11/29/12 3:45pm

LIC for Brooklynites – where to live

We’ve published the third installation of our LIC for Brooklynites series – this time we’re focusing on where to live within LIC – the neighborhoods of Hunters Point, Queens Plaza, Court Square, and Dutch Kills. There’s some interesting stuff in there, and we hope you find it useful when visiting and if you’re even considering LIC as your new home (we think it’s a pretty cool neighborhod). Here are the previous two installations, about where to eat and what to do in LIC.

Now that’s cheap gas (retro)

The Queens County Market folks posted this image to their Facebook page. It’s a scene from LIC in 1989 – crazy cheap gas! Hard to remember when it was that low in price.

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Image source: Queens County Market

LIC also has a vegan marshmallow company

Sweet & Sara is a small food business located in the eastern reaches of LIC, that focuses on making vegan sweet treats, especially marshmallows, which are notoriously challenging to make without animal products (gelatin is animal-based). S&S Owner Sara Sohn, who has been a vegan for decades, figured out the magic key to making vegan marshmallows, and busted out with all sorts of tasty things that pretty much anyone can eat. Those peanut butter s’mores look particularly yummeh, too.

Tony Avella will run for Queens Borough President

State Senator Tony Avella (D-Bayside) is running for Queens Borough Prez. The Queens Chronicle says he has a “reputation for red-faced, boisterous confrontations with government officials who draw his ire.” Avella said the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy affected his decision to run. Helen Marshall, the current president, is out next term due to term-limits. Avella believes that the role of the Borough President is to be a messenger for the people of Queens. Read more about it here.

Rock jetties for the Rockaways

A group of community leaders are pressing for 50 rock jetties to be built off the coast of the Rockaway peninsula, in order to protect the area during the next superstorm (and yes, climate scientists expect we’ll have another crazy storm like Sandy sooner than we’d like). The thing is, each jetty costs about a million bucks to build, which is a challenge to the pocketbook. But local leaders believe these jetties are crucial, and then there’s the whole “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” They’ll be rallying this Sunday, 12/2, to convince elected officials to help them out.

10/18/12 3:45pm

Thank you for your feedback!

This morning we asked for your feedback on our site’s new look. Thank you to all who have commented – your remarks have been really helpful! If you haven’t weighed in yet, please feel free.

The Village Voice loves a little bit of Queens

The Voice just released its Best of 2012 awards, and it is great to see so many places in Queens get recognized. Lots about food, but that’s to be expected in a place that has so much great food to offer. RA Dickey, knuckleballer extraordinaire, even got Best Met. Want to see him in action? Check it:

For more about knuckleballs, check out this movie, Knuckleball! “At the last second the ball can change direction.” It is a crazy pitch.

LIC for Brooklynites – cool stuff to do in LIC

We published the second installation in our three part series, LIC for Brooklynites. This time, we have a list of great places to hang out at in LIC – museums and galleries (Noguchi, Fisher Landau), performance venues (Chocolate Factory, Laughing Devil), even a rooftop ice rink (City Ice Pavilion). There is so much going on in LIC, it’s really awesome. Be sure to read our first installation, LIC for Brooklynites – 15 restaurants you should check out. Yummy.

Sweetleaf LIC is a laptop friendly cafe, so says Serious Drinks

Over on Serious Drinks (the liquid arm of Serious Eats) they did a roundup of laptop-friendly cafes around the city. We were pleased to see that Sweetleaf LIC (GMAP) made the cut. They have a cool little laptop room from an old factory table, which has enough room for about 6-8 people around it. The rest of the cafe is off limits to laptops, so it’s nice to know you can go somewhere where laptops are encouraged. We love the coffee at Sweetleaf, too, which sure helps when 3pm hits with that mid-afternoon slump.

Favorite pizzerias – readers weigh in

Today on our question of the day we asked, what is your favorite pizzeria? Here are some of the favorites from our readers.

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Hmm… maybe we need to do a Sac’s-Basil-Nick’s pizza pie throwdown.

10/09/12 3:00pm

Here’s a roundup of our top posts in September:

5. The prettiest blocks in Queens: historic streets in Forest Hills, LIC, Sunnyside, St. Albans and Jackson Heights

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Whether you’re looking for your dream home or just want to go on a scenic stroll, here is our guide to what we think are the five most beautiful streets in the entire borough. They have five different looks and vibes, but all feature lush greenery, appealing architecture, and historic charm – and most of them have been granted landmark status, so they’re bound to stay pretty for decades to come. (more…)

09/19/12 3:45pm

LIC for Brooklynites welcomes our friends to the south to join us for great eats in Queens

Today we published the first in a series called “LIC for Brooklynites,” as a way to introduce some of the great things about LIC to those in neighboring Brooklyn. The first post is on food – 15 restaurants you should check out, including Alobar, Malu, and El*Ay*Si. The hidden gem of Buttercup Bakery is also on the list (they’re only open Tuesday-Friday from 12-3:30pm and the cupcakes are just as delicious as the ones you get in the city, and cheaper). Look for our other two installments soon.

The people behind the Astoria coworking space have created a meetup group and you’re invited to join

Last week we wrote about the Astoria coworking space potentially coming to the neighborhood, and now those that are interested in helping it come to fruition have an outlet for that. Katie Walsh, one of the organizers, has started a Meetup group, Astoria CoWork Space Meetup Group, and you are welcome to join it. Their mission is:

Startup companies, freelance designers, developers, hackers, PR and marketing professionals, writers, students, lawyers, telecommuters and all-around brilliant, awesome people- interested in a coworking space in Astoria? We are opening a collaborative workspace in early 2013 and want to hear from you! Help us build a space to best fit your needs. Come out and have your say!

Their first meetup is happening Tuesday, September 25, 8pm at the Astoria Brewhouse. All are welcome!

Where can you get good whole bean decaf coffee in Queens?

We’ve been enjoying this discussion over on Chowhound, Where To Get Above Average Whole Bean Decaf in Queens? For a long time, any kind of whole bean coffee was hard to find in Queens, unless you knew exactly where to look. It’s gotten a lot better with places like Sweetleaf (which is recommended in the discussion) having opened. Another spot of note is Odradek’s in Kew Gardens.

BORO’s fundraising party for Western Queens Compost Initiative is tonight

Remember, tonight is the big party at Break on Broadway – BORO is helping to raise money for the Western Queens Compost Initiative. The party is from 7-10pm and costs $10.

Burger and beer celebration at Bareburger – happy birthday!

Bareburger is one year old! On Thursday, 9/20 all day, you’re invited to enjoy discounted food and drink all day at their Ditmars/Astoria location. They’ll have $3 sliders (beef, turkey, veggie); 16oz beer for $4 and 25oz for $5. They’ll also have $6 pitchers of Lionshead Lager. Yums all around.