editor

WHOLE LOTTA QUESTIONS GOING ON????

June 15, 2012 by editor 5 Comments

LeaningTowerOfLIC — The Leaning Tower of LIC

Come on over baby,
we got the bull by the horns
Yeah, we ain’t fakin’,
a-whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on

School seats, New Library, Gantry Park South, and now new Hospital? Do we really have the bull by the horns? Who knows? Who cares? It’s the weekend and a beauty so I’ll live for today and not expound too much on the news. In fact, the only thing I am going to say is be sure to congratulate LIC resident and NY Met R.A. Dickey if you happen to run into him on the cappuccino line at Food Cellar. In case you’ve been on Mars, he threw a 1-hitter this week and is the hottest pitcher in Major League Baseball. Who knows, I may even become a Met-fan?

Crowded Boro Gets 15,676 School Seats – you do the math

Long Island City Library Installs Snack and Soda Machines – oh, that ought to make up for the revenue shortfall, new library here we come! Van Bramer alert!

Brooklyn Waits On Promise of A New Park – just across the creek from LIC, might this happen here?

Astoria, LIC Need a New Hospital – editorial

Slay Victim’s Daughter’s Shows Compassion for Killer – follow-up

GIMME SHELTER …and maybe a little naan

June 12, 2012 by editor 1 Comment

StormThreatening — Clear skies or stormy weather ahead? What bringeth Manhattan?

Oh, a storm is threat’ning
My very life today
If I don’t get some shelter
Oh yeah, I’m gonna fade away

The weather has been quite unsettled in LIC over the last ten days, and one could use that term to describe the financial markets too over the same period. Nevertheless, as I have been reporting in my recent posts, none of it is having any deleterious effect on Manhattan real estate …yet. Whether one rents their apartment or is looking to buy, there are not many bargains to be had despite what is happening in Greece, Spain, Italy etc., or maybe because of it. The first article comes from today’s Wall Street Journal, and confirms the detail from my post of June 4th about foreigners of all stripes snapping up houses and condos as if they were t-shirts. Next up comes a story about the eternal buy versus rent dilemma, and sides in the camp of the former based on today’s metrics. Shifting away from real estate, we get a profile on the owner(s) of LIC Market, followed by three other LIC articles the last of which contains the obligatory Chuck Schumer appearance. Finally, I will pass on a rumor for the culinary crowd: LIC is getting a new Indian restaurant on 21st Street, just south of 44th Drive.

Foreigners Snap Up Properties In the U.S. – my goodness, even Canadians are getting in on the act!

Manhattan Homes Best Deal For Buyers Since 2006 – uhh, I think the pic in the article is Queens not Manhattan!

Restorative Artist Rebuilds the Past in LIC – and while she’s at it opens a restaurant too

First Queens Tech Meet Up Draws More Than 150 to LIC – net-net: LIC is the next Palo Alto, get on board!

Community Board Takes Stance in Labor Dispute

Schumer: Queens is Great For Biking

IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

June 8, 2012 by editor 2 Comments

VBlvdsunset — a small town …in the shadow of a big city

I am going to start my review of this week’s LIC news with a story in the Daily News that mimics the prediction in my post of June 4th regarding rents. All I can say is “sorry.” Also in follow up mode is a short article on a rally that took place at the LIC library protesting the mayor’s Queen’s library budget cuts. Then we get two reviews/recaps on Taste of LIC. In new news comes a long article with lots of detail on the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial being built on the south tip of Roosevelt Island. Here’s the net-net: it opens in October and there won’t be snacks. Then a long profile on the owner of Lounge 47 and her good friend Julie Powell, the writer of Julie and Julia. In the “what-to-do-with-the-kids-this-weekend” department is a story on the LIC kids bike parade on Saturday at Socrates Sculpture Park. Finally comes a story about the first LIC baseball player drafted since 1967, and while were on the topic of sports and predictions, how would you like my pick for tomorrow’s Belmont?

Start Your Rant – Rents Are Up In Manhattan – “places like Long Island City are booming right now…don’t expect to see rent relief any time soon”

Rally To Save Library Funds

Taste of LIC featuring Christine Quinn

Hundreds Dine At The Annual Taste Of LIC

Roosevelt Rises, At Last

Fusing Food, Flare, and Comfort – “Min and I became friends at the Murray Park dog run,” said Powell in an interview.

Bike Extravaganza To Roll Into LIC This Weekend

LIC’s Almonte First Baseball Player Drafted From School Since 1967

LIBRARY DISCONNECT

June 5, 2012 by editor 3 Comments

GateToMidtown — New library or gateway to midtown? Could we at least get an arch?

One man gathers what another man spills…

As a major cheerleader of all the great things about LIC, I occasionally like to rub it in to those less fortunate, with a particular zeal for Manhattanites. In this role I have touted several times the new library planned for the riverfront, most recently in my post on June 1st where I noted we were still on schedule(purely hearsay) to get our new library despite an article indicating severe Queens library budget cuts in 2013. Today comes another article regarding the impact of those cuts, with very tangible anecdotes about the importance of libraries in neighborhoods less fortunate than ours. I have heard various rumors about a “timetable” for our library, and like everyone think it would be an awesome addition to our neighborhood, but I’m not holding my breath. Either way, it’s times like this that I do not envy Jimmy Van Bramer.

Maybe you can ask Christine Quinn what she thinks, she’ll be appearing at TASTE of LIC tonite at 5:45pm. In other LIC news: do you know where the city’s Traffic Command Center is located? Oh you did …was it that obvious? Well check out the pic in the article, it might as well be the center of the universe. On a much smaller scale comes another story about another cool small business located in another anonymous loft in LIC, that in this case has run into some good fortune. Finally, a story giving all the details of LUNCH BEAT LIC occurring tomorrow.

Budget Cuts Threaten To Close 18 Libraries In Queens Officials Say

City Expands High-Tech Fix for Midtown Traffic

American Idol Judge Boosts Queens Designs

Lunch Beat Brings Mealtime European Disco Craze to LIC

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!

June 4, 2012 by editor 2 Comments

TF-4bldgsReadyToGo — Say Hey Kid, all buildings are in scoring position

All right you real estate obsessed residents of LIC, here is an update on TF Cornerstone’s huge residential project which I refer to as Hunters Point North. I hear the first building has 60% of the apartments under lease(they just aren’t all occupied yet, but will be by mid-summer). The second building is ready to be occupied and is being shown to prospective tenants. The third, and biggest building, looks to be about one third completed and, ta-dah, the fourth one has just commenced pile-driving! This leads to the question: who is going to live in all these new apartments? My guess is there will be plenty of demand and from what I am hearing there have been minimal concessions made on them to date. Why? Well the first thing, as we all know, is this is a terrific place to live. Just looking at the links in my last post 1) the obviously easy commute to midtown 2) the walk-ability of LIC and 3) the strong demand for rental properties. In addition to the other obvious LIC attributes such as great views, alot of people are getting priced out of Manhattan or looking to get more for their money due to a number of non-traditional forces pushing up the costs of living there, such as foreigners(Brazilian, Chinese, Russian and now the French! are buying everything in sight), college students, and retirees. Therefore I expect most of the benefits of these new buildings to accrue to TF Cornerstone and not to people looking for a break on their current LIC rent. But hey, at a 20-30% discount to Manhattan you’re not doing too bad and hopefully the four new buildings will temper any rent increases.

Talk about hitting a grand slam and being in a great location, congratulations to all our NY Met neighbors as they are now at the top of their division!