Sunnyside Hawk

Reader Sarah writes:

I haven't seen any posts about this, and just wanted to know if anyone else has noticed the beautiful hawk hovering over Queens Boulevard most sunny days this winter? I see him (her?) from the 40th Street platform often in the late morning/early afternoon, either calmly circling on the thermals, or perched on an antenna on one of the taller buildings. He seems to favor 40th just north of the boulevard. I'm tentatively identifying him as a red-tailed hawk, but I'm not an experienced birder. Once I let 3 trains go by, hoping he'd come closer. Must remember--put binoculars in handbag!

Back on the Map: Revisiting the New York State Pavilion, a Queens Museum of Art Exhibit

Opening Reception: Sunday, January 27, 2008, 3:00 – 6:00 pm

3:00 Valerie Smith, Director of Exhibitions at QMA, will give a brief "gallery talk"

4:00 Demonstration of conservation techniques (UPenn)

4:30-6:00 Refreshments and music (music will be records of bands that played at the Pavilion)

*The event is free and open to the public.


PHILIP JOHNSON’S TERRAZZO ROAD MAP GETS A FACELIFT IN 2008
The Queens Museum of Art collaborates with UPENN conservation team and Parks Department to refurbish a historic gem from the 1964/65 World’s Fair.

Queens, NY (January 18, 2008) - Also known as “The Tent of Tomorrow,” the New York State Pavilion was considered one of the best architectural monuments at the 1964/65 World’s Fair and certainly one of the most iconic of structures to survive. The Queens Museum of Art is pleased to help revitalize this historic monument with its new exhibition, Back on the Map: Revisiting the New York State Pavilion at the 1964/65 World’s Fair on view from January 27-May 4, 2008 in conjunction with Anthony Auerbach, Empire State Pavilion. Back on the Map seeks to inform and engage the public about architect Philip Johnson’s New York State Pavilion and its main exhibit: a large-scale, terrazzo floor replica of the Texaco Road Map of New York State. A fusion of Pop Art imagery and traditional craft techniques, the map pavement was a crucial component of “The Tent of Tomorrow.” In addition to the works of Pop Artists Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and others displayed on the exterior of the adjoining Theaterama, the Road Map helped solidify the Pavilion’s status as a landmark of 60s avant-garde culture.
Built as a temporary structure for the Fair, the Texaco Road Map along with the Pavilion has suffered from over 30 years of weather exposure and vandalism. This year, however, the Map returns to the spotlight for a long-overdue comeback. A culmination of conservation activities by the City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation in collaboration with The Architectural Conservation Laboratory at the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, the exhibition at the Queens Museum of Art will feature restored sections of the Texaco Road Map and elaborate the project findings through text panels and an interactive Web site. The exhibit will also allow visitors the opportunity to witness the restoration process up close as conservators restore portions of the Road Map in the Museum’s galleries.
Please join us for the opening of Back on the Map: Revisiting the New York State Pavilion at the 1964/65 World’s Fair and the companion exhibition, Anthony Auerbach: Empire State Pavilion on Sunday, January 27 from 3-6 pm.

FAMILY WORKSHOP
Please join us for the next installation of the MetLife Foundation Presents First Sundays for Families at QMA on Sunday, February 3 from 1-4pm. The Museum will host a dynamic family workshop inspired by the Back on the Map exhibition. Families of all ages can join an interactive tour of the Museum’s galleries followed by a demonstration with on-site conservation experts. Participants will then map their own neighborhoods in mosaic as part of an artist-led workshop. A dance workshop, led by dancer Susan Thomasson of City Center, will encourage families to participate in an interactive movement program based on the spaces and rhythms of New York City.


ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT
Back on the Map is supported by The National Endowment for the Arts, The Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and the School of Design, University of Pennsylvania.

Anthony Auerbach is supported in part by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts.

The MetLife Foundation Presents First Sundays for Families at QMA

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Available upon request. Please contact Krista Saunders 718.592.9700 x221 or ksaunders@queensmuseum.org.

# # #


The Queens Museum of Art was established in 1972 to provide a vital cultural center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park for the borough’s unique, international population. Today it is home to the Panorama of the City of New York, a 9,335 square foot scale model of the five boroughs, and features temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art that reflect the cultural diversity of Queens, as well as a collection of Tiffany glass from the Neustadt Museum of Tiffany Art. The Museum provides valuable educational outreach through a number of programs geared toward schoolchildren, teens, families, seniors and individuals with physical and mental disabilities.

