Its queens - Summer 2013

It’s

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QUEENS PLUS: TOP 5 DINERS, ALTERNATIVE GYMS, EXOTIC BARS

THE MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2013 | Volume 5.2

It’s List

Top

15

Made in Queens

KAITLIN MONTE Miss NY on a Role VIEW FROM THE GALLERY THE RIDGEWOOD ART SCENE

STANDUP GUY

Queens Comedian Liam McEneaney

Summer 2013

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It’s

QUEENS THE MAGA ZINE

Publisher Walter H. Sanchez Executive Editor Shane Miller Get your daily dose of LOCAL and not so local NEWS at 8:00 am ~

Queens NewsTicker

Signing on is easy.

Scan the code or – email us @ queensnewsticker@gmail.com

Senior Editors Andrew Pavia Andrew Shilling Contributors Hoyt Jacobs Josh Brewer Alexa Renfroe Art Direction/Graphic Design Matthew Stefani Susana Diaz Photographers Michael O’Kane Liliana Guimaraes Advertising Tammy Sanchez Kathleen Connell

Volume 5 Number 2 – Summer 2013 It’s Queens is published quarterly. Postmaster, send all address changes to It’s Queens – PO BOX 780376 – Maspeth, NY 11378. It’s Queens is a consumer magazine covering the people who move and shake Queens, from real estate trends to transportation, politics to entertainment, It’s Queens will bring our readers the ins and outs of the borough.

It’s Queens is wholly owned and published by the Queens Ledger/Greenpoint Star Weekly Newspaper Group. We know enough about the borough, covering it week in and week out since 1873. Bulk mail Flushing, NY Permit #652. Copyright ©2008 It’s Queens. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. Any news or feature solicitation for publication in It’s Queens should be done so without expectation of use and without expectation of return to solicitor. Send correspondence to editor@itsqueens.com . Subscriptions are $7.95 per year. Inquiries for subscriptions - Mail to PO BOX 780376, Maspeth, NY 11378. (718) 639-7000. www.itsqueens.com

On the Cover: Kaitlyn Monte (Photo: Liliana Guimaraes) 4 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

Contents 10 Greasy Spoons FEATURES

It’s Queens ranks the Top 5 Diners in Queens.

24 The It’s List

These 15 Companies have got it made in the borough of Queens.

28 More Than a Pretty Face Former Miss NY Kaitlin Monte is on a mission to end bullying in schools across Queens .

38 Strange Brew

Hoyt Jacobs knocks back a few in the interest of finding the borough’s most unique watering holes.

Departments

7 Buzz

What’s hot and what’s not in Queens.

8 Technology

New app puts Queens at your fingertips.

22 Essay

QEDC head looks back fondly on Rockaway.

48 The Arts

A look at the growing Ridgewood art scene.

56 Interview SUMMER Calendar p. 52

Rego Park resident Liam McEneaney is one standup guy.

www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 5

Publisher’s Note WALTER SANCHEZ

Queens is Buzzing at the Seams Crossfit training is quickly becoming a national trend. It’s fun, it’s social and if you were one of the 11,000 people who participated in the Spartan Race at Citi Field this past April, you are well aware that alternative exercise, as well as the obstacle running industry, is booming.

While the rest of the country moves at a glacial place to add new facilities, programs and experts, the entrepreneurial culture in Queens has produced more than a few intriguing alternative gyms. While not all Crossfit gyms – or boxes as they’re called - they all bring something special and they each have their own cult membership. Discover them in our Top 5 Alternative Gyms.

Kaitlin Monte alone is one of the top five reasons to be excited about beauty pageants. The former Miss New York has been a subject in our magazine before; she is now our cover story, and after reading the with her you will agree that she is the pride of Queens. The Astoria beauty queen is quickly carving out a niche in the media world, while at the same time trying to make a difference in the lives of children affected by bullying.

Diners are part of our culinary landscape and have remained strong for generations of New Yorkers. Just as Queens is a diverse borough, what makes a diner special is different for every customer. We have our own criteria, and this issue we pick our Top 5 Diners.

While a soccer stadium for Queens might look like a dream of the past, there is a buzz around the borough. QEDC has been ramping up its tourism push and the Queens Chamber of Commerce came out with its own app – This is Queens - for the 50 million tourists and the 8 million native New Yorkers to discover our great 6 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

borough. It had close to 2,000 downloads in just its first two days, and made its way to #73 in the travel category in the Apple app store.

of the most important news every mornPictured above is how our Queens ing.

Newsticker’s Morning Buzz looks on the iPad.

