Queens

The weather has finally gotten the memo, the city's beaches, parks, and urban islands are open for the season and you’ve got a day off. There’s no need to get complicated; just head for the nearest beach with a picnic for two, attend an outdoor concert, find a BBQ bash or a rooftop rave–or celebrate the day with a parade. What you do with the long weekend is up to you, of course, but you'll find some ideas below to get you started.
a bounty of events, this way

Events & Things To Do

PHOTOS: The TWA Hotel at JFK is officially open!

Looking down on the terminal from the London Club; Photo courtesy of TWA Hotel/David Mitchell

May 15, 2019

PHOTOS: The TWA Hotel at JFK is officially open!

The much-anticipated rebirth of Eero Saarinen's historic TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport is complete. The TWA Hotel officially opened on Wednesday, more than two years after the project broke ground in Queens and over 18 years since the iconic 1962 terminal shuttered. The project was developed by MCR and MORSE Development and designed by architecture firm LUBRANO CIAVARRA. Beyer Blinder Belle Architects handled the restoration of the original Flight Center to prepare for the hotel. The two six-story crescent-shaped buildings contain 512 rooms, a rooftop infinity pool and observation deck, event space, food hall, luxury fitness center, and retro cocktail bar.
Take the tour

Events & Things To Do

Target expansion plans face community resistance in Queens

Image via Google Earth.

May 10, 2019

Target expansion plans face community resistance in Queens

A planned expansion by Target into several Queens neighborhoods has run afoul of politicians and community groups. The chain store hopes to open new stores in Astoria and Elmhurst by 2022, but activists in the borough have been fighting to stop the new additions, objecting to the fact that they'll replace mom-and-pop stores and concerned about the effects of gentrification in their neighborhoods. Another concern is that Target's non-union workforce will replace union jobs, The City reports.
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New Developments

The world’s first Transatlantic flight took off from the Rockaways in 1919

“They’re off!” The NC-1, NC-3 and NC- 4 begin their journey across the Atlantic May 8th, 1919. Via the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

May 8, 2019

The world’s first Transatlantic flight took off from the Rockaways in 1919

By Lucie Levine

Did you know that the world's first Transatlantic flight took off from the Rockaway Naval Air Station on May 8th, 1919? The plane, a US Navy Seaplane NC-4, not only departed from the Rockaways but also was assembled there. The NC-4 was one of three planes that vied to be the first across the Atlantic. The NC-1 and NC-3 started out alongside the NC-4 that day in the Rockaways. The planes set course for Plymouth England, and the NC-4 proved victorious, making landfall there on May 31, 1919, after a whopping 57 hours and 16 minutes in the air.
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History

Amazon is building a $5.6M factory in Queens, no high-paying tech jobs expected

Image via Flickr.

May 7, 2019

Amazon is building a $5.6M factory in Queens, no high-paying tech jobs expected

Last week brought news that a $5.6 million Amazon conversion project is coming to the former Bulova facility at 26-15 Boody Street in Woodside, Queens that will turn the warehouse into a delivery center for the retail giant. Though the new project is expected to create 2,000 new jobs, an Amazon spokesperson told 6sqft they're likely to be $18-$25 per hour jobs rather than the 25,000 $150K professional salaries the no-go Amazon HQ had promised.
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New Developments

May 2, 2019

Skyline Tower, Queens’ tallest building, launches first sales

Queens’ Skyline Tower has launched its first 20 listings, providing a glimpse of what we can expect when the official sales gallery opens up later this spring (h/t Curbed). In addition to taking the title of 6sqft’s 2018 Building of the Year, the 67-story building caused a stir last year for its notable height—it will be the tallest in the borough—and proximity to Amazon’s planned HQ in Long Island City, leading to a record-breaking $1 billion sellout. When complete, the Hill West Architects-designed, 778-foot-tall tower will house 802 condos. The 20 live listings include studio- to three-bedroom units, ranging in price from $660,400 for a studio to $2,325,610 for a three-bedroom with outdoor space.
More info

Halal Guys, Empanada Mama, and more are coming to the TWA Hotel

Photo courtesy of TWA Hotel/MCR and Morse Development

May 2, 2019

Halal Guys, Empanada Mama, and more are coming to the TWA Hotel

By Dana Schulz

In just two weeks, the famous Eero Saarinen-designed TWA terminal at JFK Airport will be reopened for the first time in 18 years, rechristened as the Jet Age-throwback TWA Hotel. There have been several announcements in recent months, from the opening of reservations to the unveiling of the rooftop infinity pool and observation deck, and now we have even more details on everyone's favorite topic--food. The terminal's famous Departures Hall, where TWA travelers originally checked in for flights, will be transformed into a small dining hall with offerings from four local mini-chains--The Halal Guys, Empanada Mama, Earl of Sandwich, Playa Bowls, and Fresh & Co.
Find out more

