Friday, August 25, 2017

Taxi Cab Flips Over On Queens Boulevard

This happened in Forest Hills today, around 11:15 a.m. Not sure on the condition of the drivers or passengers involved....




Tuesday, August 22, 2017

New Blog Contributor

Hi all,

Just a quick post to introduce myself.  I’ve been a long time reader of this blog, checking in most every day.  Drake has been kind enough to post pictures I send from time to time and is now graciously allowing me to make my own posts directly.

A life-long Queens resident, I moved to Forest Hills over 25 years ago, back when we had Woolworth’s, Sam Goody, Wendy’s, four movie theaters and one strip club (true!).

I hope everyone continues to enjoy reading/contributing to the blog and all things Forest Hills.

Thanks,
David

Monday, August 21, 2017

Watching the Eclipse in Forest Hills

Well, that was a lot of fun! Forest Hills transformed into dozens of mini block parties on Monday as Forest Hills residents and workers stopped whatever they were doing and walked out of their apartments or offices to witness today's historic solar eclipse.

I was surprised to see so many people standing right in front of their apartment buildings to catch a glimpse of it, and clusters of people on every street corner. I figured people would congregate in MacDonald Park or somewhere like that locally, but there was barely any eclipse-viewing action at the Park. Nope, it was going on, well, everywhere!

(By the way, I took the photos of the eclipse by reversing the camera on my iPhone, thus the reflections in the photos from the glare. Better than nothing, and it actually worked better than I expected!)










Saturday, August 19, 2017

Concert Catch-up

As summer 2017 draws to a close, lets take a look back at a few events from one of our neighborhoods greatest assets, the Forest Hills Stadium.

June 8th brought us our annual visit from The New York Pops, this year featuring the film music of John Williams.  The second half of the concert focused almost exclusively on his music for the Star Wars films and featured a few costumed appearances by the 501st Legion: Empire City Garrison. Darth Vader himself conducted the orchestra while they played his 'imperial march' theme music.
The New York Pops
Darth Vader Conducts

The Chainsmokers brought their youth, energy and fireworks June 9th and 10th.
Andrew Taggert of The Chainsmokers
The Chainsmokers at work

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers stopped by on their 40th anniversary tour on July 26th and 27th, playing all their hits and other fan favorites.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Don't forget there are still a few more concerts coming up in September and October.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

The Return of Jazz Thursdays

August 10th and August 17th marked the return of the 13th annual free Jazz Thursdays concerts on 'restaurant row.'  The 10th featured Wayne Holmes and the Genius of Ray Charles.  On the 17th, Spanglish Fly.  Both nights featured wonderful music and weather.

Leslie Brown, Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce President, hopes to add a third concert in the future.

Wayne Holmes and the Genius of Ray Charles
Spanglish Fly

Monday, August 7, 2017

Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema - More Information

We saw an indie film yesterday at the Kew Gardens Theater entered in the "Narrative Features" category called Slipaway, which we really liked. It was a touching story about how a young man's friendship with an older, free-spirited lady changes his life. Each day, through August 12th, new films will be screened at the theater right here in Kew Gardens or at The Queens Museum.

The Festival's Headquarters is located right near us, at the old Victorian Church at Maple Grove Cemetary at the corner of Kew Gardens Road and Lefferts Blvd., where you can pick up the Festival Guide packed with all kinds of information, including the film schedule and special events nearby.

In fact, according to the Guide, the Festival will be holding a "Night of Comedy" tonight at 9 The Other Place on Metropolitan Avenue.

Also, don't forget, you can pick up all kinds of Festival swag at the Kew Gardens Theater, including baseball caps, t-shirts, and coffee mugs! Show your neighborhood pride!





Sunday, August 6, 2017

Local Restaurant Update

Been getting a bunch of emails about these, in case you've missed the news while going about enjoying your summers:

- McDonald's is closed for a few weeks while it undergoes renovations. The entire chain has been revamping its menu offerings, and its look, to try to better compete with all the more upscale burger chains.

- The area's best Italian restaurant, Tuscan Hills, has moved to the Ovosodo space, closer to Ascan Ave. Ovosodo was an interesting "italian dinerish" concept by the same owners as Tuscan Hills, but never quite caught on with local residents. Moving closer to central Forest Hills is probably a good move for the superb Tuscan Hills, which was a little lost a few blocks further east. But, with Queens Blvd. suddenly a hotbed of foodie excellence (Queens Bully, Keuka Kafe, I can go on and on), it won't make much of a difference. Tuscan Hills deservedly has a ton of fans. And with the new bike lanes and improvements to Queens Blvd. coming, expect the Blvd. to experience a nice little renaissance in usability for purposes other than smelly, carbon-polluting cars!

- And Moca's new sign is up as it expands into two storefronts on Restaurant Row. This place was ok. With all the great places now in the neighborhood, it's kinda funny that Moca is the one expanding. Lord knows 5 Burro could have really used that bigger space! I'm tired of the two hour waits for a table whenever I go, whether it's a Tuesday, Wednesday, etc., etc...!



Summer Moonlight


Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Big Real Estate News

Reports The Real Deal:

Halstead breaks into Forest Hills with purchase of Madeleine Realty

Halstead has 10 offices in Manhattan, 7 offices in Brooklyn and 2 offices in the Hamptons.

From the article:

The Forest Hills location at 108-23 Ascan Avenue will be Halstead’s second office in Queens. The company opened its first office in the borough in 2015 at 47-12 Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City in 2015.

Photo from The Real Deal: New York Real Estate News