New ones like this are peppering into the neighborhood. Replacing old ones like this:

Here is one of the new ones, on Vernon near 45th

Posted by Amol at 12:15 PM | Permalink

The cladding is coming up on View 59. It is confirmation that just about every damn building built in LIC is a painted aluminum-style cladding exterior. Getting dull guys!

Meanwhile, the powerhouse continues its march.

Posted by Amol at 05:37 PM | Permalink

***Friday, July 27***

THE PASSENGER PIGEONS (Brooklyn, NY)
http://www.myspace.com/rachelandrew
Formerly The Sparrows!

GRRROPOLIS (Grand Rapids, MI)
http://www.myspace.com/grrropolis
"Michigan's best-kept musical secret." -ANNEX 22

THE NICE JENKINS (Charlottesville, VA)
http://www.myspace.com/thenicejenkins
"Not only are these Jenkins nice, but they are plentiful, too." -AMPLIFIER

9:00 PM
$5

The Creek and the Cave
http://www.thecreekandthecave.com
10-93 Jackson Ave.
Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens, NYC
1 stop from Brooklyn & Manhattan!

G to 21 St
7 to Vernon-Jackson
E-V to 23 St-Ely Av
B-61, Q-67, and Q-103 Bus

UPCOMING SHOWS IN THE NABE (plan ahead!):
+8/3: Ooh La La, Thats Him! That's the Guy!, Dylan Brock @ The Creek
and the Cave
+8/4: Arrah and the Ferns + more @ The Creek and the Cave
+8/10: Umberto, Karl Sturk @ The Creek and the Cave
+8/17: Le Rug, The Tiger Passion @ The Creek and the Cave
+8/24: Fred Thomas, Wallace Bros., Fight and Staircase @ The Creek and
+the Cave
+8/31: Mordus, Face of Cain, Julz A @ The Creek and the Cave
+9/7: Hezekiah Jones @ The Creek and the Cave
+9/21: The Macpodz @ The Creek and the Cave
+8/12: Southeast Engine @ The Creek and the Cave
+8/19: Casper & the Cookies @ The Creek and the Cave

http://www.licpop.com

Posted by Amol at 03:52 PM | Permalink

Check out Water Taxi, one of the 15 best outdoor drinking spots in NYC.

Or have a look at TimeOut's guide to LIC.

LICNYC can vouch for how fun it is to paintball. Man, it's fun! But it's hard to call it "summer" fun. That place is hot and sticky in the summer.

Posted by Amol at 12:11 PM | Permalink

Smoke and commotion near Grand Central explosion.

Posted by Amol at 07:24 PM | Permalink

LIC is about a 75 out of 100 on the "how walkable is LIC" scale. Click here to see for yourself how this is computed -- and to see a nifty map with every local business by type (cafes, restaurants, museums, etc.).

Midtown near Grand Central, by contrast, is a 98/100.

And Williamsburg is about an 80/100 near the BQE side of Wburg and over near the water it is only a 77/100

So tell that to your friends!

Posted by Amol at 12:32 PM | Permalink

Highlights from LIC
Padaria Pao Nosso (Village Voice) - 37-03 31st Ave @ 37 St. Brazilian bakery.
Five Star Punjabi (Hungry Cabbie) - 315 43rd Ave btween 21st St & 13th St. Punjabi, Sikh cabbie haunt.
Tournesol (Village Voice) - 50-12 Vernon Blvd @ 50th Ave. New American.
Easy Street Lounge & Bar (NY Metro) - 36-18 Greenpoint Ave. Dive bar, cavernous ex-auto-repair shop.
Manducatis (NY Times, NY Bits, James Beard, NY Metro, RealEats) - 13-27 Jackson Ave between 47th Ave & 47th Rd. Classic Italian.
El Sitio De Astoria (NY Times) - 35-55 31st St between 35th & 36th Aves, Long Island City. Batidos.

The full listing (worth it!) and interactive map

May be in need of updating though. Easy Street seems to be closed...

Posted by Amol at 03:14 PM | Permalink

The nincompoop who runs "longislandcitynyc.com" (sound familiar to any readers of LICNYC?) reports there is a Starbucks coming to one of the Queens West buildings. Well, isn't that what you'd expect. First the parking-spot Monopoly-players, now the Starbucks-literati. Well, LICNYC will admit a bit of relief. At least it's not another real estate brokerage!

Posted by Amol at 11:25 PM | Permalink

Talk about seismic shifts in the offing. Another few skyscraper condos at Queens West are nothing. The mother of all LIC development drivers is still a long 5 years away from completion...but it's coming.

