Chinese New Year Parade 2012 Photos

Reflects Evolving Chinese & Korean American Community

February 6, 2012 / Flushing / Ethnic & Religious Culture / Queens Buzz. I attended the year of the dragon Chinese New Year Parade in Flushing on Saturday, February 4th. It’s easily the best Queens parades because the Chinese and Koreans put a lot of effort into a sensory pleasing, cultural mélange, that includes beautiful costumes, melodic music and aesthetic theater.

Thousands participate in the parade, which first began in Flushing in 1997. In 2011 the parade starting welcoming non-Asian participation, and hence last year it was interesting to watch someone of mixed ethnic descent, run as one the leads of one of the dragon dance teams. The dragon dance teams in the Flushing New Year Parade vary, as in China, from a two member team to as many as ten or fifteen. Legend has it, that the longer the parade dragon, the greater the luck for the year.

Click here to read more about our report and view photos of the Chinese New Year Parade 2012 in Flushing Queens.

Chinese New Year 2012 in Flushing

Flushing Town Hall - Building Cultural Bridges

January 25, 2012 / Flushing / Ethnic & Religious Culture / Queens Buzz. I attended the opening ceremony at the Flushing Town Hall celebrating the Chinese new year. Flushing Town Hall is a neighborhood and Queens borough cultural center, which has easily become one of the leading places in Queens and NYC, where one can familiarize themselves with authentic Asian cultures.

Flushing Town Hall presents many exhibits and programs, which nurture an environment of cross cultural understanding. They are also an important location for innovative theater performances, jazz, and world music, of which you can read more about by using the search function on this site.

One of the reasons for Flushing Town Hall's emergence as an Asian cultural center is that Flushing is the home to the largest Chinese community in New York, equaling – if not surpassing - Chinatown in Manhattan. And New York City is home to the largest Chinese community outside of China.

This year is 2012 AD in the western world, but to the Chinese this is the lunar year 4709 and the year of the lucky dragon. Steve Chen of Crystal Window & Door Systems in Flushing [current exhibit sponsors], speaks about the Antique Chinese Windows and Doors collection currently on exhibit at Flushing Town Hall.

Click here to read more about the upcoming Chinese New Year Parade 2012 in Flushing Queens and Chinese Culture.

QMA Hosts Boo Spooktacular

Kids & Adult Programs at the Queens Museum of Art

October 24, 2011 / Flushing Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. It was a frightening Saturday afternoon, trolls, ghouls and goblins were lurking about at the Queens Museum of Art. The ghouls and goblins had plans to make war, even while the head troll was issuing marching orders to a bevy of funked QMA scaretakers, who seemed to know what ghastly events lie ahead. Nonetheless, they listened with interest as the troll began to make her plans.

Click here by to read the rest of our report on the Boo Spooktacular and other kids & adult programs at the Queens Museum of Art.

People-Powered Green Symposium

Fourth Annual Going Green In Queens

April 12, 2011 / Flushing / Green & Natural / Queens Buzz. The fourth annual 'Going Green In Queens' environmental symposium was held on Saturday, March 26th, at the Al Oerter Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Hundreds of people, possibly more than a thousand, visited the green booths set up by a number of community organizations that are working to build a more sustainable / regenerative environment in Queens.

Booths included urban composters, community parks organizations, a solar panel provider, energy saving devices / alternative energy providers, an organic food group, sailing and bicycling groups .. and more.

Click here to view our report on Going Green In Queens 2011.

Flushing & Corona Maps - Overview

Click to view four maps of Flushing & Corona: 1) Map of Shopping Districts In Flushing & Corona with links to shop home pages on this site, 2) Map of Flushing & Corona Restaurants that have been reviewed on this site, and 3) Map of cultural attractions in Flushing & Corona most for which there are reports about them to be found on this site.

Click here to view Flushing & Corona Maps - Maps of Shops, Restaurants and Cultural Attractions in Flushing & Corona Queens.

A Taste Of The World 2010 & Photos

Queens Leading Culinary Event Feeds Hundreds

May 18, 2010 / Flushing / Queens Buzz. Queens leading culinary event happened last night at Caesar's Club in CitiField in Flushing in spite of a very dark wet drizzly evening. Hundreds of people came from around the borough to sample the food and beverages provided by some 30 or more vendors.

We found a wide variety of cuisines to sample, and in the process learned a bit more about the culinary history of the borough. Two businesses received awards for serving the community for 80 and 50 years. These businesses continue to this day and were successfully handed from one generation down to the next. Click here to read our full report about A Taste Of The World 2010 & Photos in Queens.

Joe's Shanghai Restaurant

Chinese Cuisine / Restaurants In Flushing

Flushing / Queens Buzz. I had the pleasure of visiting Joe's Shanghai Restaurant in Flushing this week. I had heard about Joe's and passed by several times, always taking note that they seemed to be busy. If you're in a hurry, the bottomline on this one is they serve delicious food, provide a broad choice of dishes with very efficient service at very reasonalbe prices in a restaurant that's pretty straightforward in its ambiance. So click here to read the rest of our review of Joe's Shanghai Restaurant in Flushing Queens, including numerous photos of the food and restaurant.

Flushing & Corona Shops & Shopping

Flushing & Corona / Queens Buzz. This section contains shopping related stories, maps and other information about shopping in the neighborhoods of Flushing and Corona in Queens. 

Click here to view information about shops and shopping in Flushing and Corona NY.

Real Estate In Flushing

Real Estate Development In Flushing Continues

April 14, 2011 / Flushing Neighborhood / Real Estate Development In Flushing / Queens Buzz. This winter I attended the state of the borough address given by Queens Borough president Helen Marshall and another given by NYC deputy mayor of economic development, Robert K. Steel. This report captures some of their comments about Flushing Commons condominium and retail complex which is a large-scale real estate development projects in Queens. The graphic shown to your right is a depiction of the Flushing Commons when it is completed.

Following their speeches, we did some investigation and research to find out more about this and other Flushing real estate development projects. The Flushing Commons retail and condominium project begins in 2011 and is expected to be completed by 2013. Advocates of the project hail the addition of new facilities, while detractors question whether the city has made sufficient provision for infrastructure in an area that is one of the most traversed outside of Manhattan.

Click here to read more about real estate development in Flushing Queens.

Real Estate In Flushing - Willets Point

April 14, 2011 / Flushing Neighborhood / Flushing Real Estate / Queens Buzz. This winter I attended the State of the Borough Address given by Queens Borough president Helen Marshall and a month later I attended a speech given by NYC deputy mayor of economic development, Robert K. Steel. This report captures their brief comments about Willets Point condominium and retail development project, as well as a considerable amount of research I did following those two presentations.

In the following report we provide you with a history of the effort to transform the Willets Point area and an outline of the proposed plans and including a detailing of some of the issues associated with the proposed development. A graphical depiction of the Willets Point development is shown above.

Click here to read more about Willets Point real estate development project - controversy in Flushing Queens.