Kids

LIC ACADEMY OF MUSIC FOUNDER ARRESTED FOR SEX TRAFFICKING

May 16, 2017 by editor 3 Comments

ACCORDING to a gazillion news reports, Oliver Sohngen, the founder of the Long Island City Academy of Music, was arrested this morning for allegedly dallying and or attempting to do so with young girls between the ages of 8 and 17 years old. The Academy, located in the LIC Arts Center on 23rd Street near 44th Drive, offers kids music classes in everything from voice to vibraphone, as well as theater, songwriting, and a panoply of different instruments. Their website lists faculty from Juilliard, Mannes Berklee, and Bard, and the school has been in existence for a decade. Many children from the neighborhood received their introduction to guitar, piano, and violin at the school.

Sohngen is said to be 52 years old and originally from Germany. You can read more about the specifics of the charges in the links below.

//IN the LIC is the ‘Center of the Universe’ category, a new proposal has been put forth for Sunnyside Yards, that would transform it into a major new transit hub, and eliminate Penn Station for all intensive purposes. [Read more…] about LIC ACADEMY OF MUSIC FOUNDER ARRESTED FOR SEX TRAFFICKING

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

EGGS IN LIC 2017

March 24, 2017 by editor 1 Comment

Blood in the water — It all looks so innocent to start

I am the eggman (Ooh)
They are the eggmen (Ooh)
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’ joob

Sex may sell, but there’s nothing more highly anticipated in Long Island City than the annual Easter Egg Hunt. The local lust for this event is unrivaled, outside of the comprehensive coverage of it by LICtalk. It’s stories like this that make the $90K in student debt I still retain to get my Masters in Journalism from Northwestern so worth it. [Read more…] about EGGS IN LIC 2017

LIC HALLOWEEN PARADE SUNDAY & MORE

October 26, 2016 by editor 1 Comment

It’s going to be another week of declining NFL ratings, as the annual LIC Halloween Parade takes place this Sunday. It starts at 2:30 and convenes in front of the 108th Precinct House on 50th Avenue, where all children will be biometrically scanned and catalogued to ensure a smooth transition through teenhood, After that the mayhem begins, and will include: a pumpkin patch, photo booth, dunk tank, spooky games, costume contest, and candy.

But wait, there’s more: This Saturday, October 29, is the PS/IS78Q PTA Fall Festival from noon-3pm on Center Boulevard between [Read more…] about LIC HALLOWEEN PARADE SUNDAY & MORE

WELCOME TO THE PLAYBORHOOD – POKELICIOUS

October 24, 2016 by editor 1 Comment

All work and no play make Jack a... — All work and no play makes Jack a…

Playborhood — a version of American kid life featured in shows like “The Little Rascals” and “Leave It to Beaver,” in which kids build forts and ride bikes outside, unsupervised

THUS describes the nirvana a very focused father in Silicon Valley tried to create for his kids and those of his neighbors, according to a lengthy profile on him in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. It’s not unlike my description and desires that I have written about and advocated for in LIC since starting this website in 2012. Whether it be requesting foresight in the planning of Hunters Point Park to visualize it all of half a decade ahead, describing LIC as a giant cul-de-sac, or cultivating free-range kids and selbstständigkeit (self-sufficiency).

Unlike the NYT article, which the father uses to proselytize about what should be, the purpose of this missive is to point out what already is: for all the reasons I mentioned in the previous paragraph’s links, Hunters Point is a playborhood. Now, all that’s needed is for it to be advertised, publicized, and written about as such. Whether it be real estate brokers, residents, organizations (hello LIC Partnership), landlords, or politicians, it’s time for a major marketing initiative. This is because playborhoods are nearly impossible to find in 2016 in the U.S., and it takes a herculean effort to actually create one in today’s screen-obsessed world. Thus, one more reason to live in LIC.

//POKE: a raw fish salad, similar to a tartare or even ceviche, though typically less acidic

Ramen is sooo 2014. Though it’s still delicious, I only have it delivered and wouldn’t be caught seen in a ramen joint or mention it in conversation. Nor would anyone who wants to be like the Kardashians.

Nope, today’s hot culinary fad is poke, and Long Island City is about to get it’s first poke restaurant with the opening of PokeLICious. [Read more…] about WELCOME TO THE PLAYBORHOOD – POKELICIOUS