No Angels At The Laughing Devil

New Comedy Club Opens Doors To Press & LIC

January 18, 2012 / Long Island City LIC / Performing Arts / Queens Buzz. I attended the Grand Opening night of the Laughing Devil Comedy Club in Long Island City Queens tonight. They had a full line up of comedians, who they had charged with lightening up the Queens NYC press corps, which wasn’t exactly a roomful of jokesters. Steve Hofstetter, one of the club owners, is shown in the photo to your left.

Steve was the first comedian on stage. I arrived shortly before he walked off stage and the next comedian, Moody McCarthy, quipped how Steve hadn’t exactly set the house on fire. But the night was young and the time soon began to fly as we were treated to a full barrage of laughing gas, some of which was delivered by comedians from Queens. Steve returned to do a second set, which turned out to be one of the more entertaining performances of the night.

Click here to view our full report about the Laughing Devil Comedy Club in LIC.

Photos - NYC Marathon Queens 2011

November 7, 2011 / Long Island City / Queens Buzz. It was a beautiful day for a marathon. The temperatures were in the low 60's and it was sunny and dry. About 47,438 runners came through Long Island City and we photographed quite a few of them, along with the crowd that gathered outside to greet them.

We plan to add quite a few more photos, but we thought you might be interested in browsing through over 100 photos we selected in a slide show.

Slick here to view our report and see the slide show containing photos of the NYC Marathon in Queens 2011. And have a nice week.

The Astoria LIC Film Festival

Film Festival Showcases Local Film & Musical Talent

October 16, 2011 / Long Island City Neighborhood / Fashion, Film & Music / Queens Buzz. I attended some of the weekend long second annual Astoria LIC Film Festival. The Astoria LIC Film Festival presented 54 new films, including documentaries, comedies, shorts and super shorts; and thirteen music videos. Dennis Cieri and Bonnie Rush are the founders and driving forces behind the event.

The opening and closing parties were held at the Z Hotel, which is one of the new hotels in Long Island City offering both a subterranean bar downstairs from the lobby, and a rooftop bar with a panoramic view of the city.

The films were shown several blocks away, at the Secret Theatre and the E-garage, which are in the same complex; as well as at the Variety Boys & Girls Club of LIC. I attended the music videos segment of the festival, which was curated and hosted by an LIC musician, Gus Rodriguez, Sunday night at the E-garage.

Click here to read the rest of our report on the second annual Astoria LIC Film Festival, including a review of many of the music videos, and excerpts from interviews with founder, Dennis Cieri and some of the festival producers, directors and actors.

Astoria LIC Film Festival

Second Annual Astoria LIC Film Festival Oct 14 - 16, 2011

September 30, 2011 / Long Island City LIC / Fashion Film & Music / Queens Buzz. On Friday, October 14th the second annual Astoria LIC Film Festival begins. The weekend long event opening night begins at 6 pm at the Z Hotel at 11-01 43rd Avenue in Long Island City [212.319.7000]. The opening night is a social with a cash bar that will last into the evening where film goers will have a chance to meet and talk with producers, directors, actors and actresses and writers.

Simultaneously there will be entertainment provided at another of the film festival venues, E-garage at 44-02 23rd Street in Long Island City. An open mic begins at 5.30 pm, followed by improv at 7.30 pm and comedy acts beginning at 9 pm. The graphic to your right is of one of the films being shown this weekend, a comedy / drama about what happens in Park Slope following a neighborhood kid's mother's death.

Click here to read our report on the Astoria LIC Film Festival 2011.

Compost Solstice: Oh, Home On The Grange …

... no deer or antelope seen playing on Queens’ Brooklyn Grange

September 30, 2011 / Long Island City LIC / Green Queens / Queens Buzz. I took a quick trip out to the country Friday night, boarding the 747 elevator at 37-18 Northern Blvd in LIC [bordering Astoria & Sunnyside], and landing on the building rooftop where there’s a large spread of land used for urban farming called the Brooklyn Grange [we’ll tell you more about the name later in the story].

