QUEENS
New York Mets, Flushing faithful were love at first sight NL East races that start every spring ...
by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor
It is no small irony that if the New York Mets’ first owner had her way, the beloved team might have never come into existence.
Joan Payson, a minority owner of the New York Giants, voted against principal owner Horace Stoneman’s uprooting the team and heading to California in 1958 with Walter O’Malley’s Brooklyn Dodgers.
Major League Baseball loved expanding west of St. Louis, but knew the National League needed to return to the Big Apple.
Payson become the first woman to own a major league club, and the New York Mets were born in 1962. Their uniforms even incorporated the Giants’ orange interlocking NY on Dodger blue caps.
Flushing faithful
Maureen Ruggiero of Maspeth is a lifelong Queens resident and Met fan. She told the Chronicle that her children are as well.
“We go there about three times year,” Ruggiero said. “I grew up as a Mets fan because I grew up in Queens, in Middle Village.
When she was younger she and her family loved Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza, like many fans at the time. As they got older they liked electric shortstop Jose Reyes.
Excellent choices, as the two combined for 10 All-Star selections as Mets, and both still sit at or near the top of numerous career offensive categories in the club’s record books.
“I think we’ve always loved the Mets because they’re very family-oriented, very fan-friendly,” Ruggiero said. “That’s why we
always go with the kids. They’re all about children. That’s the way I’ve always felt.”
She was about as old as her 7-year-old son, Max, when she attended her first game, and has only one regret from her childhood visits.
“We loved the T-shirt toss as kids, but we never got anything.”
The family drives or take the train. Ballpark food is largely divided along generational lines.
“I always get a hot dog, but my kids love the chicken fingers,” she said. They can find common ground on nachos, though Ruggiero has found another favorite.
“The pastrami sandwiches are good!”
And what would Ruggiero say about the Mets to try and convince a Yankees fan to switch allegiances?
“They’re just the best!”
Lovable losers
The 2024 Chicago White Sox, whose 121 losses broke the expansion Mets’ modern record of 120, were only bad.
Casey Stengel’s 1962 Mets were comically so.
“Been in this game 100 years, but I see new ways to lose ’em I never knew existed before,” The Ol’ Professor was heard to say.
The team was cobbled together from pasttheir-prime veterans and castoffs left unprotected in the expansion draft after the 1961 season. There were a lot of old Brooklyn Dodgers, including Gil Hodges, Charley Neal, Don Zimmer and Roger Craig.
Hodges, formerly a slick-fielding slugger and future Hall of Famer, would be destined to turn the franchise around after his playing days, largely with a little bit of luck and a name literally picked out of a hat.
Mets fans’ favorite things
• Tom Seaver
• The Miracle Mets
• “THE BALL GETS BY BUCKNER ...”
• Doc and Darryl
• The Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter and Mike Piazza trades.
• Piazza’s post-9/11 home run
• Johan Santana’s no-hitter
• The 1962 Mets
• Ya’ Gotta Believe!
• Francisco Lindor
• Bud Harrelson vs. Pete Rose
• Banner Day
Mets fans’ least favorite things
• The Midnight Massacre
• The 2000 World Series
• Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi
• Fred Wilpon
• Chipper Jones-Chase Utley (tie)
• The Bobby Bonilla contract
• MadduxGlavineSmoltz
• Jim Qualls (if you know, you know)
• M. Donald Grant
• Seaver on short rest, Game 6
The turnround
If the Atlanta Braves have tormented the Mets for decades, it is, perhaps, payback for taking away one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, and the greatest Met of all time.
In 1966, The Braves signed a University of Southern California righthander to a contract, only to have it voided as Atlanta had improperly signed him after the USC season had begun. But having signed a pro contract, he was no longer eligible to play college ball.
The Mets, Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies, who all agree to match the terms of the Braves contract, were put into a hat.
rific, or simply The Franchise, sits outside Citi Field in his retired No. 41 uniform and his classic drop-and-drive delivery the grim determination of a master craftsman on his face.
Bad trades
Amos Otis to the Royals for Joe Foy was bad. Nolan Ryan to the Angels for Jim Fregosi was far worse. And Rusty Staub to the Tigers for a fading Mickey Lolich didn’t help.
METS
HISTORY
In their first lucky break as a franchise, the Mets signed Tom Seaver.
He would go on to win Rookie of the Year and later three Cy Young awards and obliterate the team record book. He formed a solid 1-2 punch with lefty Jerry Koosman that served notice of twhe Mets’ arrival in 1969, as they came from nowhere to win the pennant and humble the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. The club returned to the fall classic in 1973, falling to the Oakland Athletics in seven games.
A statue of the man known as Tom Ter-
Then at the 1976 trading deadline, team President M. Donald Grant, making his salary dispute with Seaver personal, shipped the star to the Cincinnati Reds for four players who were useful to very good — but none were the Franchise. That same night Grant sent slugger Dave Kingman to the Padres for spare parts that included future manager Bobby Valentine for good measure.
The team would be ensconced in the National League East basement for the better part of decade.
Good trades
But things would turn around. In 1983 some stable veterans — Seaver returned for
New York Mets fandom is a family thing for Max Shornick, 7, of Maspeth, here cheering along with thousands at Citi Field last September in a photo taken by his mom.
PHOTO BY MAUREEN RUGGIERO
Tom Seaver authored Mets and baseball history in Shea Stadium. FILE PHOTO
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Residents talk their favorite, go-to pizza spots Slices of heaven around Queens
by Kristen Guglielmo Editor
We’ve all been there — hungry, on the move and craving something quick. What’s better than a perfect New York slice? It’s a no-frills masterpiece: dough, sauce, cheese and sometimes a little extra pizzazz from your favorite toppings.
As all New Yorkers know, when it comes to pizza, we’ve got the crown. In Queens, residents are spoiled with endless options for curbing their cravings for a slice.
In Howard Beach, many flock to New Park Pizza, at 156-71 Cross Bay Blvd., for what they dub the greatest slice in the area. It was even featured on the Queens edition of the Monopoly board game.
“It’s the best,” resident Tony Marucci told the Chronicle outside the shop one recent afternoon. “I have pizzerias closer to my house, but I don’t mind driving 15 minutes to come here for a couple slices.”
Many other families offered a similar opinion, citing a combination of the thin, salty crust, the slightly sweet sauce and the gooey cheese as what makes New Park stand out.
The pizzeria has been a beloved fixture of the Howard Beach community for nearly 68 years.
“My dad passed away when I was like, 19, and myself and my sisters took over since then,” Janet Sarrica, one of the owners of New Park, told the Chronicle. Her grandfather and father started the family business.
Asked what sets New Park aside
from the competition, Sarrica said the gas-infused brick oven.
“It gets extremely hot, and it can cook a pie in three minutes,” she said. “And you know, of course, our dough recipe that’s been the same for 68 years.”
Asked if there are any trends at the pizzeria, Sarrica said the key is to order a slice well-done.
“That’s what most people enjoy,” she said. “It seems to be the general consensus.”
“I like pepperoni and extra cheese,” said 11-year-old Lilianna S. while out to lunch with her family one recent afternoon. Her mother told the Chronicle that the family does not live in Queens, but stopped in one day after landing at nearby JFK Airport and have repeatedly returned.
While the pizza world is everchanging, New Park opts to keep things basic and stick to its core offerings.
“It’s like that saying — ‘do one thing and do it right,’” Sarrica said.
She continued, “We’re familyowned, and we’re very neighborhood-oriented. If we could be open 24/7, we would. ... We rely on our neighborhood, as it’s kept us successful through the years.”
While New Park stays busy while sticking to traditional slices and toppings, other restaurants attract visitors with unique flavors.
In Central Queens, residents head to Kew Gardens for Dani’s House of Pizza, at 81-28 Lefferts Blvd. The pizzeria, founded in 1959 by Ramiz Dani, is known for its signature sweet red sauce, but
offers other Italian plates as well.
Joe DiStefano, who penned the book, “111 Places in Queens That You Must Not Miss,” is partial to the restaurant’s pesto slice, which swaps out its sweet red sauce for the green, herby pesto sauce.