The Museum’s hours are: Wednesday – Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday: 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Admission to the Museum is by suggested donation: $5 for adults, $2.50 for seniors, students and children, and free for member and children under 5. For general visitor information, please visit the Museum’s website www.queensmuseum.org or call 718.592.9700.

The Return of the G Spot

Saturday afternoon I was heading over to Stop & Shop and popped my head inside the mysterious windowless warehouse known around here as The G Spot. The big letter G in concrete relief stands for Punta G, translated in English means G spot.

I noticed new exterior lighting had been installed and a beehive of activity inside. When I inquired about all the action, in broken English, a worker promised "dancing and drinking coming soon" he said they'll open for business by the middle of this year. I'm so depressed at the thought of this place and the crowds it will bring.

Back in of May 2006, there was a mini-uproar when word spread that there was a strip club coming to the corner of 48th street and Barnett Avenue. It was on the TV news.

Just across the street, The Paradise Billiard Club is a popular spot for underage drinking. The pool hall rents out a private room for parties that are incredibly noisy and go on all night. I fear the TV cameras will be back one day to report news of a violent crime. This intersection is literally a disaster waiting to happen.

There are so many promising things happening in Sunnyside, so many young families everywhere. There's a children's park diagonally across from the G Spot. Even if the owners have backed away from the original plan to open a strip club, the G spot should not open as a disco. How can these low rent, sleazy nightclubs be allowed to spring up in a residential neighborhood? What can we do?

Seeking Ad Sales Rep

Sell ads in Let's Meet Up In Queens, earn commission. Email Claire at clairedeveron -at- gmail -dot- com if interested.

Seeking Contributors

Let's Meet Up In Queens is seeking new contributors to cover local businesses, events, and restaurants in:

Astoria
Long Island City
Woodside
Elmhurst
Forest Hills

If interested, please contact Claire at clairedeveron -at- gmail -dot- com.

We don't pay per post; however, all ad revenues are split among contributors based upon post volume.

Socrates Sculpture Park Emerging Artist Fellowship--Apply Now!

SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK
2008 APPLICATION GUIDELINES:

-SPRING EXHIBITION
-EMERGING ARTIST FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
-OPEN SPACE

APPLICATION GUIDELINES ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE: WWW.SOCRATESSCULPTUREPARK.ORG

DEADLINE: MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2008

ABOUT SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK
Socrates Sculpture Park was an abandoned landfill and illegal dumpsite until 1986 when a coalition of artists and community members, under the leadership of sculptor Mark di Suvero, transformed it into an open studio and exhibition space for artistsand a neighborhood park for local residents. Once a rubble-strewn lot, it now flourishes as an ever-evolving natural landscape.

Located in an industrial neighborhood in Long Island City, Socrates is a waterfront park that overlooks the Manhattan skyline; the site is an affecting and inspiring place for artists to work and a spectacular setting for the presentation of public art. To date, Socrates has hosted close to 700 artists and currently attracts more than 72,000 visitors annually.

Socrates Sculpture Park is the only site in the New York Metropolitan area specifically dedicated to providing artists with opportunities to create and exhibit large-scale sculpture and multi-media installations in an outdoor environment that invites interaction between artists, artworks and the public. Socrates is world renowned as a laboratory where experimentation and innovation expand, reinvent and redefine the tradition of art in public spaces.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Artists seeking an opportunity to produce and exhibit their work at Socrates Sculpture Park are strongly encouraged to visit the Park before submitting their application. Applicants must take into account the site's rugged, urban outdoor environment and be aware that sculptures installed in the Park must meet safety requirements and be able to withstand the effects of weather and public use. Visiting the site will give applicants a clearer idea of the factors that effect installations at the Park and an overview of the facilities that the Park has to offer, including the tools and equipment available in the studio and the materials and resources available in Long Island City.

Artists can apply for one or more of the following exhibition categories:
·Spring Exhibition
·Emerging Artist Fellowship Program
·Open Space

If you are applying for more than one exhibition category, you only need to send one application package.

Grants and fellowships are not available to artists who are enrolled in a school, college or university program.

Spring Exhibition

From May through August 2008 Socrates Sculpture Park will present an exhibition based on interpretations and responses to the motivations, goals, realities, politics, and practices of recycling. This will be an expansive exhibition encompassing many perspectives about the concepts and methodologies of adaptive re-use, and will include projects that address the creative transformation of the by-products of production and consumption. Whether celebrating the global trend toward "green" or critically examining the motives and results of a world-wide focus on sustainability, the works in this exhibition will share a common theme of re-purposing wasted or cast off resources - both material and intangible.