The occasion for my foray up to the rooftop farm was the Western Queens Compost Initiative’s [WQCI] first annual Compost Solstice. The fundraising event had been postponed a week due to the inclement weather last Friday. The WQCI is a program started by Stephanos Koullias with the help of some Con Ed money [won as a settlement from the 2006 blackout] and the support of Build-It-Green, which is a home improvement business in Astoria. Build-It-Green acquires and then sells / recycles building materials.

Click here to read our report on the Western Queens Compost Initiative's Compost Solstice at the Brooklyn Grange.

Hurricane Irene In Queens

Weather System Impact On Queens, Evacuation Centers & NYC Emergency Response Decision

August 28, 2011 / LIC Long Island City Neighborhood, Astoria Neighborhood & Sunnyside Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. I spent quite a bit of time traveling the streets of Queens this weekend where I learned more about NYC’s new Office of Emergency Management and emergency shelters in Queens. I also spoke to quite a few folks both before and after the weather system arrival and I’m going to share with you some tidbits from those conversations, which may help put things in perspective.

We’re going to start with the Evacuation Shelters, one of which we toured at Aviation High School on Queens Blvd in Long Island City. And we’re going to end with photos of the aftermath, at least what there was, including a brief discussion of the economic impact of essentially shutting down the city for 2 – 3 days. The photo above shows some cots inside one of the Queens evacuation centers and the photo to your right shows a fallen tree limb Sunday morning along Skillman Avenue in Sunnyside.

Click here to read more about Hurricane Irene in Queens.

2007 Sea Odyssey Returns Home

New Age Love Seafarers Contemplating Next Mission

July 1, 2011 / Long Island City LIC Neighborhood / Art Exhibits / Queens Buzz. I just returned from one of the more interesting evenings I’ve had in quite a long while. The Flux Factory kicked off a summer long exploration of NYC waterways with an interactive slide show presentation by Sonanya Ahmed of Queens and Reid Stowe, who according to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not, holds the record for being the longest voyager to remain at sea without interruption.

Sonanya was at sea for 306 days and Reid stayed out upon the high seas for another 846 days [Reid was at sea a total of 1152 days]. They sailed the Atlantic, the Pacific and bodies of water in between, charting their journey via a GPS satellite, creating journey path art and other artworks along the way.

The journey bears similarity to the sort of isolated endurance and self sufficiency required to travel to and from the planet Mars. So imagine packing for a trip where you’re not going to go anywhere near land for three years, and you’re going to have to survive with what you bring and nature’s bounty.

Click here to read the rest of our story about the kick off event to the Flux Factory’s Sea Worthy summer in Queens NYC.

LEAP Showcases Dance In Queens

Sensuous, Dramatic, Traditional, Frivolous & Very Entertaining

June 17, 2011 / Long Island City LIC / Dance & Theater / Queens Buzz. I entered the Little Theater of the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center [LPAC] on a recommendation of the performances by Steven Hitt, Managing Director of the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. Steven had been one of the pivotal people, who in collaboration with the Queens Council on the Arts [QCA], had put together the show.

There were six separate pieces by local choreographers, which were to be performed by about a dozen dancers. The variety of dances was analogous to a buffet given by a high end hotel that had invited six of the best restaurateurs to select one dish with which to serve their guests. Each of the choreographers had created works that were different from one another, ranging from Indian traditional, to modern dramatic, to Germanic sensual to … Superman.

Click here to view a slide show and read more about the LEAP Dance Project Showcase and modern dance in Queens.

Dance Festival Mixes Motion & Art

Green Space Blooms Festival

April 8, 2011 / Long Island City / Dance & Theater / Queens Buzz. I attended the first evening of the Green Space Blooms dance festival Friday night. It’s the fifth year of the Queens modern dance festival, which runs through April 17th at Green Space in Long Island City [see Queens Events for details].

There are about thirty dancers and choreographers involved in the festival, making it the largest event of this nature in the Queens thus far this year. On opening night, three dance companies performed their works, only one of which I photographed, out of costume at their rehearsal.

Click here for our review of the Green Space Blooms dance festival 2011 in Queens.

