Follow That Tourist
SUMMER gridlock alert! The foreign tourists are here, moving languidly like amoebas on the sidewalks, clogging the subways and rounding the corners atop ubiquitous double-decker buses that rumble from Broadway to Brooklyn. You can’t navigate in Midtown these days. Or in Central Park. Or on the Brooklyn Bridge. So why fight it? If it seems […]
Hospital Worker Extradited to Face Queens Sex Abuse Charges
QUEENS — A former Elmhurst Hospital technician on the lam for more than six years after allegedly sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl in Astoria Park faced a Queens judge Friday after being picked up in the Netherlands. Peter Belegrinos, 30, was arrested at Amsterdam’s Schicpol Airport in February 2011 after used his his name popped […]
Duck dishes at LIC Market
Eyewitness News LONG ISLAND CITY (WABC) — L.I.C. Market named for Long Island City opened two years ago and as the name implies there’s a market at this restaurant. Here are some recipes that were featured on this week’s Neighborhood Eats. Recipes Slow Roasted Duck Hash (LIC Market) 4 Servings 4 each Duck Legs, slow […]
Con Ed Workers and Allies Rally in Union Square to End Lockout
As New York City endures another heat wave, more than 8,000 experienced professionals who form the core of the city’s utility workforce continue to be locked out of their jobs at Consolidated Edison. Thousands of members of Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union and other unions from around the city rallied in Union Square […]
Who You Calling Gritty?
HIPNESS is contagious in Brooklyn, where expanding the global brand seems to be a done deal. On a scorching July afternoon, the frisson of hustle and bustle that delineates the weekday rush hour was in full swing at the intersection of Greenpoint and Manhattan Avenues, the dowdy commercial heart of Greenpoint. Horns blared, and unlike […]
City to Replace Aging Staten Island Ferries
STATEN ISLAND — The city’s aging fleet of Staten Island ferries is to be replaced after up to 50 years of sailing New York’s harbor. The Department of Transportation is looking for bidders to design a new generation of vessels for the route, according to a request for proposals issued this week. “With the […]
MTA announces partial restoration of Q79 bus
Days after the MTA announced plans to expand service in Brooklyn and the Bronx, eastern Queens got some good news of its own on Thursday. Agency officials said it will partially restore service along the former Q79 bus route by re-routing every other Q36 bus to run along the old Q79 route from Little Neck […]
Businesses unite for scavenger hunt
There are 20 Astoria and Long Island City small business owners who know where Waldo is. For the month of July, the tall and smiling beloved British children’s illustration character, with his iconic striped shirt, glasses and hat is hiding throughout stores as a six-inch cutout for a special scavenger hunt called “Waldo in Astoria […]
The school closure debacle
The Department of Education’s decision to abandon its “turnaround” plans for 24 city high schools, including seven in Queens, due to a strong legal challenge from the teachers and administrators unions that couldn’t be overcome in time to prepare for the next school year, if ever, raises at least as many questions as it answers. […]
Wedding bells ring for Sunnyside pol
Although they got engaged far from home in tropical Puerto Rico, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) will marry his beau Dan Hendrick, spokesman for the League of Conservation Voters and former editor-in-chief of the Queens Chronicle, here at home in the borough. “It’s a very special day in my life,” Van Bramer, 42, said. “I […]
Queens Parks Offer Free Yoga with Sweeping Views of Manhattan
LONG ISLAND CITY — Gantry Plaza and Astoria Park — with their sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline and river breezes — are among favorite spots for Queens residents to get away. Now, locals can also reach another level of relaxation there, with downward facing dogs and sun salutations during free weekend yoga and Pilates […]
LIC penthouse on market for $3.25 million
A two-story, waterfront penthouse in Long Island City is on the market for $3.25 million — a price that is expected to bring more notoriety, prospective buyers and businesses to the neighborhood, real estate experts said. If the penthouse sells for the asking price, it will be the most expensive condo ever sold in Queens, […]
Van Bramer slams electric bikes
Photo by Rebecca Henely CB 2 Chairman Joseph Conley (c.) joins in the call for greater fees for those who commit traffic violations while riding illegal electric bikes at a press conference with Councilmen Dan Garodnick (l.) and Jimmy Van Bramer. By Rebecca Henely TimesLedger Newspapers City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) invited fellow Councilman […]
Severe Thunderstorms Strike as Tri-State Heat Tops Records
NJ Residents Survey Post-Storm Damage Emergency crews and homeowners in New Jersey are dealing with damage caused by the fallen trees from Wednesday’s severe weather. Andrew Siff has more. Microburst Takes Down Trees, Gazebo in L.I. Park Rain poured down and lightning struck in Glen Cove and other parts of Long Island, taking down trees […]
Shapeways Opens Doors To Its NYC 3D Printing, Distribution Center
Some one million 3D printed products later, Shapeways finally opened up shop in New York City. The NY-based startup began printing from a single 3D Systems ProJet 3500 Plus printer last week at its Long Island City factory/distribution center. Because the machines are customized for specific materials, the ProJet will only be churning out UV […]
Con Ed workers picket with negotiations, heat wave on horizon
Photo by Christina Santucci Con Edison workers Al Villarosa (l.), from Long Island, and Dan C., from Whitestone, wave to motorists who honk in support. By Joe Anuta TimesLedger Newspapers Consolidated Edison workers picketed outside several locations in Queens this week, as rising temperatures were set to put a strain on the city’s electrical infrastructure. […]
Publicis to Relocate From Manhattan to Long Island City in Blockbuster 100K Deal
The advertising and media firm Publicis has signed a nearly 100,000-square-foot lease to relocate Manhattan offices to Long Island City. The company, a large multinational firm that occupies hundreds of thousands of square feet in the city, is taking space at the Brause Realty-owned 27-01 Queens Plaza North in a sublease from the insurance firm […]
Woodside Business Improvement District Proposed to Combat Dirty Streets
QUEENS — A business improvement district has been proposed for Woodside in order to combat dirty streets in the neighborhood — but some locals say they are worried that the fees collected for the district would be the equivalent of another tax. Joseph Conley, chairman of Community Board 2, said the area has been struggling […]
New High-End Hunters Point Sprinkler Features Lifeguard
HUNTERS POINT — They may not have a big, public swimming pool like other neighborhoods, but parents and kids in Hunters Point couldn’t be happier — a long-awaited state-of-the-art sprinkler has opened in Gantry Plaza State Park just in time for the city’s fourth heat wave, complete with its own lifeguard. “Every day we were […]
Free and Cheap in New York City for Wednesday, July 18
FULL OF ‘GLEE.’ Chris Colfer, best-known as Kurt Hummel on the Emmy-winning TV series “Glee,” will talk and sign copies of his new book, “The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell.” It’s the tale of twins Alex and Conner, who find themselves face-to-face with the fairy-tale characters they grew up reading about. 7 p.m. Free. […]