The nice not-so-little wine shop is taking over the neighboring spot too. "Court Square Gourmet" coming soon -- cheeses, meats, breads for your wines to pair with. Just what the corner needed.

And the commercial space in the Arris -- that monster area they have been using as a showroom? Gristedes. Old fashion NY grocery juggernaut comes to LIC. For those of you who were hoping W---- F----, get real. And anyway, you have the Saturday Green Market on 48th Ave.

Plus LICNYC hears buzz about another French bistro coming to the hood. Where will we hide it? Maybe in plain sight....

Posted by Amol at 11:34 PM | Permalink

Tuesday, May 1, 7pm
Mark Dion and Nils Norman Present: The Slide Dialectic of the Seven Seas
LIC Bar, 45-58 Vernon Boulevard at 46th Avenue
Join us for a slide slam with Mark Dion and Nils Norman. These established artists and researchers will present their archives, curiosities, and recent endeavors.

Saturday, May 5, 3pm
Print Out Launch
Created in 2003, Print Out is a magazine meant to be compiled by its readers. Composed of artists' editions, texts, and sound pieces, the project has taken its current form thanks to SculptureCenter.T

Posted by Amol at 01:45 PM | Permalink

They have been shooting a bunch near Court Square lately. Indie looking stuff. No street closures or anything.

Posted by Amol at 01:38 PM | Permalink

The NotForTourists guide has a useful guide to Queens bars and such. Low low low, for the most part. But fun. Print it out micro-size to keep in your wallet. Get the PDF here and Brooklyn too

Posted by Amol at 01:29 PM | Permalink

One of LIC's pleasures is easy street parking, but cars are so pre-Kyoto. So cross your local vicissitudes by cycle. Only catch, where to park? Apartments are small and the City seems to provide so very much free car parking. At the municipal garage behind the Court Square courthouse, there is a single car spot worth of 'free bicycle parking'.



Make more! Ride your bike! See New York!



Email our friendly local councilman Eric Gioia to say so. gioia@council.nyc.ny.us

Posted by Amol at 06:05 PM | Permalink

While you are hanging in Greepoint, you can have a coffee and a bite at Brooklyn Label. It's a fine addition to the tradition of charming Franklin Street on Manhattan Ave joints like Ashbox, Greenpoint Coffee House and Champion.



Sunny, wifi, in a rad building, and it looks like they bake their own stuff. On Franklin at Java St.

Posted by Amol at 03:54 PM | Permalink

Cool new design store in Greenpoint, on Franklin Street at Freeman. Very strollable!

A link to their very cool online store

Posted by Amol at 03:41 PM | Permalink

They are here for 20 years. Rejoice!

Queens Chronicle - New York Blood Center Opens Doors In L.I.C.

Posted by Amol at 01:54 PM | Permalink

Nice to have at least one hipper indie coffee shop around. Though the slow and sour service can make you yearn for Starbucks. Not to worry, LIC: in due time.

Posted by Amol at 01:58 PM | Permalink

LIC's got taxi lots, new and old.

Posted by Amol at 01:22 PM | Permalink

Nearing completion, near Vernon and Queens Plaza

Posted by Amol at 01:21 PM | Permalink

The best reason to drink wine in LIC? Le fut.

Posted by Amol at 10:22 PM | Permalink

LICNYC is trying something new. If you are planning a move to Long Island City soon or working here, you may be heading for a particular community. Here are some forums to meet some likeminded folks.

Discussion community for folks in the Arris Lofts

Discussion community for folks in the Purves Street Condos

Discussion community for folks in the Echelon

Discussion community for folks in 5SL Lofts

Plus a bonus:
Discussion community for people who work in the Citigroup buildings or at UNFCU on Court Square

Posted by Amol at 11:35 AM | Permalink

Jeez, last show was insane. Ya'll packed the joint. And if you missed it, you missed Augie from the HARD LESSONS climbing in the rafters while covering Neil Young. Video here

Let's do it again-- Friday with a big show headlined by recent Spin.com Band of the Day BEAT THE DEVIL, and then with a little antifolk party the following night. Spread the dang word; the weather's finally warming up...and so is Long Island City nightlife (*I should work in advertising!*)

+++FRIDAY, APRIL 27+++

BEAT THE DEVIL (Manhattan)
http://www.beatthedevil.com
"Listening to Beat the Devil is like taking your first punch in the face. First you're paralyzed with shock, then you're charged with emotion, then you're the cool kid on the playground with the mark of experience." -SPIN