Food & Dining

Noguchi Museum to expand LIC campus, open the sculptor’s studio to the public for the first time

Rendering of the Noguchi Museum campus by Büro Koray Duman

April 26, 2019

Noguchi Museum to expand LIC campus, open the sculptor’s studio to the public for the first time

The original studio and pied-à-terre of Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi will open to the public for the first time as part of a new unified campus, the Noguchi Museum announced earlier this month. The Long Island City museum plans to expand its existing museum and sculpture garden, founded by Noguchi in 1985, by adding a new 6,000-square-foot building and restoring the sculptor's studio.
Get the details

Long Island City library may be evicted from Queens tower after Amazon debacle

image via Google Earth

April 25, 2019

Long Island City library may be evicted from Queens tower after Amazon debacle

Two months after mega-retailer Amazon announced it was walking away from a lease at One Court Square, a Long Island City library branch that occupies space on the ground floor of the 53-story Citigroup building is facing the possibility of eviction according to non-profit publication The City. The lease on the 3,200-square-foot One Court Square branch of the Queens Public Library expires on August 31. The library has paid an annual rent of $1 since the building opened in 1989 as part of a deal with Citigroup, whose lease on the space ends in May of 2020, but a spokesperson for the library has said that the building's owner has “indicated it is seeking market rent for the library space.” Last year, building owner Savanna was reportedly seeking $55 to $65 per square foot for space in the building.
A valuable community service in jeopardy

City Living

TWA Hotel reveals first look at rooftop infinity pool and observation deck

Courtesy of MCR and Morse Development

April 23, 2019

TWA Hotel reveals first look at rooftop infinity pool and observation deck

By Dana Schulz

When the TWA Hotel opens, guests will be able to "pull up a chaise lounge, sip a Mile High Spritz and take a dip in the infinity pool with panoramic views of the busiest runways at JFK." According to a press release sent out today by MCR and Morse Development, the rooftop infinity pool and observation deck is set to open on May 15th along with the rest of the project and remain open 365 days a year thanks to its ability to reach 100 degrees and turn into a "pool-cuzzi." And if you haven't booked a stay at the hotel, you can still reserve a table on the rooftop to take a dip and order a cocktail.
Find out more

New Developments

April 10, 2019

Former 19th-century cigar factory in Long Island City becomes a haven for creatives

A former 19th-century cigar factory in Long Island City has been reimagined as mixed-use office space fit for creative companies. The four-story loft building on 35th Avenue offers tenants super high ceilings, exposed beams, and arched windows. Aptly dubbed "The Cigar Factory," the over 120,000-square-foot building also boasts a private landscaped courtyard.
See it here

New Developments

1,200-unit Hunters Point development breaks ground and reveals new looks

New rendering by ODA Architects for TF Cornerstone

April 5, 2019

1,200-unit Hunters Point development breaks ground and reveals new looks

Developer TF Cornerstone officially broke ground Friday on its mixed-use, affordable housing development in Long Island City, a plan that began nearly six years prior. The project, which consists of 1,194 new apartments across two buildings on Center Boulevard, falls under the city's redevelopment of Hunter's Point South, a proposal with the goal of bringing 5,000 units of new housing to the area first backed by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In addition to the residences, the project includes construction of a community center, local retail, a new public park designed by Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, and a K-8 school. A pair of new renderings highlights the open space planned between the new towers.
Get the details

Sample the wares and see what’s new at NYC’s top flea and food markets

Image courtesy of Brooklyn Flea; photo credit: Scott Lynch

April 5, 2019

Sample the wares and see what’s new at NYC’s top flea and food markets

The city's local flea and food markets set up shop in springtime, bringing irresistible edibles and covetable goods to a neighborhood near you. Though dates and locations vary and favorite vendors come and go, the mighty market phenomenon keeps growing. The shop-and-nosh mecca Brooklyn Flea again changes locations (hello, WTC!), a favorite night market returns in Queens, and the Manhattan classics are back to offer more of what you didn't know you couldn't live without. Some of the best fairs are the most fleeting, and one-offs like the annual Renegade Arts and Crafts Fair are always worth the trip. The list below rounds up the city's top food and flea picks. Let the hunting and gathering begin!
Plan your market strategy

Events & Things To Do

Did you know NYC’s only surviving cycling track is in Flushing?