“The pesto slice is amazing and gets a crunchy, cracker-like texture,” DiStefano, who has been dubbed the “Culinary King of Queens,” told the Chronicle.
Another resident, Macy Batista, said she also enjoys the pesto slice — but opts to put Dani’s sweet
sauce on top.
“I also slather it in Mike’s Hot Honey,” Batista said. “It’s a perfect mix of sweet, spicy and savory.”
Others recommended Philomena’s Pizza, at 41-16 Queens Blvd. in Sunnyside.
“Dave Acocella is a true dough nerd,” DiStefano said in an email. “The round and the square each have a unique and lengthy fermentation process. The squares are super light, and in addition to being topped with things like pepperoni, he has an amazing potato square slice, plus he’s got a lot of cool round pies and slices like the Lindor, named for the Mets player.”
a Ridgewood staple since 1968, according to Sal, the owner. He and a partner jumped on board around 9 years ago, he said, and have worked to innovate its offerings, which consist of unique slices, homemade pasta and other Italian dishes.
“Our most popular slice is either the vodka slice or the upside-down Sicilian, for sure,” Sal told the Chronicle.
LOCAL FAVORITES
Lucia Pizza, at 36-55 Roosevelt Ave. in Flushing, like Dani’s House of Pizza, landed a spot on the New York Times’ “25 Best Pizza Places in New York Right Now” list.
Patrizio M. said he likes that Philomena’s plain slices are always hot and crispy.
“I’ve been known to enjoy a square potato slice every now and then,” he added. “But plain is always my go-to.”
Ridgewood resident Natasha Miller said her all-time favorite pizzeria is Joe and John’s, at 59-10 Myrtle Ave.
“There’s always something new and fun and innovative,” Miller said. “I love the vodka slice, and my mom goes for a plain or a veggie slice.”
Joe and John’s Pizzeria has been
“I grew up in Flushing, and I can personally say that Lucia Pizza has been my favorite slice since I was a little girl,” said Councilwoman Sandra Ung (D-Flushing) in a statement. She presented a citation to the shop’s owner, Mark Sawari, to celebrate the recognition. “Lucia Pizza has been a wonderful reminder of our neighborhood’s rich history and its incredible diversity.”
Nigel Chin of Flushing said he stops at Lucia whenever he needs to go to the nearby H-Mart for grocery shopping.
“It’s counterintuitive to buy pizza when I’m getting groceries,” Chin said. “But who can resist a slice?” Q
New Park Pizza, at 156-71 Cross Bay Blvd. in Howard Beach, is a go-to spot for many area residents when craving a classic, thin New York slice. PHOTO COURTESY NEW PARK PIZZA / FACEBOOK
Joe and John’s, at 59-10 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood, is known for it’s upside down Sicilian slice, left; and Dani’s House of Pizza, at 81-28 Lefferts Blvd. in Kew Gardens, is known for its sweet sauce, which can be put on top of a pesto slice with hot honey.
Subways in Queens: The good, bad, historic and iconic Standing clear through the years
by Stephanie G. Meditz Associate Editor
Subway operator Larry Crowley of Middle Village went to work on Sept. 11, 2001 to drive none other than the E train, which runs from Jamaica to the World Trade Center.
The Twin Towers already had fallen, but Crowley said Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees worked hard to keep service going after a brief shutdown.
“There was a lot of leaving the terminal and having no idea where I was going,” he told the Chronicle. “I didn’t know where I was gonna end up.”
running.
While Queens has its fair share of busy thoroughfares, Crowley said roads would be far more congested without the subway.
“If all those people on the train were in a car, then we wouldn’t be able to move anywhere,” he said. “All the roads would be backed up all the time.”
The first subway ride in New York City was on Oct. 27, 1904 on the island of Manhattan, when Queens was largely farmland and nowhere near as populated as it is now.
Where he ended up after that chaotic day of tragedy and rerouted trains was working for the MTA for another 20-plus years until recently retiring.
Subways — commuters love to hate them, but they keep Queens
In the 1890s, William Steinway of Steinway & Sons had “had it with the congestion,” New York Transit Museum Director Concetta Bencivenga told the Chronicle. Bencivenga said Steinway envisioned building a tunnel into Queens and creating a company town for his piano manufacturing operations.
Retired MTA operator and Middle Village resident Larry Crowley, above, worked on the E line the day of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. He drove trains for more than 20 years after that.
Though construction on the Steinway Tunnel did not conclude at that time, things changed after the first subway ride.
“You know that the subway is
going to be a going endeavor, and it was just off to the races,” Bencivenga said.
August Belmont Jr., the original subway’s financier, was friends with
Steinway and knew about the tunnel, she said. Construction was completed in 1907.
“Then, the 7 line is the first line that is constructed in Queens,” she said. “What’s amazing about the 7 line is that those are some of the very first planned communities in the United States.”
The 7 line runs through several Queens neighborhoods, including Jackson Heights, Long Island City, Woodside and Flushing.
Today’s subway system is a combination of three separate ones that merged in 1940, with the 7 being an Interborough Rapid Transit train and letter trains belonging to the Independent Subway System.
Fittingly, the subway cars that took attendees to and from the 1938 World’s Fair were painted orange and blue, the state’s colors that later would come to signify the New York Mets, for many.
PHOTO continued on page 10
MOVING FORWARD
By 1964, people traveling to the
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is proud to be named one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals by Healthgrades
Serving our patients and the community in a way that is second to none
The subways
continued from page 8
World’s Fair from all over took Redbird train cars painted a distinct shade of robin’s egg blue specifically for that purpose, Bencivenga said. One may visit nytransitmuseum.org to learn more history.
Passengers United President Charlton D’souza of Queens Village said older trains could make passengers feel like they were getting on the railroad.
“The newer trains, they look nice, but they don’t have that feel ... you didn’t mind the delays because you were a bit more comfortable,” D’souza said.
Transportation advocate, historian and writer Larry Penner, who served for 31 years in U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office, said you could even get bubble gum for a penny at subway stations during the ’60s. Modernity is not so bad, though.
Up until MetroCards were introduced in the ’90s, riders had to pay two separate fares to transfer between a bus and the subway, Penner said. Riders before the ‘60s had to pay an extra 15 cents to take the subway past Broad Channel to visit the Rockaways, a long trip from Flushing Main Street that he said was well worth it.
But a single-fare trip to the beach is not the only upgrade that modern commuters enjoy during the summer.
“I don’t know how people went to work in three-piece suits in 80-, 90-degree weather in
the subway when all you had was overhead fans,” said Penner, who lives in Great Neck, Long Island.
Queens residents can also take a variety of subway routes to get around town — if one line is down, there’s usually another that can pick up the slack.
“I think in Queens, we get a pretty good deal because you have multiple choices,” Penner said. “If there’s a problem going through Manhattan on the no. 7 subway, I could take a bus over to Hillside Avenue and take the E or the F into Manhattan.”
Crowley said people are able to move from Manhattan to Queens thanks to the subway — his parents moved from Hell’s Kitchen to Elmhurst because his father’s job in Manhattan was accessible via train.
Subways can move faster than express buses, D’Souza said, since congestion on busy streets such as Queens Boulevard does not affect them.
“Overall, I think service is pretty good, when you think about it. You don’t have to wait more than five or 10 minutes for a train, that’s pretty good,” Penner said, adding that the MTA is “pretty good” with updating its website if trains are delayed.
Everyone agrees there is still plenty of work to be done, though — D’souza lamented the subway’s less-than-stellar cleanliness and delays caused by anything from signal system errors to track interference.
A few E express trains run in the morning and evening, he said, but trains can sometimes move slowly or take long pauses at each stop.
“After about eight o’clock at night, good
luck on the E and F trains,” he said.
Penner said crime and cleanliness are challenges for commuters, in addition to a lack of bathrooms at most subway stations.
The transit authority’s signals are from before World War II, he said, with billions of dollars required to update them.
