LIC Spot

Even after the slashing of the canvas drawings last month, someone hasn’t stopped vandalizing it, with tasteless graffiti throughout the fence.

We are being told that the incident is still under investigation and there is not much chance that it will be replaced.

Not in LIC!

Do any of you remember the days when the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks took place on the East River? The roads would get crowded and our apartments offered the best seats in the house for the most spectacular pyrotechnics in the United States (though I hear San Francisco has a pretty good one too).

Ever since Macy’s moved the barges to the Hudson River in 2009, it’s stayed there and it seems like it may never come back.

Therefore I’d like to perhaps inspire one of our followers to start a petition: Bring the Fireworks Back to the East River!

Any volunteers?

After 17 years in rehab, the cicadas are coming BACK! At some point this month, when the finally soil warms to a steady 64° F, the mysterious Magicicada Brood II cicadas will burst forth for the first time since 1996 in Long Island City. Billions and billions are expected to surface, mate, and die, and the fine folks at Radiolabwant you to help make sense of it all. So they’ve started this interactive cicada tracking map.

If/when you see a cicada, research scientist John Cooley and professor Chris Simon at the University of Connecticut Ecology & Evolutionary Biology are asking you to fill out a report form so they can compile a study tracking their reemergence.

via Gothamist

Patrick and his wife, Ro

Alewife’s festival of Beer and Balls (meat, that is) lifted its glass to a crowd of appreciative punters in ways that achieved so much more in quality and style than my previous excursion to this beer-lovers haven on 51^stAvenue in Long Island City. Beers (all local NY) represented included interesting stronger-than average beers (10-12%!), hop driven IPAs and some nice darker-than-the-night stoat and spicy wheat beers. Finding matches to the range of meatballs was an enjoyable experience.

I had attended the APorkopolypse pig and beer fest a few months ago and felt that the system of tickets for beer and food was a little unfriendly. Today’s deal was tickets for the food and as much beer as you wanted to taste, making this a much more welcoming experience.

Meatballs were offered by local restaurants Alewife and Open Door (that new place on 50^th between Vernon and Jackson) and Manhattan establishiments Dirty Burger and Tommy Lasagne. Each offered choices with the prize, for me,  going to the home team Alewife for their three options, especially the Dragon Ball – generously spiced (clove, cinnamon etc) balls in a Schezuan sauce. That’s not to say that the other offerings were low-key. The chilli-led sauce for Dirty Burger’s 25 spice option required at least twice the amount of beer to quell but was very tasty, the sauce sitting around the meat so that your taste buds were able to taste both the meat and the sauce without retreating to a glass of milk. Open Door’s options were also very tasty, great meat and respectful flavorings. I wanted a final taste-off but by the time I had done the rounds the dishes were empty.

My favourite in the beer department was the “Notorious IPA – Chinook”from Bed-Stuy brewery, not blatantly advertized but hidden as an “under the counter” option and served by the brewer himself in an experiment to gain votes from customers in choosing between his two beers; the other being termed more “aggressive”. This made the occasion extra special, discussing hops and brewing with the man responsible, head brewer Charlie Wildman is quite a different experience from  the “I’m only here to serve the beer and don’t know much about it” reactions from most of the servers. Bed-Stuy brewery is a venture partly owned by Alewife owner Patrick Donagher who plans to bring brewing onto the Alewife premises, thus joining other locals like Rockaway in offering “Fresh-As” beers to the local scene; a welcome boost to the local economy and the variety of ales available to locals, as well as those who travel miles to enjoy our growing neighborhood food and drink options.

by Eric Hathaway

This Saturday, May 11th at 10am come and help clean up your neighborhood with LIC-ECO:

WHO:              LIC-ECO is a grassroots organization made up of residents and businesses in the Hunters Point neighborhood of Long Island City, Queens, dedicated to a better, greener and healthier environment.

All participants are volunteers from the local community. There are over two-dozen members involved in planning the May 11 campaign.

WHAT:            Due to the lack of regularly scheduled street cleaning in this previously industrial neighborhood which has grown tremendously in recent years, many residents, particularly parents with young children, decided to take part in a DIY clean-up, designed to be an annual campaign day before Mother’s Day.

This clean up campaign is sponsored and supported by many local groups including the City of New York Clean Community Campaign, LIC Partnership, Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Green Mountain Graphics, Earth and Sky Healing Arts, QueensWest Health and Wellness, Ipodmeister, Shine Electronics, Malu Ice Cream, Food Cellar, Tannic Inc., Flip My Pancake Graphic Design, Balance Spa and Modern Spaces Real Estate

WHEN:            Saturday, May 11, 2013 - 10 a.m. to 12 noon (rain or shine)

WHERE:          48^th Avenue between 5^th Street and Vernon Blvd. in Hunters Point, Long Island City

It’s hard to imagine that we’ve been around for a whole year already! And to celebrate our one year anniversary we’d like to announce our open forums for anyone to use.

The link is to RIGHT and it’s relatively easy to post anything your heart desires.  Please keep it civilized and have fun connecting with your neighbors.

Again, thank you for sticking with LIC Spot for a whole year. We hope you’ll follow us for many more years to come!

A plague is upon us, and we’re not even talking about the Citi Bikeaggedon or the nightmare snakehead fishtastrophe: billions of cicadas are expected to emerge all across the East Coast and even Long Island City this month. After 17 years of being dormant underground, the cicadas will storm the land in May, put on the cicada equivalent of Barry White, and start mating like a bunch of horny penguins.

The good news for LIC is that the eggs were laid 17 years ago under the oldest trees. That means that our brand new waterfront will be spared.

Do you remember the great cicada outbreak in 1996 in LIC?  Were you here?

The blooming Yoga Room on 47th Rd.

Aside from the flowering trees and bushes, LIC seems to be blooming this year!

From the new farmer’s market on 48th Ave. to LIC Flea & Food opening up in the summer (have we mentioned Taste of LIC, Concerts at the Gantry and more?), we seem to have the makings of the best neighborhood in NYC, or at least Queens.

The New York Real Estate Journal recently stated that Long Island City is “the busiest neighborhood in Queens”.

Long Island City in 2012 turned out to be a year of major transactions, achieving sales prices rarely seen in the Queens market. Investors and Developers are placing their money here due in part to the great zoning in the area from the 2001 rezoning as well as exciting future developments.

more here.

We love trying to answer your questions. If you happen to have one, please email us at contact@licspot.com.

Today’s question come from Jen. She asks:

Hi… Just curious if anyone has heard why Gantry State Park is basically a black out after sunset… Is this purposeful or has the electricity been damaged since Sandy? Just curious…thank you.

Well Jen, we reached out to our friends at the Parks Department and they stated that indeed the lights got damaged during Hurricane Sandy.

Apparently they are scheduled to be fixed “soon”.  However, we wouldn’t hold our breaths.

If you’re looking something to do right now, the Queens County Market is open!

Located at the Laughing Devil Comedy Club, they’re offering treats and artisan foods from throughout Queens.