Sunnyside & Woodside Re-Zoning Plan

Proposal Moving Through The Process – Timetable Set

April 13, 2011 / Sunnyside & Woodside / Sunnyside Real Estate / Queens Buzz. Queens Borough president Helen Marshall highlighted the effort to re-zone Sunnyside and Woodside in her State of the Borough Address this winter. Following the release of the proposed zoning changes on February 28th, I spent time studying the proposal to re-zone the Sunnyside and Woodside neighborhoods and followed up with a representative of the NYC Department of City Planning to be sure I properly understood the proposed changes. It's worth mentioning that the rezoning changes were recently approved by Community Board 2, about two weeks ahead of deadline.

The thrust of the Sunnyside Woodside rezoning effort appears to be to standardize construction regulations within these neighborhoods in order to prevent out-of-character development, reduce commercial overlays, enhance street life through the allowance of sidewalk cafes and to set height limits on new buildings which is not specified in the existing zoning. Current Sunnyside and Woodside zoning only specifies how much you can build by way of limiting the Floor Area Ratio [FAR] – and doesn’t set limits on specific building dimensions, most notably building height.

Click here to view the timetable of the Sunnyside & Woodside Re-zoning proposal and to read the rest of our report, which includes a brief zoning history, and a summary of existing and proposed zoning changes including diagrams and photos.

Sunnyside Real Estate / Woodside Real Estate

Queens Real Estate Markets Less Soft Than Nation

Sunnyside & Woodside / Queens.  We spent the last half of 2009 collecting information with the intent of providing a guide to provide readers with a sort of feel for the current state of affairs in the western Queens real estate market.  This report focuses on the Sunnyside real estate and Woodside real estate price trends, available inventory as well as to provide some information about the neighborhoods themselves.  At the end of the report are links to other Queens real estate related reports.

Click here to read our report about Sunnyside real estate and Woodside real estate.

East Side Access Project Moving Along

How Will This Project Affect Queens Real Estate?

Queens Real Estate / October 4, 2010 / Queens Buzz. Progress on the East Side Access Tunnel project has been visible in Queens since early Spring 2010. The MTA has been busy drilling a new tunnel under the East River from LIC / Astoria, using the Sunnyside Railway Yard as its staging grounds. The photo to your left shows the view of the new tunnel being built underneath the East River from an Astoria / LIC perspective. The tunnel connects into Manhattan around 63rd Street.

Meanwhile in the Sunnyside railway yards, many of the buildings that once dotted the landscape have been demolished. Thankfully this doesn't include an old train station which has been around for many years [see photos in rest of story / slide show]. They’ve also cleared away a number of old warehouse and garage like structures along 43rd Street between Northern Blvd and 39th Avenue.

Click here to get an update on the East Side Access Project impact on Queens real estate.

Home Improvement & Contractors In Queens

This section is dedicated to home & building improvment in Queens, Astoria, Long Island City, LIC, Sunnyside, Woodside, Jackson Heights, Flushing, Corona and Jamaica.

Click here to view reports on building and home improvement / contractors in Queens.

Economic Outlook 2012 - Queens Economy

Federal Reserve Economist Discusses 2012 Outlook At LIC Partnership Breakfast

February 13, 2012 / Long Island City / Queens Business / Queens Buzz. I attended a lecture given by New York Federal Reserve Economist Rae Rosen at the LIC Partnership breakfast in Long Island City. In the lecture the economist talked about many of the critical factors that would play a role in the outcome of how the economy would perform in 2012. How these factors play out will ultimately impact the kind of economic year Queens, NYC and NYS will have in 2012.

U.S. Economic Performance in 2012 Vs Averages

The U.S. economy grew 2.8% in the fourth quarter, ending the 2011 year on a strong note, after a slow beginning. For 2012 the consensus forecast is between 2.5% to 3%, with the highs above 3% and the lows just above 1% which still implies a growth year. The U.S. average growth rate since the end of WWII has been about 3.28%. According to one report I read, the probability the U.S. will slip back into recession has fallen to 23%.

Click here for our report of the lecture given by Federal Economist Rae Rosen at the LIC Partnership breakfast in February 2012 - Queens Economic Forecast 2012.

Small Business Financing In Queens NYC

SBA In Queens & Business Outreach Center In Corona

January 31, 2012 / Corona / Queens Business / Queens Buzz. Last summer I decided to take Queens Buzz through the SBA process to raise capital to raise capital and to provide a description of the process that a new or struggling enterprises must go through in order to obtain non-traditional funding.

Over the course of the past decade, government and non-profit organizations have increasingly become aware of the importance and value of helping new and small businesses survive and thrive as a means of retaining and creating jobs within communities. In the current economic environment, helping these small companies is critical to accelerating the current economic recovery.

I entered the process of seeking a loan in July of 2011 ... click here to read more about the Business Outreach Center in Corona Queens. The photo above was taken at a 2012 seminar sponsored at the Business Outreach Center in Corona Queens entitled Financing Your Business.

New & Used Car Dealerships In Queens

Sunnyside, Woodside & LIC / Queens Buzz. This report is about new and used car dealerships in Queens NY. There are about twenty new and used car dealerships just minutes away from Manhattan NYC and most parts of Queens via subway or bus. The car dealerships are located along Northern Blvd starting in LIC [Long Island City] on the Astoria border at the intersection of Steinway Street. The car dealerships include new and used cars as well as pre-owned vehicles. The dealerships are also near Sunnyside, Woodside and Jackson Heights, but are easily accessible by car throoughout the Tri-state area via the BQE and LIE.