For Queens, “The only real assets built after World War II were an Archer Avenue extension and the 63rd Street tunnel extension,” Penner said, later adding the A line’s extension to the Rockaways in 1962. “Like a home ages, the subway system ages and a lot of the different components and assets have to be replaced.”
“When it’s good, it’s good and when it’s bad, it’s bad,” D’souza said.
Though riding the subway certainly comes with challenges, it’s not all bad.
For those who ride the M train over the Williamsburg Bridge on the way back to Ridgewood or Middle Village from Manhattan, the view of the skyline can make the whole ordeal worth it.
D’souza also said you can see the July 4 fireworks from the 7 train, calling it “the highlight of Queens” for the view it gives commuters.
“If you think about it, for $2.90, you can go from Manhattan to Queens Village,” he said. “The system works. I mean, it’s not everything we want, but when it works, it’s good.”
“Remember, in Washington DC and other transit systems, the cost per ride is based on distance,” Penner said. “In our system, I can get on at Main Street Flushing and ride the subway all the way to
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Bencivenga said remembering the history of the subway gives people of all ages a chance to connect with one another.
“Intergenerational amalgams of people will come in ... if there is an older person in that group, they will invariably say, and this should absolutely resonate with the people of Queens specifically, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s the first subway car I took when I came to this country,’” she said. “And so there is a way to kind of connect generations through the lens of transportation.”
“It’s sort of ingrained in us that the subway will take you from point A to point B,” Bencivenga said. “What none of us think about ... is actually, in many, many instances, the subway created point B.” Q
Many traveled to the 1964 World’s Fair via subway. PHOTO COURTESY NEW YORK TRANSIT MUSEUM
Venues give emerging artists the opening they need Queens music scene rocks on
by Owen Lavine Chronicle Contributor
From Louis Armstrong to the Ramones, from Run DMC to A Tribe Called Quest and many other big names, New York’s biggest borough has created, and continues to create, world-renowned musical acts.
The venues may be fewer and farther between than in some other boroughs, but there’s still a stage for every taste here. Any one of them could launch the next Queens musical icon.
The Shillelagh Tavern is one place that offers up-and-comers in the Queens music scene their first opportunity, according to court officer by day, bartender and band booker by night Rusty Cuohane.
Located on the corner of 48th Street and 30th Avenue, the Shillelagh Tavern is the oldest bar continuously operating under the same name in Astoria, dating back to 1925. However, according to Cuohane, it only became more than a watering hole in the early aughts.
the garage, we only heard him in the basement — it’s so nice to be able to come and see them play here.’”
With other venues collecting a percentage of the door fees, the Shillelagh has instead opted to give 100 percent to the bands. Cuohane said the bar also pays for the sound technicians; provides donated instruments so it’s not “like the Indy 500” for the next band to get set up after one leaves; and “depending on how the night goes,” serves up a drink or two.
And, while Cuohane said he is “not musically talented,” he certainly has an ear for up-and-comers like Blac Rabbit, the now-viral duo whom Cuohane gave one of their first gigs.
“These guys were in the train station trying to play and they wanted to just come here and play at the Shillelagh because they couldn’t afford a studio,” Cuohane reminisced. “We let them go in there and play and they respected the venue — I was able to facilitate some really good stuff.”
It all started with Cuohane picking up the Tuesday shift behind the bar and introducing the city to the “Worst Open Mic in Astoria” which, he said, “started the snowball effect.”
“The front would be packed and then the whole back room would be packed,” Cuohane added. “I can’t tell you how many mothers, fathers, grandmothers, uncles, would come in, and they would be like, ‘You know, we only listen to them play in
Since then, the two have toured, made an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and put out several albums.
“I still have the text message ... saying, ‘Thank you so much for letting [us] play,’” Cuohane said. “It was such a great night.”
On Nov. 24, the Shillelagh will host Rafael Carrasquillo for a solo performance combining Moog, piano and theremin. Nov. 27, like every Wednesday, will be an open
mic night with the Astoria Music Collective.
Meanwhile, in Long Island City, Edjo Wheeler, the executive director of Culture Lab LIC and brains behind its music program, said his venue similarly gives artists some of their first opportunities.
“What we’re trying to create here is a way of providing arts and culture to the community and supporting the artists as much as possible,” Wheeler said.
Culture Lab, which hosts virtually all disciplines of art, opened its space up to live performances during the Covid-19 pandemic. The 20,000-square-foot parking lot outside its main building became the stage for “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update host Michael Che and many others.
“I know that some of what people say is a little hyperbolic but we heard so many times how we saved their lives during Covid,” Wheeler said. “There was nothing, there was no place to go and we actually were able to provide a place where people can see live, art and culture.”
On a regular basis, and even Friday through Sunday during the warmer months, Culture Lab hosts free concerts. Being a nonprofit with the support of area elected officials, Culture Lab is a place where “you don’t have to take out your wallet if you don’t want to, but there’s still something being provided.”
Culture Lab also strives to reflect the diversity of Queens and expose its crowds to a variety of genres. “We have Middle Eastern surf rock ... Spanish music ... everything from
hard rock to classic blues,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler said to look out for Y&I on Nov. 23, Sons of Mercury on Nov. 30 and the New York Modular Society on Dec. 7 at Culture Lab.
Over at the Knockdown Center in Maspeth, co-founder Tyler Myers is similarly providing a range of musical acts, in one of Queens’ biggest venues.
“We’re doing a Chinese pop act one night and then Wu-Tang Clan the next night and then an Animal Collective show the night after that,” Myers said. “You know, there are not a lot of venues who can cater to an audience that’s gonna do all those tickets and follow you through all of those genres.”
Myers said the Knockdown Center is unique in its size due to a littleknown building code regulation that requires venues to have equal outdoor space as indoor for emergency evacuations.
“That bit of code means that, given the price of real estate, it’s very challenging to figure out a venue in New York City,” Myers said.
Myers said to look out for Horse Meat Disco at the Knockdown Center in December and Floating Points in February. LCD Soundsystem has a residency and will be a leading a dozen shows this month and next.
For Kayla Asbell and Emily Ashenden of the Queens-Brooklyn punk
band 95 Bulls, this borough is their preferred place to play.
“Not to talk s--t on Manhattan but [the music scene] does feel like it’s more industry-based” than it does in Queens, Ashenden said. “It feels very authentic here, in a real way. Nobody’s doing it for anything except for the love of the music.”
Asbell also said she feels that Queens venues treat bands under a “European model.”
“This is work, and bands are working hard and so they should be treated as though they are doing like a service ... and I do feel much more appreciated at the venues out here,” she said.
Down in Rockaway Beach, Bungalow Bar has hosted bands such as Rusted Root, Valerie Rose and Zuique. Katy Grey, a waitress who assumed her post as general manager after Hurricane Sandy, married her love of music with her career.
“I love being able to support the local musicians and also give people a taste of like other musicians that then wind up playing at other places in the neighborhood,” Grey said.
Grey said Rockaway Beach slows things down for people, and that’s reflected in the music.
“People just want to be able to enjoy life, listen to great music and be by the water, and with all different cultures and different types of music,” Grey said. Q
Punk lives with Queens-Brooklyn band 95 Bulls, made up of Oweinama Biu, left, Zach Butler, Matt White, Kayla Asbell and Emily Ashenden. COURTESY PHOTO
Strum on the water: Yallah Yallah performs at Culture Lab LIC in Long Island City, left, while Catnip takes the stage at Bungalow Bar in Rockaway.
Immersive programming, technology and more Get lost in the pages at the QPL
by Kristen Guglielmo Editor
“This is my daughter’s favorite place,” said Woodhaven resident Shelley Martin. “And we’re really happy it exists.”
Martin takes her daughter, Nevaeh, to the Queens Public Library often. They switch locations — sometimes they find themselves in the Woodhaven branch, like on the sunny Thursday when they spoke to the Chronicle, and at other times, they opt for the Ozone Park branch, when running errands nearby.
The Queens Public Library was founded in 1896 with the goal of providing free access to knowledge, information and lifelong learning opportunities to all.
