Remediation Of Newtown Creek Begins In Queens & Brooklyn

After 150 Years Of Environmental Destruction, Remediation Of Newtown Creek Begins

January 21, 2012 / Long Island City, Sunnyside, Maspeth & Brooklyn / Green in Queens / Queens Buzz. Every good process begins with information gathering, so that the decision makers have all of the relevant information they need to make sound decisions. After the information gathering / research is done, and the decisions are made, then the actual execution of the [clean up] process begins.

And so it was that on October 27, 2011, I visited the Newtown Creek Superfund Public Meeting – Queens at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City. There were more than ten representatives, largely from various departments within the EPA, on hand to answer questions and provide information to the public about how the federal government process to clean up Newtown Creek.

Click here to learn more about the history and EPA clean up of Newtown Creek which shapes the border between Queens and Brooklyn.

Maids – Final Installment

Mutation From Original Themes, Into Exploration Of Time

November 5, 2011 / Long Island City / Theater in Queens / Queens Buzz. I just returned from watching the final installment of Maids. Maids was a four production work put on by the LaGuardia College Performing Arts Center [hereafter referred to as LPAC] in Long Island City. While the germ of the work was based on a Jean Genet play, the play only served as the starting point for what was an experimental work created by Handan Ozbilgin, Assistant Artistic Director of LPAC.

It’s been said, that “art should make one feel uncomfortable”. One of the goals of art is to challenge one’s perspective, move one out of their comfort zone, get one to see things in a different light and make one think about things. And so it was tonight that … click here to read the rest of our review of the final installment of Maids – experimental theater in LIC Queens.

Space Womb Births New Talent

Color & Gray Exhibit Open Through Friday

July 16, 2011 / Long Island City Neighborhood / Art Galleries / Queens Buzz. I attended the opening reception of a new photography exhibit at the Space Womb gallery in Long Island City. Space Womb opened a couple of years ago on Jackson Avenue on the street level of the 5 Pointz building located across from PS1 Moma.

The exhibit featured nine artists, seven of whom immigrated from Korea. This lent an Asian accent to the opening and provided a different lens through which one could experience NYC through art photography, as many of the photos shown in the exhibit were taken in the NYC metro area.

The exhibit was entitled Color & Gray and was curated by Ung-Jib Park. I had opportunity to meet and converse with Ung-Jib, as well as Jongwang Lee the Space Womb gallery manager, and eight of the nine photographic artists, about their works.

Click here this weekend to read our report and view photos of the Color & Gray photography exhibit at Space Womb in LIC.

LIC Arts Open

Art, Dance, Theater @ LIC Arts Open

May 19, 2011 / Long Island City LIC / Art Galleries & Museums / Dance & Theater / Queens Buzz. I attended an art exhibit and several dance performances on Tuesday evening in Long Island City.  These events are part of a ten day celebration of all of the arts in Long Island City.  The celebration will end this weekend but there’s still time to join in the fun [see front page story and Queens Events section for remaining events].

On Tuesday night there were eight artists featured at The Industry, each of whom was given the walls of a ground floor studio apartment upon which to hang their works.  All of the artists were from Long Island City, chosen by Jeffrey Leder who curated the event.

Click here to read more about the live art performance and photos of LIC Arts Open.

Feared Immigrantula Seizes PS1

Hundreds Held Spellbound, Released Unharmed Late Saturday

May 1, 2011 / Long Island City LIC / Art Galleries & Museums / Queens Buzz. I have to admit, it was frightening. I was there and I saw it. The long feared 'Immigrantula' swept through PS1 Art Museum and captivated a spellbound audience Saturday afternoon.

I arrived at PS1 Art Museum around 3 pm. I had decided to check out the Saturday afternoon art performance entitled 'We Have Come To Take Your Jobs'. And even though it was a nearly perfect day outside, I found hundreds of people waiting for the performance to begin, in one of large rooms on the third floor of the museum. The lights were out and videos were playing on two large screens that hung along the back wall of the large room. It was hot and steamy, as drapes hung over the doorways, sealing the human heat inside. Modern music with a rock beat filled the space. It reminded me of a downtown Manhattan club in the late 80's.

Click here to read more about the live art performance and photos of Immigrantula at PS1 Art Museum in Long Island City LIC.

Solar Panels & Energy In Queens

LICBDC Seminar - Solar Energy Tax Incentives 2011

March 20, 2011 / Long Island City / Queens Buzz. I just returned from a seminar detailing government incentives for installing solar on residential and commercial buildings in 2011. Based on what was presented in the seminar, anyone contemplating this sort of investment, might want to think about doing it in 2011.

The federal, state and city government are all offering tax incentives which add up to significant savings and shorten the payback period over which a building owner could recoup their investment in a solar energy system. Solar is a hedge against increases in oil prices, and demand for such systems is likely to grow. Given the tax incentives it’s possible, that as we approach the end of the year, companies selling solar energy systems might become quite busy. The photo to your left shows a roof top solar energy system.

Click here to read our report about the tax incentives for solar energy in Queens NY in 2011.

