Jackson Heights 3 AM

Third Of A Trilogy About Jackson Heights

January 18, 2012 / Jackson Heights / Performing Arts in Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. I just returned from previewing Jackson Heights 3 AM. It’s the third of a trilogy put together under the direction of Ari Kreith of Theatre 167 about the Jackson Heights neighborhood. The play is as mixed as the neighborhood, combining comedy, tragedy and romance to portray the late-night life in the multi-ethnic neighborhood of Jackson Heights.

The cast of actors and actresses did a great job of caricaturing a wide swath of late night personas, as they drew us into the post midnight hours along Roosevelt Avenue; journeying into some of the drama and humor that might generally accompany a late night voyage into NYC urbanity in northwestern Queens.

Click here to read our review of Jackson Heights 3 AM by Theatre 167.

Queens Census 2010

For Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Flushing & Woodside

October 25, 2011 / Jackson Heights Neighborhood / Real Estate in Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. I just returned from a fascinating look into the Census data for Jackson Heights, Corona, Elmhurst, Flushing and Woodside.

Fascinating? Yes, fascinating. Fascinating because there have been significant demographic shifts in these neighborhoods over the past decade. And because Steven A. Romalewski, Director of CUNY Mapping Services, gave us a demographic map presentation, the likes of which I’d never seen before. Arturo-Ignacio Sanchez of Community Board Three added quite a bit of qualitative flavor to the presentation, reminding me of some of my best college professors [because he was knowledgeable and enthusiastic]. Danny Dromm, the NYC City Councilmember of Jackson Heights was the sponsor of this presentation.

But I digress. Click here to view our report on the 2010 Queens census [with exclusive emphasis on Jackson Heights / Corona / Elmhurst & adjacent neighborhoods], including slide show with many of Steven Romalewski’s slides and a link to an interactive mapping site.

Landlord / Tenant Rights In Queens & NYC

An Introduction Into the Legal Framework Governing Landlords' and Renters' Rights

September 23, 2011 / Elmhurst Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. I attended a seminar on Renters' Rights sponsored by City Councilman Daniel Dromm. The panel was intended to provide tenants and landlords with an awareness of their rights and guidance to the proper city agency in order to obtain resolution of one's grievance(s). One statement I'll make upfront, is that comprehending the statutes and determining who has jurisdiction with respect to a grievance, isn't simple. Hence in the report that follows, we will try to provide some insight into the process, but recommend that you contact the city using the 311 telephone number to initiate any claim or to seek reference in defending against a claim.

Click here to read our report about rights of landlords and renters in Queens. This report to be posted Columbus Day Weekend.

iVote In Jackson Heights

Legal Residency, Citizenship & Voting Rights In Queens

August 20, 2011 / Jackson Heights Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. I attended the iVote Festival in Jackson Heights on Saturday to see what it was all about. The event was sponsored in part by the Humanist Party, which wants to restore “an old practice” of allowing legal residents the right to vote in municipal elections where they work, live and pay taxes. According to sources at this event, there are currently 1.3 million legal residents in New York City who don't have any voting rights in NYC.

We were told that by some estimates, 60% of Jackson Heights residents are legal residents who have no representation in local government. Apparently obtaining U.S. Citizenship is far more difficult that just passing a test. Click here to read more about legal residency, citizenship and voting rights in Queens which were discussed at the iVote Festival in Jackson Heights neighborhood.

LGBT Parade In Jackson Heights

Report & Photos Of LGBT Parade 2011

June 5, 2011 / Jackson Heights / Ethnic Culture / Queens Buzz. I went to photograph the LGBT Parade in Jackson Heights Sunday morning. The parade started at noon along 37th Avenue around 88th Street. It was a beautiful day, with temperatures in the 70’s and a gentle breeze blowing through.

The streets were packed. There were easily thousands in attendance. And it was the one of the longest parades I’ve seen in Queens this year, lasting well in excess of an hour and a half.

Click here to view photos of the LGBT Parade in Jackson Heights and to read more about it.

theatre 167 in jackson heights

You Are Now The Owner Of This Suitcase

March 14, 2011 / Jackson Heights / Dance & Theater / Queens Buzz. I was able to preview the new play, You Are Now The Owner Of This Suitcase, now in progress at 167 theatre in Jackson Heights. It's an original work written by about seven people. The producer came up with the approach to collecting material for the play, and then in collaboration with a dramaturg, worked with the group to shape it.