In 1895 in Long Island City, resident William Nelson acquired a large number of books, consisting of the inventory of three circulating subscription libraries. He pledged to give them to any “person or association” that would open a free public library, according to the QPL.
Inspired by Nelson, Dr. Walter Frey and George Clay obtained a charter from the New York State Board of Regents for the Long Island City Public Library in 1896.
The Library opened its first location, the Nelson Branch, in Hunters Point on Aug. 3, 1896. The Steinway Free Circulating Library became its second branch after William Steinway’s death in 1896, and its third branch, Astoria, opened in a rented storefront on Fulton Avenue in February 1898.
On Dec. 21, 1899, the Long Island City Public Library was renamed
the Queens Borough Library. Elsewhere in Queens at that time, other efforts were underway to merge several private libraries into a single public institution.
Over the years, the QPL and its librarians have continued to respond to the changing needs of the diverse communities they serve, offering free English classes for speakers of other languages, as well as citizenship and coping skills classes. Its multilingual collection consists of materials in 50 languages.
Today, the QPL is one of the largest and busiest public library systems in the U.S. It welcomes millions of visitors each year to its 66 locations, including branch libraries, the Central Library in Jamaica, seven adult learning centers, a technology center located at the Queensbridge Houses and a community learning center at the Ravenswood Houses. It also has five teen centers, two bookmobiles and two book bicycles.
The QPL offers free access to a collection of more than 5 million books and other materials in multiple languages, technology and digital resources, and tens of thousands of online and in-person educational, cultural and civic programs a year.
“Throughout our history, we have always been doing outreach to the community,” Nick Buron, the system’s chief librarian, told the Chronicle. “We circulated over eight and a half million items last year. There were times that we circulated more. We were the library with the most circulating material in the country at one point in the ’90s, so we’ve always been at the forefront of making sure that we provide what our
community is looking for.”
“I grew up going to the library,” said resident Dedniel Ortiz, 33, when speaking with the Chronicle recently outside the Kew Gardens Hills branch. “I grew up in Queens, and there always was a library nearby. Now I come in during my remote days to work.”
Ortiz, like others, takes advantage of the free Wi-Fi offered at Queens Public Library branches.
As of today, the QPL has nearly 1,200 public computers in its 66 locations, and saw 840,000 computer sessions in the last fiscal year, Buron said. There were 1.8 million Wi-Fi sessions in the last fiscal year.
“In the mid-’90s, the first computers came in,” Buron said. “We made sure to have computers in every single location. We also ensured at that point that we wanted to have staff that was dedicated to helping our customers learn this relatively new technology.”
He continued, “Of course, some people had computers in their homes, but many people did not. And when we’re talking about Queens, we’re talking about an area right now where half the population was born outside the United States, speaking well over 100 different languages. So we are always looking for the equity in our services and making sure that people have access to that. And for many people, that is a computer that they might not otherwise have at home.”
Elmhurst resident Martina L. is a big fan of the Queens Public Library — though she hasn’t stepped inside a location in more than a year.
“I like instant gratification,” she joked. “I prefer e-books, because I don’t have to run out when I come across a book online that seems interesting.”
Applications such as Overdrive and Libby allow readers to use their library cards to check out digital content, including e-books and audiobooks. If something is already checked out, a hold can be placed on a copy.
When the next copy is available, the user gets an alert.
million people come to visit us in our locations, and for many of them, it’s the programming that we do,” Buron said. The library has teen centers at the Central Library and its locations in Cambria Heights, Flushing, Long Island City and Far Rockaway. The centers offer digital literacy workshops and programming that includes mental health support, college and career readiness, civil and civic engagement.
LITERARY
Buron said that in fiscal year 2019, the QPL’s circulation of e-content was 1.4 million.
“Last fiscal year, we more than doubled that to 3.4 million,” Buron said. “People are able to access the library through our website and go right to our e-collection. They can utilize the library without really ever stepping foot inside — though we want them to!”
The library isn’t just about reading books: It offers a variety of programming for all ages, including adult learning classes and programming for children, teens and older adults. Most of the QPL’s programs are in-person, but some are still offered online.
“Last fiscal year, we had over 6
“Our adult learner program has virtual and in-person ESOL [classes], and basic education and high school equivalency instruction. ... We serve over 4000 people a year in our ESOL classes,” Buron said.
He reiterated that the library is a place for everyone.
“We offer comfortable seating, welcoming staff. We welcome everybody. That’s one of our mantras, really, that the library is for everyone. And that means that you can come in and not do anything and just sit there if you want. But then while you’re there, you start realizing there’s all this content, there’s materials, there’s music, there’s positive adults, there’s programming that’s taking place for all ages, and it is the center of community. And so when you are the center of community, you have a responsibility to make sure that you serve everybody.” Q
The Queens Public Library offers free access to a collection of more than 5 million books, and thousands of classes and workshops each year across 66 locations. PHOTOS COURTESY QPL
The library’s Nelson branch opened in Hunters Point in 1896, named for Long Island City resident and book connoisseur William Nelson.
Higher learning at Queens’ colleges
St. John’s, York, Vaughn and more institutions explored
by Naeisha Rose Editor
The colleges and universities in Queens have very storied histories, with some even going back centuries.
These higher educational institutions have left a deep impact on the thousands of students who have attended them over the years, thanks to the diversity of the World’s Borough, their affordability and a commitment to fostering future leaders of tomorrow.
One of the oldest institutions in the borough is St. John’s University.
“Founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians), with a mission to provide the youth of New York City with an intellectual and moral education, St. John’s is a private, Catholic and Vincentian University with deep roots in metropolitan New York and an expanding global footprint,” said SJU spokesman Brian Browne, via email.
SJU has grown from a one-room farmhouse in Brooklyn to a modern university spread across two continents, said Browne. With its famed Red Storm basketball squad known as New York’s Team, its main campus is in Jamaica Estates. It also has campuses and locations in Manhattan, Rome, Paris and Limerick, Ireland.
“While the University evolves and expands, we never waver from our founding mission to serve those most in need,” said Browne about the Big East school, which has NCAA Division I teams in basketball, soccer, fencing, tennis, golf, lacrosse, baseball, softball, volleyball, track and field and cross country.
Known fondly as Jamaica’s Jewel,
York College, which has been a training ground for almost 40,000 graduates, has a wealth of unique curricula in gerontology, an Accelerated Clinical Laboratory Sciences program and accredited courses in Movement Science and a Public Health Program, said interim President Claudia Schrader.
“We are especially proud to be the only CUNY with an Aviation Management program,” she added via email, noting that the college was founded in 1966 with temporary quarters in Bayside.
“The Southeast Queens community waged a fierce battle to bring the college to Jamaica,” she said.
The school came to Jamaica in 1971, survived the fiscal crisis of the 1970s and found a permanent campus in 1986, becoming a development engine for the area, said Schrader.
Founded in 1937 with a public purpose, Queens College in Flushing has brought many gifts to the world in the form of math, science and entertainment, according to QC President Frank H. Wu.
“It came together with sister institutions in 1961 to form the City University of New York system to better fulfill its function: to provide upward educational, economic and social mobility to New Yorkers, including immigrants, migrants, and their sons and daughters,” said Wu via email.
“They represent a unique experiment in the annals of history, a place where communities bound together by principle rather than blood.”
In 1988, Charles H. Hennekens, a 1963 graduate, was the lead principal investigator in a study that discovered that if a person takes an aspirin within 24 hours of exhibiting symptoms
of a heart attack or a stroke, th the chance of death is reduced.
“Seinfeld,” considered one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, stars Jerry Seinfeld, a 1973 graduate.
Part of the Touro University network, Lander College for Men in Kew Garden Hills has been called the soul of the university, said Dean Henry Anderson.
“We pride ourselves on a vibrant academic atmosphere that combines a full-day program of traditional Judaic studies and a sophisticated array of advanced courses leading to Bachelor’s degrees in a variety of majors,” Anderson said via email. “Our students go on to rewarding careers in medicine, law, accounting, psychology, education, and many other fields.”
