editor

LIC = HAPPINESS

July 15, 2013 by editor 10 Comments

Well I never kept a dollar past sunset,
It always burned a hole in my pants.
Never made a school mama happy,
Never blew a second chance, oh no

Between the oppressive heat, the inability to escape it anywhere in LIC via shade cover, the lack of fireworks, and no G train, there might seem to be a pall being cast over Long Island City. Worst of all, our local news is pretty much a rehash this week. But let’s face it, all those TF Cornerstone apartments aren’t flying out the door for no reason. That reason might very well be captured in the cover article in this past Sunday’s New York Times real estate section entitled “Homeownership, the Key to Happiness?” Basically, it can be summed up by the Beatles refrain “Money Can’t Buy You Love.” or you may choose a direct quote from the article itself:

“The reality of maintenance and repairs, and being ‘house rich but cash poor,’ can negate much of the perceived happiness people may have had about homeownership,”

So then, what does make people happy when it comes to where they live? That too can best be summed up with a direct quote from the article:

Moving farther inland would have meant a larger place for less money, but a much longer commute. “I can spend my time biking rather than driving to work,” she said. “That changes the way I use my time.”

By now you might be thinking “Wait a minute, didn’t I already read an insightful story that came to the same conclusion several months ago?” Yes readers you did, right here at LICtalk.

Whichever article you did read first, just keep in mind the moral of the story: Be wary of more space in the ‘burbs, it may not be worth the trade-off.

Homeownership, the Key to Happiness? – channeling LICtalk

Affordable Housing in LIC? Many Residents Say Not at All – griping about rents, LIC’s national pastime …for which there is no All-Star game

MoMA PS1 Gets Expansion Funding – what do I need to do to secure $3 mil for more space? Ok, how about 10 bucks a month for bike storage?

More Afternoon Service for Da G Train? – “These recommendations will allow the G to keep pace with skyrocketing growth in Brooklyn and Queens”

Doe Fund Will Start Cleaning Streets In Hunters Point – 3 mil for MoMA PS1, and now JVB secures 65K for street cleaning

A Councilman Wants Koch’s Name Removed from the Queensborough Bridge – there’s a reason this story is last …yawn

FREE BEER, EXPENSIVE RENTS

July 11, 2013 by editor 12 Comments

It’s a hot, sticky summer and I don’t feel like working. The last few weeks I know I’ve really been phoning it in with cut and paste and snippets. You, loyal reader, are deserving of some original content, a large format type piece, whether it be a local expose such as “Did you hear that Myrtle…” or a harangue about parks, schools, real estate prices, or birth control. But today is not going to be that day, because there’s a lot for you to digest below.

While we’re on the subject of birth control, we received an email from a local resident telling us all about a new Sensory Gym for kids that just opened in LIC. What’s a “sensory gym?” Beats me, but you can check out the description on their website here, and if you tell them you heard about it on LICtalk, you’ll get a 20% discount on summer classes!

http://sensorycityot.com/about-us/

Let’s get the bad news out of the way by starting with the local real estate scene and how condo and rent prices keep surging due to displacement from Manhattan, and now Brooklyn. Oh wait, that’s not news, at least not if you’ve been reading LICtalk all year. After that things become lighter, just in time for the weekend. Talking about the weekend, don’t forget that we get FREE BEER this Saturday, PS1’s Warm-Up is also free to LIC residents(not to mention you get to cut the uber-long lines, just like I used to to do at Studio 54), free detox with Yoga on the Gantry Pier Sunday at 10am, and then more culture on Tuesday as Live at The Gantries presents Brasil Live at 7pm, which is also …free, just bring your own cachaca. Finally, this Tuesday also brings the Major League Baseball All-Star Game to Citi Field. This event is anything but free.

Tenants See Living in Queens As An Affordable Alternative to Brooklyn – except in LIC

Housing Markets Spurt in Brooklyn and Queens – there are no more New Yorkers living in Manhattan

Saving A Spot For Pepsi-Cola As A Tower Goes Up – all about our iconic sign

The Paper Factory Hotel To Open in LIC in August – w/ suites at $300 a night, it might be cheaper than renting an apartment!

New Bike Routes On Tap for LIC and Sunnyside – born to be wild

The Second Annual LIC Block Party – Saturday August 3rd, noon-5pm at Sculpture Center

Van Bramer Allocates $3 million to MoMA PS1 – they are buying the property adjacent to them(across the street from the BP station)

Laughing Devil Comedy Club Up For Sale – in the words of Nelson Muntz “Ha ha”

Sprinklers At Two Hunters Point Playground Still Closed – yeah, we know

The Big Cheese – The New Yorker’s spin on the Cheesemonger contest here in LIC last week. LICtalk and The New Yorker, only the best covered this monumental event.

SWELTERING LIC NEWS TIDBITS

July 8, 2013 by editor 3 Comments

No spiel today, just news in a shotgun format:

Shady Park still under repair …no sprinklers yet at Rainbow Park …and I’m hearing that the “Gantry South” opening is now backed up until late July, though by appearance it looks completed. Plus, if you haven’t been able to view it yourself, there is a huge dog run in the new section of Gantry.

