Summer landed on the LIC doorstep this week. First of all, MoMA PS1’s Warm-Up Series just announced it’s line-up. Once again I haven’t a clue as to who any of the bands or DJ’s playing there are: Objekt & Cashmere Cat? Don’t matter, because I’ll be there as will throngs of others from literally all over the world. Click here for my previous two-sentence summary of this event, because this party is timeless. Next, as if we needed any further reminder that summer is just around the corner, ManhattanHenge is this Thursday, May 29. This is where the sun sets directly at the base of the east-west Manhattan streets, and guess where the best vantage point is to view this phenomenon? [Read more…] about THE SIGNS OF SUMMER IN LIC
Just Opened
NEW BAR AND GRILL FINALLY OPENS IN DUTCH KILLS
After putting in almost a decade of 20-hour work weeks so I could retire early, do you really think I’m going to waste my time indoors writing epics to you in such beautiful weather? I mean my last piece was truly iconic, and in years to come will probably be looked back at as the precise beginning as to when Brooklyn became synonymous with milquetoast. So go back and read that piece a second time and tell two friends, who’ll tell two friends, who’ll…
Before we pass you on to other news, a flash just came in live from our man from The North, J-Fro: A new bar has opened in Dutch Kills at 38-40 29th Street. This was originally supposed to be where the Windmill Tap and Grill was to be. It was loud in there, so J-Fro couldn’t relay if it was the same owners, but I believe the new name is Dutch Kills Centrale, and the locals up there couldn’t be more thrilled to finally have their own watering hole.
In fact, that alone is probably enough to have fireworks on the East River, but my guess is there was an ulterior motive. If you know what it exactly it was, could you please let us know in the comments section. Otherwise I’ll assume it’s for the full moon, or maybe a halfway to St. Patty’s Day celebration.
Vernon Boulevard Eateries Serving Up Deals for LIC Restaurant Week – ehh, doesn’t seem to be a marked difference from their regular menus
Apparently Toddlers Need Crossfit – wow, Sports Illustrated weighs in on our local Crossfit’s new rage
Rose Previews new LIC Rental – The Maximilian
TF Cornerstone Previews It’s New Amenities Building – putting greens and tennis courts, 7 stories above the hoi polloi. Fantasize that you’re in stop Augusta or Wimbledon.
NYC Department of Health Employees Bitten by Bed Bug Problem – is a plague finally hitting our town?
7-Train Service to Halt for Several Weekends this Fall – oh yeah, we already have our own version of a plague, and it;s now comes twice a year, right on schedule.
SUMMERS END: TAKE TWO
Continuing on Monday’s theme, we stole an extra week of summer and things are slow in LIC. Hopefully you got to enjoy the great weather as things cool down, or at least will be able to as it continues through the weekend.
As I walk around I notice a lot of new things. On 47th Road between 5th and Vernon, which houses many LIC old-timers, I noticed the very first knock down of a single townhouse. It was old housing stock, but not old enough to be close to worthy of preservation and a million dollar renovation. like those in Park Slope, or better yet Greenpoint.
Then, on Vernon Boulevard, as I popped into the new pub Woodbines for a glass of milk, I noticed a new beauty salon called “Hollywood Hair & Nails,” which replaced LIC Beauty, and is not to be confused with the “Institute for Face and Body Solutions” right next door. Not to mention the relatively new nail salon, Snob, that opened about a year ago one block south. A lot of “new’s” for a week with a lack of news.
Finally, as I made my way north on Vernon, I saw a big scaffold across the street from LIC Bar. The lot is probably around 80′ x 80′ and no matter how it is currently zoned, I bet we see residential above the ground floor. Should be the final nail in the coffin for the majestic weeping willows across the street, which never really recovered from Sandy.
Hmm, looks like I’m not the only one trying to drum up news about LIC. You can click below or just start enjoying the final bonus weekend of summer now.
Shi Owners Reveal Video – see the video here, or just go to Shi, sit out back, and watch the sunset w/ a Mai Tai in hand
LIC’s Shannon Pot to Go Under? – new pubs come, old ones go
Hologram Exhibit to Light Up Vacant Clock Tower Building in LIC – the first in a quartet of LIC art stories
Street Art Hotspot: Eat and Be Eaten at 5Pointz – numero dos
Bill Would Create Master Arts Plan – tres
LIC Arts Organization Seeks Crowd Funding – cuatro
LIC Is Undergoing a Hotel Boom – love the review of this story below. Confirms there’s no news in LIC this week.
Fake Trends That Are Really Six Years Old – see above
Where to Shop for Back-to-School Kids Clothes in Western Queens – only Prada and Hermes for little OliviaSophiaIsabella
HUNTERS POINT SOUTH PARK IS NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
The new park at Hunters Point South quietly opened to the public last week, just in time for autumn. Unsurprisingly, it comes with the same spectacular skyline views as it’s adjacent northern sister, as well as a lack of respite from the sun, but she is a beauty nevertheless. Check it out, and if you have a pooch you can bring it along because there also is a dog run right in the middle of the park. Enjoy!
A Walk in Hunters Point – from Forgotten New York
40-unit Condo Project Coming to Hunters Point – when wil the building end? and how will it end?
3-bedroom in Hunters Point listing – we found the needle in the haystack for ya
5-Pointz One Step Closer to Its Demise – when will this saga end???
Team M. Wells Puts a Quirky Spin on the Steakhouse – NY Mag puts their spin on Dufour’s culinary eccentricities and calls for an October opening
FREE BEER, EXPENSIVE RENTS
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.