For this exhibition, Socrates will provide artists with funding, administrative and technical assistance, a one to three month residency in the outdoor studio, and access to facilities, materials and equipment to create a new work - or will assist with shipping and rigging to place an already existing work - to be presented in the Park. The amount of financial support available to artists is contingent upon the requirements of their project and the funding that Socrates receives to support this exhibition.

Eligibility:

Participation in the spring exhibition is open to all artists, nationally and internationally, but Socrates will not provide any housing or transportation. Artists living outside New York will have to make their own living and travel arrangements.

Emerging Artist Fellowship Program

Fellowship artists are selected through an open application process. Proposals are reviewed by an advisory committee composed of past EAF recipients, prominent curators, artists, writers, and gallerists who work in collaboration with the Park's Executive Director to select the fellowship recipients. Socrates staff members then meet with the artists individually to discuss their proposal in greater detail and assist them with the development, engineering and fabrication of the project.

Emerging Artist Fellowship recipients are granted financial support in the amount of $5,000, a two to six month residency in the outdoor studio, and access to facilities, materials, equipment and technical assistance to create a work for the annual Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition (opening September 7, 2008). Fellows are also given the administrative assistance to do additional fundraising for their project, procure in-kind support and pursue future commissions, residencies and placement for their work.

Eligibility:

Fellowships are awarded to artists who are not yet well established, must be New York State residents and are in need of financial assistance.

Open Space

Socrates also produces single artist projects and collaborations that are presented as separate exhibitions throughout the year. Through the Open Space program, Socrates provides artists with funding, administrative and technical assistance, a one to six month residency in the outdoor studio, and access to facilities, materials and equipment to create a new work - or will assist with shipping and rigging to place an already existing work - for exhibition in the Park. Funding for this program varies from year to year and the amount of financial support available to artists is contingent upon the requirements of their project and the grants that Socrates receives to support the Open Space exhibitions.

Eligibility:

This program is open to all artists, nationally and internationally, but Socrates can not provide any housing or transportation. Artists living outside New York will have to make their own living and travel arrangements.

Information about Socrates Sculpture Park and application guidelines are now available on the web:
www.socratessculpturepark.org

SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK
32-01 VERNON BOULEVARD (AT BROADWAY)
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11106
TEL: 718-956-1819 FAX: 718-626-1533
WWW.SOCRATESSCULPTUREPARK.ORG
EMAIL: INFO@SOCRATESSCULPTUREPARK.ORG

Arrow, Environmental Group, Launches New Website

From an email I received:

We have just designed a new website and I'm proud to share it with you as a start to a greener year! I hope you will visit the site soon to sign up to our e-mail list . Also, please take a minute to forward news of ARROWONLINE.ORG to other people you know who are concerned about our environment and want to take simple steps to make a real impact, both locally and for the whole planet.

We are creating the site to be an ongoing "bulletin board" of information about recycling venues, opportunities and ideas of how to reduce your waste, and up- to -date information about ways you can participate in improving the parks and open spaces in your community. We will also feature event and program information for ARROW, NYC Parks and Sanitation, and other information for Western Queens.

The Butcher Block: Not Just for Meatheads

I have lived in the vicinity of my current apartment for nearly a decade, but like any neighborhood in New York City, I find myself constantly discovering new utopias almost weekly, with some literally around the corner. Back in 2003 there was a large fire in the neighborhood that burned down several storefronts and left the skies thick with black smoke. One of the places that burned was the famed "Butcher Block" Irish grocery store and Delicatessen that I had heard about for years, but never ventured into. Jokes abounded that the Butcher Block would be selling well done steaks on special for weeks to come, but being the righteous vegetarian I occasionally am, I thought "one less place selling dead animals, whew." Who knew I would be so wrong.

The Butcher Block reopened soon after at a larger location a block or so away and until two weeks ago I still had not ventured inside. Any place with a large wooden cartoon cut out of a man with a pig in a headlock outside does not necessarily signal "vegetarians welcome." However in an attempt to find some new obscure cheeses in our neighborhood, I suggested to Paul we check the place out to see what they had.

When we walked through the door, I needed to look behind me to double check that I hadn't just stepped off a Tarmac from an Aer Lingus flight. As far as I could tell, we had left Sunnyside and entered Ireland. The entrance of the store is filled with Irish/European candy and chips. I immediately scanned the shelf of Cadbury looking for something I devour in bulk every time I go to Europe, the elusive Bourneville bar.