GO HOME ROBOT (Arlington)
http://www.gohomerobot.com
"Turns out, the life-forms involved make a strong case for the superiority of the human race." -WASHINGTON CITY PAPER

FOREST FIRE (Brooklyn)
http://www.myspace.com/fuckforestfire
"A Neil Young twang from a bootleg sound circa 69' was my first impression with the vocals, but with slow, minimal, in the box sound that sparked my interest." -THE PERM AND THE SKULLET

Music starts at 9:00 PM sharp!
$5.00
@ THE CREEK AND THE CAVE
10-93 Jackson Ave.
Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens, NYC G to 21 St
7 to Vernon-Jackson
E-V to 23 St/Ely Av

http://www.thecreekandthecave.com

+++SATURDAY, APRIL 28+++

DIBS (Brooklyn)
http://www.dibson.net/
Antifolker about town, of Cheese on Bread, Urban Barnyard, and HuggaBroomstik fame!

ERIC WOLFSON (Brooklyn)
http://www.myspace.com/ericwolfson
"...shows that (anti)folk's not dead. Like, really." -BAND IN BOSTON

ELIZABETH DEVLIN (Queens)
http://www.myspace.com/elizabethdevlin
Autoharp is the new a capella!

Music starts at 9:00 PM sharp!
FREE
@ DOMINIE'S HOEK
48-17 Vernon Blvd
Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens, NYC G to 21 St
7 to Vernon-Jackson
E-V to 23 St/Ely Av

http://www.myspace.com/dominieshoek

+++BONUS TIP+++

Critically-acclaimed Michigan indiepopsmiths GREAT LAKES MYTH SOCIETY play the KNITTING FACTORY in Manhattan on Tuesday, May 1 at 7 PM.
Catch 'em there in a big Manhattan media schmoozefest before they release their much-anticipated second album Compass Rose Bouquet and play the CREEK AND THE CAVE on June 15 with young genius CHRIS BATHGATE.
http://www.greatlakesmythsociety.com
http://www.knittingfactory.com

******************************************

UPCOMING SHOWS IN THE NABE (plan ahead!):
5/4: Child Bite, Emily Jane Powers @ The Creek and the Cave
5/11: Syscrusher, Slasher Risk @ The Creek and the Cave
5/18: Misty Lyn & the Big Beautiful @ The Creek and the Cave
5/19: Jim Roll, Misty Lyn & the Big Beautiful, Matt Jones, Gregory Stovetop @ Dominie's Hoek
5/25: Lispector, Umberto, Invisible Friend @ The Creek and the Cave
6/15: Great Lakes Myth Society, Chris Bathgate @ The Creek and the Cave
7/13: Lord of the Yum-Yum @ The Creek and the Cave
7/20: Frontier Ruckus @ The Creek and the Cave
7/27: Grrropolis, The Nice Jenkins @ The Creek and the Cave

----

Posted by Amol at 11:06 AM | Permalink

Still the best lunch in Long Island City!

Posted by Amol at 01:53 PM | Permalink

Of course we love this show, coming soon to our favorite outdoor sculpture park: Socrates.. (PS, consider this for your next company event...)

--
L.I.C., NYC
May 6 - August 5, 2007
Opening Sunday, May 6, 2-6pm

L.I.C., NYC, an exhibition of artists working in Long Island City, Queens, features works from a broad spectrum of generations and mediums. Presented as part of the Park's 20th anniversary year, the exhibition highlights and celebrates the area's remarkable creative community with artists Andrea Christens, Stephen Dean, Anne Deleporte, Mark di Suvero, Flux Factory, James Hackenwerth, James Johnson, Kurt Lightner, Isamu Noguchi, Joel Shapiro, Rachel Stevens, Nicole Tschampel and Amy Yoes.

L.I.C., NYC VIDEO
Curated by Andréa Salerno
Sunday, May 6 / 5pm & Wednesday, May 30 / 7pm & Sunday, August 5 / 7pm

Posted by Amol at 11:22 PM | Permalink

The UNFCU building has now been open for business for a while. Looks like folks are moved in and using their cafeteris etc etc. I wonder if the local lunch places and coffee shops have noticed a pickup yet. It's about 20% more workers.

Posted by Amol at 08:17 PM | Permalink

Craigslist has a bunch of stuff for sale here in the area. Check out what people are offering (with pictures) on Listpic.

Click here to browse.

Posted by Amol at 08:16 PM | Permalink

As more people hear about Long Island City, they wonder "where is it?"

Well, here it is. A handy guide. Click on the image to see an interactive map -- that you can search.

