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It’s the season to give (toys)

4 Dec

A poster on Vernon Blvd

 

This year (and probably every year) there are many families who are not able to afford toys for their children. Many organizations (like Toys for Tots) make it easier for us to donate to them.

In Long Island City there are a few toy drives that you can make some of these donations:

Vernon Wine & Liquor: Donate toys through December 15th

Queens Chamber of Commerce Holiday Toy Drive: An event to benefit the Children of Sandy on Wednesday, December 5th at the Renaissance Event Hall

Duane Reade: The pharmacy on 5th St. has a giant box where you easily drop off toys for charity.

LIC Living: A toy drive is taking place at this new LIC design shop through December 13th.

LIC Kids Holiday Party: A neighborhood holiday party for “Toys for Tots” on December 9th.

 

Have we missed one? Let us know at contact@licspot.com

 

 

Crazy t-shirts for sale for Sandy relief

5 Nov

“I still love NY t-shirt”

 

Sebastian Errazuriz created this wonderful “I Still Love NY” t-shirt available on Grey Area. 100% of the profits from the shirt go to Hurricane Sandy relief programs. They also made a “Manhattan Blackout” Hurricane Sandy relief t-shirt. Their studio was affected by the hurricane so they decided to make these t-shirts to help those in need.

“Manhattan Blackout Hurricane Sandy”

LIC businesses are giving back to the community this weekend

2 Nov

A couple of scarecrows on 49th Ave. that survived Hurricane Sandy.

 

During disaster events people tend to come together and become incredibly selfless. This scene has been seen throughout the city this last week, including here in Long Island City.

Long Island City Partnership has posted a list of local businesses giving back to the community:

  • MoMA PS1 has opened their space to the neighborhood. Admission is free, phone charging is available in the performance dome, and free coffee will be available.
  • The Chocolate Factory Theater is offering free tickets to LIC residents this weekend. Arrive at 7:15 on the night of the performance you are interested in.
  • Museum of the Moving Image is offering free admission today, Friday November 2nd until 8PM. Additionally there will be a free screening of Back to the Future at 6:30PM.
  • The SculptureCenter will also be accepting donations. Additionally, they will waive the suggested admission fee, and Sage will prove coffee and tea.

 

How you can help in LIC

2 Nov

 

We’d like to thank everyone who has donated items for the hurricane relief. The response has been tremendous. If you are still interested in donating more items please do so at any of these places:

More locations to come as we confirm.
In the meantime here’s a wonderful note from the folks at LIC Market who organized their drive this past weekend:

 

Today’s drive was fantastic! Bag after bag was dropped off throughout the day.
We sent about 10 FULL carloads to the following locations:

  •  Jimmy Van Bramer’s office (which I’m sure you know was also a drop off/volunteer site). They were then moving stuff to the Rockaways and (I believe) Red Hook.
  • The Church of St Luke & St Mary (Clinton Hill- 520 Clinton Ave). From there items were being sorted and sent to Rockaways, South Brooklyn and Staten Island. I coordinated this thru sirecovers.org
  • A drop off site in Astoria (I think the the site is a private residence so we should not list the address), which was coordinating trips to Rockaways. I also coordinated this thru recovers.org

The community’s generosity was overwhelming. People were incredibly generous with their donations, their time, and their willingness to drive (esp when many of them had very little gas).

At this time our request list is: water, non-perishable food, blankets, towels, warm clothing (only essential warm clothing- many centers have too much clothing at this time), socks, underwear, shoes, baby food and baby supplies, toiletries (including soap & hand sanitizer), cleaning supplies, paper towels, bleach, batteries, flashlights, lanterns, demolition tools (pry bars, sledge hammers, heavy duty garbage bags, tarps, rakes, shovels, push brooms, work gloves, goggles) batteries (A, AAA, C, D) & phone chargers.

But this list will probably be updated thru the day as we get feedback from coordinators at the centers

**We will definitely need volunteers to drive items to drop off points** which will most likely be Astoria and Clinton Hill.  Also, we can definitely use volunteers that would be able to drive to Staten Island

 

 

If there are any drop-off points in LIC that are not listed here, please email us the address and the hours at contact@licspot.com

LIC Market’s Donation Drive

2 Nov

 

In an effort to help NYC neighborhoods in greatest need, LIC Market has launched a donation drive. Anything you can offer is appreciated. Shelters are most in need of the following: water, clothing (especially socks, underwear and sweats), shoes, non-perishable food, baby food and baby supplies, toiletries, cleaning supplies, batteries/flashlights and lanterns, demolition tools (pry bars, sledge hammers, garbage bags), tarps, daily newspapers, batteries (A, AAA, D).

Drop Off Location: LIC Market | 21-52 44th Drive | LIC NY 11101″

Recycle your electronics in LIC

21 Oct

 

If you’re like me, you probably have a pile of unusable electronics stashed in a closet somewhere in your home. You may have spent a good fortune buying some of the items (like 20 years ago?) and have no idea what to do with that CRT monitor.

Fortunately, the Lower East Side Ecology Center is organizing an Electronic Waste Recycling Day here in Long Island City where you can drop off your electronics (rather than disposing them, and their poisonous innards, in our landfills).

If there is one thing you should do for the environment this year, it’s this. So please mark it on your calendar!

October 28th from 10am-4pm at Hunters Point Wine & Spirit.

 

 

Join a Tibetan monk on a bike!

18 Oct

 

Ok, we admit that we never thought that the title of one of our posts would be “Join a Tibetan monk on a bike!”. Really, what is happening in Long Island City?

Well, for one thing, there are seriously good people trying to raise money for a good cause. And we’re 100% behind this one:

Join Tibetan Buddhist Monk Lama Tenzin on a 90 min ride led by Crank’s Eniko Kiraly. Our ride will emulate the path that Lama takes during his two week journey over three 18,000’ Himalyan passes to Nepal‘s extremely remote Dolpo region where he rescues the children to whom he has dedi- cated his life. $50 suggested donation to ride.  Can’t ride? Sponsors welcome. Light refreshments served during Q&A with Lama Tenzin to follow our ride. More info at KnightsofKnovember.com 

 

How do you like my trimming?

13 Jun

A nice trimming on 48th Ave. - Photo by Brent O'Leary

 

Well there you have it. When good people in the community get together (with gloves and trimmers), good things happen!

Last week about 15 volunteers got together on their day of rest to trim the divider on 48th Ave near Gantry State Park, and we must say, it’s looks pretty nice!

The job’s not done yet. A little more trimming and some mulching is up next, and if you want to help, feel free to contact us. We’ll lead you to the right place!

If you ever see these guys in the 'hood, say "thank you".

Ride for Blood next Thursday!

24 May

Our friends at Crank Cycling Studio are hosting a National Hemophilia Charity Ride next Thursday, May 31st.  $50 doesn’t only make you feel better for supporting the bleeding disorder, but it also makes you feel better for exercising. You don’t have to be a member of Crank to participate, and the best part is you will be given a free ride voucher to use any other time at Crank Cycling Studios. Four different time slots are available that day. What else could you ask for? Free wine and refreshments? You got it!