LIC Spot

After about a year or so of being the only boutique macaron shop in Long Island City, Little Oven is closing their doors. We bid farewell to their deliciously dainty delicacies and the French charm that they brought to our neighborhood.

photo by Michael Appleton for The New York Times

Remember that awesome bike-share program that we were promised this summer in LIC (and all of NYC)? Well, it’s been delayed until next year. Because of a software problem, the bikes won’t be available this year and that means every other city in Europe has public bikes (and has had them for over a decade) and we still don’t.

If you read the NY Times article in detail, you’ll see that the software glitch is also an issue with internal politics…of course.

A new gastro-pub called Open Door will be opening up this winter in Long Island City on 50th Ave. The restaurant will offer small, American-style tapas in a friendly, casual, everyday environment.

It’s nice to see so many cuisines to choose from in LIC…but don’t we need something else besides eateries?

photo by Jesse Winter

If you think that the end is in sight for construction “pollution” in Long Island City, think again. Everywhere you look (and hear and breath) something is being leveled and built from scratch.

At what point will it be enough? Well, if you look at our sister neighborhood, Williamsburg, the answer is probably never. As long as someone is trying to sell their lot off a main road for a billion times more than what they bought it 50 years ago, there will always be developers ready to jump in with all-cash offers for their residential golden geese.

The question is, what will Long Island City look like in 10 years?

photo by DNAinfo/Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska

The folks who brought you Plaxall are now in line to bring you a floating beer garden right here in LIC. Inspired by the Frying Pan (remember that?), this 100 feet by 30 feet wide vessel will be up and running and full of beer by next summer. Feel free to take a look at it at Anable’s Basin any time.

via DNAinfo.com

photo by Jesse Winter

We’d like to invite our readers to give us their best caption for this adorable photo in the comment section…GO!

You don’t want to piss this guy off. – photo by Jesse Winter

As most of you know, parking’s become a bitch in LIC. Let’s face it, more people, more cars, more metered parking = no more parking spots! So what are we (yeah, the postal truck as well) to do?

Well, seeing that we are so close to Manhattan…how badly do we need a car after all? Then again, how are we going to get to the greasy Jersey shore without one?

Chances are it’s just gonna get worse (unless you pay up, of course).  Here’s a great list of LIC’s parking garages and what they charge. You’re welcome.

photo by Jesse Winter

A mural on 21st street and 46th Ave tells it all.

Sometimes we need to step back and realize that it’s not all about money in this world. In fact, if you have no one to share it with, what’s the gold worth?

And just in case you’ve been inspired to start speaking Spanish to understand this post, check out some Spanish courses in LIC!

If you walk in front of Cyclo you’ll see the electricity and gas are finally on and there is some sort of hustle and bustle, but they’re still closed…until this Friday! So start stretching out your stomachs and get your appetites ready for LIC’s newest Vietnamese food fare!

Located at 5-51 47th Ave.

At LIC Spot we’re determined to help others in need in our neighborhood, so we were quite heart broken to see that someone had lost their hamster near Vernon Blvd. We ask all of our readers to check to see if any of their hamsters are missing from their cages and contact veed88@hotmail.com before he gives it up for adoption.

Update: We’ve gotten in touch with the person who found the hamster and she says the hamster in pretty good shape, however she’s also fallen in love with the hamster. The hamster was found on 47th Ave. between Vernon and 11th St. We will do our journalistic duty to publish a picture (and name) of the hamster.