Only distributed in Europe, this is the ultimate bar of dark chocolate one could ask for, and let me just say I've sampled a few. Cadbury has a "Royal Dark" bar they sell in America, but if you look at the back you will see it is made by Hershey and tastes like a watered down, sugared up, larger version of the real thing. In the past I have relied on European friends and a distributor Paul found online to occasionally get these treats. As Paul can testify, the minute we get off the plane in Europe I head to a drug store to buy some of these bars that literally leave me speechless.

I scan to the left, nothing. To the right, nothing. Then I look straight ahead and see an entire box of them just sitting there, European wrapper and all. Dramatic music cued up and credits rolled as The Bourneville Supremecy started up featuring me as the leading lady. I turned to Paul, and like Dorothy learning that all she had to do was click her heels to get what she want at the end of the Wizard of Oz, I said "I've had the power all along!" They were RIGHT HERE!!!

Paul wasn't listening to me though, as he too had discovered a plethora of his European dream foods, chewy candy without gelatin in them (gelatin's a vegetarian, no no) and enough different flavored chips to sink the island of Manhattan. While my weakness is chocolate, Paul is a big chip fan, and if you ever want experience a wide variety of chips lets just say the English and Irish have cornered the market.

There were bags of crisps in every style and taste imaginable. I look in Paul's arms and said, "Ummm are you buying Barbequed Chicken flavored potato chips?" He said, "Yeah, look at the bag it says suitable for vegetarians!" I looked and saw that these chicken chips were made with the use of "Flavourings" so how one attains chicken flavour without actually involving a chicken, is kinda beyond me, but he was enamored. They had steak chips, vinegar, salt, literally things you would never actually consider putting in a potato chip are available at this store. After trying the chicken chips, Paul does report that one shouldn't, perhaps, try to make potatoes taste like poultry as they were less than stellar.

We continued to roam finding all the products we adored while in Ireland. I think one of the most interesting things to do in another country is simply roam around the supermarket and look at all the cool packaging and options available elsewhere. The ability to do this in my very own neighborhood was something I was kicking myself for not discovering earlier.

Now I don't want to give the impression that the Butcher Block is some sort of vegetarian paradise. There is indeed more meat there than one can fathom, but my mind was so ecstatic about the Bourneville finding that I completely ignored that. We left the store and it's Irish accents behind and like I always do when getting my first Bourneville in Europe I rip open the package and pull out a little square like a heroine addict getting a fix. Paul asked, his mouth full of chewy gelatin-free candy, "Is it good?" and I raised my arm to tell him to stop speaking, this chocolate is so good it leaves me SPEECHLESS.

I still can't believe it has taken me this long to discover the magic of The Butcher Block, but since it did burn down once before I am savoring the Bourneville bars as if they are a secret stash smuggled directly from Ireland. I may be able to now get my supply without a passport, but I'm not taking any chances!

Video on LIC

We don't endorse the rah-rah attitude towards development, but otherwise this video was fun:

Walkable Sunnyside

From reader Mary:

I live on 50th and Skillman and I thought this Walk Score web site was cute -- it really shows how great Sunnyside is, with everything you need close by and easy (maybe too easy) to walk to (though obviously most neighborhoods in New York will score high on the site) -- here's the link!

Just don't let too many people know about this...

Sunnyside Real Estate: Not so Sunny

Paul and I took a jaunt to an open house being held down the block from us. Not that we're really looking to buy a place, but as we are the types who love walking the dog through the gardens at night simply to get glimpses of people's living rooms, walking through someone else's home is like invited voyeurism!

From the front the place isn't one of the houses in the gardens that seems particularly great, nor is it on one of the prime blocks. It is a house with two, two bedroom apartments, a garden and a large terrace off the second floor. However, the place looks like it hasn't been touched since it was built. And I don't mean that in a retro-cool-all-original-details kinda way. The kitchens looked barely functional, with floors as grimy as the 7 train during a rain storm. There was peeling paint and wallpaper on the walls, water damage on the ceilings, and hard wood floors that looked like they might collapse. The garden hadn't been tended to in ages, and the basement seemed like a good setting for Hostel part 3.

Now in an age when all you hear on the news is about foreclosures and watch shows about how people across the country put in stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and throw in flat screen TVs to attract buyers, it amazed me how many folks were trolling this place with intense interest. It particularly amazed me because the sellers were asking 729K for this little moneypit of theirs! 729K!!!