Lastly, there is a something exciting happening in Ridgewood. This issue features a piece by Hoyt Jacobs on the proliferation of art galleries and the Ridgewood Art Scene. This part of Ridgewood is the next stop on the hip L train.

What’s going on in our newsgroup? We now send our Queens Daily Newsticker’s “Morning Buzz” to about 10,000 people every day at 8 a.m. Twenty stories under 20 words or less. Give us two minutes and you’ll be a rockstar at the water cooler every day. It’s your dose

Walter H. Sanchez Publisher

Queens Buzz

A quick rundown of what Queens residents are talking about, as well what they no longer care about.

Queens is bursting at the seams

ANTHONY WEINER Who could have imagined that the crowded race to replace Bloomberg could have generated anymore buzz? But that’s what happened – in a big way – when former Queens congressman and social media pariah Anthony Weiner jumped into the race, taking away much of the spotlight from Speaker Christine Quinn. Now that Weiner’s back on the political scene, we think it’s going to be an interesting campaign season.

WILLETS POINT

As the Willets Point development continues its way through the land use review, there’s been a lot finger-pointing from housing advocates that the plan to turn the gritty industrial area into housing has instead been switched to a plan to build a huge mall in the Citi Field parking lot. If this plan does pass the City Council later this summer, we can only imagine that the controversy has just begun.

MATT HARVEY Matt Harvey has been about the only thing around Citi Field this year for Mets fans to cheer about. The new ace has carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning three times this season, and has walked away without a victory in two games where he only allowed one run.. The Mets would go from just plain cold to AAA without Harvey on the mound.

2103 ALL-STAR GAME Does anybody even care that the 2013 MLB All-Star Game is being played at Citi Field this year? Seriously, we’ve heard more people talking about the Super Bowl that’s coming to the Meadowlands than the fact that one of the biggest events of the baseball season is taking place in Flushing this year.

Maybe all of the out-of-town baseball fans will be excited.

METS OFFENSE Realistically, nobody expected much from the Mets this year as they try to wait out a couple of big contracts so they can maybe be at least in the conversation when it comes to free agents this off-season. A four-game sweep of the Yankees in the Subway Series notwithstanding, there have been times when the Mets bats – and nobody exemplifies that more than Ike Davis (below) – have been ice cold.

SOCCER IN QUEENS After Major League Soccer announced it had its eyes on Flushing Meadows-Corona Park for a new 25,000-seat stadium, it was all local elected officials and residents could talk about. MLS made it clear that Queens was where it wanted a new franchise. But recently, we haven’t heard much talk about that stadium since MLS said it was open to alternative sites. Maybe it’s just the calm before the storm?

www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 7

Tech

This is Queens

Normally we devote this space to a few new apps that have all the smartphones here at IQHQ, but this issue we’re introducing you one big app aimed at tourists, but will no doubt have Queens residents rediscovering their home borough.

restaurants, hotels, events, and attractions. The app will also provide deals and coupons.

this sector of the New York City economy and attracting visitors to all we have to offer,” said Matthew Goldstein, chair of the Regional Economic It was developed by Digital Development Corporation, Natives, a Queens-based digi- which sponsored the app. tal marketing agency.

“The ‘This is Queens’ app will not only draw more tourists to The chamber hopes it will Queens, but open their eyes The Queens Chamber of Com- encourage more of the 50 mil- to the wonderful attractions merce recently unveiled “This lion tourists that come to New that often get passed.” is Queens,” an app available York City each year to visit on iPhones and Androids.

Queens.

“Over the next year, there will be events attended by hunThe smartphone app put the “As the most popular tourist dreds of thousands of tourists, most diverse borough in New destination in the country, including the MLB All-Star York City at your fingertips, we have focused on finding Game at Citi Field and US with information on the best ways to continue growing Open Tennis,” said chamber 8 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

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executive director Jack Friedman. “We wanted to make sure each of these visitors knew what Queens had to offer.”

The app has six functions: explore, eat, see, stay, do and Queens deals.

“Every years millions of visitors pass through Queens without discovering the incredible sights, sounds, tastes, and business opportunities in this extraordinary and diverse borough,” said Friedman. “The app lets you explore Queens like a native, whether you just landed at JFK, came to Citi Field for a game, or take in some of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in the world.”

So download the app today and get out and start exploring!

(Alexa Renfroe) www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 9

The it’s list

Top

5

Queens Diners

by Hoyt Jacobs

Whoever said New York City is a town of prefab “dive” bars and fly-by-night dining obviously hasn’t been to Queens. While neighboring boroughs verge on becoming flaky parodies of their former selves, the royal borough remains a bastion of authentic cuisine and culture.

