Click on the header above to view the monthly events calendar for Queens Neighborhoods.
MTA Fare Hike This Weekend - QueensMarch 9, 2013 / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Buzz. The MTA fare hike becomes effective this weekend. Subway and bus rids will rise from $2.25 to $2.50 on a MetroCard and a single purchase fare will rise from $2.50 to $2.75. New cards will cost an additional $1. The monthly card will rise from $104 to $112 and the weekly will rise from $29 to $30. Weekly express bus passes will rise from $50 to $55. Tolls on the MTA's seven bridges and two tunnels will rise from $6.50 to $7.50 per single pay riders, and from $4.80 to $5.33 for The funds will raise an additional $450 million per year and help fund operations and infrastructure maintenance. Click here for other Queens News briefs. |
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Rise of the GuardiansAnimation Exhibit & Video at the Museum of the Moving ImageNovember 10, 2012 / Fashion Film & Music in Queens / Astoria / Queens Buzz. The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria just opened a new film exhibit about the soon-to-be released Dreamworks film, Rise of the Guardians. I’ll tell you more about the exhibit, after I tell you about the film itself, which opens nationally, Wednesday, November 21st in movie theaters around Queens and the nation. In my mind, the movie is already a classic. The pop artwork is superb, the 3 D effects are the best I’ve seen [possibly in part thanks to MOMI facilities] and most importantly, the story is a well told tale - complete with Jungian archetypes and without any real violence. To a weather worn NYC public, this movie will be a welcome escape into a kinder, gentler, animated 3D world. Click here to read more about the Rise of the Guardians 3D animated film exhibit in Astoria Queens. |
Astoria Park Performance SpaceDraft Plans Shown – Public Comment SoughtFebrurary 21, 2013 / Astoria News / Astoria Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. I attended the Community Board 1 meeting on Wednesday night where the Parks Department unveiled their draft plans for the new performance space in Astoria Park. The presentation included a brief history of the Astoria Pool Diving area where the new performance space will be installed, as well as draft details of what is planned. City Councilmember Peter Vallone was credited with securing $4.5 million in NYC funds for the project, which he described as a beginning. There were a number of Astoria and Queens arts groups present at the meeting and they made comments following the presentation. We’ll post more about the Astoria Park Performance space later. Click here to go to the Astoria Neighborhood section of this site, or on the photo above for other Astoria News briefs. We'll have more on this seminar later in the quarter. In the meantime click here for other Astoria News briefs. |
NYC World's Fair - 1939 - 1940 in Flushing QueensPart I - Out of the Ashes Rises the PhoenixBattle for the Heart of a Park …... and the Soul of a BoroughJanuary 12, 2013 / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Issues / Queens Buzz. Over the past six months we’ve been watching with interest as events have been unfolding regarding the building of a 25,000 seat soccer stadium right in the heart of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. There are also a number of other proposals working their way through the political process / local government, which calls for the cessation of public lands to build private enterprises on various sections of Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
The graphic above was provided by one of the community groups opposed to the Flushing Meadow Corona Park developments. It's worth noting that most of the colored areas already have pavement or structures covering the land. The exception is that of the proposed Stadium & Concert venue [yellowish green], which would be a completely new development, replacing water vessels which were created for the Worlds Fair. See the map in the header of this series [top of page] where the dark red square represents the approximate acreage and location of the proposed stadium / concert venue. Queens Buzz has put together a series of reports, which we will run in the coming days about the proposed developments in Flushing Meadow Corona Park. This report starts with a bit of the history of the park, which began around the turn of the last century when Flushing Meadows Corona Park was just an ashpile. The focus of this report is the 1939 NYC World's Fair which was held in Flushing Meadow Park as it was then called. |
Currently four separate proposals are in process for planned developments in Flushing Meadow Corona Park. They include: 1) a chain store shopping mall / complex in the southwest corner of the Citifield parking lot [pink], 2) a housing / condominium / hotel complex on the lands the city acquired in its use of eminent domain to develop Willets Point [blue], 3) the expansion of the USTA facilities in the northwest section of the USTA franchise in the park [orange] and 4) the erection of a thirteen plus acre stadium / sports complex in the middle of Flushing Meadows Corona Park [yellowish green].
