Heat Wave Island Escape Just Minutes Away

If you're looking for a quick and convenient way to make this weekend's Heat Wave a little bit more bearable, you might want to give Roosevelt Island a try, if you haven't already. It's just minutes away from Forest Hills on the F train and yet an hour or two there and you'll feel rejuvenated - like you've gone on a mini-vacation. It really is one of our city's best-kept secrets.

NY Post: The NYC Nabes Millennials Can Actually Afford

Forest Hills clocks in at No. 1 for the most affordable housing by neighborhood in NYC. 
Read more here: First-Time New York City Home Buyers Should Look in Forest Hills

Goodbye Queens, Hello "The Ring"

This fascinating analysis is what I've been saying for years -- that the very idea of New York City boroughs is outdated.

I myself consider myself to live in Forest Hills/Manhattan, not Queens. I subway in and out of Manhattan when I get a chance and walk around Forest Hills. Not having a car, I barely see any other part of Queens and honestly have little interest in doing so since the parts I have seen mostly seem like a bland, suburban sprawl, and that's not what I signed up for when I moved to New York City years ago.

I chose Forest Hills because it was the only neighborhood I could afford at the time, with awesome apartments that didn't have showers that were indentations off the kitchen (like I saw in Brooklyn, where I had been living at the time) and that offered easy access to the subways and a nice neighborhood you could walk around in and didn't need to own a car to enjoy.

Here's How N.Y.C.'s Five Boroughs Should Really Be Defined

The next is called “the Ring,” which has expensive residential buildings and lots of different business types but is shorter than Minihattan; this distinction includes the Upper West and Upper East sides of Manhattan and parts of Harlem, northern Brooklyn neighborhoods, and the Queens neighborhoods of Forest Hills, Astoria, and Long Island City.

NYC's Friendliest Snowplow Guy

Blizzards can bring out the best in people, even snowplow drivers!  He gave me a honk of the horn and a peace sign as he plowed 71st/Continental Ave. as the Blizzard of 2016 raged today...

SummerStage Expanding in Queens This Year

The famed free performing arts festival, SummerStage opens its 30th anniversary season in Queens on June 7! For this special season, SummerStage will be expanding its city wide programming to include 6-day “mini-festivals” in 8 citywide parks. SummerStage will have performances in 3 parks in Queens including Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City and Queensbridge Park in Queensbridge. 

Here's all the info, along with the first event this weekend:

City Parks Foundation Presents
SUMMERSTAGE 30th ANNIVERSARY SEASON
Presented by Capital One Bank
FREE Music, Dance, Family, Film and Theater Programs in Queens

Season runs June 7 – July 19

In June of 1986 Sun Ra and the Omniverse Jet Set Arkestra performed a free concert in the Naumberg Bandshell in Central Park, and the summer music landscape in New York City changed forever. Today, nearly 30 years later, SummerStage is New York City’s largest free performing arts festival, presenting work in all performing arts disciplines, with a focus on New York’s unique neighborhoods. SummerStage has touched the lives of more than six million fans from around the world. In celebration of this milestone, City Parks Foundation, the independent nonprofit organization that produces the festival, plans to deepen the impact the festival has in neighborhoods throughout New York City. The 2015 season will feature more shows in Central Park and 15% growth in the number of performances offered in neighborhood parks around the city, creating 6-day "mini-festivals" in 8 parks, featuring music, dance, theater, film, circus and family days. In total this new model will add over 20 performances to the sixteen parks SummerStage presents in, bringing more than 200 unique artists to these stages and over 140 shows around the city.

In Queens, the festival will offer show dates in three parks spanning the borough including Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City and Queensbridge Park in Queensbridge.

“As an organization we are dedicated to working in traditionally underserved neighborhoods across the city,” said Heather Lubov, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation. “By presenting artists and genres that reflect the cultures and communities in these parks, introducing disciplines such as dance or theater alongside musical performances, and providing all of this fantastic art free of charge, we are building new audiences and fostering a broader interest in the arts here in New York City.”

“SummerStage is the festival that truly celebrates New York City,” said Director of Arts & Cultural Programs for City Parks Foundation, Ian Noble. “From the iconic to the avant garde, from opera to hip-hop, film to circus, there is no other festival like it. Not only do we select our artists to reflect the nature of each neighborhood, but each park and audience becomes part of the adventure and charm of each and every show.”

“Capital One Bank is proud to support SummerStage as it showcases the diversity and artistic vitality of New York,” said Michael Slocum, President, Commercial Banking and Northeast Regional President, Capital One. “The arts play an important role in building strong, healthy communities, and we are pleased to help the festival reach new audiences across the city.”