Maids 3:337 - Life As Theater

Kept Off Balance While Struggling To Find Meaning

February 21, 2011 / Long Island City LIC / Queens Buzz. I find myself being increasingly drawn into the four part experimental theater entitled Maids. I reviewed the first show last fall [use the search function to find it] and I just returned from having watched, witnessed or participated in the second show, which was held this past weekend.

The production explores a couple of themes, but its texture contains so many dimensions, that I can only begin to give you a sense of them in this review. The stage included the hallways of LaGuardia College, a loading dock and freight elevator, the back stage and the main theater. Having been to the first show in this series, I found myself beginning to get comfortable with the sense of discomfort one feels when we, in the audience, aren't completely anonymous.

Click here to read the rest of our review, including a slide show, of Maids 3:337 at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City.

Queens Takes 2nd Snowfall In Stride

January 12, 2011 / Long Island City LIC & Sunnyside / Queens Buzz. Last night approximately seven inches of snow fell in Queens. The snowfall in Queens was of the light fluffy kind, as the temperatures remained below freezing through the early part of the morning. The snow had quit falling in the wee hours of the morning, providing plenty of time for the sanitation department and Queens residents to dig themselves out.

One of our intrepid reporters arose early today to capture Queens digging out and dusting off the snow as they set out for work today. Click here to read the rest of our report as well as to view numerous photos of the snowfall in Queens taken in Long Island City and Sunnyside.

Queens Eats For Local Food Co-op

November 18, 2010 / Long Island City LIC / Queens Buzz. Wednesday night hundreds of foodies, environmentalists and the local intrepid converged at the Foundry on 13th Street in LIC where the Queens Harvest Coop hosted Queens Eats, a fundraiser. Guests were treated to hors d'oeuvres, or what one chef once described to me as grazing food. In addition to the food, there was wine and a generous number of raffle prizes; the proceeds of which will go toward starting a natural food co-operative in Long Island City sometime in 2011.

The photo to your right is looking up toward the second floor / skylight at the Foundry LIC, with the moon and neighboring vine laden brick wall in the background.

Click this link to view a slide show and obtain a bit more info about the Queens Eats / Queens Harvest Co-op event. Salud.

Hunters Point CDC Tree Lighting

And A Brief History Of Hunters Point & Long Island City

November 29, 2010 / Long Island City / Queens Buzz. About a week ago I received an invitation to attend the third annual Hunters Point CDC [Community Development Corporation] Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony. I jumped at the opportunity, as over the past year I’ve become more aware of how Hunters Point is essentially a neighborhood within the larger LIC community. Similar, in a sense, to how Murray Hill is one of the neighborhoods of the East Side of Manhattan.

I came up out of the subway at Vernon Blvd which is one stop past the Hunters Point stop. There in front of me was a nicely adorned tree, standing 15 feet high, adorned with white lights. It was one of the largest natural Christmas Trees I’d ever seen in Queens. As one party-goer quipped, “Step aside Rockefeller Center”.

Click this link to view the rest of the story about the Hunters Point Tree Lighting ceremony which includes a brief overview of the history of Long Island City & the Hunters Point neighborhood.

Africans Win NYC Marathon Last Year

NYC Marathon Photos - Queens & LIC

Africans Win NYC Marathon &USA's Shalane Flanigan Wins 2nd In Women's

November 5, 2011 / Long Island City / NYC Marathon in Queens / Queens Buzz. It was a beautiful day on Sunday November 8, 2011 as over 43,000 runners hit the road to participate in the NYC Marathon. The highs were in the 50's as the sun warmed the cool air.

In 2009 it rained and in 2008 when it was downright cold, the runners were generally able to enjoy the marathon. It showed on their faces as they came streaming over the Pulaski Bridge down along Vernon Blvd and up 44th Drive to the Queens Borough Bridge.

We shot quite a few photos of the crowd, the runners and Long Island City in 2010. Click here to read our full report and view the NYC Marathon photos in Queens.

Preview NYC Marathon In LIC Queens

November / Long Island City / NYC Marathon in Queens / Queens Buzz. I've been an Long Island City / LIC spectator of the NYC Marathon in Queens for a number of years now. We see the runners about half way through the 26 mile course - after they've loosened up and hit their stride, the sweat pouring off their brows, their lungs pumping, their legs hammering the hard pavement as they strive to do what we mere mortals don't dare try.

