Bike Forum - Bike Lanes In Queens

Bicyclists & Others Meet To Discuss Bike Lanes In Queens

Spring / 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.

Thalia Theatre Bridges Cultural Divide

Sunnyside / Fall & Winter. I enjoyed a dance performance by the Mestizo Dance Company last  Friday evening at the Thalia Theatre in Sunnyside. The show, which runs weekends through December 6th, is a panoply of colorful costumes, music by an accomplished eight piece band, all in support of  an impressive performance by a full troupe of talented dancers. All tolled they performed nearly twenty  dances from various parts of Latin America which the audience seemed to greatly enjoy.

Click here to view a story about the Best Of The Mestizos at Thalia Spanish Theatre in Sunnyside Queens.

Queens The Home Of Jazz

Bix Beiderbecke Concert in Sunnyside

August 19, 2012 / Sunnyside / Live Music in Queens / Queens Buzz. In the 1930’s and 1940’s Queens became known as the home of jazz because so many great jazz and blues musicians lived here. Some of the greats such Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holliday and Ella Fitzgerald all had homes in Queens.

Bix Beiderbecke didn’t live long enough to become as well known as those mentioned above, but he was considered one of the great jazz musicians of his time and, over time, he’s being given greater recognition for his contributions to the art of the music.

Bix died in Sunnyside on 46th Street between Queens Blvd and 43rd Avenue where he spent his final days. And every summer since 2001, Sunnyside has celebrated his life with a musical get together.

Click here for more about the history of Bix Beiderbecke and the Bix Beiderbecke concert in Sunnyside.

American Meat - Unfinished Film

Documentary About Current State Of Food & Farming

Film Making in Queens / Sunnyside Neighborhood / Food & Wine / Queens Buzz. I managed to obtain an invitation to a screening of American Meat, which is an unfinished documentary film, at Cafe Marlene in Sunnyside. The screening was sponsored by Queens Harvest Co-op, which is an organization working to build an organic food cooperative in Queens.

The film is a rather eye opening look into how the economics of food / meat production in this country have taken us down an unsustainable path. A path which not only has significant health implications, but possibly even more dire consequences. The film provides an intelligent, behind-the-scenes look at how economics have been driving: 1) food production methods, 2) the composition of what's in the meat being sold at the grocery store, and 3) what we're feeding our children and ourselves.

The film was envisioned and began production in the spring of 2007 and the producers are hoping to finish it in 2011. Click here to view our preview of the unfinished documentary film entitled American Meat independent film at Cafe Marlene in Sunnyside and hosted by Queens Harvest Co-op.

Sunnyside Gardens Park

Membership Benefits & Dues

Private Parks in Sunnyside / Sunnyside Neighborhood / Green & Parks / Queens Buzz. This Saturday people from Sunnyside, Woodside, Astoria and further neighborhoods, made their way to the annual Sunnyside Gardens Pumpkin Patch and Oktoberfest. The day-long event attracted a larger crowd than I have ever seen there before.

Based on my photos and a quick and dirty head count, the event was likely attended by well over 1,000 people. We tried to photograph as many people as possible, as the slide show and photo album will attest.

Click here to view our report on Sunnyside Gardens Park including information about services, membership and dues [and the Pumpkin Patch and Oktoberfest event of 2011].

Sunnyside Shorts / Flicks In The Park

September 10, 2011 / Sunnyside Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. It was a comfortable Saturday evening as I headed into Sunnyside Gardens Park. Upon arrival I met Sherri Gamilin, one of the four producers of the event. A small crowd had already gathered and a local blues band was setting up. In the photo to your right are members of the audience who came to watch Sunnyside Shorts and Flicks In The Garden in Sunnyside Gardens Park.

Sherri talked about the changes made to the festival this year. They added live music, the Broken Hearted Blues Band, and joined forces with the organizers of the first annual ‘Flicks In The Garden’. Click here to read our full report, including synopses of the films shown and photos of the Sunnyside Shorts and Flicks In The Garden Film Festival.

Shenton, Shields, Spoletini & Wade

Perform At The Sunnyside Reformed Church

February 5, 2011 / Sunnyside / Queens Buzz. I attended one of the cultural events sponsored by the Sunnyside Reformed Church. The performance featured four accomplished musicians who gave standing ovation performances that included Italian opera, Broadway Musicals and classical jazz. In the photo above Baritone Giuseppe Spoletini is shown singing the Figaro Aria in Sunnyside.

The event sponsor, the Sunnyside Reformed Church, dates back over 400 years to the Dutch Calvinists, many of whom were early settlers of Queens during colonial times [circa 1600’s]. This report takes a look at both the musical performance and the sponsoring church, which is located at the corner of Skillman Avenue and 48th Street in Sunnyside.

Click here to read more about the jazz performance at Sunnyside Reformed Church.

