Olympic Sized Indoor Swimming Pool & Ice Skating Rink
This is a brief report on Queens Park Natatorium and World Ice Rink facilities in the Flushing / Corona neighborhood of Queens NY. The report includes the Queens Olympic sized swimming pool, the World Ice Rink and the Al Oerter Recreation Center in the Flushing section of Queens NY.
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.
May 1, 2011 / Long Island City LIC & Astoria Park / Sporting Activities / Queens Buzz. This event begins at 9 am in lower Manhattan, so we expect the first riders by about 9.30 with the bulk of them coming through between 10 am and the leisurely ones leaving about 12 noon. The 42 mile course runs through Queens by coming off the Queens Borough Bridge and heads north along 21st Street to Astoria Park. There's a rest stop at the park, while cyclists turn around and head south, mostly along Vernon Blvd before leaving the borough over the Pulaski Bridge. Over 30,000 cyclists are expected to participate and over 1,500 people volunteer in the program.
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.
May 2nd, 2010 / LIC & Astoria / Queens Buzz. It was a sunny, hot, humid morning as I biked my way over to the Queens Boro Bridge to watch 30,000 Five Boro Bike Riders descend into Queens.
None of them seemed to be having any difficulty, as they made their way up 21st Street to Astoria Park. I followed along and shot some photos and it's worth saying that 21st Street is in need of some repair. It's a rumbling road that one would expect to find in a third world nation, not along the East River waterfront of America's largest city.
This photo of Athens Park in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens NY was taken in the fall of 2008. This is just a very brief history of the park with a link to a map and eventually stories.
This is an ongoing report on some of the fun outdoor activities and art projects sponsored by the Socrates Sculpture Park in Astoria / Long Island City in Queens. Socrates Sculpture Park sponsors Halloween Parties, Bike events, arts and crafts events, an outdoor film series during the summer and more. Click here to view brief reports on a few events over the past year at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens.
Use search to find more information about Queens publlc golf courses. This is a brief report on a golf outing at one of the NYC public golf courses located in Queens NY. I went golfing at the Douglaston golf course on the eastern perimeter of Queens NY.
This story describes the Queens Botanical Garden in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens NY. The Queens Botanical Garden is run by the municipality and is located along Main Street in the Flushing Queens.
Olympic Sized Indoor Swimming Pool & Ice Skating Rink
This is a brief report on Queens Park Natatorium and World Ice Rink facilities in the Flushing / Corona neighborhood of Queens NY. The report includes the Queens Olympic sized swimming pool, the World Ice Rink and the Al Oerter Recreation Center in the Flushing section of Queens NY.
Flushing / September 26, 2009. Today, amidst all the reasons for cynicism and despair, I found a refreshing glimmer of hope in, of all things, a waterpod. It's a waterpod that contains within it a couple of beings, which if properly funded could spread a good idea like appleseeds across the land, perhaps the globe, and enable all of us to help shape the future of the world in which we live.
Mary Mattingly and Ian Daniel are modern day, Ghandi-like activistics. They have guided the good ship Waterpod into and out of eight different harbors along the New York City network of waterways, carrying with them an art performance eco-friendly message that makes a huge statement in very small ways ... but in every moment of each one of their days.
Click here to read the rest of the story on The Waterpod in Queens. Scroll down to the next two stories to read the weekend events postings and / or click into the Queens Events section of this site.
Flushing Queens /Queens Buzz. The second annual Tour De Queens departed on time today at 9.30 am for an 18 mile ride through the borough [the original plan was for a 24 mile course]. We'll be posting a photo album later today with tons of photos taken of the riders as they departed from the Queens Museum Of Art in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The winds were blowing at between five and ten miles per hour which cooled things down, as the temperatures rose into the low eighties on a moderately humid day. Originally the course was to be outlined within the New York Panorama inside the Queens Museum Of Art as had been done last year. But given the current exhibition, Red Lines Housing Crisis, was already using the panaorama as part of the exhibit, outlining the course for the Tour De Queens was dropped. The course was finalized late Friday July 10th, but we are in the process of creating a map of it, so stay tuned. Click here to view photos and read a brief report about the Tour De Queens bike ride - photos in Queens or click here to view photos of the Tour De Queens Bike Riders.