The story revolves around a young woman from Ecuador who decides to visit her grandmother in Jackson Heights to see if she would like to live here. She meets an American on the plane [see photo] and before they depart, their suitcases get switched. We follow both of them into the magical world of Jackson Heights, watching their encounters with the Indian / Bengali phone salesman, the Chinese or Korean dry cleaner ...

Click here to read our report about You Are Now The Owner Of This Suitcase by theatre 167, including a photo slide show of the play which runs last three weekends in March 2011 at PS 69 in Jackson Heights.

Mardi Gras Sweeps Jackson Heights

Will There Be Mardi Gras Parade For Jackson Heights?

March 7, 2011 / Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. On Saturday night, the weekend before the Catholic celebration of Ash Wednesday, Jackson Heights celebrated Mardi Gras.

We attended our first real Mardi Gras celebration in Queens, which included sampling the bayou gumbo, real muffalattos, kings cake and Louisianna style hurricanes [a powerful drink that packs a punch].

Following a gathering of the krewe, we took to the streets wearing masks and carrying beads, off to wish our neighbors well. The photo to your left is of the krewe heading down 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights on Saturday night.

Click here to view the rest of our report about the Mardi Gras in Jackson Heights, including photos and slide show.

Traffic Makeover - Jackson Heights

DOT Finds Inexpensive Fixes To Congestion

February 22, 2011 / Jackson Heights Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. The Department of Transportation unveiled a traffic study, complete with proposed solutions, that look to ease some of the traffic congestion in Jackson Heights. The study area roughly includes the areas from Roosevelt Ave to Northern Blvd and from 72nd Street to 84th Street.

The plan includes changing traffic flows, modifying a couple of bus routes, specifically allocating spots and times for freight parking, reallocating parking spaces and adjusting meter rates in high demand / low availability parking locations. All in all it looked like a workable plan which incorporated a significant amount of input from the community, including this past go 'round wherein they presented the plan to the community for final feedback before implementing it.

Click here to read more about the Department of Transportation DOT traffic plan for Jackson Heights.

Sonnet Man Romances Jackson Heights

Jackson Repertory Theatre At PS 69

February 16, 2011 / Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. I attended a musical performance featuring The Sonnet Man in Jackson Heights. The Sonnet Man is the brainchild of Arje Shaw, a playwright, who decided to set sonnets to hip hop music as a means of introducing classical literature to high school students.

Devon Glover is the lead vocalist, who began performing for the Hip-Hop company, Flocabulary, in 2008. Flocabulary is a program that teaches students various subjects in tandem with music. So there was, as Devon warned us, some 'edutation' involved in the performance. Edutation is a combination of education and agitation, which was combined with modern fusion music which was very good .... Shawna Nichol, Devon Glover and Melissa Guttman are shown performing at PS 69 on February 12th.

Click here to read more about The Sonnet Man performance presented by the Jackson Repertory Theatre and the Jones Street Productions.

Costa Rican Exporters Visit Queens

Queens Chamber Of Commerce Sponsors Event

July 7, 2011 / Jackson Heights Neighborhood / Queens Business / Queens Buzz. I attended a reception for a number of Costa Rican exporters given by the Queens Chamber of Commerce at the Bulova Corporate Center in Jackson Heights. I met with a number of them to find out what goods and services they were seeking to export to America and in the process learned a bit more than I expected about our prosperous Latin American neighbor which has become a mix of old and new over the past last half century.

Costa Rica is located in Central America and the nation has access to both the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Historically Costa Rica had been an agrarian based economy, growing coffee and tobacco for export. In the last few decades, Costa Rica has become a tech center for companies like Intel and some biotech companies.

Click here to read other newsbriefs for Jackson Heights Queens.

Condos & Co-ops Forum - Jackson Heights

December 7, 2010 / Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. City Council Member Daniel Dromm, NYS Senator Peralta in tandem with ACCO [Alliance of Condo & Co-op Owners] organized a forum in Jackson Heights to inform people about their rights and responsibilities as condo and co-op owners.

In addition to the councilman and senator, the panel included two lawyers and the president of ACCO. About two hundred people showed up for the event, packing the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights. See photos in our report of the large crowd that attended this forum.

The panel informed condo and co-op owners in Jackson Heights & Queens about their rights, and discussed new state legislation which has been introduced to more clearly define the processes through which a tenant / owner can assert their rights. Click here to read the rest of our report about the forum for Jackson Heights condo / co-op owners in Queens.

Christmas Tree Shopping In Jackson Heights

Queens Christmas Trees 2010

December 5, 2010 / Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. I had the opportunity to watch a family purchase a Christmas tree in Jackson Heights in the early evening of this Sunday in December. The Christmas tree vendor seemed to have a nice inventory of beautiful fresh evergreen Christmas trees in stock.