Lander, which was founded in 2000, also has an Evening Division for college studies at night, and once a month students may stay on campus for in-Shabbos, a day of rest.
In 1932, Charles “Casey” Jones, a pioneer aviator and aviation executive, along with ace World War I pilot George A. Vaughn Jr. and engineer Lee D. Warrender, founded the Casey Jones School of Aeronautics, which would go on to become the Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in 1986.
Vaughn College was founded to fulfill the need to train technicians to design, build and service aircraft engines, according to the school. From 1941 to 1945, it devoted resources to the World War II effort and more than 20,000 technicians were trained for the Armed Forces.
“Vaughn College is proud to serve Queens as a non-profit college that provides certificate and degree programs that lead to great paying careers in the exciting fields of aerospace, engineering, management and technology,” said President and CEO Sharon B. DeVivo via email about the East Elmhurst school, which is opposite LaGuardia Airport. “As we approach our 95th anniversary, we look forward to building on our legacy of providing a transformational education, outstanding industry connections and great outcomes for our graduates.”
Vaughn offered its first applied science degree in 1964, its first associate and bachelor of science degrees in 1996 and its first master’s degree in 2021.
colleges in economic mobility — moving low-income people to the middle class and beyond — in a Stanford University study,” said LAGCC spokesman Manny Romero in an email. LaGuardia also was ranked as the top school for RN and LPN training in the state by several medical news outlets this year.
GRADE-A SCHOOLS
About 95 percent of students graduate from the college and 78 percent go on to pursue their field of study or continue their education within a year of graduation.
LaGuardia Community College, a proud Hispanic-Serving Institution, Asian American and Native Pacific Islander Serving Institution, which is part of the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program, was founded in 1971 and is located in Long Island City.
The CUNY college was named after beloved former Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia.
“LaGuardia has the largest English as a Second Language program in New York City and LaGuardia is ranked No. 5 among U.S. two-year
Queensborough Community College in Bayside, which is consistently ranked among the best community colleges in the United States by wallethub.com, was founded in 1959. The 34-acre site was once the Oakland Country Club, according to the school’s website. The institution has an astronomy observatory, professional recording studio, digital art laboratories and an 875-seat professional performing arts center.
The Kupferberg Holocaust Center is at the entrance of the campus as a symbol of the college’s commitment to educating current and future generations about the ramifications of “unbridled prejudice, racism, and hatred,” according to the CUNY school.
The school also has an Olympicsize aquatic center at Robert F. Kennedy Hall, Veterans and Male Resource centers within its Student Union and hosts permanent collections of African, Pre-Columbian and Asian Art at the QCC Art Gallery. Its Engineering Technology learning lab helps students train to become skilled at using 3-D printers and computer drafting software. Q
Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, founded in 1932, has a 95 percent graduation rate. The East Elmhurst school once had more than 20,000 technicians trained for the Armed Forces in World War II. PHOTO CCOURTESY VAUGHN COLLEGE
Dinah Moché shows off the telescope to students in the observatory at Queensborough Community College. PHOTO COURTESY QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
FENCES,
Queens restaurants fill residents’ hearts and stomachs Tasting the world in one borough
by Stephanie G. Meditz Associate Editor
With more than 130 languages spoken in Queens, the World’s Borough clearly earned its nickname for a reason.
Sure, you can travel the world within a few blocks, but your taste buds also reap the benefits — when members of Queens’ diverse population bring their culture to the table, there’s always something new to try.
In line with Glendale and Ridgewood’s large German community, John Lehner of Freising, Bavaria, Germany, and two partners opened Zum Stammtisch in 1972. It still transports visitors to a pub in the old country with the warm aroma of schnitzel and a large moose on the dining room wall.
Lehner had a small bar and restaurant in Germany and dreamed of opening a similar business in the United States. He gradually expanded the restaurant through the ’80s and bought out one of his partners, while the other one died.
When Lehner died in 1993, his two sons, Werner and Hans, took over the business.
“The beginning was rough, especially when you had all these old Germans coming in every day telling us we’re never gonna make it,” Werner Lehner said. “Thank God we proved them wrong. And honestly, if anything, we’ve improved upon the business to a degree.”
Lehner said he and his brother have kept the restaurant the same for many years, which helped Zum Stammtisch retain its longtime clientele, but they strike a balance between tradition and modernity with new menu items and drink specials.
He said Zum Stammtisch has always been known for its goulash soup, a Central European classic including meat, vegetables and spices. A newer addition is the giant pretzel, served with two types of mustard and horseradish sauce.
To this day, Lehner said, the classic jägerschnitzel is a customer favorite — the breaded veal cutlet with mushroom sauce, veal stock and home fries is the epitome of German comfort food.
“We’re old school, that’s what we’re all about. In today’s day and age ... we’ve kind of held our ground, so to speak. We’ve just stayed with what we know and what we do best and what people seem to like the best that come to us,” he said.
Lehner said the restaurant saw a lot of German customers in its early years, but more recently, it has attracted all types of people and palates.
“I think people have become much, much more adventurous over the years, and that’s definitely helped us along,” he said. “And it’s actually really nice to see that so many different peo-
After 50 years of operations, visitors can still get a free glass of wine at Lenny’s Clam Bar when they ask for Joe, a tradition started by founder Joe DeCandia Sr.
ple like to try different things.”
The Lehner brothers also opened an adjacent pork store in 2011, selling German imports as well as its own sausages.
Lehner said Zum Stammtisch has made The New York Times’ list of the top 100 restaurants in New York City for three years in a row.
The locations of many iconic restaurants in Queens like Zum Stammtisch represent the people living there.
Given Astoria’s large Greek population, it’s no surprise that the neighborhood is a central location for Mediterranean delicacies, even as more Middle Eastern eateries open, too.
Known for its seafood, Taverna Kyclades on Ditmars Boulevard displays a taxidermy trophy swordfish on the dining room wall, with employees dressed in the blue and white of the Greek flag.
While fish is the star, the menu features other traditional favorites such as spanakopita, or Greek spinach pie, and tzatziki, a dip made with yogurt, garlic and cucumber. The restaurant also has a Bayside location.
Queens has no shortage of great Italian restaurants, including in Howard Beach.
Lenny’s Clam Bar on Cross Bay Boulevard, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, is known for its seafood and Italian cuisine, especially baked clams and fried calamari.
Lenny’s was founded in 1974 by Joe DeCandia Sr., who came to the United States from Bari, Italy, in the ’50s.
“This little old Italian man on TV offers you a free glass of wine when you ask for Joe, and then when you went there, he’s cooking your food,” said his son, owner Joe DeCandia Jr. “Little bit of a movie star status at the time, really.”
To keep Joe DeCandia Sr.’s legacy alive, visitors who come in and ask for Joe still receive a complimentary glass of wine.
“I love what I do. I don’t think you can be successful unless you love what you do every day, especially for 50 years,” DeCandia said.
To mark its half-century of service, the city co-named the corner of Cross Bay Boulevard and 161st Avenue “Lenny’s Clam Bar Way” in August.
“It feels like a blink of an eye. I don’t know where the time went,” DeCandia said. “Fifty years is a long time and it went pretty quick.”
Frank Russo Sr. also started an Italian food empire when he opened Villa Russo in Richmond Hill more than 50 years ago. His son, Frank Russo Jr., opened the event space, Russo’s on the Bay, in Howard Beach in 1987.
The Russo’s Group opened Vetro Restaurant and Lounge nearby in 2009. It serves standard Italian fare in an ambient setting that combines classic and contemporary.
Vetro’s Chief Operations Officer PJ Connolly said the menu includes some recipes passed down in the Russo family, such as linguine with white clam sauce. Tagliatelle bolognese and the recently added steaks and chops section, in partnership with Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, are also customer favorites.
Connolly started working at Russo’s on the Bay in 1989 at the age of 17 and grew through the ranks before becoming an executive director.
FOOD LOVERS
With its standout red, green and yellow exterior reminiscent of the Guyanese flag, the historic Sybil’s Bakery & Restaurant on Liberty Avenue in South Richmond Hill serves up sweet and savory dishes for every palate.