I've personally known a few runners who've completed the NYC Marathon course. They generally begin training months before the race begins; logging ten, fifteen mile runs several times weekly before beginning the big one. It takes a lot of willpower, endurance and perhaps mostly motivation. Good health helps, but it's worth noting that many people overcome their handicaps and complete the race too.

Best Times, Views, Locations For NYC Marathon in LIC & Queens. Click here to view details of the course the runners will follow through Long Island City LIC in Queens tomorrow. This brief report will include some estimated times that various groups will arrive, so you can 'more or less' plan your visit to cheer them on.

Click the following links to view reports about the: NYC Marathon in Queens 2010, NYC Marathon in LIC in 2009, NYC Marathon in Queens photos in 2009, NYC Marathon in Long Island City in 2008 with photos.

1st Annual Astoria LIC Film Festival

October 24, 2010 / Long Island City / Queens Buzz. I attended the Astoria LIC Film Festival this weekend at the Secret Theatre in Long Island City. About sixty films were shown, including feature length, shorts, and including eleven music videos, most of which were produced by local musicians and directors.

They opened the festival Friday evening with a reception [BTW - you can always find these events posted before they happen in the Queens Events section of this site - updated weekly]. And on Saturday they hosted many popular films during the day, two of which garnered their highest audience attendance.

Later today you'll be able to click here to read our full report on the 1st Annual Astoria LIC Film Festival including a number of photos of the event.

Experimental Theater In LIC

Maids 4:39N Engages Audience & Gives Them Roles

Long Island City LIC / October 9, 2010 / Queens Buzz. I participated in an experimental theater production Saturday night. Participation was open to the general public, sponsored by the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, and hosted at the Flux Factory in Long Island City.

While I entered into the production not knowing what to expect, I found the experience very engaging. After the show I soon found out that I was not alone.

Click here to read more about Maids 4:39N, an experimental theater production in LIC.

LIC Space - In Memoriam: AGhost

Walter Carpenter Honored In Art Exhibit

May 8, 2010 / LIC Long Island City / Queens Buzz. Last night I attended the LIC Space first Friday reception entitled AGhost. This month they paid tribute to Walter Carpenter who passed away unexpectedly late last year. Walter was a Baltimore artist who oftentimes visited Queens and lived for a short spell in Astoria. Walter was an accomplished artitst, commissioned by the city of Baltimore to beautify the city with his creativity and art. He also was deeply involved in the artistic community of Baltimore. Today his work still enhances and helps beautify some of the public spaces in Baltimore.

Click here to view the rest of the story including a slide show of Walter Carpenter's AGhost art exhibit at LIC Space in LIC.

The Tempest In Queens

Shakespeare's Last Solo Play To Run Another Week

LIC / April 26, 2010. This past weekend I saw The Tempest at the Secret Theatre in LIC. I found myself drawn into director Kelly Johnston's portrayal of the Shakespearean comedy, as well as the performances by the cast - which included the Queens Players and Secret Theatre founder Richard Mazda.

The Tempest is believed to have been the last play written in its entirety by Shakespeare alone. This rendition of the play appeared to emphasize the comedic themes of the work, in lieu of the romantic ones. And it seems this comedic focus was done to good effect, as many in the audience enjoyed the humor of a play written exactly 400 years ago [about 1610 - 1611 AD].

Click here for a brief review of The Tempest at Secret Theatre in LIC which includes a slide show of one of the spirit dancers twirling around in the background.

Three Sisters Vanishing

Queens Director Updates A Chekhov Classic

April 18, 2010 / Long Island City LIC / Queens Buzz. Three Sisters Vanishing is an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s play entitled Three Sisters by Queens playwright / director Handan Ozbilgin Bromley of the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center.