The LA transit authority has been admiring the progress recently at the big dig they are doing between Queens Blvd and Park Ave. Who thought the twain would meet?

Read more about what they are doing

Posted by Amol at 10:05 PM | Permalink

Put this one in your scrap book. Long Island City just made it into one of those goggle-eyed "The prices they'll pay!" writeups in the Times about...parking space prices. Right their next to Chelsea addresses and pictures of children-with-modeling careers and Manhattan pied-a-terres.

Read about the parking speculators/horders in the 5SL.

Posted by Amol at 09:58 PM | Permalink

The NY Times has been known to report on Brookyln "like it was the Gaza Strip". Well, here we have a heart-warming piece about a homegrown entrepreneur, also known as the bum who sleeps in a car under the billboard on Vernon.

Read more

Posted by Amol at 09:55 PM | Permalink

Don't miss it -- ending July 29th. David Lynch's Blue Velvet scene-settings made real! Read the NYT review.

Plus, don't miss the supercool "readings on piles of stony bread" program on Thursday this week.

Posted by Amol at 01:55 PM | Permalink

Though tonight's Turkish film is rained out to Wed Aug 29, keep the schedule in mind for next week. Lots of great films coming up!

TURKEY - MOVED TO AUGUST 29
CROSSING THE BRIDGE: THE SOUND OF ISTANBUL
2005, 90 mins. Directed by Fatih Akin. A tour of Istanbul's unique musical scene, with its pungent blend of rock, modern, and traditional sounds, this film "uses music to paint a portrait of a vibrant cosmopolitan city and provide a window into a rich and varied national culture." (Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times)

JULY 18 BRAZIL
THIS IS BOSSA NOVA
2005, 126 mins. Directed by Paulo Thiago. This enthralling chronicle of the Brazilian sound that became an international sensation traces the music's roots from 1950s samba. The mix of rare archival footage, interviews, and contemporary performances focuses largely on the living musical legends Roberto Menescal and Carlos Lyra.

JULY 25 JAPAN
LINDA LINDA LINDA
2005, 114 mins. Directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita. A girl band rehearses
for a rock festival in this dryly-funny charming film that is named for its irresistible theme song. "An extremely well-written, emotionally complex coming-of-age tale that has a John Hughesian respect for teenage angst."
(G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle)

AUGUST 1 USA
THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T
1953, 88 mins. Directed by Roy Rowland. With Tommy Rettig. Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel) wrote the screenplay and lyrics for this wildly inventive musical fantasy about
a young boy whose dreams and nightmares are sparked by the fear of his overbearing piano teacher.

AUGUST 8 INDIA
KAL HO NAA HO
2003, 186 mins. Directed by Nikhil Advani. This Bollywood extravaganza is a Romeo-and-Juliet tale set, and partly filmed, in New York City. This film "has little notion of restraint. Its luxuriant running time allows lots of room for spectacular musical numbers and dramatic climaxes." (Dave Kehr, The New York Times)

AUGUST 15 CUBA
CALLE 54
2000, 105 mins. Directed by Fernando Trueba. With Tito Puente. A stylish and loving tribute to the Latin American jazz scene. "The film is such a pure expression of the director's love for the music, a love so infectious it should leave you elated." (Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times)

AUGUST 22 SOUTH AFRICA
U-CARMEN EKHAYELITSHA
2005, 120 mins. Directed by Mark Dornford-May. Georges Bizet's Carmen is magically transported to modern-day South Africa. "The setting brims over
with the same wicked froth of danger, exoticism, and passion that 19th-century Seville must have had before it got stylized into oblivion." (Julia Wallace, Village Voice)

Posted by Amol at 11:05 AM | Permalink

At the Creek etc.

Posted by Amol at 08:39 PM | Permalink

For the did-you-know?-dept.

Posted by Amol at 08:23 PM | Permalink

Now this is cool. Imagine the windex bills!

Posted by Amol at 08:23 PM | Permalink

It is...a shocker. Is that gold-colored siding up there?

Posted by Amol at 08:13 PM | Permalink

There seems to be a rock resurgence in LIC going on at the moment. Brandonz is busy booking interesting indie bands every weekend at Dominie's Hoek and the Creek. LICNYC just reported last week about the Texas Firehouse setup where they are rocking house parties every so often. Of course, the international house music DJ circuit includes an annual tourist stop at PS1. And these guys at the Last Resort Art Space -- Astoria's coolest loft apartment music venue (can't tell if this is a bold claim or not) -- are putting together some cool shows too.

Besides all the music popping up and around the LIC hood, the Texas Firehouse and Last Resort are both in LICNYC's favorite up-and-coming district: North LIC. Watch this space!