Long Island City Artists LICA

In The Eye Of The Beholder

March 4, 2011 / Long Island City / Queens Buzz. I just returned from an expansive and interesting art show in the Dutch Kills section of LIC. I’m going to apologize up front for only having only one story to share, as my main intention was to photograph the twenty-two artists’ works and create an art exhibit slide show without providing any comentary.

But sometimes life imitates art, and during the process of photographing, my intentions became only the first step to finding out what the journey was that I was destined to take this evening. I think I experienced some subtle transference tonight. Transference occurs every second of every day, but oftentimes I’m rarely aware of it. But tonight I was.

When I first saw the artist and the artwork I’m talking about, I kind of took them both in stride. I take things in stride nearly every day. Not just artwork, but people, places and things. It’s easy to miss something or someone when you’re focused on your work. But when you’re lucky, some of those things and some of those people I may have missed, stay in my orbit long enough to give me time to discover them. 

Click here to read the rest of our report on the Eye Of The Beholder by the Long Island City Artists LICA.

New York Irish Center In LIC

Brings A Bit Of The Old Country To The New One

January 15, 2011 / Long Island City LIC / Queens Buzz. I went to hear Ashley Davis and Cormac De Barra perform at the NY Irish Center in Long Island City. It was my first visit to the center in a while, and the first time I’d attended a cultural event there.

Harpist Cormac De Barra hails from Ireland, while singer, songwriter and guitarist Ashley Davis hails from Kansas. I became fascinated with the Irish harp, as this was my first experience listening to a harpist outside of a major classical concert hall. The Irish harp has long been a symbol associated with Ireland, along with pixies, fairies and Irish tales. The photo to your left shows Cormac playing the Irish harp.

Click here to read more about the Ashley Davis & Cormac De Barra performance at the NY Irish Center in Long Island City, Queens. The report also includes information about the Irish harp, the NY Irish Center and its programs, and a slide show of Cormac playing the Irish harp along with story photos.

Societa Sant' Amato Di Nusco

Century Old Italian Community In Long Island City LIC Queens

November 7, 2010 / Long Island City / Queens Buzz. For some time now I’ve been wanting to do a story about the Societa Sant' Amato di Nusco in Long Island City. I’ve ventured into the clubhouse on more than one occasion, asking permission as I arrived, to do a story sometime in the future. I’ve always been treated respectfully, but never got the story. But as fate would have it, today was different.

While covering the NYC Marathon in Long Island City, I wandered into the Societa Sant' Amato di Nusco. There were people of all ages moving about the Societa’s clubhouse. As the Societa is a private club, everyone there knew that I wasn’t a member, so I was greeted by Frank Stagliano, Secretary of the Club, and Michael Bicchetti, the Maitre D’.

It took a few moments for it to register, but I had met them before and we soon picked up on our past conversations about the society, its origins and its mission today … and that is what this report is about: The Societa Sant' Amato di Nusco of Long Island City in Queens.

Richard Meier Model Museum

New Architectural Model Museum In LIC

August 2, 2010 / Long Island City LIC / Queens Buzz. This past week we had the opportunity to visit the Richard Meier Model Museum in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. The museum began as a storage area for the models made and used by world famous architect Richard Meier, during the architectural design process. In the museum you will see some of the great buildings he's designed over his long career, such as the billion dollar Getty Museum in Los Angeles or the Smith House in Darien Connecticut. But there's much more ...

The museum reminded me a bit of the Noguchi Museum, where the artist had a vision of his own lasting legacy. In visiting the museum, I felt I not only had the opportunity to view the architectural process as managed by one of the great modern architects, but also to become a bit more acquainted with the man himself. Laura Galvanek, guide and curator, took me on this fascinating journey through the Richard Meier Model Museum [LIC / Queens NY].

Flux Factory Flexes

LIC / Long Island City Queens / March 5, 2010. At long last I made a connection with the Flux Factory. They’d been on my radar for about two years, during which time I had made several feeble attempts to contact them via email and telephone. Over the course of those two years, I remotely watched them wrangle through ‘life threatening’ issues like finding a new space, as their former ‘factory’ had been committed to another purpose, and for a while they ran a ‘virtual factory’.

The Flux Factory is an amalgam of artists that seems to operate as a sort of socialistic whole. Yeah, I’m not sure exactly what that means either, but intuitively I think it's an apt description. Click here to read the full story about the Flux Factory in the LIC / Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.

LIC Space Kicks Off Fall Art Season

September 1, 2009. Aaahhh, the fall is finally upon us. Warm dry sunny weather and the Queens fall art season has already begun. Last night LIC Space hosted a closing reception for the fall preview at one of its three spaces. The reception included cheese and wine, as the attendees were surrounded by oil paintings and metallic sculptures. It was an interesting crowd, to say the least, and it looks to be a fun venue.

This report also tells the tale of an enterprising woman who came to New York to make her rendezvous with destiny. She's been working hard the past eight years to help find space for fellow artists to enable them to continue their journey into the vast unknown we call the future. Click here to read a full report including plenty of photos of the lic space reception in long island city.