The kids lead their mother to a nice tall one recommending it in their infinite wisdom ... afterall ... most Christmas experts either are or were once children.

Click here to view a brief slide show of one of the places to buy Christmas trees in Queens & Jackson Heights, while a family is making a purchase.

9th Anniversary Of 9/11 @ McManus

Commemoration Ceremony Held In McManus Park

Out Of The Ashes, Rises The Phoenix ...

Jackson Heights & Astoria / September 7, 2010 / Queens Buzz. Over the past nine years, much has been said about 911. It was, afterall, a seminal event in our nation's recent history and pundits far and wide have spent years grieving about it, venting anger over it, trying to stolidly capture the sequence of events, laboring to put the event in perspective or attempting to understand its influence on our nation's psyche.

But in spite of all that has been written, it seems that every year stories are re-told and new perspectives emerge, like the branches of a plant rising into the sunlight. Each new perspective adds a freshness into the remembrance of the people who lost their lives on that fateful day ... one clear morning in September, some nine years ago ...

This year I attended the 9/11 ceremony at McManus Park in Astoria Heights. It was organized by the United Community Civic Association in a joint effort with their LaGuardia Airport neighbor - the Port Authority Of NY & NJ. The featured guest speakers included: 1) Arlene Howard, the mother of George Howard, a Port Authority police officer; 2) John Cartier, the brother of James Cartier and friend of Lester Marino, both Local 3 Electrical workers; and 3) Mr & Mrs. Santora, the parents of fireman Christopher Santora, the youngest fireman who died in 911. There were also many local officials who attended and participated in this commemoration.

Click here to view our report about the 9/11 Memorial Candlelight Ceremony at McManus Memorial Park in Astoria Heights. And you can click this link to view the report we posted last year on the 911 Ceremony held at St. Michael's Cemetary in East Elmhurst.

LGBT Parade In Jackson Heights

Gay Pride Parade In Jackson Heights

June 6, 2010 / Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. The 18th annual LGBT [Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender] Pride Parade took place in Jackson Heights. The parade started in 1992 as an evolutionary step by gays seeking to establish their rights to equal treatment under the law. It is widely believed that the gay rights movement began in 1969 with the Stonewall Riots in NYC.

Click here to read the rest of the story including photos of the LGBT Pride Parade in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens NY, including a brief history of the Gay Civil Rights movement.

Jackson Repertory Theatre

167 Tongues Strikes Theatrical Gold

May 7, 2010 / Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. I just returned from experiencing something truly wonderful. I saw a play entitled 167 Tongues, which opens on May 7th and runs three weeks under the auspices of the Jackson Repertory Theatre at PS 69. Better buy your tickets now, because this is something that could quickly catch fire and with only 99 seats available per night, they could go quickly.

167 Tongues By The Jackson Repertory Theatre

So let’s start at the beginning, which was Wednesday night when I arrived to watch the play. When I found they weren’t in costume I asked to return the following night as the final rehearsal was to be done in costume. But before I left I took several mental notes, which gave rise to consternation about what I was to experience the following evening.

Click here to view a review of 167 Tongues by the Jackson Repertory Theatre.

Cavalier Restaurant Lounge Closes - Jackson Heights

Iconic 1950's Lounge Takes A Break?

Jackson Heights / February 7, 2010. The Cavalier Lounge / Restaurant of Jackson Heights closed its doors today. This report was written the day of the closing when one of our reporters visited the iconic lounge to say his farewells to the family that had run the Cavalier Lounge for nearly forty years. Click here to read the full report about the Cavalier Restaurant and Lounge in Jackson Heights.

Green Agenda For Jackson Heights

How To Create A Green Agenda For Jackson Heights?

Jackson Heights / November 7, 2009. How can a handful of people, say twenty or so, create a Green Agenda for Jackson Heights? This is a quest undertaken by a vibrant and growing group of community activists in Jackson Heights, but which has also caught the attention and garnered some support from around the borough. What exactly the agenda will be won't be known until next Spring, but if you're interested in having your voice heard, now is the time. This report is about their first meeting and includes links to their home page. Click here to read a full report about the Green Agenda for Jackson Heights.

Art In JHAC Exhibit A Deal

JHAC Inspires Youth To Create

Queens International Film Festival

A Woodhaven Pause

'A Woodhaven Pause' premiered at the Queens International Film Festival in the East Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens NY. The new indie film takes a gut wrenching look at parental care in America in the 21st century. This intelligent dramatic film is reviewed here. The story includes an interview with the director and one of the leading actors.