500 Bicyclists Slots Available The Morning Of The Ride
The Tour de Queens Bike Ride is scheduled for this Sunday. About 1,000 riders comprised of singles, adults, families and kids will ride through parts of the borough with a police escort. The bike ride will cover a 24 mile trail beginning and ending at the Unisphere across from the Queens Museum Of Art in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
The trail route will not be officially disclosed until the morning of the ride but we have unconfirmed reports it will have an eastern Queens slant through some of the neighborhoods of great jazz legends and some beautiful architecture. Click here for more on Biking In Queens / Tour de Queens Bike Ride 2009.
Flushing Meadows / September 2008 / Queens Buzz. The New York Mets played the Florida Marlins in the last three games played at Shea Stadium in the Flushing Corona neighborhood of Queens NY. Shea Stadium will be demolished in the winter of 2009.
Parks & Sports In Forest Hills
West Side Tennis Club - Forest Hills NY - Queens History This is a brief article describing the West Side Tennis Club in the Forest Hills section of Queens NY. The club has historical significance as it was once the home of the USTA, sponsors of the U.S. Open.
Jackson Heights is the home to the garden apartment building, where it first originated in the nineteen twenties. The Jackson Heights neighborhood has evolved into one of the most integrated communities in the world, comprised of residents whose families originated in Asia, Latin American, Europe and Africa. This is a brief introduction into the neighborhood housing stock. Click here to view the full story on the Jackson Heights Garden Apartments.
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 / 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.
This is a brief story reporting on an afternoon spent at the Belmont Race Track in Elmont Queens NY. Horse races are run about five days per week during the season which runs about half the year, but beware because there are down periods where no races are run.
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.
Gantry Park and Queensbrigdge Park - Long Island City LIC
Gantry Park and Queensbridge Park are located along the east side of the East River in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens NY. Click here to view the full report on Gantry Park and Queens Bridge Park in LIC Queens
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 NY / May 24, 2009. We joined the LIC Boathouse on Sunday morning in their weekly summer ritual of providing free kayaking for Queens denizens of all stripes. We started with them between 11.30 am and noon in Long Island City where a core group of volunteers [new comers welcome] meet to load and haul the kayaks and safety gear up to Hallets Cove just north of Socrates Sculpture Park. Click here for the rest of the story of kayaking in Queens with the LIC Boathouse on the East River.
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.
This is a brief report on things to do in Queens like going to the Belmont and Acqueduct Horse Race Tracks in Queens NY. The Belmont race track is located in Elmont NY and the Acqueduct race track is located in Jamaica, both in Queens.
Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Buzz. The good weather has arrived and bicycling is about to begin in earnest. Queens is blessed with one of the most interesting arrays of biking trails in the NYC metro area and provides the added pleasure of not being so crowded ... yet.
But there are pitfalls too. Queens Blvd is one of the most dangerous streets in all of the city as some motorists seem to drive it more like a highway than the city street that it is. So caution is always important to bear in mind, but that is true for any sport, be it swimming, football or skiing.
In our soon to be posted report we'll provide you with a view of the biking landscape in Queens. We'll highlight the key biking events, show you a rough outline of Queens biking trails and finish up with a few biking maintenance tips including links to neighborhood bike stores in Queens. Stay tuned, the full story will be posted later this week.
Public Golf Courses in Douglaston, Forest Hills, Flushing & Bayside
This is a compendium of the four public golf courses in Queens NY. The public golf courses are Clearview in Bayside, Douglaston in Douglaston, Forest Park in Woodhaven and Kissena in Flushing.
This report provides info on Queens parks, swimming pools [we still need to add Fisher, Liberty and Fort Totten], various fields and courts for athletic games and picnic and open space areas for your relaxation. Use the search function to find golf courses and the horse race tracks as they are not included them here.
This is a brief report on the Octoberfest sponsored by the Sunnyside Gardens Park in Sunnyside Queens NYC which was open to the public. Some events at the park are for members only as the park, like Gramercy, is owned privately by the residents of Sunnyside NY.
Private Park Continues Tradition Of Community Service
Sunnyside / January 25, 2010. Over the course of this past year I had occasion to meet and converse with various members of Sunnyside Gardens Park. The park is privately owned - one of only two such parks in the city, with the other being Gramercy Park in Manhattan. While membership in Gramercy is closed, membership in Sunnyside Gardens Park is open to local residents. Membership in the park fluctuates, and there are currently about 300 members, most of which are family memberships.
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