For the most up-to-date scheduling and line-up for all SummerStage programming,  visit www.SummerStage.org for festival information.

Sunday, June 7 World’s Fair Anniversary Festival: Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires / Hollis Brown / Damien Escobar 
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, QU 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Other artists appreciate their audiences, just as many are grateful for them, but few artists love their fans as much and as sincerely as Charles Bradley. By now, his remarkable, against-all-odds rise has been well-documented – how he transcended a bleak life on the streets and struggled through a series of ill-fitting jobs – most famously as a James Brown impersonator at Brooklyn clubs – before finally being discovered by Daptone's Gabe Roth. The year following the release of his debut, No Time For Dreaming, was one triumph after another: a stunning performance at South By Southwest that earned unanimous raves; similarly-gripping appearances at Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Newport Folk Festival and Outside Lands (to name just a few); and spots on Year-End Best Lists from Rolling Stone, MOJO, GQ, Pasteand more. Victim of Love, Bradley's second record, is a continuation of that story, moving past the 'heartache and pain' and closer to the promise of hope.

Hollis Brown is a self-defined American Rock ‘n’ Roll band. Named after a Bob Dylan song (“The Ballad of Hollis Brown”), the band was formed by Queens-natives and songwriters Mike Montali (lead vocals/guitar) and Jonathan Bonilla (lead guitar). Both 2nd-generation immigrants (Italian-American and Puerto Rican-American, respectively), they soon found their musical brethren in the Mid-West, recruiting Dillon Devito (bass/vocals) and Andrew Zehnal (drums) from Ohio, and Adam Bock (keyboard/vocals) from Missouri. Hollis Brown made a significant splash as an independent band with the release of their debut album “Ride On The Train” on Alive Naturalsound in 2013, garnering song and video premieres from Rolling Stone, Paste, and American Songwriter, and music placements on MTV’s “Real World”, Showtime’s “Shameless”, and the Willem Dafoe/Matt Dillon film “Bad Country”. They toured extensively in America and Europe, building a fanbase on both continents. Following a memorable performance at a Lou Reed tribute concert in NYC, Alive Naturalsound asked the band to go back into the studio to record a tribute to the Velvet Underground’s classic album “Loaded”, as a limited-edition vinyl release for Record Store Day 2014. The band has now finished recording their new studio album, “3 Shots” which has been mixed by the legendary John Agnello, and will be released May 5th.

Turning points come to serve a purpose of either making or breaking-- for two-time Emmy award winning violinist, Damien Escobar, it achieved both. In 2012 the world renown duo, Nuttin' but Stringz (America's Got Talent) ended their 10-year journey together, and from that Escobar's solo career emerged. Rebuilding proved to be challenging but with undeniable talent and perseverance, Escobar now boasts of 200,000 downloads from his debut mixtape; a running list of notable solo headliner performances on his résumé including: Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chef Awards, Indy Car Championship Awards, Oprah Winfrey's The Life You Want Tour, Russell Simmons’ Hip Hop Inaugural Ball; and in 2014 Escobar released "Freedom," his breakout single which debuted on CNN.com and "The Katie Couric Show.” Escobar, credited for being one of the top crossover violinists in the world, is making strides towards bringing instrumental music to the forefront. Stay tuned, his mission has already begun.

East Village Explosion Small Biz Crawl

Happy Mother's Day

Flowers courtesy of Central Park's Shakespeare Garden, Sunday, May 11, 2014

Posted with Blogsy

By the Way...

I just realized that between Banter, The Flying Pig, Station House, Jack & Nellie's, Tuscan Hills, Bareburger and Bonfire Grill, and the bunch of other new places about to open (I hear the new seafood place across from Irish Cottage will be called Reef, and am totally looking forward to the new Mexican place El Coyote on Austin, and Tuscan Hills' new offshoot in the former Just Like Mother's location I've been having dreams about)... our nabe has just about achieved what I was hoping for: There are now more than enough excellent casual eatery options smack dab in the center of Forest Hills. We no longer have to make do with just our -- quite good -- Asian fusion or Middle Eastern fare. We are, in other words, a normal New York City neighborhood when it comes to the restaurant department... finally. No more having to hop on the subway to Astoria or Manhattan! Hooray!

Of course, we can always use even more good places to eat. Case in point, just this past Friday night, we couldn't believe the waits at Banter (which we have come to expect, but the wall of humanity that greeted us when we popped open that door was still kinda surprising!), and then even the newly expanded Bareburger (even twice as big, the wait was about 15 minutes), and so we kept going until we decided to give The Flying Pig another shot, just before it really filled up. And as you can see from my post below, we were really glad we did.