The New York Times lead article in the Real Estate section yesterday, was about the changes being made to the amenities in large residential buildings. On that topic, the two Avalon buildings on Center Boulevard are shuffling amenities. Avalon South will be losing its gym completely in order to make room for a daycare center. Avalon North will pick up the slack by expanding and renovating its gym, taking space from its community room to do so.

In the bad new/good news category, as mentioned last week in the comments, the Court Square Library is closed until further notice. On the other hand, as I told you back in June: this Saturday we get free beer in LIC, compliments of Brooklyn Brewery! Wow, just thinking about that makes the heat this week a little more bearable. Prost!

The Total Long Island City Immersion – free beer, those two words make Mondays a lot easier to cope with

Failed Condo Fetches $85 million as Rental – Ahh the Crescent Club, where dreams do come true …for some.

Looking For Fun In All the Queens Places – NYT reviews a new app that lists all the events happening in Queens

Good Friends, Big Helpings – new bbq restaurant in Jackson Heights from LIC’s JB Smokehouse

A LOT GOING ON IN LIC THIS SUMMER, JUST BYOB

July 5, 2013 by editor 6 Comments

Live Music Is Better – Neil Young

I’d like to tell you that there’s no pic with today’s story as a continued protest for not having fireworks on the East River. The reality though is that I have actually been vacationing all Fourth of July week on the Croatian coast with my good friends Leo and George. Yet based on the information I have provided below, there really is no reason to leave LIC this summer, as there is a lot going on right here.

Live at The Gantries – every Tuesday at 7pm, starting July 9th. The 2013 schedule has just been released. Check it out here, and just like Woodstock, it’s BYOB.

Summerstage Queens – if the sounds and locale of the above are a little too tepid, head uptown to Queensbridge Park. Some good and free shows happening there, just BYOB

Sage General Store Now Open For Dinner – newly remodeled and w/ a revamped dinner menu. For the time being it’s BYOB, and conveniently Court Square Wine is next door.

Turned On: Erotic Art Exhibition – need I say more? Well straight from the horses mouth “We invite gallery visitors to ‘Turn On’ and explore sensuality by letting go of all inhibitions and celebrating eroticism.” This exhibit is at a performance space next to 5Pointz, and the opening reception is July 6th from 6-10pm. BYOB or not, I’m there!

The Battle to Bring Back the Fireworks to the East River – lots of local businesses mentioned

Politicians Blast West Side Fireworks – must have read my letter on Monday!

TWO FIREWORK SHOWS, TWO SPONSORS?

July 2, 2013 by editor 12 Comments

In sympathy with the people of Brooklyn and Queens, LICtalk once again goes dark this year with no photo, just like the East River.

Dear Potential Mayor of New York in 2014,

A lot has changed since 1976, the first year that Macy’s sponsored the Fourth of July fireworks show. First of all, the city was less than a year removed from almost declaring bankruptcy. Secondly, Queens-based All In The Family was entering an unprecedented fifth year in a row as the number one-rated television show, implanting a very negative connotation of the borough’s inhabitants, and thus the borough itself, on the rest of the nation. And finally, the Corner Bistro only had one worldwide location.

Fast forward to 2013 and we have people paying $90 million dollars for a single NYC apartment, Queens being touted as the most diverse borough in the world, and with its LIC outpost opening last year, a one hundred percent increase in Corner Bistro’s. With such a huge change in the socioeconomic situation in New York City over the last 37 years, why do we still have only one sponsor and one side of Manhattan receiving fireworks? Do you think the NFL has been so generous to its sponsors(the networks) in that time, as its audience has grown and grown-up? No. Therefore, it’s time to put the screws to Macy’s: either double down on fireworks, or competition is coming.

Finally, to all candidates for Mayor of New York, I leave you with a little math quiz. Do you know what the most populous borough in the City of New York is? Brooklyn, with 2.6 million residents. Do you know what the second most populous borough in the City of New York is? Queens, with 2.3 million, followed by Manhattan with 1.6 million. Put another way, Brooklyn and Queens have roughly 40% and 30% more voters than Manhattan, capisce?

The Editor

c.c. Helen Marshall, Marty Markowitz, Jimmy Van Bramer

Behind The Scenes of Our District – NY1 video w/ Jimmy VB as he shows us around the ‘hood, starting w/ the new waterfront park

Gantry Park Landing Starts Leasing Next Week – this building is right next to the park, and here is the menu of prices

MoMA PS1 Warm-Up #1 pics – will make you jealous if you weren’t there

Hostels Could Flourish If NYC Council Gives Approval – LIC would be a big beneficiary, and mentions Andrew Nimmer of Sunlite Capital who is building a hostel here

New Orleanian is National Cheesemonger Champ – some say they won the US Open at Shinnecock or Merion, this guy was crowned national champ in LIC