According to its website, the bakery’s menu features pine tarts, beef patties, meat pies, cheese rolls and cheese straws. Visitors craving the taste of the Caribbean might try curry or roti with their choice of meat.
Flushing is a hub for authentic Asian cuisine, especially near the 7 train’s terminal on Main Street.
Kong Sihk Tong serves up traditional Chinese dishes and modern delicacies from Hong Kong, its website states, with pork ribs as a customer favorite.
Visitors can give authentic Shanghainese soup dumplings a try at Shanghai You Garden, which also has locations in Bayside and on Long Island.
In the spring and summer, the Queens Night Market in Flushing Meadows Corona Park is an open-air celebration of the borough’s diversity, with more than 100 merchandise, art and food vendors setting up shop. From Southeast Asian coconut pancakes by Moon Man to Venezuelan corn pancakes at Ay Cachapas, the weekly market is rich in both culture and flavor.
“With respect to Vetro now, we’re 15 years old, so I’ve done somebody’s christening and now I’m getting ready to do their sweet 16. At Russo’s, we’ve had so many repeat guests that we’ve had original brides have their daughters married at Russo’s as well,” Connolly said. “We’re constantly looking to help the community, improve the community and support in every way. And they, in turn, support us back.”
Another borough staple is Austin’s Ale House. Named for Austin Street, the eatery serves up a variety of classic pub items, from chicken wings to shepherd’s pie au gratin.
Its aptly named Kew Gardens burger is topped with bacon, avocado, mozzarella and a spicy red pepper sauce.
Its full bar also boasts 20 beers on draft.
“During the opening at that point, the craft beer movement was in the beginning stages, and so thus we have a lot of draft beers,” manager John Kohout said. “That was really a big part of the place, for getting a nice draft beer that maybe you couldn’t get in the store.”
The stomach is often said to be the quickest way to the heart — Austin’s Ale House appeals to both by welcoming the community to events such as weekly trivia, monthly music nights for local musicians and a fall market for artists on the back patio.
“People may be having dinner with their wife and everything and then all of a sudden they’ll run into somebody they haven’t seen for a while or their neighbor,” Kohout said. “So it’s a kind of centrally located place where people meet from all walks of life.”
COURTESY PHOTO
Austin’s Ale House serves up classic dishes with a side of events such as weekly trivia. PHOTO COURTESY JOHN KOHOUT
major roads DOT highways to let you take wing ...
Queens has complicated history with its
by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor
If the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge fully opened Queens up to Manhattan when it debuted in 1909, it could be said the highway system that grew from the early 1930s on connected its neighborhoods to the other boroughs, Long Island and each other.
The history wasn’t and still isn’t without controversy — Robert Moses wasn’t above razing whole blocks or cutting communities in half; the Jackie Robinson Parkway was designed for the cars and traffic levels of 1935; and a section of the Cross Island Parkway seemingly has had the same hazardous water leak since 1940. And the Van Wyck Expressway is the Van Wyck Expressway.
But don’t tell that to car buffs and driving enthusiasts.
Robert Sinclair Jr. has been a car guy since he was a small child, long before he even dreamed of being senior manger of public affairs for AAA Northeast. Speaking for himself and not the agency, he thinks the borough overall has gotten a good deal.
“I’m a car guy because I was the grandson of a car guy and an infrastructure guy,” Sinclair told the Chronicle. “When I was 6 years old, in 1963, we drove to Brooklyn on the Belt Parkway. We looked out into the harbor where they were building the Verrazzano Bridge. And he said ‘Son, that’s going to be the longest bridge in the world.’”
Today Sinclair is equally impressed with the recently completed Kew Gardens Interchange.
“That thing is beautiful — I can’t even remember what it looked like before,” he said. “But you can easily take the Grand Central Parkway and get on the Interborough, or, rather the Jackie Robinson Parkway, into Brooklyn. You can get on the Whitestone Expressway, a few other things, very, very easily. They did a beautiful job on that ... I would say the highways in Queens, for the most part, are pretty darned good.”
1963, runs from Hillside Avenue to the Throgs Neck Bridge into the Bronx.
Then there is the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, pushed by Moses in the 1930s a catch-all connector to bridges and highways. It was built piecemeal largely between 1947 — it sometimes took World War II to stop Moses — and 1964. It now is subject to debate over how or if to alter it, particularly cantilevered sections in Brooklyn.
“We’re still living under the shadow of Robert Moses’ legacy,” Sinclair said, referring to things like the BQE and low bridges on Long Island’s Northern and Southern State parkways, which critics say were designed in part to keep city buses — and residents — from Long Island beaches that Moses also was establishing.
Sinclair said most of the problems that remain, such as the water running on the Cross Island near the LIE overpass, are simply due to the lack, at the time, of modern engineering knowledge and technology.
all of Queens and southern Queens and a lot of Long Island sprawled out in front of you. I never realized there were so many water towers in the area.”
James Pringle of Laurelton, president of the Queens Classic Car Club, has favorite highways of his own. And very often his 1963 Buick Riviera and his members’ vintage vehicles are as impressive as any of the highways’ surrounding scenery.
He has driven his car to eastern Long Island and as far as Ocean City, Md. for gatherings and car shows.
“We don’t pamper our cars, we drive them,” Pringle said. “Highways for us are the best thing. You blow the car out, and if you can drive in town, you can drive on a highway. A mile is a mile. You get a lot more looks on a highway. The car is better off because you’re not in stop-and-go traffic all the time. And you get a lot of thumbs-up.”
Some highways, Pringle admits, are better than others.
in Forest Hills and Rego Park, said Moses’ legacy in Queens is mixed.
“Half and half,” Perlman said. “A lot of Queens’ history is tied to highways. Robert Moses committed some good deeds. And he committed some terrible deeds.”
On a negative note, Perlman said, a great number of people and businesses were displaced from Rego Park to make way for the LIE, including some of the original homes built by the Real Good Construction Co., from which the neighborhood took its name.
“Also, on Queens Boulevard was the Queens Roller Rink,” he said. “It was a major social and recreational hub.”
He added, however, that the expressway ultimately also sparked other development.
But for Maspeth native Steve Fisher, construction of the LIE literally hit home, as it resulted in the state carving off a section of the building at 66-66 Grand Ave., where his family operated a men’s clothing store founded by his great grandfather in 1919, and where they lived when Fisher, a retired architect, was a young child.
“We could still live there and still run the business,” Fisher said. “But they physically divided the town. It had a tremendous impact. Going from one side of Maspeth to the other means crossing the bridge over the Long Island Expressway.” The building still exists, and now is for rent.
“I pass it a lot, as a pedestrian walking to get Japanese food, or driving by to get my Covid shot,” Fisher said. “It was where we lived, where my parents brought me home from the hospital. I worked there after school, weekends, summers ... To me it’s very personal.”
But Fisher also said the highway allowed him to walk out the front door every day and look to the west with an unobstructed view all the way to Manhattan and its skyscrapers.
“I’m sure that had something to do with why I became an architect,” he said. Q
The 26-mile Belt Parkway, which has four sections in Queens if you count the Cross Island Parkway, was first proposed by Moses in the early 1930s, and opened in June 1940. Running east from the Brooklyn border the Belt system comprises the Shore, South and Laurelton parkways. The latter meets the Cross Island, which runs to the Whitestone Bridge into the Bronx.
Moses also was the force behind the Grand Central Parkway (1933) and Long Island Expressway (1958).
Baseball legend Jackie Robinson’s name was affixed to the Interboro, just under five miles long, in 1997, marking the 50th anniversary of his breaking baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Clearview Expressway, opened in
“In the winter, that freezes and you get ice,” he said. “But they’re working on it.”
He also said there are some ramps and turns at interchanges he would like to see modernized; and places where breakdown lanes are nonexistent.
But Sinclair says Queens highways still are capable of amazing him as much as they did when he was 6. One, he said, is the GCP where it traverses one of the highest points in Queens.
“If there’s ever a major catastrophic flood in Queens, I’ll meet you there,” he said.
