Operation Photo Rescue for damaged photos from Hurricane Sandy

We love this project from the SVA (School of Visual Arts) in Manhattan – Operation Photo Rescue. It’s going on this weekend. More info:

If you had photos that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy, all is not lost. On February 2-3, SVA’s MPS Digital Photography Department is hosting Operation Photo Rescue (OPR), which brings together a worldwide network of volunteers to digitally copy photos for anyone whose pictures were damaged by the storm. The OPR team will be onsite at 133 West 21st Street, Room 101c on Saturday and Sunday from 10am-5pm. Walk-ins are welcome and appointments can be scheduled here.

You can bring up to 20 photos, and if they are deemed repairable, they team will digitally capture and later restore, print and mail them to the owner at no cost. Awesome!

Did you know? No newsstands for you in Astoria.

We caught this little news tidbit in the Queens Chronicle from a couple of weeks ago – recently someone had applied to open a newsstand on the northeast corner of 31st Street and Ditmars Blvd in Astoria, but Community Board 1 smacked it down. CB1 member Jose Batista said, “We never approve them. It’s the third or fourth one in the last two years.” It would have been set up in front of the 24 hour CVS (which is kitty corner from another CVS). When the applicant, noted as “MD” (who apparently also works at superstar restaurant Nobu in Manhattan), was asked “What will you offer that you can’t get at CVS?” the response was “Convenience.” The article goes on to say that a local business person is outraged at the low taxes the newsstand would pay ($1,000 to a restaurant’s $5,000 – but let’s face it, a newsstand takes up way less space than a restaurant) and that they sell porn. In any case, the newsstand won’t be established any time soon.

Our readers weigh in on where to get great bread

This morning we asked, “where do you like to buy bread?” and we got some great suggestions. First, two for La Boulangerie in Forest Hills:

heartOFqueens: “la boulangerie in #ForestHills!”

theglobalgrocer: “Mais bien sur La Boulangerie”

Parisi in Astoria got some love:

tastoriaqueens: “@QueensNYCity I get my daily bread @ Parisi Bakery on my corner in #Astoria. They stock Parisi bread @SorrisoAstoria1 too. Love both places.”

As did Gian Piero

Fooditka: “Gian Pieros rulez”

And another vote for Astoria – Gulluoglu, a Turkish business that makes well-regarded baklava

CitySpoonful: “Gulluoglu occasionally has beautiful bread!”

Art, events, and coffee at Odradeks in Kew Gardens

DNAinfo wrote about Odradeks, an indie coffee shop on Kew Gardens (GMAP), that may become a meeting spot for those interested in the arts. They’ve been open about a year and have held a handful of events, but would like to do more, perhaps even once a week. So far they’ve hung art by local artists, and had some literary events, like readings. There really isn’t anything else like this spot in the area, so the owner, Jacob Ganz, would like to capitalize on that, as there has been a growing desire for artistically-oriented events and activities. In short, the owner says, “There are a surprising amount of people in the neighborhood who write and read. And we want to do more things here.”

Book on Forest Hills available soon

This week we were contacted by Nick Hirshorn, who is the author of the upcoming book Forest Hills, a volume that is part of Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series. We think it’s going to be a very interesting read – here are some of the highlights:

  • Drawing upon original research, the book includes the most thorough narrative yet of Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech at the Long Island Rail Road station in Forest Hills on July 4, 1917
  • Each chapter opens with a defining moment in Forest Hills history: the West Side Tennis Club’s decision to move to Forest Hills in 1914; the debut of the Forest Hills Theatre in 1922; the opening of the subway station at Continental Avenue in 1936 and the public housing controversy that erupted in 1966
  • Showcases notable residents such as Geraldine Ferraro and The Ramones
  • A rare photograph shows the Forest Hills home were Helen Keller lived from 1917 to 1938

The book has a forward by Ray Romano, who grew up in Forest Hills himself.


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