Sure, you say, authenticity is the most nebulous buzzword since grunge came stumbling out of Seattle. But we still know it when we see it.

And we know an authentic deal diner when we smell it.

A delicate balance of conservation and tasteful change; a sturdy cultural beast, gracefully seasoned, resistant to schmaltz. These are the qualities of a true diner. And they were what we hoped to find when, one sunny morning, we hit the street to sniff out those little touches of time and taste that make a diner unique. Our parameters were subjective, sure. Intrinsically vague even. But we knew in our guts we’d find the truth we craved. That we would taste that truth.

We chose diners without websites, neighborhood spots that cater to cash-carrying foot traffic. We were on a quest to explore and explode the definition of what a greasy spoon can and should be: to test the bounds of authenticity, to feel its taut elastic breaking point…to see the food at the end of our forks quivering at the moment of truth.

And we wanted French toast and watery coffee. We wanted those more than anything.

10 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

Goodfellas Diner (nee Clinton)

5

56-26 Maspeth Avenue, Maspeth

In the notoriously fickle restaurant business, a diner sticking to its guns is a moral victory of grand proportions. For years, the Clinton Diner in Maspeth was the Juror 8 of diners, a mecca of greasy purity refusing to cash in on their numerous film credits or “upgrade” their menu with high-priced novelty dishes. Nor did they reupholster

# their well-worn booths. Nor did they remedy the ever expanding nicks in their 60s era countertop.

The Clinton was The Price is Right of local diners; one that customers could rest assured wouldn’t modernize their décor or replace their seasoned staff with mustachioed hipsters.

That’s why a shiny new sign on what had for glorious years past been the Clinton’s wall welcoming the hungry to “Goodfellas Diner” put us on edge. It looked like the owners had finally gone Hollywood on us. Upping the ante, a fresh sticker on the door advertised Wi-Fi… But our anxiety proved to be short lived. We entered Goodfellas to the same time capsule which has proved irresistible to many the location scout.

Same wait staff. Same seasoned cooks. After sitting down, we

Pop’s Diner 44-29B Kissena Boulevard, Flushing Nostalgia is the heart of authenticity.

Cozy Saturdays in front of an ancient television; sugar cookies and whole milk on the verge of spoiling; sunlight shining through the dust settling on unfashionable décor.

If Pop’s Diner in Flushing doesn’t quite fulfill all the criteria for a photo realistic nostalgia trip to grandma’s house, it’s close enough to turn our thoughts a hazy shade of golden. The fact that Pop’s original color palate of shabby gold and burgundy is still intact doesn’t hurt either. Nor do the hanging plants and hexagonal Lucite pendant lighting, which we know would’ve made Nana feel right at home.

Aesthetics aside, Pop’s swings to the far left field of the acceptable diner spectrum and then back again: definitive standards such as omelets and sausage share menu space with envelope pushers like filet of sole and roast chicken. All this is served with a smile and/or grunt from a mish-mashed staff of friendly youths and gruff veterans, lending our visit a changing-of-theguards slice-of-life narrative.

Torn by these disparaging elements, we fretted over our bacon and coffee. Finally, we let nostalgia have its way: As long as Pop’s keeps their breakfast specials affordable, their potted plants just a little dry, and the TV a comforting murmur,

craned our necks around, trying to catch something out of place: a cappuccino machine or Ray Liotta’s boxers framed as memorabilia. No dice. The place was just how we remembered it, right down to the duct tape holding those standard-issue red-and-white vinyl booths together. Likewise, the menu appeared unchanged, the only noticeable difference being the name… and then we went to the bathroom and glimpsed, sigh, a couple of hipsters in a corner booth taking advantage of the Wi-Fi. Still, no Hollywood prices at Goodfellas.

The coffee is still perfectly watery, the counter more banged up than ever.

We had coffee, bacon, and French toast. With a side of cautious relief. Then move on to the next joint.

4

#

we’ll let the menu slide. It’s what grandma would have wanted.

www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 11

Alpha Donuts 45-16 Queens Boulevard, Sunnyside Spending the day scarfing the best pancakes, burgers, and bacon in Queens left us in dire need of caffeine. And desert. So we drifted over to Sunnyside for the traditional diner pick-me-up of sinkers and suds. In the process of satisfying our natural cravings, we were introduced to a little slice of semi-authentic diner heaven.