1964 US Olympic Trials at Kissena Velodrome. From page 47 of “30 years of progress, 1934-1964 : Department of Parks : 300th anniversary of the City of New York : New York World’s Fair.” (1964). Via Internet Archive Book Images on Flickr

March 22, 2019

Did you know NYC’s only surviving cycling track is in Flushing?

By Lucie Levine

From the late 1890s through the 1920s, tens of thousands of New Yorkers turned out to witness the high drama of competitive bicycle speed racing. In New York, there were Velodromes (cycling tracks) at Coney Island, in the Bronx, and even at the original Madison Square Garden, where grueling six-day races called “Madisons” pushed riders to their limits. The sport fell prey to the Depression, and today there are just 26 Velodromes in the United States, including one in New York City, the Kissena Velodrome in Flushing’s Kissena Park, known to Velodrome enthusiasts as “the Track of Dreams.”
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History

A hotel in Long Island City will be converted into a ‘short stay’ co-living spot

Via The Collective

March 20, 2019

A hotel in Long Island City will be converted into a ‘short stay’ co-living spot

London-based communal living company The Collective has purchased a hotel in Long Island City with plans to convert the building into a space for co-living. The Paper Factory Hotel, located at 37-06 36th Street near the Astoria border, will be transformed into a space for "short-stay" co-living, which the company says will give members more flexibility in the length of their stay. The first phase of the conversion adds cultural and educational space to the building's ground floor; the second phase adds 100 more bedrooms to the hotel's existing 125 rooms.
More this way

Real Estate Trends

Two-thirds of voters say losing Amazon deal was bad for New York

Image via NYCEDC

March 19, 2019

Two-thirds of voters say losing Amazon deal was bad for New York

According to a new poll conducted by the Siena College Research Institute, nearly two-thirds of New York state registered voters think Amazon’s decision to cancel its plans for a second headquarters in Queens was bad for New York. Sixty-one percent of the people who were polled say they would approve of the deal—in which Amazon would receive up to $3 billion in state and city incentives and create up to 25,000 jobs—if the company were to reconsider. The results are clear: “While some may have celebrated Amazon’s announcement to pull the plug, the vast majority of New Yorkers of every stripe thought it was bad for the Empire State,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.
More info

Policy

113 chances to live beachfront in Far Rockaway, from $331/month

Courtesy of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects

March 18, 2019

113 chances to live beachfront in Far Rockaway, from $331/month

A lottery launched this week for 113 mixed-income apartments in Edgemere, a beach-front neighborhood just outside of Far Rockaway in Queens. Designed by Curtis + Ginsburg, the eight-story building meets passive house certification by utilizing a geo-thermal cooling and heating system with a resilient, flood-proof design. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50, 60 and 100 percent of the area median income can apply for the available units at 45-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, which range from a $331/month studio to a $1,910/month three-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Astoria Boulevard N, W station to close for nine months for elevator and mezzanine repairs

Image via Wikipedia

March 13, 2019

Astoria Boulevard N, W station to close for nine months for elevator and mezzanine repairs

The Astoria Blvd N and W station in Queens will close at 10 p.m. on Sunday, March 17 and remain shuttered for nine months as New York City Transit works on a multi-phase repair project. The elevated station will get four new elevators and other accessibility features. In order to construct the street elevators, the mezzanine level will be demolished and rebuilt with more vertical clearance to prevent strikes by trucks and other over-height vehicles on the road below.
More info

Transit

Image courtesy of MCR and Morse Development

March 11, 2019

JFK’s TWA Hotel will curate exhibitions of rare Jet Age artifacts and memorabilia

Guests of the TWA Flight Center Hotel—set to open on May 15—will be able to experience the Jet Age through exhibitions of Trans World Airlines artifacts curated by the New-York Historical Society. Flight attendant’s logs, vintage furniture from TWA headquarters, in-flight amenities—like gilded playing cards and custom matchbooks—are some of the types of objects that will be on view in a rotating series of exhibitions dedicated to the former TWA terminal, a historic landmark designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962.
More info

An interactive ‘junglescape’ is coming to the courtyard of MoMA PS1 this summer

Hórama Rama by Pedro & Juana, winner of the 2019 Young Architects Program. Ana Paula Ruiz Galindo & Mecky Reuss. Mexico City, Mexico