For example, search it for restaurants.

Posted by Amol at 08:14 PM | Permalink

Those two hotels we were hearing about coming near the Queensboro Bridge and on Northern Boulevard are steaming forward. See the latest bits and the background from LICNYC.

Posted by Amol at 11:39 AM | Permalink

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus is in town. They park their gear in LIC (go walk by the LIRR tracks and see). The other night, they did their march into MSG from here.

See more from LICNYC chum Swanky.

Posted by Amol at 01:38 AM | Permalink

A bunch of LIC music writers are selling there stuff. 10K CDs, 1K books. Garage style. Check it out. On April 21 and 22.

Posted by Amol at 01:15 AM | Permalink

As ye olde 'hood develops, there is a clear pattern of what comes first and what comes second. First is some cafes, and to those of you who are paying attention, there are very many around:
- Communitea
- Cafe Henry
- Paris (the muffin place across from the Korean grocer on Vernon)
- Queens Court bakery
- Coming soon is one down on 50th and Vernon
- and we all remember Ten63

Meanwhile, there springs up one of each kind of restaurant
- A cheap Chinese place (already around, usually)
- Some pizzerias (same)
- A french place (Tournesol)
- Mexican (Creek)
- Italian (in our case, were here already)
- Diners (usually "already" around)
- Upscale-ish, nice-ish (Domaine, Meridien)
- Japanese (Wasabi Boy on Jackson near Ct Sq)
- Thai (Tuk Tuk)
- What else are we waiting for? Maybe an Indian (though there is the Five Star)

Next...apparently is wine and liquor shops.

The latest, near Court Square, makes #4 in our little neighborhood.

It's a great store! Open till 8 on weekdays and Saturday and till 6 on Sundays. Big space, maybe less "personal" than some of the other options, but has enough room to sport a good selection. They had LICNYC's favorite affordable Cabernet Sauvignon -- Wyatt. Check it out when you are there.

And by the way -- everything is on sale through the end of April. Buying time!

Posted by Amol at 02:54 PM | Permalink

It's not quite an LIC event, but friend of LICNYC and neighborhood artist Will Corwin is the guy behind a show at the Flushing Town Hall that runs through April 22. Check out the six artists at 30 -- that most (?) transitional of ages.

Posted by Amol at 11:52 AM | Permalink

How exactly will that excellent Richard Rodgers project fit here?



Con Ed will have to move over.


Read more about what's being planned.

Posted by Amol at 08:01 PM | Permalink

Though the C-town on 21st has much improved, this little Korean grocery on Vernon is just the best. Huge, premium selection.

Posted by Amol at 12:30 PM | Permalink

Construction blues are over. Weekend 7 service is back.

Posted by Amol at 11:06 PM | Permalink

It's hard to keep one "part" of LIC straight from the next, but there is this big and massively empty part that's north of the Queensboro bridge. It's car repair garages, warehouses, and of course the Queensbridge neighborhood of buildings. But it has a vast emptiness quality to it that South LIC (the part between Citibank and the waterfront Condos) is starting to lose.

The Times reports on the agitation there to make things happen. And indeed, browse back through the archives of LICNYC and you will find similar prognostications (from 2005 Feb).

The news you can use, if you have a real estate demanor, is that they are debating rezoning the place. That was the magic dust that turned "long hailed LIC" into "fast developing LIC". What the NYT said:

Residents of Dutch Kills have also seen the new residential buildings sprouting along the Long Island City waterfront, and they want their share. Working with the City Planning Commission, they have developed a plan that would allow buildings of 5 to 7 stories on the widest local avenues and 8-to-12-story buildings on Northern Boulevard, the area’s southern border. Buildings on the side streets would be restricted to three or four stories.

Posted by Amol at 09:34 PM | Permalink

Supercool artist who makes stuff from other stuff. Well, don't they all. But in this case featured - Boris Karloff from caviar and Streisand from diamonds. A very interesting show - plus, you can check out Kiarostami's photos.

Posted by Amol at 02:59 PM | Permalink

The best restaurant near Court Square is Gaw.Gai, the thai place from the owners of Tuk Tuk. Pad Pak -- mmm mmm!



Open during the day till about 7 on weekdays and a bit earlier on Saturdays.

Posted by Amol at 02:34 PM | Permalink

Posted by Amol at 08:36 AM | Permalink

Well, it's kind of warming up. Kind of.

Check out this great photo album of pics from a recent summer in LIC. Inspires you for all the sights you'll see as the days get sunny.

Posted by Amol at 03:09 PM | Permalink