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

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.

The Observer: What are your thoughts on covering Queens and what are some of the things that you'll be focusing on?

Mr. Li: I think it’s pretty under covered compared to Brooklyn. There’s definitely a lot of activity happening in Long Island City and Willets Point with Related. I think the question of affordable housing is really a central issue in the borough. You have a lot of neighborhoods that seem to be going through transition. We'll be going to community board meetings, visiting new developments, going to restaurant openings. I'm hoping it will be a source for data and real man-on-the-street reporting.

The Observer: What is your relationship to Queens right now?

Mr. Li: I’ve been living in the city for more than 7 years now and like a lot of people, I don’t go to Queens enough. I visit PS1 and I grew up in Westchester, so we would go to Flushing to get groceries once a month. I think it will be really cool to chart its evolution. A lot of the Brooklyn stuff is so over covered, it’s kind of fatiguing at this point.

The Observer: What do you think some of the recurring issues and themes will be in that evolution?

Mr. Li: Well, with Long Island City, we're definitely seeing more luxury projects. There's a lot of investment in the neighborhood. A lot of the land is built out in Manhattan and Brooklyn, so more and more people are moving there and you see rents going up and inventory going down. I know a lot of people who can't afford neighborhood rents.

The Observer: Do you think Queens will ever be as desirable or as hip as Brooklyn? Is it capable of becoming the kind of global brand that Brooklyn has become?

Mr. Li: I think with Brooklyn, the art scene played a huge part in shaping what it became. There were a ton of bands coming out of Williamsburg, there were galleries. It's hard to compare the two directly. Queens is one of the most ethnically diverse places in the world, it has a lot of cultural destinations and restaurants, but it's hard to see those things coalescing around a single brand.

The Observer: When does the site launch?

Mr. Li: May 20.

The Observer: That's soon! You don't live in Queens now—are you planning to move?

Mr: Li: I live in Williamsburg, but if I could find a sweet place, I would be open to moving when my lease is up. A lot of my friends live in Astoria, so I would definitely consider that. I also think that Jackson Heights is pretty cool. But for now I'll be biking—it's not too long of a ride to Long Island City—and taking the dreaded G train.

This interview has been condensed for your reading pleasure.

Massing diagram of the Astoria Cove project, from the environmental assessment statement.

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.

The site sits on Halletts Point, the bulbous peninsula on the Astoria waterfront right above Roosevelt Island.

When asked about the identify of those behind the LLC, Sean Crowley, the lobbyist who's representing the developers and is the brother of Congressman Joe Crowley, told The Observer, "I'd rather not speak for them at the moment."

"The buildings located along the waterfront," reads the environmental assessment statement, "would have base heights between 80 to 100 feet that would be topped with towers ranging in height from 120 to 300 feet," with the buildings further inland topping out at around 80 feet.

In addition to opening up the waterfront—with about twice the 20 feet of space required by the Department of City Planning, according the developer's lobbyist—the builder is also planning to leave room for a 456-seat public elementary school, and "is exploring providing shuttle service for residents during the weekday a.m. and p.m. peak hours to and from the 30th Avenue station serving the N and Q lines." (The proposed development is about three-quarters of a mile from the nearest train station.)

Contacted by The Observer this afternoon, Councilman Peter Vallone, who represents Astoria, said that he hasn't yet thrown his support behind even the first project. The project, he said, "came in at almost twice the size they are now, so for years we've been working to whittle it down to something that's economically feasible for them."

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

"That peninsula needs development," Mr. Vallone said, "and can't be left as it is. It has dilapidated warehouses on the waterfront. People on the peninsula have no bank, no supermarket." The developers are planning to build 117,000 square feet of retail, including a 25,000-square foot supermarket.

"But the problem," Mr. Vallone continued, "is that both of these projects are going to be very large, and until I get commitments from the city"—on transportation infrastructure, especially—“I can't support them."

He did, however, acknowledge the economic realities of development in the city. “If they can't come in big," he said, "they're not coming in."

Click to enlarge or click here for the full .PDF

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."

According to the MTA website:

 service will operate between Woodlawn and New Lots Ave operating as an express in Manhattan only.

 service will operate between Eastchester/Dyre Ave and Flatbush as an express in Manhattan only.

 service will operate between Pelham Bay and Brooklyn Bridge as a local

 Flushing Line service will operate full local service between Main St – Flushing and 42^nd St – Times Square.

Staten Island Railway (SIR) will operate limited hourly service between St. George and Tottenville.

Courtesy, Professionalism and Raincoats. (Getty)

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."