And he said the vista needs to be seen to be appreciated.
“If you’re driving east on the Grand Central near the Clearview Expressway and look south — if you’re a passenger — you can see
“We travel the Cross Island a lot,” he said. “You know the Van Wyck is messed up, right? I like parts of the Belt Parkway leading to the Cross Island. And the Clearview is nice because it’s a straight run to the bridge. We like straight highways.”
The southern Van Wyck is getting lanes added in both directions, a project connected with the rebuilding of John F. Kennedy International Airport. Pringle admits he would like to see a diagram or rendering of what it will look like when completed.
Pringle says the Jackie Robinson is “a weird highway,” with its narrow lanes and sharp curves, particularly near the Queens Boulevard overpass. He and Sinclair — and anyone else who has driven it — acknowledge that it is very difficult for two cars to go beneath the overpass side-by-side.
Michael Perlman, a historian specializing
A postcard depicts the junction of the Grand Central and Interboro parkways at what now is the Kew Gardens Interchange. Today the Interboro is the Jackie Robinson Parkway. IMAGE COURTESY MICHAEL PERLMAN / GENUINE CURTEICH-CHICAGO CT ART COLORTONE / PRINTED FOR INTERBOROUGH NEWS CO.
A young Steve Fisher watches construction of the Long Island Expressway outside his home in Maspeth. PHOTO COURTESY STEVE FISHER / FILE
Billie Jean King, Louis Armstrong, Arthur Ashe and the US Open Storied home of champion tennis
by Naeisha Rose Editor
Tennis and New York go hand in hand.
The famed USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which has staged the US Open since 1978, is one of Queens’ top tourist draws and also a place for residents, who get to hone their game there.
Rob Mackay, director of the Queens Tourism Council, said he is lucky to work out of a kiosk between the Louis Armstrong and Arthur Ashe stadiums every US Open.
“Watching the tennis fans is always inspiring because they love the sport so much,” Mackay said via email. “They travel long distances to watch their favorite players and they’re always so excited to be there. I feel magic in the air during the two weeks of the tournament.
“Plus, Louis Armstrong actually performed in the stadium that now
bears his name ... and apparently Satchmo took a limousine from his house in Corona to the arena and fans greeted him all along the way ... It’s mind-boggling to think about all the best-in-the-world accomplishments that have taken place on those grounds. Yet more reasons to love Queens.”
The history of tennis championships in the World’s Borough dates back to 1915 at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, according to the United States Tennis Association.
articles on its history.
AWARDS:
• Five-Star Nursing & Rehabilitation Facility awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
• Administrator member of American College of Health Administrators
• Administrator recipient of CMS Outstanding Achievement award for Reducing Hospitalizations
SPORT ON COURT
The club moved a third time in 1908 to 238th Street and Broadway, with 12 grass courts and 15 clay covering two city blocks. In 1911 it became the site of the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, now known as the Davis Cup, the premiere global team event in men’s tennis run by the International Tennis Federation, according to the online articles.
The club originally opened on two dirt courts on Central Park West and 88th Street in Manhattan on June 11, 1892, but due to the property’s becoming too commercially valuable after a decade, it was moved to 117th Street between Morningside Drive and Amsterdam Avenue onto eight courts near Columbia University, according to the USTA and various
With crowds growing into the thousands, property was bought in 1912 to move the club to Forest Hills, into what became the 14,000-seat horsehoe-shaped stadium. The sport’s continued popularity led to the championship being moved to the bigger USTA National Tennis Center. By the 21st century, the US Open was drawing on average more than three times as many fans at Flushing Meadows Corona Park as it did in Forest Hills.
In 2006, the tennis center was
renamed after tennis legend Billie Jean King, a champion of equal pay in the sport and social change. In 1971, she was the first woman to win
more than $100,000 in a single season of sport, said the USTA.
“I truly hope tonight with the
on page 23
• Administrator is 2016 Recipient of Lily Leadership Award
Jazz great Louis Armstrong, left, and tennis star Arthur Ashe have USTA stadiums named after them. PHOTOS BY BRADLEY SMITH, LEFT, AND RUSS ADAMS / USTA
continued
•
Making Queens a fine place to live, work and shop BIDs keep business strips nice
by Mark Lord Chronicle Contributor
It was “a lack of cooperation in collecting for holiday lights” that led to the establishment of one of the borough’s oldest business improvement districts, according to its executive director, Marie Torniali.
These days, providing holiday decorations for the area is but one of many services offered by the Steinway Astoria Partnership, which has been a BID since 1991.
“BIDs were not that common at the time,” Torniali pointed out in a recent telephone interview.
Today, Queens has them aplenty in its shopping districts, where they serve the public in ways both obvious and not.
According to the NYC BID Association website, during the 1960s and ’70s, the BID movement began in response to deteriorating commercial districts and limited public resources. In 1981 and ’82, New York State and New York City passed legislation allowing property owners to create and fund their own BIDs. In 1984, the first BID was formed in the Union Square area of Manhattan.
Today, according to the site, the city is home to the nation’s largest, most comprehensive network of BIDs in the country, with 76 across the five boroughs contributing more than $120 million worth of services to more than 85,000 businesses in neighborhoods everywhere.
BIDs are formal organization made up of property owners and commercial tenants who are dedicated to promoting the development of businesses and improving an area’s quality of life. They deliver supplemental services in areas such as sanitation and maintenance, public safety, marketing programs, capital improvements and the beautification of an area, the site indicates.
Funded by mandatory assessments paid by the property owners within a district, they have been linked to the revitalization of neighborhoods.
the most part, people wanted to give back to the community.”
The district covers four blocks and includes 44 properties, a triangle plaza and nearly 200 businesses.
Ramos is particularly proud of how the area fared in dealing with the Covid crisis. Every business that was assisted through the Neighborhoods Now initiative survived, she said.
Originally established to “enhance the retail mix, provide maintenance and security services and offer seasonal promotions,” the Steinway BID, which extends along Steinway Street from 28th Avenue to 35th Avenue, now focuses on sanitation, marketing and many beautification projects, including the addition of new trees, colorful banners and flower baskets, and benches for the convenience of shoppers.
While the number of storefronts included in the Steinway BID has remained constant at around 300, the landscape has changed, thanks in large part to online shopping, Torniali said.
Dating back one year earlier, to 1990, the 82nd Street Partnership BID, based in Jackson Heights, came about as a result of a lot of changes in the area’s quality of life, including the impact of the crack cocaine epidemic, according to Executive Director Leslie Ramos.
“There were many concerns,” she said. “For
And the BID formed a partnership with NYC Health + Hospitals/ Elmhurst to assist individuals in making “more responsible choices” in their menu selections at local restaurants, according to the BID’s website.
“We are a very strong commercial district,” Ramos said, adding that the area is at “near capacity. We’re bringing a lot of jobs.”
And the BID is making a strong bid to incorporate the arts into the community, including mini-music concerts and Zumba classes.
The Bayside Village BID, founded in 2007, constitutes an eight-block strip of Bell Boulevard between Northern Boulevard and 35th Avenue, as well as one block east and one block west of Bell along 41st Avenue. It encompasses more than 200 local businesses.
Its executive director, Noah Sheroff, said, “I get out at least once a day and walk the district. I enjoy connecting with business owners. I like to keep an open line of communication.”
He calls his BID “a real community-based organization,” seeing one of its functions as “gathering stakeholders and getting them on the same page.”
Sheroff indicated that business owners share concerns about crime in the area, parking, transportation and the economic state of small
businesses.
While addressing those issues, the BID is also making plans for a Lunar New Year event, its first such celebration, while continuing its popular food and music festival in the summertime.
The Woodhaven BID, as it says on its website, was created in 1993 to “encourage the full retail and commercial development of Woodhaven’s Jamaica Avenue into the new millennium and beyond.”
The district incorporates all properties that front Jamaica Avenue from Dexter Court to 100th Street.
It leads marketing initiatives to support local businesses, works to improve the area’s streetscape, provides sanitation services and hosts regular events throughout the year.