Hispanic Expo Highlights Local LatinsMarch 25, 2013 / Flushing Neighborhood / Queens Business / Queens Buzz. I attended the Hispanic Marketing Expo last Sunday at CitiField in Flushing. The two day event, sponsored by La Nueva Radio Internacional, included a wide variety of local businesses serving the Latin American community in Queens. Some of the exhibitors imported goods from their countries of origin to sell locally, some manufactured goods locally that are similar to goods that can be found in their countries of origin, and many others were owned by Latinos that provided local goods and services catering to the entire community. There was a steady flow of hundreds of people through the exhibit space on Sunday afternoon. The exhibit personnel were busy interacting with the attendees, conversing in both English and Spanish, sometimes in the same conversation. The mood was festive and social. Later this month we'll post a report about the Hispanic Expo at CitiField, including a photo slide show of the event. Click here to read other Flushing News briefs. |
Queens - The Home of JazzLouis Armstrong House Block Party & Jazz MobileAugust 20, 2012 / Corona Neighborhood / Live Music in Queens / Queens Buzz. The Louis Armstrong House hosted a block party last week, including one of the current jazz greats, Arturo O'Farrill. Arturo's work has been nominated for several Grammy Awards and he won the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2009 with the work entitled Song For Chico. The album is dedicated to Arturo's father, Chico, who worked with many of the NYC jazz legends including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman, as well as Latin jazz great Machito. Both Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman lived in Queens, and are said to have jammed with Louis at the Armstrong House in Corona. Arturo is shown above playing at the Louis Armstrong House Block Party in the Corona neighborhood of Queens. I also had the opportunity to speak with Robin Bell-Stevens, whose father played with Duke Ellington who was a friend of Louis'. Robin runs the Jazzmobile which was the sponsor of the event. Click here to view our report and photos of the Louis Armstrong House Block Party & Jazzmobile in Queens. |
Passover in Jackson HeightsKehillat Tikvah Celebrates 5th Passover in QueensApril 1, 2013 / Jackson Heights / Judaism in Queens / Queens Buzz. On March 26th I attended the fifth annual Kehillat Tikvah Tuesday evening at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Jackson Heights. This Passover was hosted by Kehillat Tikvah, which is a relatively new community of hope, located in Jackson Heights. Rabbi Laurie Gold led the evening of festivities. I arrived around 6 pm as the organizers were finishing up last minute details for the event. A U shaped table formation in the middle of the large room had been set, and there were containers of warm food laid out along a long table in front of the kitchen. People within the community were conversing, and without much effort I was drawn into a conversation with the folks sitting next to me. Click here to read the rest of our report on the Kehillat Tikvah Passover in Jackson Heights later this month and click here for other Jackson Heights News briefs. |
York College - Jamaica QueensEmerging Powerhouse In Central QueensMarch / Jamaica Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. I had occasion to visit York College to learn more about one of the four CUNY [City University Of New York] colleges in Queens. The four CUNY colleges in Queens are geographically dispersed throughout the borough, including locations in Long Island City [LaGuardia Community College], Flushing [Queens College], Jamaica [York College] and Bayside [Queens Borough Community College]. York College and Queens College are four year Baccalaureate degree awarding colleges, which also offer several Masters degrees; while LaGuardia and Queens Borough Community Colleges are two year Associates degree awarding colleges. CUNY also has a Law School which will be re-located from Flushing to Long Island City [LIC] in the fall of 2011. Click here to read our full report, including numerous photos, about York College and the York Performing Arts Center. |
King Manor Makes MerryJanuary 2013 / Jamaica News / Queens Buzz. King Manor Museum hosted some old fashioned holiday festivities just before the Christmas holiday. They set up a workshop in the back room where families and kids could come to create tree decorations out of the materials used back in the days of Rufus King. We participated in the workshop, making stringers out of popcorn, cranberries and the like. And click here to read more Jamaica News briefs. |
Virtual Arts TV Shows Their TITSWired Arts Fest Celebrated in QueensMarch 8, 2013 / Theater in Queens / Long Island City Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. I attended a Virtual Arts TV performance, entitled TITS, on February 19th at the Secret Theatre in Long Island City. The performance was part of a twelve-day event entitled Wired Arts Fest. Wired Arts Fest is one of the first of its kind, and by the looks of things, appears to not only have legs, but great TITS as well. TITS, the show, is the brainchild of Ege Maltepe who is a Turkish actress from Turkey who now resides in NYC. The comedy lecture takes on one of huMANity’s favored subjects: TITS. It seems Ege stumbled upon the American [and perhaps global] fascination with this part of the female anatomy while joking around. She found that both women, as the owners, and most men; have something between a fascination and obsession with TITS. And so she created Professor G, the main character in this one-woman comedy lecture. Click this link to view the Virtual Arts TV Queens performance of TITS, including photos of the performance [NOT FOR CHILDREN]. |
Legislative Agendas For Western QueensMarch 9, 2013 / Long Island City / Queens Business / Queens Buzz. I attended a Legislative breakfast hosted by the Long Island City Partnership on Friday. NYS Senator Michael Gianaris and NYC Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer were on hand to talk about what is going on legislatively in Albany and downtown at city hall. EDUCATION & QUEENS SCHOOLS. Education and school closings were discussed with both government officials opposing the approach being taken by the Mayor to close Queens high schools. It was noted that Senator Gianaris graduated from LIC H.S. and then went onto graduate from Harvard, that Assemblywoman Nolan graduated from Ridgewood H.S. and went onto graduate from NYU and that NYC Councilmember Van Bramer graduated from Bryant H.S. and went onto graduate from St. John's College. All three of these high schools were on the chopping block in Spring of 2012 [click here for our Spring 2012 report on Queens high school closings].