Now all we have to do as a neighborhood is focus our efforts on getting some great supermarkets :)

Oh, and accepting candidates in Comments section below for those places you all think should either: 1) Expand, or 2) Open up a sequel somewhere else here in FoHi a la what Tuscan Hills is doing.

Station House: "New York's Latest Must-Visit Establishment"

Whoa! Thanks to Kristen over at Queens Mamas for alerting me to this! And a big congrats to Station House!

From Radar Online:

Start Spreadin’ The News: The Station House Is New York’s Latest Must-Visit Establishment
New York’s the gold standard of bars and restaurants in the country, and The Station House in Forest Hills is the latest must-visit when in the area, with a unique atmosphere and variety of special whiskeys and beers that’s second-to-none.

Patrick Stewart Eating Pizza

He tweeted it, announcing "My first ever pizza "slice". Please note: the authentic NY fold."

 Just sharing for no other reason than I just love the guy!  And it's a great picture :)

Battle of the Boroughs Tennis Challenge

They are currently looking for tennis players from all over Queens to represent their borough in this one-of-a-kind event.  This competition is a great way for Forrest Hills tennis players to vie for their neighborhood and borough's glory and all the funds raised will go to support City Parks Foundation's free youth tennis program.

Benefiting City Parks Foundation 

Borough Challenges Starting May 11th - Finals June 15th 

USTA Eastern and City Parks Foundation are teaming up to present The Battle of the Boroughs Tennis Challenge, a new adult recreational tournament to be held in May and June in New York City parks. The tournament will feature the best of team competition and neighborhood pride, and support CityParks Tennis, which provides free tennis lessons and activities for children at 40 parks citywide.

“We are so excited about the Battle of the Boroughs Tennis Challenge,” said Jenny Schnitzer, Assistant Executive Director of USTA Eastern. “The event will showcase some of the best adult tennis players in New York City’s parks, and help create opportunities for children of all ages to learn the sport of a lifetime.”

"This is a fun new opportunity for adult players in our parks to get together for a friendly competition representing their own neighborhoods and boroughs," said Mike Silverman, Director of Sports for City Parks Foundation. "We hope this will grow into an annual event that helps support CPF's free youth tennis instruction provided to over 7,000 players each year."

Adult teams of up to ten players 19 years old and up, will compete against other teams in their borough before earning a slot in the citywide championships held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens on June 15th. Registration is $20/per person, and proceeds will support City Parks Foundation's free youth tennis programs in all five boroughs.

To learn more and to register for the Battle of the Boroughs Tennis Challenge, visit http://eastern.usta.com/boroughs.

Borough Challenges

            Crotona Park, Bronx - May 11

            Riverside Park, Manhattan - May 11

            Flushing Meadows, Queens - May 11

            College of Staten Island, Staten Island - May 11

            Prospect Park, Brooklyn - June 1

Citywide Championships

            Flushing Meadows, Queens  - June 15

CityParks Tennis presented by Chase, one of the largest municipal tennis programs in the country, provides free tennis lessons and activities at 40 parks citywide to children ages 5-16. CityParks Tennis also features an advanced training academy, which offers talented youth with financial need the opportunity to bring their game to a higher level of competition. Hundreds of academy graduates have earned college athletic scholarships and sectional and national rankings. Two graduates of the academy have played in the junior division at the US Open.

City Parks Foundation (CPF) is the only independent, nonprofit organization to offer park programs throughout the five boroughs of New York City. We work in over 750 parks citywide, presenting a broad range of free arts, sports, and education programs, and empowering citizens to support their parks on a local level.  Our programs and community building initiatives reach more than 600,000 people each year, contributing to the revitalization of neighborhoods throughout New York City. For more information about CPF visitwww.CityParksFoundation.org

USTA Eastern, based in White Plains, New York, is a not-for-profit community service organization that encompasses all of New York State, Northern New Jersey and Greenwich, Connecticut.  It is one of 17 geographic sections of the United States Tennis Association, the governing body of tennis in the US, and administers a number of USTA tennis programs, including Jr. Team Tennis, Adult Leagues, and sanctioned tournaments. For more information about USTA Eastern and how to get started, visit eastern.usta.com.

What is Queens?

Well, according to The Lite Choice low-fat ice cream chain, Queens is, well Queens. That is all well and good, except its website's locations page has an entire section for stores in New York City. So, I ask you, why isn't our Forest Hills location listed there?

http://www.thelitechoice.com/location.html

This is one of my big pet peeves. It is not very hard to grasp that Queens is one of the five boroughs of New York City. It's not it's own entity, other than being a borough, and therefore does not merit its own sub-heading on your locations page, Lite Choice people.