Nestled between a cell phone store and a beauty salon in the shadow of Sunnyside’s imposing elevated tracks, Alpha Donuts is as streamlined and anachronistic as the 1980s video arcade font of its exterior sign. Inside we found a luncheonette style setup (counter, no booths),

with low-set stools that ensured not craning your neck when ordering would result in an eyeful of the soup jockey’s crotch. Adorning the walls we found the (thankfully straightforward) menu, backlit and

Orange Hut 5317 Broadway, Woodside There was a time before we became rich and successful journalists; a time, not long ago, when we were poets, hungry for language and food. During these years, one of our great pleasures was crawling wearily from our shabby boardinghouse room to the local diner, which rewarded our picky tastes by charging an extra .25¢ for lettuce and tomatoes. Not only did we save ourselves money, but we were granted a measure of dignity by our fellow patrons, who nodded approvingly when we ordered those thin burgers plain.

So entering Orange Hut, a grubby little luncheonette at the corner of Northern Ave and Broadway in Woodside, was a homecoming of sorts.

Not only are the veggies there a $.50 upcharge, but Orange Hut is easily the most reasonably priced diner we’ve visited in years. We 12 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

#

3

handwritten, along with a smattering of dollar store Easter decorations. And that was it. No kitsch. And oh, no, nothing at all even remotely fancy.

Speaking of fancy: The Alpha waiters are efficient, gruff, no-nonsense and old enough to pull it all off with dignity and charm. And dang if our coffee wasn’t perfectly watery –the kind of cup that could keep us hanging around reading Bukowski ‘til the bars close. Which we nearly did.

Some would argue that luncheonettes aren’t, by definition, true diners. To them we say, “shut up and pass the salt.”

2

# mean reasonable: with a cheeseburger clocking in at just under $3, we nearly felt compelled to order the upcharge toppings in a quiet display of personal growth to our inner post-adolescents.

We knew we were in for something special before we even crossed the threshold: The exterior is classic prefab diner, with the weathered charm of a used dishwasher left on the curb for a night or three. Id est: Exactly what’s missing from some of the architecturally dependent diners on this list.

As for those affordable menu

items, they were among the best we sampled. Our pancakes were fluffy-yet-filling, and the sausage was alchemically good.

The watery coffee came in a paper cup. To stay.

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www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 13

Steve’s Coffee Shop 40-34 162nd Street, Flushing We ask the owner of Steve’s Coffee Shop in Flushing if we can take a few pictures. He agrees, on the condition that two things are in frame: Steve’s original faux marble countertop, and the 1930s era black-and-white picture on the adjacent wall. Featuring that same counter.

We can’t blame him. After all, countertops are the defining facet of a diner, each one a living record written in coffee and cash. The hub of commerce. A crown that’s held a thousand crown jewels. Steve’s counter, dating all the way back to 1923, is one gorgeous example.

Beyond that, Steve’s is perhaps the most elegantly composed diner we can remember visiting, with tasteful art on the walls, modern made –but classy— lighting, a wall of immaculate steel behind the grill, and that beautiful green faux- marble counter. Our mother always used to say that cleanliness is next to godliness. And if that’s true, Steve’s is pure greasy spoon heaven.

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# Oxymorons aside, the prices aren’t exactly pre-depression era, but they’re right on par for 2013. And the coffee can’t be beat: at just a shade above watery, it’s the kind of coffee one can spend a day drinking for the taste without getting the shakes.

Did we mention the hats? Not only does Steve’s feature a classically composed interior, but the staff are decked out in a diner garb so traditional they would appear to be wearing hand me downs from their 1930s counterparts, if only they weren’t so immaculately clean.

Sadly, we like our diners just a little grungier. But that’s just a matter of taste: We wanted some-

thing authentic, but our notion of authenticity springs from a world without shiny new diners, which is what Steve’s most closely approximates. Clean and composed may take us some getting used to.

Meanwhile, we’ll definitely be taking mom here for breakfast.

e v i F Top Alternative

s m gy

by Andrew Pavia

in Queens

When most people walk into a gym they have an idea of what to expect: a row of treadmills, large mirrors, people lifting heavy things. In Queens, however, more and more gyms are helping members break a sweat in a more unconventional way. The fitness scene is becoming more focused on becoming a well-rounded athlete, and Queens is ahead of the game. From martial art to Crossfit workouts, the borough is embracing alternative forms of working out.

Forest Hills Martial Arts Gym 116-22 Queens Boulevard

At this Queens martial arts gym, the student has become the master.

Steven Sciandra, 44, began attending the Martial Arts Gym in Forest Hills when it first opened in 1986. Since then he won the Jiu Jitsu World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, and now he’s back in Forest Hills, where he is shihan (head instructor) and sharing his knowledge with a new generation

of fighters.