According to Frank Castelli, the BID’s chairperson, one of the biggest problems has been garbage in the streets. With that in mind, the BID hired a private cleaning service that con-
ducts a five-day-a-week street cleaning.
The Myrtle Avenue BID, established in 1988, extends approximately one mile along Myrtle Avenue from Wyckoff Avenue to Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood, encompassing some 300 retail and service establishments.
“We work to ensure that the retail mix is meeting shopper needs,” its website indicates.
Executive Director Theodore Renz indicated that the last capital improvement project for the district came in 1983 to ’84. Addressing a community board meeting in September, he is now asking for new sidewalks and curbs, new historic M poles and removal of all Belgian blocks from over 300 tree pits.
A grant earlier this year from the mayor and City Council will allow for upgrades to be made to the Venditti Clock in Det. Anthony J. Venditti Square.
Summing up the missions of BIDs everywhere, Myrtle Avenue’s site says it works to keep its district “a great place to shop and do business by keeping the streets clean, safe, green and lively with programs and events.”
The LIC BID, managed by the LIC Partnership, was created in 2005, encompassing corridors along Queens Plaza and Jackson Avenue to Court Square. It was expanded in 2017 to include commercial corridors along Jackson Avenue, Vernon Boulevard and 44th Drive. Among its many projects, the BID works closely with the NYPD, acting as a liaison between the police and local businesses, as well as with Breaking Ground, a city-designated homeless outreach organization, according to Executive Director Laura Rothrock.
“If we see an individual distressed, we report that to Breaking Ground,” Rothrock said.
The BID also offers supplemental sanitation services, promotional events and beautification.
A new expansion, which will more than double the number of blocks, is set to go into effect on Jan. 2. “We’re meeting the needs of a changing area,” Rothrock said.
The expansion, recently approved by the state Comptroller’s Office, more than doubles the number of block faces from 73 to 156.
“This is a major win for the neighborhood,” Rothrock said Q
This year’s Restaurant Stroll at the Bayside Village Business Improvement District’s Food and Music Fest saw 38 eateries participate. JEFFREY LI / SEVENTH PRODIGY PHOTOGRAPHY
Residents fired up for Zumba hosted by the 82nd Street Partnership in Jackson Heights, left; the clock maintained by the Myrtle Avenue BID in Venditti Square in Ridgewood; and a welcoming banner and hanging planter from the Long Island City Partnership. COURTESY PHOTOS
The US Open
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naming, people really start to think about this area and the complex here that continually improves, that they will start to use it more and more,” said King in 2006. “This really does belong to the peoplwe, and I think that’s important.”
King, called the “Mother of Modern Sports,” won 13 total US championships and US Open women’s titles, including four in singles, and was inducted into the inaugural class of the US Open Court of Champions in 2003, said the USTA. In addition, she won a record 20 Wimbledon titles, including six in singles, and won the Australian Open in 1968 and the French Open in 1972, making her one of only 10 women to win the singles title in each of the four Grand Slam events.
The USTA said she was ranked No. 1 in the world five times between 1966 and 1972 and was in the Top 10 a total of 17 years (beginning in 1960). For her career achievements, King was enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.
When the center opened in 1978, the first structures were the Louis Armstrong Stadium and Grandstand, which was originally a part of the Singer Bowl, an oval-shaped arena used for hosting ceremonies at the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and 1965. The bowl was renamed the Louis Armstrong Memorial Stadium on July 4, 1973 in honor of the jazz great who lived in Corona.
Armstrong, who lived nearby in a house that is now a museum, had died two years before on July 6, 1971, and the site was renamed after him during a jazz jamboree. By the time he moved to Corona, he had become an internationally renowned artist.
Turning the memorial stadium, which had been used for rock concerts, into a sports facility was the braichild of former USTA President W.E. “Slew” Hester, who thought the audience had outgrown the club. He was inspired while flying over Flushing Meadows into LaGuardia Airport and spotting the Singer Bowl at the northern end of the snow-covered park during Christmastime in 1976, said the USTA.
Since 1968, the women’s doubles, the men’s doubles and the mixed doubles championship have also been played in Queens.
Architect David Specter came up with the idea of converting the arena’s western half into an octagonal bowl to create two adjoining structures — Louis Armstrong Stadium and the Grandstand — and ground was broken on Oct. 6, 1977. The tennis center was completed 10 months later, just in time for the 1978 US Open, said the USTA.
Less than a decade after the opening at Flushing Meadows, the USTA made plans to improve the facility. In 1993, with the help of then-Mayor David Dinkins, a lease extension was granted that permitted the use of additional land to build Arthur Ashe Stadium, which is the world’s biggest tennis arena.
Designed by Rossetti Associates Architects, the makeover linked the home of the US Open to its World’s Fair roots by having its new centerpiece, Arthur Ashe Stadium, face the Unisphere, said the USTA. The expansion project also enabled the US Open to burnish its status as a world-class event by drawing half a million more fans to the revamped facility, which opened in 1997.
Ashe had famously won the first US Open’s
The Mets
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one year via trade — and young players were joined by another kid from California, an outfielder named Darryl Strawberry. A deadline trade brought in Keith Hernandez, whom the Cardinals considered a malcontent to go with personal problems. He became a productive leader.
The next year, teen sensation Dwight Gooden did the best pitching in Flushing since Seaver a decade earlier.
Then before the 1985 season Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter was obtained from the Expos. And not two years later,
with champagne chilling in the Red Sox clubhouse and an injured Seaver on Boston’s bench, Mookie Wilson hit a roller down the first base line.
Promising future Sprinkled among postseason disappointments against the Cardinals and Braves, the Piazza-led club would fall to the Yankees in the 2000 World Series. In 2015, the Royals celebrated at Citi Field. In 2020, Steve Cohen bought the club from the Wilpon family, beginning a turnaround that culminated, so far, in 2024’s surprise season. He has stated his intention to have the Mets popping corks on his watch. Q
men’s singles championship in 1968, which was the start of the Open Era that allowed pros to play against amateurs, said USTA.
Because of his amateur status, the then-25year-old Ashe, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, was ineligible to receive the $14,000 first prize in the $100,000 event — at the time the richest tournament in tennis history. Instead, he collected only his $20 per diem.
Ashe was the first American to win the US men’s singles title since 1955 and the first-ever African-American to win a men’s singles title at a Grand Slam championship.
“Through the years, many people have honored Arthur and his work,” his wife, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, said in 1997. “All of the honors have been very flattering and much appreciated. But I think Arthur would be extremely proud of this honor because he was very committed to the USTA and to helping it create opportunities for those who need them most.”
The USTA continues to be a place for those who need it.
Under New York Edge’s Leadership Empowerment through Athletic Development program, developed to tackle the gender and economic disparities in tennis, young women gain professional skills, scrimmage against one another and meet with USTA coaches who train them to excel at the sport.
“At New York Edge, we’re committed to removing barriers to success to ensure that all students can thrive,” Sara Steward, the coordinator of Girls LEAD at New York Edge, said via email. “Our Girls L.E.A.D. program was specifically developed to empower female, school-aged youth from all over the city with inclusive opportunities to explore sports regardless of background, prior experience, or economics.”
Navya, a Girls LEAD participant and student at IS 125 in Woodside, said via email, “It was really fun experiencing tennis. At first, I wanted to stick to a familiar sport that I was good at but after trying tennis, I realized learning new things are good opportunities and the coaches at the court were super helpful.”
Syaran, another participant from IS 125, said she is always exicted about learning new sports.
“After practicing, it felt good to put all my effort into something new. If you put 100 percent into learning something new, it would be fun and that’s what I did,” she said. “I really enjoyed going to the court for the lessons by the coaches at the Billie Jean King Center.” Q
New York State Senator - District 15
84-16 Jamaica Avenue Woodhaven, NY 11421 (718) 738-1111 addabbo@nysenate.gov
73rd Place Middle Village, NY 11379 (718) 497-1630
Suite 114
NY 11375
Tennis legend Billie Jean King, right, shares a smile with 2023 US Open women’s champion Coco Gauff. PHOTO COURTESY USTA