The commissioner was perhaps choosing his words carefully, saying no murders in three days (not counting Friday it would seem), because there was one murder, still unsolved and even unexplained, that happened Monday night just as the storm was hitting the city. The Times' crime columnist Michael Wilson published the remarkable details of the incident just today.

Commissioner Kelly explained that these things are to be expected, though, as with any natural disaster. "It’s a phenomena we’ve seen before, where there’s bad weather, where there’s any sort of major catastrophe, then crime seems to go down," the commissioner said. "We’ve had a 34 percent reduction in crime over this week."

But that does not go for all types of crimes "We’ve seen a certain increase in burglaries in certain areas of the city," the commissioner said. Those reports were mostly in Staten Island and southern Queens, two of the areas hardest hit by the storms.

The commissioner said he had yet to see similar reports for downtown Manhattan, which has been without power up until tonight, a pronouncement that surprised some reporters. But the commissioner than acknowledged that it may not be that those crimes have not happened but simply that they have not been reported, given the situation downtown.

"There may be a latent effect in terms reporting, people may not be in a position to report it, they may not be aware of it," the commissioner said.

But at least for now it's nice to hope/pretend that everyone was on their best behavior downtown during the storm.

As The New York Times revealed in an eye-opening investigation of thoroughbred racing locally and throughout the nation, horses are dropping dead on the track in appalling numbers. The Times inquiry sparked a state investigation of the industry in New York. The probe found evidence of the worst sort of greed and lax enforcement of safety regulations. Twenty-one horses died on the track at Aqueduct during last winter’s meet. Investigators concluded that 11 of those animals would not have died if the state properly regulated medication and if racing authorities did not allow less-than-stellar horses to compete for casino-inflated purses.

The New York Racing Association runs the tracks and oversees, if that’s the right word, the sport’s rules and regulations. But it has become clear that NYRA has been poorly managed and operated in the best interests of horse owners. Gov. Cuomo already has instituted a series of reforms aimed at toughening regulation, but the state report shows that even more aggressive action is needed.

Ironically, greater government oversight is required in part because of the growth of racetrack casinos, or racinos. The horse industry begged state officials to allow slots and table games at some racetracks to supplement purses and to get people to the track at a time of rapidly declining attendance. Revenue from the racinos has led to inflated purses, which has led to many of the abuses cited in the state report. Owners, trainers and others involved in the industry have added incentive to get horses on the track, regardless of their health or talent.

The result: carnage on tracks around the country. Horses that should not be running because of injury or because they’re simply not very fast have been marched out to the track and have broken down and died. Of course, horses aren’t the only species put in danger by greed and mismanagement. Jockeys put their lives on the line every time they get in the saddle—it’s remarkable that more of them haven’t been killed or seriously injured as a result of spills.

Government regulation is not always the best remedy for an industry in crisis. Indeed, it is often the worst remedy. But the sad condition of New York racing demands prompt and aggressive action from state officials.

There can be no more carnage on New York’s racetracks.

Since the board rejected the plaza, which would have cost $75,000 to install, the location will be receiving three smaller, but permanent, curb extensions at a cost of $400,000. The project could begin as soon as spring 2013. Legally, community boards serve only an advisory role, but DOT representatives said at the start of the meeting that the agency would not install the plaza if the community board voted against it.

[...]

Meanwhile, local business representatives urged the board to reject the plaza outright. Thomas Anderson of Key Food said the plaza would “eliminate convenient access to our store” and “potentially threaten our viability.” A DOT study of Key Food shoppers showed that 90 percent arrive on foot or by transit. In a line of argument that was repeated by other speakers, Anderson said the plaza would “act as a magnet for undesirable elements.”

Undesirable elements, eh? Compare this to the changes brought about by a new plaza in nearby Corona and then tell us what the desirable outcome is.

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

breezy point tornado ? 9-08-12 - YouTube.

Mr. Currlin's succinct video description notes the twister occurred in Breezy Point and said the most dramatic portion of the video--around 2:25 in--is the tornado striking the Breezy Point Surf Club before moving on.

Twitter user Zack Rosenthal may have captured one of the more striking stills of the same tornado, posting the image on Instagram and indicating he was in Brooklyn/Queens area at the time:

#tornado on the belt parkway. insaneeeeinstagr.am/p/PUbawtJKxG/

— Zack Rosenthal (@Zack12Rose) September 8, 2012

Tornado near the Belt Parkway (Zack Rosenthal)

NY1 reports the F.D.N.Y. is in Queens at the scene of the strike and that there are power lines down and damage to trees in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

The National Weather Service issued an alert Saturday morning for possible severe weather from Connecticut up through Southern New Hampshire.