Adaptation Of Chekhov's Three Sisters - At LPAC

The story is about three sisters living in the Russian countryside who, following their father’s death, long to return to the bright lights and sophistication of Moscow. Moscow, in the Chekhov story, is analogous to the sisters’ dreams and aspirations. The play progresses through four acts, with the sisters’ hope of returning to Moscow fading along with their dreams, as they come to grips with the realities of their lives. Click here to view the rest of the review of Three Sisters Vanishing at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in LIC.

Queens Fashion Kicks Up Its Heels

September 20, 2010 / Queens Buzz. I had the opportunity to cover Queens Fashion Week's second runway show. The event was held at NY Designs which is located on the campus of LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City. This was a nice change from their first venue, as NY Designs is in the business and has facilities to accommodate a runway show.

There were six designers and some forty models, which was comparable to the first Queens Fashion Week show last winter. The diversity of the models and a wide range of designs, ranging from T-shirts to 1940's Hollywood, provided a flavorful spice to the evening.

Click here to view the rest of the story including numerous photos of Queens Fashion Week Spring 2011.

Famous Photographers Convene

April 14, 2010 / Long Island City LIC / Queens Buzz. Yesterday at Manducatis Rustica on Vernon Blvd, I had occasion to bump into two well known photographers. Tony Vaccaro [left], who photographed for the Sunday edition of the Stars & Stripes, and Life and Look magazines and is well known for WWII photos and photographic sketches of famous people. Standing next to him is Mauro Presutti [right], who is an Italian photographer who currently photographs a variety of Italian subjects on black and white film. I found them sitting at 'Tony's Table' chatting with each other while a number of friends and acquaintances casually came and left. Both men have fairly recent published works which they are holding in the photograph on your left. Tony's book is entitled 'La Mia Italia' which translated means 'My Italy' and Mario's in entitled 'Il Teatro Involuntario' which loosely translated is 'Involuntary Theater'.

Performance Art - The Geometry

Melange of Music, Sound, Light & Theater @ The Chocolate Factory

March 25, 2010 / LIC / Queens Buzz. Last night at the Chocolate Factory Theater in LIC, I watched the dress rehearsal of Object Collection's production entitled The Geometry. It was a fun and very interesting mind stimulator. A sort of sensory overload, of different actors engaged in their own worlds, but somehow operating as an organic whole.

But the acting was just one layer of the production, as music and sound were woven into the performance fabric. The music a medley of instruments and objects, with an overlay of voices and vocals by the actors and musicians. The costumes and lighting complemented the mental food feast - feting the senses beyond their capacity. And the words were a sort of subconscious philosophical chaos which washed the daily mental garbage right out of my mind.

Click here to read a full review of The Geometry at the Chocolate Factory Theater in LIC.

LIC Jazz Festival Finds Its Rhythm

March 28, 2010 / LIC / Queens Buzz. I just returned from the first LIC Jazz Festival. It was a cold, dreary, drizzly day as I arrived at the Secret Theatre's entrance.

Outside the theater, atop the loading dock, there was a smoking barbeque. People were milling around, engaged in casual conversations about music and musicians: Miles Davis, Jimmy Hendrix, Bix. Many were musicians themselves, and there were also artists, actors, actresses, and of course quite a number of people like the rest of us who were there to take in some good music.

This was the first LIC Jazz Festival, and the first jazz festival in Queens in the 21st century. The Long Island City event producers and promoters had signed up talent from around the borough to play througout the entire day. Click here to read more about the LIC Jazz Festival, including numerous photos.

Act V - The Secret Theatre LIC Long Island City

Act V - The Secret Theatre In LIC

January 9, 2010 / Long Island City LIC. The Secret Theatre just opened a three week series of one act plays in Long Island City. The program includes one week of the first series of five one act plays, the second week includes another series of five one act plays and in the third week the five best plays as selected by the audiences in the first two weeks, will be shown.

The one act plays are all original work and mostly done by local writers, producers, directors, actors and actresses. Our general view of the performances is that they are well worth seeing and provide great entertainment value for the money. Click here to view our review of Act V at The Secret Theatre in LIC Long Island City Queens.

Christmas Traditions In LIC

December 12, 2009. I visited LaGuardia Community College to check out their performance of an old holiday classic, the Nutcracker. The ballet was performed by the LIC School of Ballet. Following the show, Santa had set up a workshop in the Little Theatre and hosted a sell out crowd of kids and their parents in what turned out to be a fun family afternoon.

