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ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A NEW CONDO

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No seriously, I need a new place to live
Seriously, I need a new place to live

Sometimes we have to take a break from the easy confines of the, well let’s face it, occasionally banal local news, and look to a citywide or even national story to focus on what is of utmost importance to many residents in Long Island City: Real Estate.  Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal we get that story, and for further measure the New York Times provides another clue to answering the predominant question regarding real estate: Should I buy or continue renting?  Heretofore, the former was not much of an option, as we have previously lamented numerous times including our update back in July “Dwindling” , about the dearth of condo availability in LIC.  The big issue hampering supply, was the complete lack of financing available for large condo projects.  But now, with this WSJ story, we may be seeing the very first signs of the logjam being eliminated.  With interest rates so low, these loans are very attractive to commercial lenders, but nobody wanted to be the first.  Fortunately greed has trumped fear for one bank, and my guess is the spigots are about to open for big condominium developments.  Now the only question is, will the potential new condos be available in time for individuals to be able to lock in today’s ridiculously low mortgage rates?

Condo Loan Breaks Drought – “Build baby build!”  (reminder: just type article title into google if it does not load properly)

Soaring Rents Drive A Boom In Apartments – I repeat: “Build baby build!”

Hotels Give Dutch Kills Roomy Reputation – give it to me three times!

Take A Ride On A Vintage Subway – a really cool throwback trip to Manhattan every Sunday until the end of the year, leaving out of LIC and all for the cost of a subway ride!  Check out the schedule here.

Williamsburg To LIC Waterfront Bus Is Coming – can things get any better for us?

New Art Installation In Cool Old LIC Building – yes it can, we can get free art!

Hunters Point Ice Cream Shop Debuts Holiday Flavors – as if I didn’t have enough trouble choosing when I go into Malu, but finishing off the week on a sweet note

 

7 TRAIN WEEKEND CLOSINGS ANNOUNCED – STARTS TOMORROW NIGHT

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Excuse me sir, is this the way to Queensboro Plaza?

Geez, it is not even Halloween and they are already dumping 7 train closures on us.  It keeps getting earlier and earlier every year, might it be due to global warming?  Nah, probably just aging as these old rails need lots of nursing.  For you newcomers, this is an annual event in LIC and has been for a long, long time.  It is not just, nor should one ever expect it to be, a one year project or something that actually gets completed.  Worse, the trend recently has been for a double dip: a fall season and a winter season. My recommendation is to plan appropriately: Green Bay this weekend, Pittsburgh for the Cowboys next weekend, the Chiefs at …finishing with New Orleans for the Superbowl -> Aspen, South Beach, Gstaad, and a month in St Bart’s for the winter track work, that should do the trick.

WEEKEND CLOSINGS
11:45 PM Fri to 5 AM Mon
Oct 5-8 • Oct 19-22 • Oct 26-29
Nov 9-12 • Nov 16-19  +additional Steinway Tunnel maintenance work and other work along the 7line icon line are scheduled to take place between January and March of 2013

MTA Announces 7 train Weekend Service Changes – D’oh!

New Visions For Queens Waterfronts – how about a heliport?  Now that would be an appropriate shuttle!

Gantry Park Esplanade Gets New View Into East River

Math Murals In LIC

 

WE’RE #4!

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We may big, but we are still quaint(click on pic for detail)

That’s right residents, if each New York City borough were an independent city, Queens would be America’s fourth largest city, after Los Angeles, Chicago, and Brooklyn!  Therefore, in light of the lack of block parties, poetry readings, puppet shows, and orgies occurring in LIC this weekend, as well as the limited news flow, I have decided to expand my horizons to all of Queens, courtesy of wikipedia.  Oh sure, you could go to the website directly, but the Queens entry is 29 pages long, and who wants to read that much information on a 2″ x 2″ screen, especially when the weather is so nice?  Therefore, I am going to bring you the 21st century soundbite version of the Queens wiki, so you can spend more time on important matters such as cooking shows and farmville.  So here we go with the top 5 facts about our borough:

 
1. Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world with a population of over 2.2 million, 46% of whom are foreign-born, representing over 100 different nations and speaking over 138 different languages.

2. The racial makeup of the county was 44.08% White, 20.01% African American, 17.56% Asian,, 11.68% from other races, and 6.11% from two or more races. 24.97% of the population were Hispanic of any race.