This report is about buying new and used cars at dealerships in Queens, including information about car prices and dealership locations in Queens.

Ophthalmologists In Queens

The Treatment Of Eye Conditions In Queens

Queens NY / Queens Buzz. This is a general overview of eye care and eyewear. This report is designed to orient you to different kinds of professionals accessible in Queens in the eye care and eyewear professions. As well as to highlight several widespread eye conditions in Queens as well as the rest of the U.S..  Click here to view our report on ophthalmologists, optometrists and opticians in Queens.

A Titan In Our Midst

Titan & Optima Foods - Greek Food In Astoria Queens

Astoria / Queens Buzz. Astoria has long been known as the Greek section of Queens and NYC. And for nearly 30 years Titan Foods has been serving the Greek section of Queens and NYC with imported Greek food. In 1991 Optima Foods, which is owned by the same folks as Titan, began operating as a mid sized importer and since that time has grown to become one of the leading distributors of Greek food along the eastern seaboard of the United States.

Click this link to read the full story about Titan Foods - Greek food stores in Astoria Queens.

Fresh Pasta Made Daily In Queens NY

Cassinelli Food Products Company

This is a report about the Cassinelli Food Products company. It's one of the last old world Italian pasta making companies in Queens. The Cassinelli pasta company makes fresh pasta in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens daily. Click here to read the full report about fresh pasta in Astoria Queens NY.

Restaurants In Woodside

Donovan's - Irish Pubs In Queens

Woodside Restaurants / Queens Restaurants.  Woodside / Queens Buzz. I had occasion to visit Donovan's Irish Pub in the Woodside section of Queens NY. Donovan's is about as Irish an Irish Pub can get outside of Ireland. We took a different tack in this review and decided not to review their hamburger, but rather take a look at some of their other pub food offerings.

Click here to read our review of Donovan's Irish Pub in Woodside Queens, including a short interview with former detective Jack Donovan, brother of the pub owner.

Sunnyside Restaurants / Woodside Restaurants

Sunnyside & Woodside / Queens Buzz.  This section of the site is about the restaurants in the neighborhoods of Sunnyside and Woodside in Queens NY. This section contains reviews of Turkish, Italian and American restaurants as well as an Irish Pub.

Click this link to enter the Sunnyside Restaurants and Woodside Restaurants section of this site.

Queens State of the Borough Address 2012

Boro President Helen Marshall Informs Us We’re Holding Our Own

January 24, 2012 / Flushing / Queens Government & Economy / Queens Buzz. Today I attended the Borough President’s State of the Borough Address in the Colden Auditorium at Queens College in Flushing. Queens College President Dr. James Muyskens opened the program, followed by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

There were hundreds of people in attendance. The audience included government officials, members of the police, fire and sanitation departments, a number of community board members, educators, healthcare administrators as well as members of the press.

Helen Marshall’s address covered education, healthcare, parks, the economy, business, development, aviation [the airports], culture, historic preservation and awards to a few denizens of the borough for outstanding work. In the photo Queens Borough President Helen Marshall looks a graphic which includes the plans for the new technical center planned for Roosevelt Island by Cornell University and Technion. Click here to our report with photos of the Queens State of the Borough Address 2012.

Employment & Unemployment - Queens

Queens Unemployment Versus NYC, NYS & U.S.

March 11, 2011 / Queens Business / Queens Buzz. I recently attended a conference where I was able to obtain some information about the employment composition of Queens. I also obtained recent NYC, NYS, U.S. and Queens unemployment statistics, all of which are included in this report.

It's worth noting at the outset that Queens has a very diversified economic base. This explains why Queens is outperforming the city, the state and the nation in creating jobs for its people.

Click here to read more about unemployment / employment in Queens 2011.

Jet Blue Operations in Queens

Behind The Scenes At Jet Blue LIC

May 19, 2012 / Long Island City / Queens Business / Queens Buzz.  I decided to take a look behind the airline ticket counter to see what goes on behind the scenes of a scrappy competitive airline upstart.  That description best describes the Queens hometown airline - Jet Blue - which recently relocated within the borough, moving from Forest Hills [and Darien, CT] to the Met Life Building off Queens Plaza in Long Island City. 

Jet Blue officially opened its Long Island City location on April 3rd, 2012.  They had been moving folks into the building in waves, after about a year of preparations.  The first wave came on March 9th, and the last wave came on April 4th, 2012.  There are currently about 1,000 Jet Blue employees working out of the Long Island City facility.

In this report I focused on their operations center which handles many of the behind-the-scenes logistics.  This report will give you a close up look at what goes on behind the scenes every day at Jet Blue as it prepares, schedules, executes and monitors an airline that has a fleet of between 150  - 200 planes, about 2,000 pilots, about 3,000 flight attendants, and an LIC operations crew of about 250 that runs 24/7 every day of the year. The Jet Blue Operations Center is shown looking through an aquarium, in the photo above.

Click here to read our report about Jet Blue in Long Island City LIC Queens.

Queens Mass Transit & Transportation

This section is dedicated to mass transit and transportation in Queens, Astoria, Long Island City, LIC, Sunnyside, Woodside, Jackson Heights, Flushing, Corona and Jamaica.

Click here to view reports on mass transit & transportation in Queens.