While I'm on the subject, just to point it out, Queens is also not a part of Long Island. Geographically, yes, it is, physically in fact part of the western portion of Long Island. But politically, again, it is a borough of New York City. We have no government in common with Long Island.

It's always amused me that certain entities in our neighborhood try to blur the lines between Forest Hills, Queens and Long Island, as if we are somehow the third county of Long Island. I guess I could understand that when the City was suffering through its period of urban blight. But that hasn't been the case for decades now. So, let's get things straight. If you think Queens is part of Long Island, or is its own entity somehow, you are misinformed and just plain wrong. If you want for some reason to believe that by living in Forest Hills you are living on Long Island, you are dating yourself by more than a decade or so. There hasn't been any good reason to think that since like 1998.

You Know Who You Are

Where New York's Cheaters Live (According to Infidelity Website)

"Make a note: These New York City cheating opportunists apparently reside in Park Slope, the Upper East Side, Forest Hills, TriBeCa, and, at number 6 on the list, New City, which is an affluent suburb just north of Manhattan (no word on which of these regions have FiOS)."

City Testing Smart Phone Booths

City ‘i’s new phone booths

"The public pay phone of the future looks like a gigantic iPad.
The city plans to unveil 32-inch “smart screens” with Internet connections next month inside 250 old phone booths throughout the five boroughs."

Introducing ... The Low Line

This is, quite frankly, amazing! It's still just in the planning stages, but just the fact that it seriously might happen is another reason why I live in New York City. :)

N.Y. / REGION
Envisioning a Park, With Sights Set Low
By LISA W. FODERARO
Published: November 21, 2011
Plans for a Manhattan green space on a former transit site come with a twist — the park would be underground, in a dank former trolley terminal under Delancey Street.

Kill The Batman

That is apparently what many New Yorkers want to do these days: "The Dark Knight Rises" filming causes major delays in New York City

A Radical Shift in Subway Maintenance

Ok, so I was ranting to a friend the other day about how the MTA shouldn't do all of its construction work on the weekends. "I am so sick of this!!," went my rant. "I bet the heads of the MTA don't even live in the City! If they did, they wouldn't always do all of the construction on the weekends! When are they going to start making the suburbanite commuters feel some of the pain and do some construction on the weekdays!"

My friend vehemently disagreed, saying that would be an even bigger inconvenience! How would we all get to work??

Apparently, someone from the MTA was walking behind us and I must've frightened him or her with my anger. My sincere apologies to all of New York City for bringing this on all of you.

N.Y. / REGION Experiment on Subways Will Shift Pain to Weekdays
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: November 14, 2011
New York City Transit will test an approach next year to do major construction work on weekdays between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., potentially improving weekend service.

(Just kidding. Kind of. At least it will be taking place at night. Oh yea, but then there is this: "For more complex repair work, the agency would consider closing some track segments for up to 16 days at a time, with no service day or night." Oy vey.)

Beautiful....

From The Times:

ARTS
At the Metropolitan Museum, a New Wing, a New Vista
Published: October 27, 2011

On Nov. 1, after eight years of renovations, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will open its new Islamic wing.

TWA at JFK

One of the best things about living in Forest Hills is its proximity to the major NYC airports. Since I have to travel fairly often for work, when I moved to Forest Hills I was thrilled to discover that I could get to LaGuardia in about 5 minutes and JFK in about 20 or so on a good day. What a luxury -- especially after having lived in SoHo in Manhattan, where it could take like an eternity to get to the airports!

I've always loved going to the airport, something I just kind of picked up when I was a kid. It was such a thrill to go to Kennedy. for instance, which I associated with a feeling of international excitement that was so missing from the sleepy Long Island town where I was living. And, of course, I also always associated my trips there with either going away on a vacation or having my grandmother or other family members or friends come to visit.

So when I heard that Open House NY was opening the landmarked TWA terminal at JFK for a few hours to the public this Sunday, I jumped at the chance to once again visit this famous, wing-shaped building that I knew so well from my childhood. After all, in recent years, I've only recently gotten a chance to see the inside of it in some movies, like Catch Me If You Can, for instance.

The terminal, which is now a historical landmark, was designed by Eero Saarinen and opened in May 1962. It was used until 2001, when American Airlines bought out TWA. Since then it has only really been in use for occasional special events -- such as parties and movie shoots. But it could possibly reopen as a boutique hotel in the near future.

Whatever happens to it, its landmark status prevents it from being demolished or altered in any significant way.

Here are some photos and a short video I shot at today's event. Hopefully it will bring back some memories for some of you. I myself can still see, like it was yesterday, my grandmother waving goodbye as she entered the famous red-carpeted tunnel to catch her next flight.