Displaced Rockaway bartenders and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Wednesday January 2, 2013

Hurricane Sandy displaced Rockaway bartenders get a break, thanks to Michael Sinensky

Rockaway-born Michael Sinensky made it big – he runs 10 bars in the city, including the popular SideBAR, which is the site of a terrific project he’s implemented post-Hurricane Sandy. On Fridays he is able to give a shift to a Rockaway bartender that has been displaced by Hurricane Sandy. The bar they normally work at is likely under construction or just plain destroyed. The staff at SideBAR is happy to help out this way, too, so no worries about professional jealousy or resentment. Sinensky plans to carry this on for another few months.

Former Wall Street worker now drives a cab on the streets of NYC

The NY Post published a nice human interest story about 49 year old Forest Hills resident Jack Alvo, who used to earn a quarter of a million dollars in finance, but lost his job in 2009 (he also escaped the WTC on 9/11) in the financial mess that hit the country. He enjoys his time as a cabbie but hopes to get back to work in finance at some point. He even keeps copies of his resume in the back of the cab in case he picks up a fare that could possibly help him out. Earlier this year, he was featured on CBS News because of his unique story and efforts to change his situation.

Beautiful snowy scenes from Woodhaven

The folks over at Project Woodhaven took a bunch of snaps of the most recent dusting of snow in the area. It’s so pretty! Lots of shots of Forest Park are in the collection. Definitely check out the winter wonderland.

The Silent Taco

We’ve recently become aware of The Silent Taco, billed as, “a house concert series specializing in solo performances, held in a tiny one bedroom apartment in Astoria, Queens.” Husband and wife team Tom Blancarte and Louise D.E. Jensen run it. Check out this video for a recent performance from about a month ago:

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/54486173]

The next event is on Saturday, January 19  – tubist Dan Peck celebrates the release of his debut solo record at The Silent Taco. Saxophonist Joachim Badenhurst, from Belgium, will also perform. There will be cactus tacos, too.

Hunters Point South building at 1-50 50th Ave makes progress

The building that will be at 1-50 50th Ave has its zoning documents in place – the DOB approved then mid-December. This residential building will be at the north tip of the Hunters Point South development and will have 37 stories at 627,960 square feet (a sliver of that at 13,766 square feet will be commercial), 619 apartments and 223 enclosed parking spaces. It will be at the corner of 50th Ave and 2nd Street. Check out some of the drawings!