Paul and I left shaking our heads, further cherishing our rent stabilized gardens apartment, and realizing now more than ever "the Manhattanites are coming!!" and that the only home we could probably afford sits somewhere in Cleveland!

Inside Sunnyside--New Neighborhood Website

Check out Inside Sunnyside dedicated to Sunnyside, with classifieds, photos, and a calendar of neighborhood events. Looks like they're open to suggestions.

TOPAZ ARTS OPEN HOUSE 12/1/07

TOPAZ ARTS’ 7th Annual OPEN HOUSE: “SEEN and UNSEEN”
Saturday, December 1, 2007, 3–6pm: free admission

TOPAZ ARTS announces its 7th Annual Open House on Saturday, December 1, 2007 from 3pm to 6pm. Now in its seventh season of providing programs andspace for the performing and visual arts, the multi-faceted arts center TOPAZ ARTS opens its doors for an afternoon of celebrations, featuring an exhibition of new work by visual artists Philip Brutz (stereoscopic photography) and Alan Ulrich (sculpture), an exclusive silent auction ofartwork by emerging and established artists, followed by the premiere of new poetry in performance “The Beauty of Ghosts” by Luis H. Francia at 6pm.

A feast for the arts and the community, the Open House event is free from 3-6pm and includes complimentary food and drink. The performance of The Beauty of Ghosts on Saturday, December 1 at 6pm and Sunday, December 2 at 3pm has a suggested admission of $10. TOPAZ ARTS is located at 55-03 39th Avenue in Woodside, Queens. Subway directions: #7-train to 61 St. or the R, V, G trains to Northern Blvd. Details and directions are available at www.topazarts.org.

A Park for Drunkards!

Say! I got an idea. Let's grab a coupla drinks and go hang out with the dirty bastards at Noonan park.

Tell Gioia - The Super Hero of Sunnyside all about it.

Where's My TV At?

In between the "a" and the "t," as my old English teacher might say.

Or gone into premature reruns because of the writers strike.

One of us is a WGAeast member hoping that our employers, collectively known as the AMPTP (the modifier "dastardly" is optional), come to their senses so we can go back to work.

Here's a video that explains why we are on strike:



And here's another video that tells you a little more about the AMPTP:

Wear Your Love For Queens--Or Eat It

Online vendor Queensbound emailed us to ask if we'd tell you about her online store, where she's selling t-shirts, tote bags, stickers, and chocolates emblazoned with an "I Heart Queens" logo. Designer Clara Elend lives in Sunnyside and has this to say about her work:

Much of my art is inspired by New York City, and particularly by Queens. This borough is full of diversity in its residents, architecture, landscape, and art. Often overlooked by outsiders, Queens and it's working class aesthetic inspires a love and loyalty in its residents. After living in Queens for three years and falling in love with it, I noticed that there were no cool, well-designed shirts about Queens. So I decided to make my own shirts and created Queensbound to pay homage to this kick-ass place.

These shirts are great for when you put the gang together for a rumble down at Newtown Creek with some Soc's wearing Greenpoint neighborhoodies.

Zog Sports Winter League Sign Up

After a great fall season in Queens with our Touch Football and Outdoor Soccer leagues, ZogSports is back with Dodgeball and 3-on-3 Basketball in Astoria this winter. ZogSports, the charity-focused, social, co-ed sports league for young professionals in their 20s and 30s, is excited to bring even more members of the Queens community into ours!

ZogSports has spent the last four years helping young New Yorkers break the monotony of the typical day – work/gym/bar/home - by offering sports leagues, trips, social events, and volunteer opportunities. To date, they have brought together 33,000+ participants and given more than $290,000 to charity.

Participants can sign up as an entire team or as an individual/small group and we’ll place them on a team. Teammates get to know each other at the organized post-game happy hours at local bars.

Dodgeball

* Where: PS 235 Academy for New Americans (30-14 30th Street) in Astoria
* When: The league will begin the first week of January and runs through early-mid March. We play Tuesdays and Thursdays (about 1 game/week). All teams will play their games on a mix of nights and game times. Games start at 7:15, 8:15 and 9:15pm.
* What: It’s like you remember from elementary school, but we use Nerf-quality balls instead or hard rubber. It's 6 on 6 with at least 2 women on the court. Each "match" is round-robin, 4 games against 2 opponents. There will be 2 divisions of play: Players/Sorta Players and Casual/ Extremely Casual.

