submitted here, just shots and artwork of the beauty of the peninsula. A beautiful change of pace.
Image source: Meg Cotner – Welling Court Mural from 2011
ArtInfo has put together a list and accompanying slideshow on where to see great street art in NYC. We were happy to see that 5 Pointz in LIC (GMAP), Welling Court in Astoria (GMAP), and almost-in-Ridgewood but Bushwick 5 Points (GMAP) were all included. Not far from the Ridgewood border – again, in Bushwick – is the art on Vandervoort Place between Flushing Avenue and Thames Street (GMAP) and Gardner Avenue between Flushing and Johnson Avenues (GMAP).
Lunar New Year in 5 cultures
Joanna Eng tells us about Lunar New Year in five cultures – Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan, and Mongolian. And while Lunar New Year is February 10 this year, the big celebration here will be in Flushing on Saturday, February 16. You’ll get the chance to experience the Chinese and Korean takes in particular on this important holiday. Ways to celebrate are watching the parade, “wander from bakery to store to restaurant in Flushing, and order whatever they suggest for the holiday,” or head to Jackson Heights and enjoy some momos (one of the special foods for Losar, Tibetan New Year) in the neighborhood, which is increasingly moving from Little India to Himalaya Heights.
TONY discovers LIC, yet again
Time Out New York continues to have a crush on LIC, and posted a short bit on LIC cultural institutions, such as Gantry Plaza State Park, MoMA PS1, Chocolate Factory, and Oracle Club. Also, “Inevitably, however, regeneration brings the risk that some of the iconoclastic fringe element will be quashed—5Pointz Aerosol Art Center.” This institution is going bye-bye and new condos will be going up in its place.
The case of suspended weekend 7 train service – what exactly is the MTA doing?!?
Curious about what the MTA is doing while the 7 train languishes in LIC on weekends this winter? Well, one of the things they are doing is replacing old track with new track – the scene is pretty amazing, with these heavy, heavy section of tracks raised and lowered, and some parts of the track needing to be cut to accommodate the track swap. The MTA has posted photos of the process to their Flickr account and it’s pretty interesting. Definitely check it out to satisfy your curiosity.
Agenda for the next CB13 meeting is here – heads-up, Rockaways
The folks at Rockaway Emergency Plan posted the agenda on Facebook for the next Community Board 13 meeting on Feb 12. “Beach replenishment and stabilization” is on the schedule, which we expect will be of great interest to the surrounding community. About the meeting, REP says:
It’s been moved to a larger location, the auditorium inside Scholars’ Academy on Beach Channel Drive and Beach 104. We’ve reached out to the Army Corps with some of your questions posted here last month and we’ll publish a primer with hopefully some answers at the end of this week.
Yet your neon on, man
The guys who run Krypton Neon in LIC are holding some workshops where you, too, can learn how to bend glass tubes and create some neon art. These workshops are rare – maybe once a year – so if you’re curious, head on over and take a look-see on their site for class descriptions, timing, cost, etc. This could be exactly what you’re looking for.
We’ve partnered with the Queens Economic Development Corporation!
We just had to tell you the good news – the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) is partnering with BlankSlate (the folks behind QueensNYC)! From the press release:
(Long Island City, N.Y.) – The Queens Economic Development Corporation and BlankSlate — a partially Long Island City-based company that helps web publishers thrive, including Brownstoner, Brokelyn, DumboNYC, Bushwick Daily and Prince of Petworth — have formed a partnership on QueensNYC.com, a daily site about the happenings in New York City’s biggest and most diverse borough.
Hurricane Sandy videos
We put together a collection of videos of Hurricane Sandy before, during, and after it hit. It’s interesting to look back in time, and heartbreaking to see the destruction afterwards. We wonder if this might have been the most recorded hurricane in history, thanks to the explosion of social media and smartphone use lately.
A personal account of Sandy’s devastation by a Broad Channel resident
Christina Sullivan has written about her experience with Hurricane Sandy as a Broad Channel resident. No doubt, there are many of these stories, but take a look at hers, published by the Quinnipiac Chronicle. Particularly poignant is this:
My grandmother’s two-story bungalow stood 30 feet out on Jamaica Bay and was destroyed. The home was 100 years old and has been in my family for nearly 40 years. Her home, and my favorite place in the world, collapsed on itself and floated away.