All boroughs were under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. Saturday.

UPDATE: A second Youtube user captured a twister in the water, striking Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn:

It is likely the same storm, as Gerritsen Beach is due north of the Breezy Point Surf Club.

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

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.

Fortunately, after years of advocacy by local residents and preservation advocates, Brinckerhoff Cemetery has earned a rare graveyard designation from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, according to the New York Daily News.

The commission noted research showing maps of graves and archival photos of headstones in the Fresh Meadows plot. Prominent Dutch settlers were interred at the site between 1730 and 1872.

“There is enormous interest and community support for this designation,” Commission Chairman Robert Tierney said of the decision.

The property is privately owned by a company called Linda’s CAI Trading. As Curbed notes, early settlers in the area were faced with an abundance of Dutch names when deciding what to call the burial yard as it occupied an acre and a half on the border of the Brinckerhoff-Skidmore-Schleider and Noorstrandt-Hendrickson-Purdy-Eisdeman farms.

kvelsey@observer.com

Walmart strikes out once again. (Related Companies)

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.

The Daily News had heard from two Queens pols that had been contacted by Walmart about potentially supporting one of the big box retailer's outlets at the recently announced Mets Mega Mall.

“They were looking at Willets Point as a possibility for a new site in New York,” said one elected official, who asked not to be named, but said he is opposed to the idea.

Another elected official, who also did not want to be named, said the company had been courting support.

Nothing new here. Walmart has been desperate to open up an outpost in the five boroughs since its efforts in 2006 were thwarted at the City Council, and starting two years ago, the big box boogeyman seriously began to ramp up those efforts, most notably trying to plant itself at the Related Company's Gateway Center development in East New York, where the company could build as-of-right.

But following gaffes here and elsewhere and the notorious bribery incident in Mexico, the efforts have grown more difficult.

Now, even Walmart's staunchest backers seem to want nothing to do with the company. For starters, Related, along with their Willets partners the Wilpons, have disavowed any involvement with the company in building a Queens outpost. The rest of their unexpected statement reads:

There have been and will be no negotiations, they are simply not a part of our plan to build an enclosed retail and entertainment destination at Willets Point, that will bring much needed jobs and economic activity to the area and lead to the development of a new neighborhood.

Those are pretty emphatic words, but they also make a good bit of sense. The rejiggered project has already drawn criticism from a number of corners, does it really need more?

What is also surprising is that the City's Economic Development Corporation, the lead agency behind the project, and the mayor's pro-business attack dog, has distanced itself from Walmart at Willets, as well. An EDC spokesman told Gothamist, "These reports are absolutely without merit. There have been no discussions between the developer and WalMart."

This is in stark contrast to the mayor's previous statements about the company, when hizzoner strongly endorsed Walmart coming here.

He still clearly holds these views even as his underlings at EDC deflect them, at least in one corner of the city. On his weekly radio show today, Mayor Bloomberg reiterated Walmart's rights to open in the five boroughs: "As long as they don’t break any laws, we should not, government, the City Council included, should not be out there criticizing because all that says is to other companies that might want to locate here, you know, ‘What do I need that aggravation for? Who knows if they turn on me?’"

The mayor went on to tick off the various causes Walmart supports, from responsible gun ownership to the United Negro College Fund. He also pointed out that numerous New Yorkers cross city lines to shop at Walmart stores in Nassau County and New Jersey—a point echoed by a Walmart spokesman in an email to The Observer: "New Yorkers went out of their way to spend more than $215 million at Walmart in 2011."

Still, if the rumors of Walmart's "stealth" entreaties to Queens pols for political backing is true, it demonstrates just how desperate the firm's situation has grown.

When the company turned up again two years ago, The Observer predicted it would attempt the same divide and conquer tactics it used to open a store in Chicago not long ago. But almost the entire political class, with the exception of the mayor, has vocally opposed Walmart. This includes every would-be mayoral candidate. It is now or never for the company, and even that may not be enough. That bouncing smiley face may never alight on our fair city.

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

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.)

The official deadline for entry was July 24th (sorry!), but you can still vote on the ten finalists over on the Brewery's Facebook page. Tomorrow is the last day to pick your favorite, so get on this: the songs range from like Matthew Meyer's indie ballad "G Ode," which chronicles the trials of commuting "from a train to a bus," to the auto-tuned "I'll Wait For You" (Get it? Because the train is so slow?)

But our personal favorite is Teen Commandments' "No Burning Headlights," which took a time machine to steal the glam-rock vocals from David Bowie and coupled it with the synth  guy from Echo and the Bunnymen.

http://youtu.be/kP4qNsJLP9E