Tag: LIC

by Conal Darcy

04/24/13 11:00am

Barbecue, Whiskey, Cigars, Oh My!

by Conal Darcy

Outings

There’s a lot of buzz about Studio Square’s upcoming Smoke festival in LIC. Our interest was piqued until we took a look at the price tag. It’s $114 just to attend! That seems a little high, especially since that same day you could hop on the G and attend GoogaMooga in Prospect Park for half the price. But then we found out what you get for it and, well, it’s a relative bargain.

(more…)

BBQ, cigars, festivals, LIC, Studio Square, whiskey

Hunters Point

04/19/13 9:00am

QNYC Event Highlight: Green Space Blooms — A Queens Festival of Dance and Music

Categories, Long Island City, Music

ArtBark International, Ballet International Africans, Dance Entropy, green space, Green Space Blooms, LatticeWorks Dance Collective, LIC, Long Island City, Open Music Education, Valerie Green

Image Source: Green Space

There once was a place called “Queens.” In the early 2000s, this borough became home to a growing — and growing — community of choreographers and dancers. By April 2007, it was a hotspot, and Green Space Blooms, a festival celebrating local dance and music talent, was born in LIC. Just like the borough, the festival grew and grew, and this year, the seventh annual Green Space Blooms features 40 diverse choreographers. On April 20 and 21, the festivities will include such talent as LatticeWorks Dance Collective, Ballet International Africans and ArtBark International. Plus, Green Space‘s founder, Valerie Green, and its resident company, Dance Entropy, will participate. Each evening will end with a post-performance party with sounds curated by Open Music Education.

Green Space Blooms: A Queens Festival of Dance and Music
Green Space
37-24 24th Street, LIC

Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21

1pm – 3pm | $10

Music

by Lori Gross

04/16/13 3:00pm

LIC startup Songza Pulls in another $3.8 Million

by Lori Gross

If there is a playlist for raking in millions in investment capital, the guys at Songza probably have it queued.

Based in Long Island City, Songza is a free music streaming service which offers playlists organized by mood or occasion. So if you’re feeling cocky, you can play the “Eye of The Tiger: Confidence Mix“. The site recommends “Take it Sleazy” if you’re in the mood for stoking loose morals.

According to their April 4 SEC filing they got 27 investors to front them $3.8 million.

TechCrunch reports:

While Amazon has long been an “unconfirmed” investor listed on AngelList, it parlayed its investment in the earlier Aime St vehicle into Songza. In late 2011 the startup closed what was reportedly a ‘seven-figure’ round of financing led by investors, including Deep Fork Capital, as well as an “undisclosed strategic investor.” Also participating in the round was Geoff Judge, co-founder of 24/7 Real Media.

Songza [AngelList]
Songza secures $3.8M to keep music fans connected to killer playlists [VentureBeat]
Free music streaming service Songza raises $3.82m in funding [SlashGear]
Songza reached the 1 million member mark in Canada [QNYC]
Songza may be your new best streaming music friend [QNYC]

App, LIC, Music Concierge, Songza, Technology

Announcements

Astoria

04/12/13 4:07pm

Donation Starts Cooking

Food and Drink, Long Island City, News

Connie Tang, Entrepreneur Space, Katherine Gregory, LIC, Long Island City, NYC Economic Development Corporation, Princess House

Image Source: Entrepreneur Space

The Entrepreneur Space is running out of space! On April 11, the LIC-based food-and-business incubator received more than 20 boxes of cookware, silverware, bakeware, cutlery and just about everything else a kitchen could want, thanks to a donation from Princess House, a party-plan, direct-selling company that promotes female entrepreneurship. Located at 36-46 37^th St., the E-Space is a 12,500-sq.-ft., NYC Economic Development Corporation-sponsored hub with a fully equipped commercial kitchen, offices and classrooms that entrepreneurs can rent at below-market rates as they build their businesses. Consultant Kathrine Gregory (at right in photo with Princess House President and CEO Connie Tang) noted that this donation — valued at over $12,000 — will be put to extremely good use as the E-Space currently has roughly 170 clients who make everything from gluten-free baked goods to Greek garlic dip to designer marshmallows.

04/10/13 9:00am

QNYC Event Highlight: I’m Tawkin Here — Storytelling with a New Yawk Accent

Categories, Education, Food and Drink

keep_calm_and_fuggedaboutit_by_vicesome-d5gipei

Image Source: Vicesome

Combining storytelling, history and the arts, the Five Boro Story Project seeks to strengthen community connections, preserve local history, and boost pride in NYC neighborhoods. The nonprofit’s newest series, I’m Tawkin Here: Storytelling with a New Yawk Accent, kicks off on April 10 at the New York Irish Center before traveling through the five boroughs on five consecutive Wednesdays until May 8. The show features Broad Channel native Tara Clancy, a fifth-generation New Yorker and the Moth GrandSLAM storytelling champion whose solo show “Channel Rat” was featured in the NY Fringe Festival. LIC’s Kambri Crews, a storyteller, public speaker and author of Burn Down the Ground, is scheduled to perform, as are Rockaway’s Ed Shevlin, an Irish speaker, Fulbright Commission for Summer Language Study winner and part of the heroic sanitation team that that cleaned up the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy, and Howard Beach representative Angel Yau, a comedienne extraordinaire with Upright Citizen’s Brigade and Mortified! storytelling. Jamaica’s SoSoon of Mi-6, an emcee, songwriter and the self-proclaimed “Spike Lee of hip hop” is in charge of the music.