On the other hand, there’s some good news coming out of Broad Channel – lights and donations
We were happy to learn about some pretty amazing donations coming to the community of Broad Channel. Ambulances and a fire truck have been donated by local groups in Glendale and out in Sag Harbor (Long Island), as well as all the way from Minnesota! The traffic light near the bridge is also back on. Progress.
The Today Show discovers 5 Pointz in LIC
Sara Haines, of the Today Show’s Sara in the City series, took a visit to LIC to check out 5 Pointz. We think it blew her mind. She certainly looked like she was having fun.
Image source: LIC Horror Film Festival
The inaugural Long Island City Horror Film Fest is happening this weekend at 5 Pointz in LIC. The films, all shorts, were submitted during the Open Call earlier this year. Here is a list of the films that will be screened on Saturday night from 9 to midnight:
Beer-infused food is coming to Astoria
Snowdonia, a “trappist-style gastropub” will hit Astoria in the near future, likely in the new year. The owner is pretty excited about this new venture, and has been researching craft beers to include at the restaurant. It would be cool if he brought in some fresh brews from SingleCut Brewsmiths and Rockaway Brewing Company, both of which are making tasty beer locally. We shall see, and when construction starts, we’ll let you know.
Bushwick has its own 5 Points, and it’s also full of beautiful street art
When we first heard about Bushwick Five Points, we immediately thought of 5 Pointz, the premiere center for aeresol art, right here in LIC (but it will be saying bye-bye in a year or so for a new development). Bushwick’s version has some amazing art in it as well and you can see it along the building walls on Scott Avenue, Troutman Street, and St. Nicholas Avenue near the 5 points itself (five streets come together at one point). Joseph Ficalora is the curator of Bushwick Five Points, and is a native to the area, having grown up in Bushwick, and boy-howdy has he seen a lot in his days. The art is pretty amazing and you should really check it out, just over the border from Ridgewood.
Vegetarians rejoice! You’ve got a friend in Richmond Hill
CitySpoonful wrote about a vegetarian restaurant in Richmond Hill called Veggie Castle. It has become popular as a “first-stop destination for reggae artists like Taurus Riley, Mr. Vegas and Luciano, as well as sports players like L.A. Laker Lamar Odum, who quench their appetite for vegetables, soy products and smoothies.” They offer all sorts of food in a steam table set up, and it has become quite a popular spot in the neighborhood. The restaurant is the progeny of Sybil’s, an excellent Guyanese restaurant and bakery in the area.
In Manhattan and Brooklyn, pedestrian plazas and bike lanes help bring in the $$
This morning we learned that those pedestrian plazas and bike lanes are helping the local economy. According to the WSJ, a study by the DOT, ”shows that retail sales jumped 172 percent three years after the very first pedestrian plaza opened in Brooklyn’s Dumbo section.” And about the bike lanes, “three years after the project was completed, shops along the route of the protected bike lane on Ninth Avenue between 23rd and 31st streets saw a 49 percent increase in retail sales.” Not bad, not bad at all. We’d love to see a study done in Queens, especially when it comes to those pedestrian plazas, including the ped plaza in Corona and the plaza in Ridgewood, too.
NYC small businesses can compete for free fiber optics in the ConnectNYC Fiber Challenge
The New York City Economic Development Corporation has put together a competition for NYC-based businesses – small and medium-sized commercial and industrial businesses with 100 employees or less – to get fiber optics installed at their business for free. It’s called Connect!NYC Fiber Challenge and the deadline to enter is Tuesday, November 27, 2012. Tech startups really do have an edge here, since one of the criteria the judging panel is going to look at is just how badly a business needs high speed connectivity. And getting startups connected like this can only help the reputation NYC is working to develop as an important center for tech in the US, if not the world (LIC is well on its way toward that goal).
This fun video arrived in our inbox of local breakdancers at 5Pointz last month, and includes views of some of the graffiti art on the walls of this industrial building which is currently the world’s premiere “graffiti Mecca.” 5Pointz has a some great nicknames – “The Institute of Higher Burnin” is the one the delights us in particular. (more…)
