Image credit: Binyan Studios, courtesy of Modern Spaces

New York City’s tallest building outside Manhattan topped out a year ago and is set to commence closings and move-ins this December. Located in Long Island City‘s Court Square section, Skyline Tower is a 778-foot luxury condo tower with 800 units, with current availabilities ranging from a $739,000 studio to a $2.5 million three-bedroom. And when the new tenants move in this winter, they’ll be able to enjoy amazing amenities, including a 75-foot indoor pool, a pet spa, and a fully equipped gym.

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DineOut opens in Jackson Heights; Photo by Kamila Harris for Rockwell Group

Two neighborhoods in Queens hit especially hard by the coronavirus are slowly getting back on their feet thanks to a new communal dining experience. David Rockwell and his firm Rockwell Group unveiled last week two new community outdoor dining areas on car-free blocks in the Queens neighborhoods of Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, part of the firm’s DineOut initiative. Both communities, which are considered to be among the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City, offer a variety of cuisines, including Tibetan, Nepali, Indian, Thai, and more.

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Photo by Emily Andrews for the Rockwell Group

When Murray’s Cheese first opened in a small storefront on Cornelia Street 80 years ago, they primarily sold milk, eggs, and butter. After becoming a Greenwich Village institution, Murray’s has since expanded, moving to a larger storefront across on Bleecker Street in 2004, and opening a location in Grand Central and cheese-aging caves in Long Island, where the business just announced they’ll be opening a new shop and restaurant. According to a press release, “Murray’s Cheese Bar LIC will be the restaurant’s flagship location and its first-ever full-service bar, with an adjacent cheese shop offering more than 400 specialty items.”

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Photo credit: Aaron Asis

The Queens County Farm Museum is set to reopen its 47 acres to the public on Sunday after temporarily closing in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Along with the reopening, Queens Farm will also unveil its first-ever site-specific art installation: Cover Crop by the artist Aaron Asis. The half-acre artwork includes a “planted composition” with crisscrossing paths, letting visitors discover the farm’s cover crops, including sweet peas, buckwheat, and rye.

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Photo courtesy of Neir’s Tavern

After nearly shutting its doors earlier this year because of a rent increase and then temporarily closing in March because of the coronavirus, it’s been a tough few months for Neir’s Tavern, a bar in Queens founded more than 190 years ago. But, with support from regulars, the historic establishment in Woodhaven reopened this month for outdoor dining, the New York Post reported.

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Rendering the civic park at Innovation QNS courtesy of ODA

A proposal to build a mixed-use district in Queens that would encompass five blocks and create thousands of new housing units was unveiled this week. Dubbed “Innovation QNS,” the $2 billion project would bring 2,700 units of mixed-income housing, 250,000 square feet of creative office space, 200,000 square feet of retail, a new school, two acres of public open space, and new neighborhood amenities to Astoria. With ODA Architecture as the architect of the master plan, the mixed-use district is a joint private venture led by Silverstein Properties, Kaufman Astoria Studios, BedRock Real Estate Partners.

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Rendering courtesy of Aufgang Architects

In Ridgewood–the Queens neighborhood that’s right on the border of Bushwick, has lots going on, but is still somewhat under-the-radar–a middle-income housing lottery has just come online for those earning 130 percent of the area median income. The brand-new building, designed by Aufgang Architects and known as The Strand, offers tons of fun amenities (do note additional fees may apply) like onsite parking, a laundry room, bike storage, fitness center, outdoor terraces, co-working lounge, and a media/gaming lounge. The 40 apartments up for grabs range from $1,797/month studios to $3,508/month three-bedrooms.

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Photo of Citi Field by Tomas Eidsvold on Unsplash

Baseball is back. After the coronavirus pandemic put the sport on hold for over three months, Major League Baseball on Tuesday announced a plan to return, with “spring” training to resume on July 1 and opening day games scheduled for July 23 and 24, with no fans. The training will take place at the home stadiums for teams, meaning the Yankees and Mets will return to the Bronx and Flushing starting this week.

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Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit on Flickr

Applications are now being accepted for 118 apartments at a newly constructed affordable rental in the Queens neighborhood of Far Rockaway. Located at 19-15 Nameoke Avenue (also known as 14-14 Central Avenue), the eight-story building incorporates the existing Community Church–the Nazarene into the residential part of the building, which contains 142 total apartments. New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50, and 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, which range from $367/month studios to $1,472/month three-bedrooms.

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Photo via Wikimedia Commons

This year’s 52nd annual U.S. Open will be held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens from August 31st to September 13th without fans, Governor Cuomo announced in his press conference today. The U.S. Tennis Association will “take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff,” which will include robust testing, increased cleaning, extra space in locker rooms, and dedicated housing and transportation. Last year’s event set an all-time attendance record of 737,872, bringing in $400 million in revenue, 80 percent of the USTA’s annual total.

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