I’m Tawkin Here: Storytelling with a New Yawk Accent
New York Irish Center
10-40 Jackson Avenue, LIC
Wednesday, April 10
7:30pm – 9pm | Free

04/04/13 9:00am

QNYC Event Highlight: A Selection of Contemporary Realist Masters

Categories, Featured, Food and Drink

Diverse Visions of Reality

Image Source: Federico Castelluccio

Much of the world knows him as Furio on the HBO series The Sopranos. But Federico Castelluccio is also a renowned realist painter, art collector and connoisseur of the baroque genre who received a full scholarship to the School of the Visual Arts. Tonight, April 4, the Naples native takes his act to LIC’s Diego Salazar Art Gallery, where the month-long Diverse Visions of Reality exhibit opens. Presented in conference with another respected artist, Nelson Shanks, the show features two works each from 11 painters — co-curators Shanks and Castelluccio, plus Humberto Aquino, Christopher Pugliese, Steven Assael, Mario Robinson, David Brega, Scott Nickerson, Patricia Watwood, Katie O’Hagan and Will Wilson. There is yet another reason to party hearty at this opening as this show also marks the Salazar Gallery’s one-year anniversary.

Diego Salazar Art Gallery

21-25 44th Avenue, LIC

Mon.-Fri. (11am-6pm), Sat. (noon-5pm) until May 4 | Free

Christopher Pugliese, David Brega, Diego Salazar Art Gallery, Diverse Visions of Reality, Federico Castelluccio, Furio, Humberto Aquino, Katie O'Hagan, LIC, Long Island City, Mario Robinson, Nelson Shanks, Patricia Watwood, Salazar Gallery, Scott Nickerson, Steven Assael, The Sopranos, Will Wilson

04/03/13 9:00am

QNYC Event Highlight: The Big Thing

Categories, Food and Drink

Image Source: How Stuff Works

Breaking into the comedy scene is funny, but it’s not all fun and games. Up-and-coming jokesters need perseverance, focus, creativity and energy. But now they have some good news: The Big Thing at the Laughing Devil Comedy Club. Starting April 3 and repeating every Wednesday until May 8, the LIC venue will host talented performers who will compete to be the next Big Thing. Bringing their A-Games to show off for the audience and the club bookers, these performers have been vetted by the club. Those who bring down the house earn the coveted position of club regular. The show also features some special guest headliners.

The Big Thing

Laughing Devil Comedy Club

47-38 Vernon Boulevard, LIC

Wednesday, April 3 (repeats every Wednesday until May 8)

8pm – 10pm | $10

Big Thing, laughing devil, LIC, Long Island City, Vernon Boulevard

Announcements

04/02/13 3:43pm

SculptureCenter Shapes Up

Arts and Culture, Categories, Education, News, Real Estate

Americans with Disabilities Act, Department of Cultural Affairs, Helen M. Marshall, Jimmy Van Bramer, Kate D. Levin, LIC, Long Island City, Mary Ceruti, Purves Street, Sascha S. Bauer, SculptureCenter

Image Source: SculptureCenter

When it comes to expansions, this group breaks the mold. On April 2, the SculptureCenter announced a renovation of its LIC facility that aims to improve the quality of the exhibition spaces and the visitor flow. The undertaking will create a 2,000-sq-ft. addition to the existing Purves Street facility, and the renovated facility will comply with all current building codes, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.

SculptureCenter will remain open during construction with some modification to its exhibition schedule and public hours. With an expected completion in fall 2014, the rehab includes the following:

6,500 square feet of flexible interior exhibition space that will accommodate work of diverse
forms and scale;
a 2,000 sq.-ft., one-story entrance lobby with bookshop, coatroom, seating area,
and restrooms;
an elevator and stairway to the lower level galleries;
a 1,500-sq.-ft. enclosed courtyard for outdoor exhibitions and events;
upgrades to electrical and mechanical systems; and
office and storage space improvements.

Seen at the groundbreaking ceremony are (from left) Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall, City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, SC Executive Director and Chief Curator Mary Ceruti, SC Board Chair Sascha S. Bauer and NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin.

Astoria

04/02/13 9:00am

QNYC Event Highlight: The First Museum Exhibition to Explore the Music Video’s Art, History, Future and Influence

Categories, Education, Featured, Long Island City, Music