March 8, 2019

An interactive ‘junglescape’ is coming to the courtyard of MoMA PS1 this summer

Serving as the light at the end of winter's tunnel, MoMA PS1 unveiled this week the winning design for its popular summer outdoor music series Warm Up. The installation "Hórama Rama" by Pedro & Juana (a Mexico City-based studio founded by Ana Paula Ruiz Galindo and Mecky Reuss) will bring an immersive "junglescape" with a cyclorama that sits on top of the concrete courtyard walls. "Hórama Rama" will feature a 40-foot-tall, 90-foot-wide structure that floats over the courtyard space, with hammocks and a functioning, two-story waterfall contributing to the wilderness vibe. The temporary exhibit accompanies the outdoor music series that runs from June to September.
See the winning design

Events & Things To Do

After $13.4M beach replenishment, closed-off portion of Rockaway Beach set to reopen this summer

Photo via Flickr cc

March 5, 2019

After $13.4M beach replenishment, closed-off portion of Rockaway Beach set to reopen this summer

By Dana Schulz

Last summer, 11 blocks of Rockaway Beach were closed due to safety issues from erosion. The decision to shutter the half-mile stretch came just days before the city's beaches were set to open on Memorial Day weekend. Though the city said at the time that it might take years to get it reopened, a press release this week announces that the beach will reopen in time for this summer season, thanks to a $13.4 million beach replenishment project in which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will dredge 300,000 cubic yards of sand.
All the details

Uncategorized

Old-fashioned porches and a pool make this striking $1.8M NJ home perfect for a summer day

Image courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty. Photo credit: Warren Young.

March 1, 2019

Old-fashioned porches and a pool make this striking $1.8M NJ home perfect for a summer day

The listing for the circa 1867 Thomas Watlington house in Ridgewood, New Jersey's Prospect Street Historic District calls it "unforgettable," and it's certainly not one you'd pass by without taking note. The six-bedroom Second Empire style home at 226 Prospect Street, on the market for $1.825 million, is filled with historic details. But the home's wide, gracious porches, grand port-cocheres, in-ground heated pool and 3-car garage make it especially well suited for enjoying everyday life.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

Image via CityRealty

March 1, 2019

Cuomo pleads with Amazon to reconsider Long Island City deal

Update 3/1/19, 1:10pm: According to Crain's, Governor Cuomo said today on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show, "They have given no indication that they would reconsider. I have no reason to believe that Amazon is reconsidering. Would I like them to? Certainly. But I have no reason to believe that." Amazon's Valentine's Day breakup with New York City has been rough on Governor Andrew Cuomo; the New York Times reports that Cuomo has continued to beseech the retail giant to build one of its two new headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, as it had announced plans to do last November. According to the Times, Cuomo has privately assured Amazon officials that he would ease the company's path to any needed approvals and is "working intensely behind the scenes"–including a personal pitch to founder Jeff Bezos–to get Amazon to reconsider.
Baby, come back

Policy

Long Island City restaurant owner traveled to Seattle in an attempt to revive Amazon deal

John Brown Smokehouse on 44th Drive in LIC via Flickr

February 28, 2019

Long Island City restaurant owner traveled to Seattle in an attempt to revive Amazon deal

The owner of a Long Island City barbecue restaurant flew to Seattle on Monday in an attempt to revive the city's deal with Amazon. Josh Bowen, who owns neighborhood joint John Brown Smokehouse, met with executives from the company for two hours, according to Qns.com. Earlier this month, Amazon announced it would no longer open a headquarters at the proposed waterfront location in Queens after facing resistance from local politicians and activist groups. During the meeting, the businessman asked if they would reconsider their decision to pull out of the project. Their response? "Never say never," the executives told him, according to Bowen.
More here

Policy

Plan for affordable housing and industrial space back on the table for ex-Amazon site in LIC

A rendering from 2017 depicting the proposed mixed-use site; courtesy of TF Cornerstone

February 25, 2019

Plan for affordable housing and industrial space back on the table for ex-Amazon site in LIC

The city's plan to bring a thousand residential units and a mix of industrial space to Long Island City is back on the table after Amazon last month announced it will not open a complex in the neighborhood. James Patchett, the president of the city's Economic Development Corporation, said during the Crain's New York Business breakfast on Thursday that the city will forge ahead with its original plan of bringing a mix of businesses and homes to the Queens neighborhood, Gothamist reported.
More here

Affordable Housing

February 21, 2019

Leasing launches for first rental at Astoria’s Halletts Point mega-development, from $2,150/month