In an 8-page memo, the MTA announced its 7-Train weekend closures to the powers that be. While these closures are a regular annual event in LIC, mostly occurring in the winter, the 2014 edition will be spread more evenly throughout the year. Ironically, the lengthy memo is both very descriptive about all the specific work that needs to be done, and profusely apologetic. The MTA is expected to officially announce the closures later in the week. If not, we’ll be sure to print the full memo. [Read more…] about 7-TRAIN TO BE CLOSED IN LIC FOR 18 WEEKENDS
PLAXALL FAMILY OPENS UP: PLANS TO BUILD RESIDENTIAL
Plaxall is the corporate name for a group of family members who own a big chunk of the non-residential properties in Hunters Point. Though there is a small operating business(plastics), the bulk of the value of the family’s holdings is in real estate. Thus they have taken a very active, but low-key role in the community. Nothing nefarious here, not even a hint of a scandal, most of it has been centered around garnering visibility for the neighborhood. A recent tangible example is their co-sponsoring the LIC Flea on a parking lot that they own.
For almost two generations the owners have seemed content to lay low with their million square feet of holdings, but now they reveal their intent to finally develop a very small piece on 5th Street into residential. Might it be a harbinger of things to come? My guess is probably not. Things move slow when a dozen or so family members need to come to a consensus. It is usually the next generation that starts agitating for change. So for the time being, the residents of Hunters Point have some pretty good stewards over large chunks of the territory.
As for Court Square, “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” seems to be the theme song. If you want to be kept up to date on every groundbreaking and subsequent building progress, check out: LICCourtSquare.com.
And finally, between Hunters Point and Court Square, we get one journalists very long analysis of the current state of LIC, and why the chasm between the two will keep us in stasis. Some of it is typical of a writer who doesn’t actually live here, but some of it is on the money. Hey, not every reporter can spend five years trekking through rice paddies in ‘Nam to get the feel of the place, yet I’ll leave you with a wonderful passage from it nonetheless:
Long Island City just does its thing. Which is not dissimilar to Queens itself. Unlike Brooklyn—burnisher of cult status that it is—Queens seems untroubled by its outerboroughness, too vast and diverse to bother with trying to sculpt its many ethnicities, classes, age group, affinities and uses into some kind of cohesive brand. It may lack a vibe, but when you think about it, vibe is often just a way of saying that a neighborhood is dominated by one particular group or lifestyle or purpose, pre-determined in some way or another, which can feel as exclusionary to some as it does enticing to others. Like Long Island City, it is not one thing but many, and isn’t that what New York, at its best, is all about anyway?
Family Reinvests in LIC – the Rockefellers of Hunters Point
Proposed Plaxall Building at 49-09 5th Street – 5 stories, 14 units
The Court Square Blog – for hardcore Court Square buffs. Nothing wrong w/ hardcore though.
LIC Has Been on the Cusp For 30 Years – for hardcore LIC followers only.
5Pointz Artists Get a Gallery Show – how genteel. For hardcore graffiti groupies only
Q & A with Gantry Park Architect – for hardcore Gantry Park trekkies only
Jamestown Fills LIC’s Falchi Building with Diverse Tenants – for hardcore commercial real estate fans only
LICTALK IS MORE ADDICTIVE THAN PORN
The internet is really really great
For porn
I’ve got a fast connection so i don’t have to wait
For porn
There’s always some new site,
For porn!
I browse all day and night
For porn!
It’s like i’m surfing at the speed of light
For porn!
In a recent Nielsen website survey, LICtalk was deemed more addictive than pornography. That’s because there is a low threshold for locality when it comes to the news. One person killed in NYC = 10 in Chicago = 100 in France = 1,000 in Turkey = 10,000 in Bangladesh. Going in the other direction, it equals a bike running over a person’s foot in LIC. You know you want to look, “Oh, I’ll just take a little peek.” People care about local smut! [Read more…] about LICTALK IS MORE ADDICTIVE THAN PORN
VILLAGE VOICE DISSES LIC WATERFRONT
Well now, 2014 gets off to a contentious start as Tom Cowell from the Village Voice weighs in with his view of the gentrification occurring in our neighborhood:
“What pops into your mind when you hear “Long Island City”? Maybe you picture less of a neighborhood, more of a character-free yuppie warehouse, where overpaid dullards stack themselves in gleaming condos, sucking the life force from yet another community’s jugular. But you’d be wrong. That nonsense is largely confined to the waterfront, which you can easily avoid.” [Read more…] about VILLAGE VOICE DISSES LIC WATERFRONT
HAPPY NEW LIC YEAR!
Ok, we got this snow thing out of the way without much trouble. Not that it will keep the mainstream press from harping on this non-story. Nothing much else happening in the neighborhood news-wise, so let’s mop up the stories from 2013, add a few throwaways from 2014, and get ready for the hard hitting stuff starting next week.
Dutch Kills Centraal Owner’s Story – this place has established a nice foothold in the ‘hood, see pics
Say Goodbye to the Same Old Steakhouse – M Wells makes WSJ’s top 5 new steakhouses
Inside M Wells Steakhouse, Where They Kill Your Fish to Order – best pictorial yet, looks awesome
Hunters Point Cafe Aims to Be Neighborhood Gathering Spot – bakery, lunch, and soon-to-be dinner
For An Excited Nude Statue, Finally a Bit of Privacy – haha, no comment
New LIC Art Gallery Run By and For Artists – ArtistRun Gallery, at 36-21 22nd St.
LIC Boathouses Bandy in Court Over Ownership – the Battle of the Boathouses
Former Paper Factory Recycled into Hotel – see pics of this loft like hotel