24 Hours @ LPAC

Long Island City / November 7 & 8, 2009. I visited LaGuardia Community College last night to see for myself, exactly what the 24 Hours event was all about. It's essentially a worldwide sharing of original theatre, dance and music via the internet. The international piece [inbound from other parts of the world] was due to resume at 2 am, so I decided to forgo it in favor of sleep, but I did get a chance to talk to the people responsible for the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center as well as their collaborators, the Internationalists, and a few of the students to begin to piece together what the program is all about. Click this link to view the full report about the events of last night at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City.

NYC Marathon Photos 2009

November 1, 2009 / LIC Long Island City Neigbhorhood / NYC Marathon / Queens Buzz. We have some great photos of the NYC Marathon that we've just uploaded into a photo album on the site, all of which were taken in Queens. There are approximately one hundred of them, including photos of the runners, the crowds, the water stand workers and a few policemen.

Long Island City is about the fifteen mile mark. We started taking photos of the NYC Marathon 2009 in Queens around 10.30 am, which is about two and a half hours after the handicapped participants had begun and about an hour and a half after the runners had begun. Generally, as you can see by the photos, things were pretty quiet in LIC. We then jumped into the Queens Buzz Sky cam and around 11.30 am took photos of the 2009 NYC Marathon runners crossing the Queens Boro Bridge [click title link above]. Then a bit after 12 noon, we returned to LIC to photograph hordes of nyc marathon runners making the 2009 event theirs in Long Island City Queens. The rest, as they say, is history, although we have one more page of photos of the nyc marathon runners 2009 crossing through Queens.

Click this link to a report we published earlier on the NYC Marathon 2009 event. Have a good day.

Queens Bridge Events - Centennial Celebration

Queens Arts Express Festival Begins

Queens / June 1, 2009. The Queens Art Express began this weekend in Long Island City. Queens Art Express is an Arts Festival that celebrates many of the artistic endeavors currently underway along the number 7 subway line in the patchwork of communities we affectionately call home [aka Queens].

Queens Council On The Arts

The Queens Council Of The Arts collaborated with participating arts organizations to organize this three weekend Queens Art Express extravaganza and the photo to the left shows the press conference I attended on Friday, May 29th at the Dean Project Art Gallery in Long Island City. Click here to see more photos, maps, the schedule of events and additional information about the Queens Art Express Festival which is being sponsored by the Queens Council On The Arts. While we missed the first weekend of this event, we do have related stories about participating organizations such as the Flushing Town Hall and the Queens Museum Of Art in Flushing Queens. While this is an unrelated aside, the Rufus King Manor Museum in Jamaica Queens NY is also worth a visit.

Kayaking On The East River

Rioult Dazzles Audience

World Class Dance At LPAC

Long Island City / February 7, 2009. The Rioult Dance Company gave an outstanding performance at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center [LPAC] in Long Island City last Saturday night. The production provided a collage of theater, dance and music which brought to mind the latest vogue in the art world ... I felt like I was witnessing performance art.

There were three dances to be performed for the evening in the Big Theater. The auditorium was relatively full of people aging in range from college students to folks possibly in their sixties. None left disappointed. I overheard one woman talking to her friend, who had invited her to go with her to see the performance. She remarked, "This was sooo much better than I thought." I got the impression that she initially wasn't very interested in attending at all. To the right are two dancers performing one of Rioult's choreographed works.

Click here to read / view the rest of the story about the Rioult Dance Company at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City.

Ben Allison Headlines Gig At LPAC

Ben Allison and his band performed at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens NY.

Queens Native Kara Goucher Posts NYC Marathon Record For First Time Runner

November 2nd, 2008 / Long Island City / NYC Marathon / Queens Buzz. The NYC Marathon event wound its way through the neighborhood of Long Island City [LIC] this morning, coming over the Pulaski Bridge onto Vernon Blvd, up 44th Drive and then onto the Queens Borough Bridge. It was a beautiful day in the sixties, with hundreds of people lining the streets, bands playing on the sidewalks, and a water spot was stationed a few blocks north of the Citicorp Building. The handicapped came along the track first, followed by the female runners and finally by the men.