Meanwhile, go check it out this Saturday night.

Saturday July 7th
Blanketstatementstein, OUCH, Suburban Riot, a Fistful of Dynamite, X Plane Last Resort Art Space
9 pm
$4

Click to learn more about the space and the bands.

A bit about the space...

Last Resort Art Space is located at 8-63 Astoria Blvd. Directions are up at myspace.com/lastresortartspace. (To get to us from Long Island City, just take Vernon Blvd north until it ends, then bear right and you are basically there.) Last Resort is the coolest loft apartment music venue in Astoria, as well as, to the best of my knowledge, the only.

A bit about the bands...

** Blanketstatementstein ** A smart, energetic and impossibly funky big beat/grindcore/disco house/rap group. A step above your average Hasidic hip hop band. (Shabasa records)

** OUCH ** Electro-tainment nerd-core with extra flavor and sauce. OUCH puts on an insane live show, with 3 MCs, costumes, and synchronized dancing. They're definitely worth checking out before their inevitable descent into booze and pills. (Landing Party records)

** Suburban Riot ** Fast-paced rock with catchy melodies and tight harmonies.

** A Fistful of Dynamite ** Young acoustic punk rockers. A soundtrack for the transient, train-hopping life. (Raise Your First records)

** X Plane ** Explosive rock/drum & bass, with an emphasis on the virtuosic beating of drums into a bloody pulp. A band as good as its name is un-google-able.

--------------

And later in the summer...

Saturday August 12th
Pink Desert, Pocket Gallows, slow/dynamite, 1 or 2 TBA Last Resort Art Space
9 pm

Posted by Amol at 11:30 AM | Permalink

There are a few times of year -- summertimes mostly -- that everyone wants a friend in LIC.

The 4th is one of these.

When else...for Warm Up, for Water Taxi excursions, to go to Costco? OK maybe we're stretching. Discuss it in the forums.

Posted by Amol at 11:25 AM | Permalink

Too bad if you missed the amazing Dengue Fever and Man Man at McCarren Pool's way-over-sponsored Pool Party. One assumes the doofuses who run Astoria Pool finally have water in theirs. No contest.



The secret highlight though - world class dodgeball every weekend.



Plus a chance to see the latest styles. Goodbye beards. Hello spray-painted, home-made vintage clothes.

Posted by Amol at 09:28 AM | Permalink

Water Taxi Beach is the ideal summer retreat from Manhattan. It's the other "The End" -- shorter ride than Montauk.

Take the train to Vernon/Jackson stop of the 7 -- the first stop in Queens. Then get out and walk towards the water. If you're in a taxi -- take the Midtown Tunnel and tell the driver you need the very first exit ("stay to the right!") and just turn right when you get off the highway. Or by Queensboro bridge you turn right and right (to retrace under the bridge up to the waterfront) and then head left to go south a bit.

Posted by Amol at 12:29 PM | Permalink

LICNYC supposes that if lightning is often like this over LIC, then maybe those Con Ed guys do have a valid excuse for blackouts. Source

That's the Citibank building getting hit in that pic, by the way.

Posted by Amol at 12:27 PM | Permalink

LIC has a giant sundial.

Check out this cool show at the Meatspace Gallery where Heidi Neilson maps the path of the big Citibank building's shadow. Heidi's blog for the project. Meatspace is located here (near Anabelle Basin -- you might even see Matthew Barney going for a dip.)

Posted by Amol at 12:26 PM | Permalink

Restaurant reviews, courtesy of the local and transient blogger are mounting.

Tournesol is as fun as ever and great for brunch (not just a divine dinner accessorized with the best fries this side of the Atlantic).
Check out Rachelleb's review (and a little insight on who lives in LIC....now).

Posted by Amol at 12:19 PM | Permalink

For a while, LICNYC has taken the view that the land of the future is North LIC.

For example, here is where the new Queens Public Library is, north of the bridge (nevermind that local LICers have been pleading for one near the Queens West buildings):

There are three major new condo buildings next to the Met Life building on Queens Plaza (again, nevermind the Scandals gentleman's club right next door!). And one of the Nestseeker's brokers apparently thinks that Marriott is planning a big hotel for the site of the Vault night club, also on Queens Plaza.

And have you taken a train past the huge station project they are building there lately? They are deep into the ground and have the tunnel underway too. It's a few years still, but that big station that connects LIRR and Metro-North is going to be a game-changer.

Posted by Amol at 12:07 PM | Permalink

Con Ed claims it was "lightning" that did it. Explain that to the thousands of people that had no juice during the heat wave. Heard of lightning rods...?

The NYT

Posted by Amol at 12:02 PM | Permalink