3-on-3 Basketball

* Where: PS 126 - Albert Shanker (31-51 21st Street) in Astoria
* When: Games will begin the first weekend of January and run through early April. The league will run on Saturday afternoons with games beginning from 12:00pm-4:00pm.
* What: Just like the name, it's 3-on-3 and you need at least 1 woman on the court at all times. You'll play a three-team round robin format. Each "match" is a 6-game round-robin, in which each team plays 4 11-minute games against 2 opponents (with sudden death overtime). The matches last 80 minutes. There will be 2 divisions of play: Players/Sorta Players and Casual/ Extremely Casual.

As a philanthropy-focused organization, ZogSports donates a portion of all proceeds to charity, and helps all participants Play For Your Cause by making donations to winning teams’ charities of choice. Teams have the opportunity to win both on the field as well as off, with awards given for Best Team Name, Best Team Spirit, and Best Happy Hour Team. ZogSports also partners with local charitable organizations to promote/co-sponsor their events, and organizes charity events of its own.

Traders Joe's in Under an Hour--No Kidding!

My friend Sarah and I took a trip to the new Forest Hills Trader Joe's today. Trader Joe's is always my first port of call when I travel to LA, for snack foods and Greek-style yogurt and frozen delights to keep me from spending money at the city's generally underwhelming restaurants (though they have us way beat on Mexican and sushi).

You might be thinking, what kind of crazy person goes to a new Trader Joe's on a Saturday afternoon? I mean, haven't we learned by now that weekend shopping in Queens can be a nightmare of epic proportions? I have never been more homicidal then the day the Target had no shopping carts on the third floor. None. Not a one.

But I'm here to tell a happy tale.

We got parking right away. The lot was crowded, but not overflowing.

Inside, it was a bit of a madhouse, but only because it seemed like everybody knew each other. Everybody was catching up with friends, happy to have bumped into them next to the whole wheat pasta or while reaching for the same box of pluots. Such a far cry from the outright hostility from other customers that you routinely encounter at Pathmark. (And I am the worst of sinners in this regard.)

The aisles are a bit cramped, but it can't really be helped--there are some structural pillars that block your way. Best strategy is to park your cart at the end of the aisle, where there is plenty of room, and walk up and down.

The selection is just as marvelous as I'd hoped, and I had to work really hard to keep within my budget. Wesley urged me "don't spend too much money." Not difficult, because unlike Whole Foods, Trader Joe's is known for reasonable pricing. I bought some freezer meals that will be great after the baby shows up (any day now).

I finished shopping before Sarah, because she was not operating under the same unreasonable budgetary constraints as I was. Plus, she likes to read the labels looking for low sodium and superfoods. So I finished before her. There was room by the manager's office for me to hang out and be out of the way. I asked a manager if he minded if I sat on the floor (oh, my aching back!). And do you know what he did? He got me a freaking chair, people. Like, with a back and everything. If you've ever been pregnant in Queens you know how rare it is to get any special treatment--like a seat on the subway.

We sailed through check out and were waited on by very friendly, cheerful check out clerks and baggers. And you will not believe what happened next. Did you know that they have an employee in the parking lot to help you put your bags in the car and to return your shopping cart? So you don't have to? I have never heard of such a thing.

We left the parking lot smiling. And back at home, Wesley and I at the shit out of some Trader Joe's chocolate chip cookies.

Flashy Video about Forest Hills

A little fluff piece about Forest Hills that was sent to us:



How much does it reflect the reality of the neighborhood? It seems to be downplaying or ignoring any Queens-ness in favor of praising luxe condo life and mall stores...

Nourished on the Boulevard

Just made my second visit to Nourish NYC, Sunnyside's new alternative to schlepping things home from Whole Body.

The store is beautifully designed, with a restful, spa-like atmosphere and the kind of selection that makes a natural/organic-junkie like myself swoon. I spent a little more than I intended but felt the pricing was appropriate.

Owner Claire Carson lives in Sunnyside and was very helpful when I stopped by today to stock up on prenatal vitamins and a calcium supplement. She really wants to hear from people in the neighborhood about what products you want to be able to buy without using your Metrocard or paying shipping fees.

There's a juice bar that also offers a selection of organic teas that I'm interested in trying.

It's a welcome (if luxurious) addition to the neighborhood. I hope for peaceful coexistence with the more downmarket health food store just up the street.