NYC Marathon Winners

Our congratulations to Kara Goucher, who is originally from Queens [now lives in Oregon], who came in third place and posted the fastest time [2:25:53] by a U.S. woman in her first marathon race. She had been coached by Alberto Salazar who broke a marathon world record in 1981 and had won several NYC Marathons in the early 80's. And congratulations to the NYC Marathon's repeat winners Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil [2:08:43] and Paula Radcliffe [2:23:56] of England. Scroll down to read / view the story on the NYC Marathon 2008 in Queens.

Click here to read about the NYC Marathon in Queens in 2008. 

Art Exhibits At PS1

In Long Island City

On Sunday, October 19th, with perfect fall weather, PS1 opened four new exhibits at their spacious art museum in Long Island City. The image to the left is from one of the exhibits wherein the artist, Leandro Erlich, set up a swimming pool in the museum that plays with one's perceptions of three dimensional space. Gino De Dominicis, the artist of one of the other exhibits, spent much of his life cloistered away from modern media. Neo Hoo Doo, the third exhibit, takes a cross cultural, time warped look at mundane things in our lives. And Yael Bartana uses video to explore her relation to the state. Click here for the rest of the review of the four new exhibits [as well as a couple of extras] at PS1 in Long Island City LIC Queens NYC

PS1 Warm Up Party

PS1 Warm Up Parties - LIC Long Island City Queens

Long Island City / LIC / Queens. PS1, a modern art museum in the Long Island City LIC neighborhood of Queens NY hosts Warm Up Parties during the summer season. The PS1 Warm Up parties are thrown Saturday evenings starting in the mid to late afternoon and run until sundown.

Click here to read our full report on PS1 Warm Up Parties.

4th Of July Fireworks In LIC Long Island City

This is a brief story about the Fourth of July Fireworks in Queens, along the East River in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. The Macy's 4th of July Fireworks was lit along the East River in Long Island City LIC New York.

Nuclears Blast The Creek

The Nuclears played at The Creek And The Cave in the Long Island City section of Queens NY. The Creek And The Cave hosted an event they headlined as Crazy Town Fest which featured sixteen bands in sixteen hours.

Remembering Queens Past

 Forgotten-NY & GAHS Historic Tours Attract Growing Audience

August 15, 2011 / Long Island City Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. I joined a tour given by Kevin Walsh, Founder of Forgotten-NY, and Richard Melnick, Vice President of the Greater Astoria Historical Society [GAHS]. It was a Saturday morning in the middle of August with the temperatures in the mid 80’s and with some humidity. To my surprise and delight there were between 40 and 50 people gathered to take the historic tour of Long Island City.

The walking tour covered about two miles and was scheduled to last about three hours, but went on for four. During the tour we saw about twenty sites and the tour cost $25 for non-members. The tour guides did a great job of taking us back centuries ago, from when Long Island City became Dutch farm land, to its commercial heydays [1850’s to 1940’s], to today.

Click here later to read more about Remembering The Past With Forgotten-NY and the GAHS.

LIC / Long Island City Events

Things To Do / Events In Long Island City LIC

LIC / Long Island City / Queens Buzz. Long Island City LIC has grown to become a bit of a cultural mecca for Queens and surrounding boroughs.  Many Brooklyn musicians and artists have migrated to Queens seeking less expensive rents while joining a rapidly emerging cultural movement.

Click here to view the LIC / Long Island City Events section of this site.

LIC / Long Island City Neighborhood

Long Island City Neighborhood On The Rise

LIC / Long Island City Queens. This is the front page to the LIC / Long Island City neighborhood section of QueensBuzz.com. This section contains news and information about events, attractions, restaurants and shopping in Long Island City / LIC. Long Island City is emerging as a hotbed for artistic endeavors although rising rents have put increasing pressure on the artistic community. There's also a growing array of community services and shops to service the upcoming neighborhood.

Click here to view the LIC / Long Island City Neighborhood section of this site.