  • Chinese: 173,123; 39.8% of the city’s total Chinese population.
  • Indian: 147,525; 64% Asian Indian population.
  • Korean: 65,131; 66.4% of the city’s total Korean population.
  • Filipino: 41,784; 61.3% of the city’s total Filipino population.
  • Bangladeshi: 18,310; 66% of the city’s total Bangladeshi population.
  • Pakistani: 10,884; 39.5% of the city’s total Pakistani population

3. The streets of Queens are laid out in a semi-grid system, with a numerical system of street names (similar to Manhattan and the Bronx). Nearly all roadways oriented north-south are “Streets”, while east-west roadways are “Avenues”, beginning with the number 1 in the west for Streets and in the north for Avenues.  –does this make sense to anyone?  Trust me, this only scratches the surface regarding the Queens layout, we are the poster child for GPS.

4. Queens has 5 U.S. Congressmen, some of whom we share with other boroughs including LIC’s: Astoria and Long Island City are roughly geographically half and demographically a third of the 14th district of Carolyn Maloney, the rest of whose district extends across the east side of Manhattan from the East Village through Carnegie Hill. – hmm, kinda makes us an afterthought

5. Most neighborhoods have no solid boundaries – LIC is the perfect example

That wasn’t so painful was it?  Now use this beautiful weekend to explore and find out more about number four.

Comedy Explosion in LIC Attracting Stars – as one would expect in the 4th largest city

Pop Up Library Coming to Gantry Park – the HPS Library will be officially dedicated on Friday, Oct. 5 at 10:30 a.m.  By an ordained priest, minister, and rabbi, from their mouths to…

Waterfront Bus Service Expands In LIC Corridor – news doesn’t get more local than this

East River Ferry Service Not Doing Too Well On Weekdays – might the fact that the HPS access point adds 20 minutes to ones commute be a factor?

Another Big Industrial Company Leaves LIC For The Bronx – the first being Fresh Direct, it’s the normal course of action as the city changes

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial On Roosevelt Island, NYT Architectural Review – more detail about what many of you have been looking at across the water and wondering “huh?”

One last note regarding the school situation – a number of you have reached out asking “What can we do to help?”  I am awaiting some confirmation on new information relevant to this and will address your queries next week.  Thank you very much for taking the initiative and stay tuned…

LIC-HAMPTONS CONNECTION

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This is about halfway from Manhattan to Montauk, right?

Want a taste of the old Long Island City?  Check out the place above.   Take my word, you will not be running into any of your Goldman co-workers there when you ditch work early on Friday and need something greasy to cure your hangover from a very late Thursday night at Lavo.  It is mostly truckdrivers, city workers, and heavy-lifting types from the nearby warehouses eating lunch at 10:30am.  In other words, nobody here is on a diet.  Just don’t think you are going to stop by and load up for a late night meal on your way back from the Hamptons after a weekend at Ron Perelman’s estate clubbing with his house guest Kanye.   Because they are closed by 4pm and all day Sundays.

Today’s LIC news is pretty mundane and makes me miss the ire over that strip club at the bottom of the Queensboro bridge.  I am also sorry to say that real estate takes the top slot once again.  So you decide: Do I stay here at my desk and read LICtalk whilst pretending to analyze a potential acquisition for an IB client in Tacoma, or stand in line awaiting three scrambled with bacon and cheese?

Looking For A Real Estate Deal?  Try Manhattan – like I’ve been telling you, Manhattan now at a deserved discount

Sorry London, New York Should Have Hosted The 2012 Olympics – except if you live in LIC

Queens Subway Lines at and Near Top In Annual NYPIRG Report – gee, does LIC need any more ammo?

Schumer Wants A Nerd Bus To Connect Tech Hubs In Brooklyn and Queens – oh please, what a waste of government(our) money(not to mention newsprint).  Doesn’t he know that tekkies can transport themselves???

Tourist Street Maps Coming to LIC and Other Nabes – will it show the way to all our beer gardens?

The Queens Players Hilarious Production Of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

New Comedy Venue Joins Budding LIC Laugh Scene

As Beer Garden Welcomes The Juice-Box Set, Some Barflies Jeer – Oh c’mon, beer gardens are a world apart from standard bars and have always welcomed kids.  The whiners are obviously BG rookies!