Click on the header above to view events this month, including shopping opportunties.

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Santa vs Trump: Who's the Better Businessman?

SPECIAL REPORT: Santa in Astoria & Queens

December 21, 2016 / Astoria Neighborhood / Fiction / Queens Buzz. The following video report continues our investigation to continued sitings of Santa in Astoria and Queens. This report looks into the business practices of Santa in six categories and compares them to those of billionaire businessman and president-elect Donald Trump. At the end of the video we announce the winner.

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Santa vs Trump: Who's the Better Businessman? from Queens Buzz on Vimeo.

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Marty's Museum & Camera Repair Shop

Marty's been Helping Folks take Pictures & Videos for Decades

October 4, 2016 - MARTY'S CAMERA APPEARS TO HAVE CLOSED. The telephone number has temporarily been disconnected.

July 19, 2016 / Forest Hills Neighborhood / Queens Shopping / Queens Buzz.

I headed down to Marty’s Camera a couple of weeks ago, with a camera that wasn’t working well. I bounded up to the second floor shop and was greeted by a saleswoman who queried me about the problem while writing up a ticket. As she took the photographic patient into the operating room, she told me to call back at the end of the day to find out when to return to pick it up.

I did as instructed and returned the following day. When I arrived at the repair shop, Marty emerged from the operating room having successfully completed surgery on the photographic patient. We started talking about the problem [I dropped the camera and it wasn’t focusing properly] and the conversation meandered onto the changing technologies in the image capturing business.

Marty told me that cameras were once mechanical miracles fullof delicate springs and levers, and today are even more miraculous, less delicate and full of a multitude of computer chip components and assemblages. The camera surgeon was tired that day, and said he’d like to give his brain a rest, so the conversation moved onto the history of cameras themselves.

I asked him about some of the more interesting cameras with which he’d comeinto contact. Marty wasn’t at a loss when it came to camera history, and soon produced a Japanese made camera that contained the inscription “Made in Occupied Japan”. He had another camera from the 1950’s that was a ‘stereo camera’, which would take two photos simultaneously. I asked him if there were many of these made and he guessed that these weren't a big hit and might not have been in the market very long.

Marty had a collection of cameras, the prizes he cherished were the cameras made in New York. Possibly the crème de la crème was a1909 camera made in Rochester, New York that came in a dark black case and opened up with a flashy, red-colored, old-fashioned funnel. It was likely state of the art over a century ago. I began to think of Marty’s shop as something of a camera museum and Marty as its curator.

The conversation rolled onto the photographers and videographers and film makers Marty had met over the years. A number of photographers had given Marty samples of their work which he put on display in the waiting room of his office. Marty had started out in the late 1960's / early 1970's as a photographer himself, before become a camera doctor in 1973. He spent decades working in camera repair in Manhattan before leaving Photo Tech Manhattan in 1999, when he started out on his own in Forest Hills in the basement of a building across the street. He moved into the offices he now occupies over a decade ago and he continues to serve struggling, emerging and hobbyist photographers and filmmakers.

I knew as I was departing, that Marty had many more stories to tell. And although I don’t want my cameras to break, I always look forward to visiting Marty in his camera repair shop which is located on the 2nd floor of 71-25 Austin Street in Forest Hills [just off the #7 subway].

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A SPECIAL REPORT: Where the Clauses Shop

A Behind-the-Scenes-Look into the Celebrity Sitings in Astoria

December 28, 2015 / Astoria Neighborhood / Queens Shopping / Queens ENTERTAINMENT & Comedy / Queens Buzz.

There have been rumors floating around that a certain global celebrity and his wife have been spending a lot of time in Queens, most notably in the neighborhood of Astoria. We began investigating these rumors and found evidence that they are true, but you can view the video and judge for yourself.

Click the photo to go to the page containing the video.

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Apollonia Gallery - Art Gallery & Furniture In Sunnyside

Updated June 2015 / Sunnyside Neighborhood / Queens Shopping / Queens Buzz.

Nearly a year ago Sunday, July 20, 2014 was the grand opening of a new art and furniture gallery in Sunnyside. It was well attended by a number of local artists, photographers, musicians and prospective clients.

Queens musicians Smidge Mallone & Matthew Dallow were there to 'jazz' things up. And Murphy's Lobster Grill, only a couple of doors down, provided oysters to go with the wine that was being served.

As it was a near perfect day and the opening was well attended, folks also gathered outside. Photographer Greg Stowell was in attendance, as several of his works were on display. And Ged Merino of Bliss on Bliss Studio of Sunnyside also stopped in to check things out.

Ann Margaret O'Connor will be operating the gallery and store at 48-14 Skillman Avenue in Sunnyside. 917.832.6631.

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New Supermarket Slated To Open Near Queens Plaza 2015

Updated June 2015 / Long Island City LIC / Food & Wine / Queens Buzz. In June of 2013, Foodcellar & Co inked a deal with Rockrose Corporation on a lease for 14,500 square feet on the ground and subterranean levels near Queens Plaza. The deal appears to be a win for both parties as the Queens Plaza neighborhood is in need of an modern supermarket which will facilitate Rockrose's business and residential real estate sales and rentals into the area. And it is also a win for Foodcellar & Co because Queens Plaza is an emerging business and residential center because of its location with regard to public and private transportation.

The new supermarket will be the second Foodcellar & Co store in Long Island City. The first Foodcellar & Co store was opened in August of 2008 on 47th Road just off Center Blvd. The store recently celebrated its fifth anniversary with an in-store all evening event where they had set up food and beverage booths so customers could sample unique food products around the store.

The new store will be configured a bit differently than the current Foodcellar to suit the tastes of a different area. I spoke to the management team who told me that they expected to be servicing both a business office clientele during the day and a rapidly growing residential population at all times.

The store was originally planned to open in Spring of 2014, but was postponed until fall 2014 and then delayed again. It should open sometime in 2015. We'll keep you posted.

In the photo to your right are the three partners of Foodcellar & Company: Metin Mangut, Burack Can and Erhan Baceci at the celebration of the Foodcellar & Company fifth anniversary in late August 2013.

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Queens Neighborhoods - Neighborhood Links

Click any of the following links to go to that neighborhood in Queens. Links are also located along the left side bar.

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