HIGH TECH JOBS / TAX BREAKS. They talked about the pending development of a high tech college campus on Roosevelt Island in the coming decade. They saw this as a potential source of good jobs in the area, given Queens proximity to the campus and talked about the possibility of using tax breaks to incent start ups to stay in NYC. They cited the TV Film Industry Tax breaks given several years ago as being good for the TV film industry in Queens. POWER INDUSTRY IN QUEENS. They also talked about the power industry in Queens. Queens is the source of 60% of all of NYC's power generation. The old Poletti Power Plant is in the process of being de-constructed, and the newer power plants have been able to continue to provide power without disruption.
We were told that the Department of Transporation is not interested in building any new city parking lots. And that the LIC community is deeply divided on this issue, but that something must be done, as the parking congestion in LIC continues to grow. Click here to read other brief reports containing LIC News. |
School construction was also discussed. Currently the facilities at many Queens schools are at, near or even over capacity. Hence school construction is something these government officials believe is important going forward, given the growth of the borough.
PARKING IN LIC. Lastly, but not least, Michele Beaudoin of BRG Realty in LIC inquired about future plans for managing the parking situation in LIC. Unbeknownst to most folks, LIC remain the only neighborhood that does not have alternative side parking regulations, which are used to eliminate 'car storage' on city streets, while simultaneously enabling street cleaning. LIC is also the only neighborhood in NYC that does not receive street cleaning services.
Bike Forum - Bike Lanes In QueensBicyclists & Others Meet To Discuss Bike Lanes In QueensSpring / Sunnyside / Biking in Queens / Queens Buzz. I attended a bike forum at the Sunnyside Community Services Center on a warm, wet Saturday in March. I noticed quite a few bikes locked to signs and poles outside the center as I entered. Inside there were between 50 – 75 people in attendance, most of who were bicycle enthusiasts, although I was informed that some were not. The forum had been organized as a collaboration of Community Board Two [hereafter referred to as CB2], City Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer and the Queens Department of Transportation [hereafter referred to as QDOT]. Evan O’Neil and Emelia Crotty of CB2 opened up the session wherein they outlined the history of bike lanes in western Queens and the current state of bike lanes and bike parking. This was to put things in context, so that the bike forum attendees could spend their time planning for the future in the breakout sessions. Click here to read our report about the bike forum in Queens, including a history of bike lanes in Queens, NYC and in other parts of the world, and a slide show of the bike forum presentation and participants. |
St Pat's For All Parade on March 3rdFebruary 19, 2013 / Sunnyside & Woodside / Ethnic & Religious Culture / Queens Buzz. This weekend on March 3rd, the St Pat's For All - St Patricks Day Parade, marches through Sunnyside and Woodside. The festivities begin at 12.30 pm, with speeches by an Irish novelist and historian as well as by city government officials. The parade begins at 2 pm. The parade route is the same as last year. The festivities will be held at 47th Street and Skillman Avenue and the parade marches uphill into Woodside to 58th Street. Click here to view a map of the St Pats For All Parade route. Check back here on Monday March 5th for photos and a report about the St Pats For All parade in Sunnyside / Woodside Queens. Click here to read more Sunnyside News & Woodside News briefs. |
MTA Fare Hike This Weekend - QueensMarch 9, 2013 / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Buzz. The MTA fare hike becomes effective this weekend. Subway and bus rids will rise from $2.25 to $2.50 on a MetroCard and a single purchase fare will rise from $2.50 to $2.75. New cards will cost an additional $1. The monthly card will rise from $104 to $112 and the weekly will rise from $29 to $30. Weekly express bus passes will rise from $50 to $55. Tolls on the MTA's seven bridges and two tunnels will rise from $6.50 to $7.50 per single pay riders, and from $4.80 to $5.33 for The funds will raise an additional $450 million per year and help fund operations and infrastructure maintenance. Click here for other Queens News briefs. |
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