By Kim Velsey 5/15 4:14pm

Brooklyn Vs. Queens

We hear a lot of people are thinking about moving there. (flickr, whiskeygonebad)

Brownstoner Queen’s New Editor Is Not Moving To Queens, But He’s Thinking About It

A few weeks ago, word got out that Brownstoner, the real estate blog that has not only chronicled, but embodied so many of the things that have transformed Brooklyn in the last decade (founder Jonathan Butler also started Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg), would be launching a new site: Brownstoner Queens.

“Certainly from the real estate market’s perspective, momentum has been building,” Mr. Butler told the Daily News when Brownstoner announced the new site. “As Brooklyn becomes more out of reach, more and more people will be looking at Queens.”

But how, exactly, would the site’s super Brooklyn-y ethos translate to Queens? (A colleague quipped that it should be called vinylsider.) When we learned that Roland Li, who has written for this paper’s pink pages and The Wall Street Journal, would be editing the site, we called him up to chat about his plans for Brownstoner Queens and the borough of Queens versus the borough of Kings. Read More

By Stephen Jacob Smith 4/26 5:37pm

Under Development

The site is currently made up of vacant lots and underused industrial structures.

Astoria Cove Unleashed: 1,535 New Homes Proposed at Halletts Point

The Halletts Point redevelopment proposal to bring 2,644 apartments to a forlorn peninsula of the Queens waterfront has been in the works for three years, but now a different developer is throwing its hat into the ring.

The vaguely-named 2030 Astoria Developers LLC submitted an early application to the Department of City Planning today to rezone another smaller chunk of Halletts Point. They’re calling the project Astoria Cove and they want to build another 1,535 housing units—a combination of townhouses and apartments—on a site overlooking Pot Cove in Astoria, with a pristine view of the Queens leg of the Triborough (RFK) Bridge. Twenty percent of the project, or about 340 units, would be set aside for affordable housing. Read More

By Colin Campbell 11/03/12 10:56am

restoration

Click to enlarge or click here for the full .PDF

Some Subways Now Go to Lower Manhattan

At a press conference at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan this morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo and MTA Chairman Joe Lhota announced most subway service in New York City will be returned by the end of the day. Notably for some commuters from Queens and Brooklyn, trains will now be traveling into Manhattan for the first time since before Hurricane Sandy struck last week.

“In literally under one week, 80% of the subway service has been restored from what was horrendous damage, and the worst damage the subway system had ever seen,” Mr. Cuomo said. “So that is just a great, great job. The service between Brooklyn and Queens and Manhattan is being restored immediately. The 4, 5, 6 and 7 trains will immediately begin to run. The F, J, D [and] M will run later this afternoon. The Staten Island Railway will have limited service beginning later today.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 11/02/12 10:50pm

true crime

Courtesy, Professionalism and Raincoats. (Getty)

A Sandy Silver Lining? Still No Murders After the Superstorm

One of the few bright spots to Hurricane Sandy, besides a new found appreciation for a subway system we too often loathe, is that crime is down, and according to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, there have been no homicides since the storm hit the city Monday night.

“We’ve had no murders for three days,” Commissioner Kelly told reporters today inside the portico of City Hall, following the mayor’s afternoon press briefing.  ”And we’ve also had a reduction in domestic violence.” Read More

By The Editors 10/02/12 8:06pm

Editorials

Quit Horsing Around

The thoroughbred scene will move from Belmont to Aqueduct in a few weeks, and racing will continue through the winter at the newly renovated racino in Queens. What happened at Aqueduct last winter must not be repeated, and it is up to the state to make sure that it isn’t.  Read More

By Steve Huff 9/08/12 12:44pm

Bad weather

A twister strikes in Queens. (Screengrab from Roy Currlin's storm video)

Updated: A Tornado Strikes in Queens [Video]

Heavy weather like tornadoes isn’t as common in New York and points north as it is in the Midwest and the South, but it looks as though this Saturday may be an exception. The National Weather Service has already issued multiple severe thunderstorm and tornado watches and warnings for New York and New England.

If you’re skeptical about the possibility of twisters in New York (all the boroughs have had their share of such severe weather, but they’re not going to give Oklahoma City a run for its money any time soon), Youtube user Roy Currlin’s nearly 6-minute video of an apparent tornado blasting through a neighborhood in Queens late Saturday morning may give you some pause: Read More

By Kim Velsey 8/14/12 7:40pm

The Dead

The resting place may remain at rest. (Queens Time Ledger)

Landmarking Saves Queens Cemetery From Becoming A Housing Development

We thought that the scene at the end of Poltergeist, where the dad yells at the real estate developer after unspeakable horrors are visited upon his family, would be enough to deter any housing developer from building over a cemetery.

But apparently the words: “You son of a bitch! You moved the cemetery, but you left the bodies, didn’t you?” did not have a lasting effect on the series of owners who have tried to develop a colonial-era Queens graveyard. Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/03/12 5:40pm

Walmart Wars

Walmart strikes out once again. (Related Companies)

Just How Desperate Is Walmart to Open in New York—And Have They Lost All Their Allies?

The press release came in even before The Observer had seen the initial report that prompted it.

“We have not had any talks with Walmart about a location at Willets Point and we have absolutely no intention of discussing this site with them,” the email statement read.

Who knew! And yet it made perfect sense, as the company has been looking for any opening imaginable in the city. Read More

By Drew Grant 7/31/12 1:57pm

Music

Video

Sing a song about the G, get sent to Sweden! (Brooklyn Brewery)

Songs in the Key of G (Train)

The G train gets a bad rap sometimes. Residents of Brooklyn and Queens often grumble about the train’s sporadic service, long waits, lack of weekend service, and its general uselessness. But there’s at least one champion of the G out there (which will be extending its service thanks to the MTA’s new budget allotment), and they want you to show your love as well.

The Williamsburg beer factory/garden Brooklyn Brewery is holding a contest for songsmiths to pen a tune about their experience riding the green rails, which, as they point out, is statistically a pretty decent train. The winning band will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Sweden, where the hops palace has teamed up with Debaser to hold the first ever Brooklyn music festival in Stockholm. (Why? Who knows.) Read More