Image source: Rockaway Rises – an amazing shot of color from the Rockaways by Maureen Farley
For so long – well, for about the past three months – the eye on the Rockaways has been focused on the damage and destruction wrought by Hurricane Sandy. The images coming out of this place have been heartbreaking and at times quite difficult to see and stomach. So imagine how happy we were to learn about Rockaway Rises, a website focusing on the exact opposite – in fact, in their About page, they specify, “No devastation and destruction.” (more…)
A new book on Forest Hills is going to be released mid-February, aptly called Forest Hills, the latest in Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series. Forest Hills was America’s first “garden city” and if you’ve ever strolled through Forest Hills Gardens in particular, you’ll see how green and garden-like it can be (in the warmer months, of course). The book will show you this through its more than 200 vintage images of the neighborhood.
Image source: SVA – and example of what you might gain from the work of Operation Photo Rescue
Our friend @duluozcats posted about this very cool effort by the School of Visual Arts in the city – they are calling it Operation Photo Rescue, hosted by SVA’s MPS Digital Photography Department. This could be a huge help for those Sandy victims that also have photo memories that were damaged. (more…)
Here at QueensNYC we love to talk about what’s shiny and new, but we are also fascinated with what came before, too. Over the weekend we came across The Old New York Page on Facebook. Sure, there’s a lot of Manhattan – and the photos are great – but Brooklyn and Queens are also featured from time to time. We are particularly smitten with this shot of the bungalows in the Rockaways from 1910.
Image source: Business Insider – one of the homes destroyed by Hurricane Sandy
Business Insider recently published a couple ofconnected stories on the state of the Rockaways two months after Hurricane Sandy. There are a lot of photos that are worth taking a look at.
Cleanup and repair will come, partially funded by the Federal government, though what the House voted on was a fraction of what was proposed by the Senate – $9.7 billion to $60.4 billion. This money will go towards projects that help the most people (so, the most bang for the buck), like road repairs as well as things having to do with repairing overall infrastructure.
We were particularly impressed by this collection of photos from all over the metro area of the flooding during Hurricane Sandy – the infamous one from LaGuardia airport, heartbreaking ones from the Rockaways (including Breezy Point), and flooding in Jamaica Bay are included. Here’s the LGA one (click to enlarge):
Bier and Cheese is opening in Astoria and we’ve got the details
For years we’ve heard Astorians wishing and asking for a cheese shop in the neighborhood, and now their wish has come true! “Bier and Cheese” is the name of the shop and as you can tell from the name both beer and cheese will be for sale there. Here are the details:
Beer. They hope to serve over 160 kinds of bottled beers (hopefully by Oktoberfest) and 10 beers on tap (so there will be a bar). Since they are opening up in early fall, expect to see seasonal beers (keyword: pumpkin). They also plan to sell beer from Astoria’s own Singlecut Brewsmiths, Brooklyn Brewery, and a variety of other craft beer from around the country as well as imports. Growlers will be available, too. Gao also wants to charge “Queens prices” – that means, on the average, $5/pint, $2.50/bottle, $10.99/six-pack.
Cheese. They expect to sell 40 different kinds of cheeses made from cow, goat, and sheep milks. Both domestic – a good portion should be locally made, too, as well as some from VT – and imported cheeses from countries like France, Spain, and Switzerland will be available. They hope to carry both pasteurized and raw cheeses.
Saturday, September 29 is their soft opening. See you then!
QB President Helen Marshall shares her experience as the daughter of immigrants
The Queens Tribune has a nice article on the September 17th naturalization ceremony at King Manor Museum. September 17 is both Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. This year on this day happened to be the 225th anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution, too. During the ceremony, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall talked about her experience as the daughter of two immigrants. “I lost both of them early in life, but I made it because I was in America and America took care of me.”
We’ve got the deets on Queens – statistics FTW
Are you a statistics lover? Curious about the numbers behind life in Queens? Joanna Eng has written this great article on Queens demographics. There’s a map and everything! It’s really fascinating. Here are a few statistics for you:
Queens households are 68% families, 29% families with children, 26% people living alone, and 7% non-family groups (i.e., roommate situations). The average household size is 2.8 people and the average family size is 3.4. Rentals make up 57% of housing units, while 43% of units are owner-occupied.
People like to fantasize about what kind of restaurant they’d open
It’s Fashion Week! And that means Fashion’s Night Out is happening tonight, now in its fourth year. This is the best day this fall to release your inner fashionista. There are six events happening in Queens tonight – two in Astoria (KrisTEES, Veslo), two in Elmhurst (Steve Madden and Queens Center), one in Flushing (Malawi), and one in Little Neck (Indique Hair).
Korean stews are delish
Over on Chowhound there’s been a short and to the point seres of posts about where to find delicious Korean stews in the outer boroughs (but mostly in Queens). Our fave (not mentioned in the thread) is the kimchi stew at Joo Mak Gol on Farrington Street in Flushing (GMAP). Everything else is good there; you should check it out, especially if you like stews, kimchi, rice cakes, and spicy food.
The Flushing waterfront is poised for a rebirth
We expanded a previous post about the Manhattan Supreme Court halting the $3 billion plan to redevelop the Iron Triangle in Willets Point, that patch of land saturated by auto parts and repair shops, and took a look at the wider view of the Flushing waterfront and how it will likely change over at least the next decade. Have you been out there? If you have a car, there’s a good chance you’ve considered it – prices for things like a windshield repair really are cheap. The eastern side of the Flushing River, though, is a more recognizable part of the neighborhood, known for it’s excellent and authentic Asian food.
In the words of Nick Roberts, project manager at Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation(FWCLDC), “Downtown Flushing, or the Flushing waterfront rather, is an area of enormous untapped potential. We believe that revitalizing Flushing’s waterfront is the next crucial step to furthering Flushing’s status as one of the city’s greatest neighborhoods.”
Yesterday’s LIC
The Long Island City page on Facebook has a collection of amazing photos of LIC’s past. This one is particularly evocative of simpler times.
Honey Deuce – get it at the US Open
There’s a new drink in town and its playfully called the Honey Deuce - a mixture of lemonade, vodka, and black raspberry liqueur, garnished with three honeydew melon balls. Maybe the balls are supposed to represent tennis balls? Delicious tennis balls, if so. You can get it at the concession stands inside Arthur Ashe Stadium and at Grey Goose Bar in the outdoor plaza. It even comes in a US Open 2012 commemorative glass that you can keep.
