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FATAL SHOOTING AND LIBRARY DELAYS IN LIC

May 2, 2017 by editor 3 Comments

WHAT a day in LIC. It started early this morning at the Queensboro Correctional Facility where a guard who worked there ran down the street firing shots at her ex-boyfriend before turning the gun on herself. Due to bullets splaying all over the place and the eventual dramatic suicide, the story was widely reported on by NYC media within hours of its occurring.

More interesting to local readers, is a) the existence of this prison, and b) its location. The latter can best [Read more…] about FATAL SHOOTING AND LIBRARY DELAYS IN LIC

THE DOWNSIDE OF GENTRIFICATION IN LONG ISLAND CITY

April 28, 2017 by editor 3 Comments

THE New York Times is out today with a story on the emptying out of the Blanchard and Paragon buildings on Borden Avenue, in order to make way for higher-paying office tenants. Whole businesses are vacating the premises, typified by the protagonist of the story, a furniture upholsterer who is leaving for Long Island. LICtalk has previously profiled two businesses in the Blanchard. The first BklynBooks (aka iPodMeister) was mentioned in the Times story, and is moving to Paterson, NJ. The second, Manhattan Fruitier, has moved a little further east to the LIC/Sunnyside border. Prophetically, the owner of the latter sent me this quote when I asked him about the sale of the building a year ago: [Read more…] about THE DOWNSIDE OF GENTRIFICATION IN LONG ISLAND CITY

NEW LIC NEWS

April 24, 2017 by editor 1 Comment

The new Long Island City promotional photo and spokesperson

I’d like to say that nothing happened in LIC during my two week absence, because that would be the truth. But I’m in the ink moving business, have lots of other things to catch up on, and the truth is [Read more…] about NEW LIC NEWS

EGGS AND FLEAS AND RENTALS AND FLEES

April 7, 2017 by editor 1 Comment

From the day we arrive on the planet
And, blinking, step into the sun
There’s more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There’s far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round

THE stories of the week are the stories of life. Yes I am making that profound statement, despite its only having a filigree of connection at best. Though aren’t egg hunts, food festivals posing as flea markets, and real estate a suitable analogy for the basic necessities of LIC in 2017?

Anyway, for those not leaving town, the LIC Flea begins this Saturday. You know the deal, what began several years ago as a market of goods, is now predominantly gourmet food stalls and craft beer. Nothing wrong with that! Moreover as the beer swilling continues it helps to grease the wheels of an egg hunt of sorts for adults. Capisce?

//I don’t know what’s more highly anticipated, the Annual Trinity Grace Church Queens Easter Egg Hunt in Gantry Park, or the registration for it? Either way, [Read more…] about EGGS AND FLEAS AND RENTALS AND FLEES

NEW BARBER, ELKS DEMOLISHED, TOM CAT BAKERY UPDATE Y MAS

April 3, 2017 by editor Leave a Comment

One of the good things about living in a multicultural borough, and writing for a backwater little-read publication, is the liberties one can take with language. Take the headline above, I was one letter over the maximum that Google search allows for a headline and fretting over what to eliminate, when I realized I could change “& More” to “Y Mas” and it would easily be acceptable to the enlightened readers I cultivate. It’s a fitting tribute and bridge to the embattled workers at Tom Cat Bakery, who are predominantly Hispanic. Plus I think it allows me to write off my Spring Break trip to Cancun as a continuing education expense in Spanglish.

Anyway, according to The Daily News, the Department of Homeland Security audit at Tom Cat was [Read more…] about NEW BARBER, ELKS DEMOLISHED, TOM CAT BAKERY UPDATE Y MAS