Woodside - Holiday Lights 2010

Beware - Photos Of Kids' Cheer May Be Contagious

December 4, 2010 / Woodside / Queens Buzz. Woodside On The Move threw an enjoyable Christmas Tree Lighting event on Saturday. As you can see in the photo to your right, there was a look of anticipation as the kids awaited Santa's arrival.

There was a full schedule of events, starting with a few short speeches by representatives from Woodside On The Move as well as local government officials. The crowd was then treated to quite a few musical numbers sung by kids from St. Sebastian's parochial school and public schools 152 and 11. Monsignor Hardiman then blessed the tree and the tree was lit [see tree in background of photo].

Click here for a full report including a slide show of photos of the Woodside On The Move Tree Lighting event 2010.

Turkish Cultural Center - Queens

Sunnyside / December 3, 2010 / Queens Buzz. I just returned from a visit to the Turkish Cultural Center in Sunnyside. I went there to view the Turkish movie, entitled Separation, which had English subtitles. The movie is highly philosophical and based on the writings of an ancient 13th century Turkish / Persian scholar, Mevlevi.

Foreign Films In Queens - Turkish Cultural Center

The tale is set in 1798 in what is today Istanbul, Turkey. The story is about a retired diplomat / ambassador who had served the Sultan by advising him on European affairs. The ambassador, Dede Efendi, is aided by a young scribe from whose perspective the story is told. The ambassador is drawn back into the world of diplomacy and intrigue because the French, under General Napoleon Bonaparte, are about to declare war on Egypt. One of Dede’s former peers calls upon him to inform the Sultan in an effort to pre-empt the attack and avoid a war. Framed within this tale of diplomacy, is a love story between a doctor who attends to the ambassador, and one of the servants in the empress’s entourage. The photo to your left shows the good doctor in the Turkish movie Separation.

Click here to read the rest of our report about the Turkish Cultural Center in Sunnyside Queens, including photos / slide show.

Sunnyside - Holiday Lights 2010

Holiday Lighting Ceremonies Abound

December 2, 2010 / Sunnyside / Queens Buzz. Over the past three weeks, there have been three 2010 holiday lighting ceremonies in Sunnyside.

Each ceremony appeared to attract crowds of between fifty and one hundred, ranging from the very young to the very seasoned. The first ceremony was the Greenpoint Avenue Lighting ceremony held on November 16th and sponsored by Sunnyside Shines BID, just over a week before Thanksgiving.

This week there were two holiday lighting ceremonies: one of which was a tree lighting ceremony held at Joe Sabba Park and another to commemorate the new holiday lights adorning Skillman Avenue. The tree lighting ceremony has been in existence for some time now, while the Skillman Avenue lights are new this year. Both events were sponsored by the Sunnyside Chamber Of Commerce.

And the upcoming ceremony is sponsored by Woodside On The Move and is scheduled to occur on Saturday at Sohncke Park in front of St. Sebastian's church [see Kids link in Queens Events section of the site]. Click here for links to slide shows / photos of holiday / tree / street lighting ceremonies in Sunnyside & Woodside 2010.

St Sebastian's Catholic Grade School - Woodside

One Of The Leading Grade Schools In Queens

Woodside / June 14, 2010 / Queens Buzz. I just returned from a tour of St Sebastian’s grade school in the Woodside neighborhood of Queens. The school is one of about 55 Catholic grade schools in Queens. St Sebastian’s has an enrollment of between 400 and 450 students from nursery through the eighth grade. And the school’s student body scores highly compared with the nation on standardized education tests covering math, reading comprehension and writing.

In this report we provide a brief history of St Sebastian’s, an overview of it’s academic, athletic and other programs, and include related information pertaining to Catholic grade schools in the Queens area. Included in this report is information about St Sebastian’s tuition, enrollment fees and a summary time line of the enrollment application process [scroll down / scan the headlines to find the information you’re seeking].

Click this link to read the rest of the story and view the photos of St Sebastian's Catholic Grade School in Woodside.

Illusion Or Reality?

Fun Photography Exhibit At Topaz Arts - Woodside

May 8, 2010 / Woodside / Queens Buzz. I visited Topaz Arts Saturday night to view the new photographic exhibit that opened tonight with a reception. I met the artist, Satomi Shirai, a long lithe Japanese woman who’d arrived on our shores some six years ago. She’s currently working on her MFA [Masters of Fine Arts] at Hunter College in Manhattan and her photography is currently being featured by Topaz as a one woman show.

I wandered the gallery, perusing her work. The exhibit includes about ten, large framed photographs; thoughtfully chosen and carefully placed for the show. On my own, I couldn’t really figure out what she doing with her work, so I asked her to help me understand by commenting on it.

Click here to view / read the rest of the story about the Home and Home photography exhibit at Topaz Arts in Woodside.