Indie Film 'Lovely Lily' Premieres In Jackson Heights

Film Warmly Received By Sellout Audiences In Queens

Tree Lightings In Jackson Heights Queens

These are short reports about annual Christmas Tree and Menorah Lighting events in Jackson Heights. These annual events are sponsored by the Jackson Heights Beautification Group [JHBG] in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens in New York City.

Queens International Film Festival 2008

This is about the Queens International Film Festival which came to the LaGuardia Crowne Plaza Hotel in the East Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens NY.  The event provided screenings of new independent films and live theatrical performances before a small but interesting audience.

Queens Green Drinks Social Networking Events

Queens Green Drinks hosted its monthly social at Terraza at 40-19 Gleane Street in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens NY.  The social started at 6 pm and went until 9 pm. This event was sponsored by Friends of Travers Park which is a subcommittee of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group aka JHBG and the Jackson Heights Green Coalition.

Folk Music Festival In Jackson Heights

Eisteddfod Festival In NYC

The Folk Music Society of New York hosted the Eisteddfod Folk Music Festival at the Renaissance Charter School in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens NY.  This story is about the live musical event which included a mix of folk music, history and culture all wrapped into a weekend festival.

Queens International Film Festival 2008

A Short Wake - Irish Comedy

A Short Wake is a play by Derek Murphy which was performed at the Queens International Film Festival in the East Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens NY. The play is about two Irish brothers, who meet after a long hiatus, at their father's funeral.  This is a review of the play, which includes excerpts from an interview with the playwright, Derek Murphy and the two actors, Joe Estevez and Nick Hardin.

Jackson Heights Film & Food Festival 2008 - Film Screening Begins

Jackson Heights Food & Film Festival

The film portion of the Jackson Heights Film & Food Festival began at the Eagle Theater in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens NY.  This story is a report of the opening night including a review of a new indie film which featured Willets Point and was produced here in Brooklyn / Queens NY.

Jackson Heights Food Festival 2008

This story is about the food segment of the Jackson Heights Film and Food Festival in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens NY.  The food festival event was held in the Garden School Courtyard in the Jackson Heights section of Queens NY. Click here for a full review of the food portion of the Jackson Heights Film and Food Festival.

Jackson Heights Film Festival 2008

The Jackson Heights Film & Food Festival begins Saturday in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens NY. The festival has three significant dimensions to it including 1) a food festival wherein the Jackson Heights restaurants prepare dishes from around the world for 'tastings', 2) an art fair wherein the Jackson Heights Arts Club members hang their works for guest to view and buy and 3) new / indie films having some relevance to the Jackson Heights community.  This story provides some details and links relevant to the event.

MulchFest 2010 In Jackson Heights Queens

January 9, 2010 / Jackson Heights NY. MulchFest 2010 appeared to be off to an auspicious beginning Saturday morning, as in spite of the freezing cold temperatures and a blustery wind chill of some 15 degrees, many hardy Queens residents came out to Travers Park, their tree in tow, to make a contribution to the MulchFest 2010 ... and to the long term health of the planet.

We spent a bit of time inquiring who was involved and watched the mulching taking place, compliments of the Queens division of the NYC Parks Department. Representatives of the JHBG and Queens Botanical Gardens were also there serving hot chocolate, having previously publicized the event through their organizations. Click here to read the full story of MulchFest 2010 in Queens with photos.

Jackson Heights & Elmhurst Events

Things To Do In Jackson Heights & Elmhurst

Jackson Heights / Elmhurst / Queens Buzz. This is the Jackson Heights & Elmhurst Events section of this site.  In this section you'll find past, present and future theatrical events, musical performances, art exhibits, dance performances and other similar events, including park related happenings.

Click here to view go into the Jackson Heights Events and Elmhurst Events section of this site.

Jackson Heights Neighborhood / Elmhurst Neighborhood

Planned Community Of 1920's & 1930's Gentrifying

Jackson Heights / Elmhurst. This is the Jackson Heights neighborhood and Elmhurst neighborhood section of the site. These neighborhoods have undergone significant change over the past decade, as the classical buildings of the twenties and thirties underwent renovations. This section contains news and information about events, attractions, restaurants, shopping in the Jackson Heights and Elmhurst sections of Queens NY.

Click here to view the Jackson Heights Neighborhood and Elmhurst Neighborhood front page.