Sciandra teaches various forms of martial arts, including judo, mixed martial arts, and Kali.

Not only are his students losing weight and getting healthy, they are strengthening their focus and helping them with multiple aspect of their lives.

“It used to be just a group of guys, from 18 to 25, that wanted to get together and fight,” Sciandra said.

5

“Now it’s all about the kids coming in with their parents and learning discipline, fitness, and down the line they learn selfdefense.”

Students as young as four are students at Martial Arts Gym. “With the kids, if they’re not having fun, no matter what, they lose their attention,” he said.

www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 15

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Pharaohs Army ub Fitness Cl 116-16 Queens Boulevard

Here you won’t find machines.

“My facility, will have no machines,” explains Ari Harris, founder and owner of Pharaohs Army Fitness Clu. “My tagline is, ‘we don’t use machines, we build machines.’”

The gym focuses on kettle bell swings and Total Body Exercise suspension. “You can use one kettle bell and target your upper body, lower body and trunks,” Harris said.

This style of exercise, while not so flashy, has proven results, with some participants burning as much as 1,000 calories per hour.

This owner is armed with thirteen years of experience as a personal trainer, and says the quality of his workout separates him from the many personal gyms that have sprung up across the borough over the recent year.s.

“The quality of training has gone way, way down,” he said. “There are too many jacks of all trades and masters of none.”

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top f ive

The Cliffs

a lt e r

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in qu ee

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11-11 44th Drive

This “gym” is a place where you really have to watch your step. When it opens later this summer, The Cliffs will be the largest rock climbing facility in New York, and one of the largest in North America.

“Our goal is to build the biggest and best rock facility,” says owner Mike Wolfert.

With over 30,000 square feet of climbing terrain, this is a place where Queens residents can go for everything from hurdling 16-foot boulders to using 2,000 square feet of cardio equipment or having a fun birthday party.

While living in San Fransico, Wolfert discovered rock climbing and it has become a passion in his life ever since. Now with his very own indoor facility, he stresses people can experience the physical benefits of rock climbing without all of the danger.

“There’s always that fear of dealing with heights, but practically it’s not the same thing,” Wolfert explained. “It’s in a controlled environment, you’re on a rope and if you let go of the wall there is no impact involved. It even has less impact than running or most traditional sports because you’re not hitting the ground with each step.”

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www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 17

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Club Force Fitness 63-03 Fresh Pond Road While this gym may look like your typical fitness center, looks can be deceiving. In an attempt to adapt with the changing fitness scene, Force Fitness is offering Crossfit classes, kettle bell workouts and even training for obstacle course races.

The gym prides itself on the many options it can offer members. “In fitness, you can’t stay stagnant and it’s the same for business,” says owner Mike Romer.

He explains that a Special Forces-style class

18 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

2

was created recently at Force Fitness to prepare people for Spartan Races, Warrior Dashes and Tough Mudder obstacle courses. Romer said that it’s important to adapt to what’s popular, and high-intensity workouts are what’s in style now.

“We’re not the typical fitness pub,” said Romer.

“You’re going to come in and do a ton of crazy things.”

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1 x Crossfit Dynami 36-5 Steinway Street This gym is so alternative that it’s not even called a gym, it’s a “box.” Crossfit Dynmaix has been open just over a year, but it’s already ranked in the Top 20 Crossfit boxes in the world.

The box prides itself on not being another “globo-gym” by creating a family environment. “I think you’ll find that most people here consider this place their home away from home,” said owner Jusin Cotler.

Crossfit workouts are meant to prevent physical decay as people age, while simultaneously working to make the individual a well-rounded athlete. Whereas most gyms concentrate on a person’s appearance, the idea behind Crossfit is all based on performance.

“A lean, ripped physique is just a side effect,” says Cotler.

The box opened in February of 2012 and already has over 300 members, who mostly heard of the facility through word of mouth. Membership is growing so fast that Cotler is purchasing the facility next door and expanding.

While Crossfit is meant to harden the body, it turns out that it is also strengths willpower and mind.

“I saw what it was doing to people, not just physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually,” says Cotler. “I saw how it was changing people’s lives.”

www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 19

20 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

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www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 21

My Love Affair with Rockaway

by Seth Bornstein

Somewhere in a box of keepsakes, I have a small, cheap metal disc with my name embossed on it. One of my earliest memories is my grandmother giving me a few cents that I deposited into a slot in a magical machine in an arcade off the Rockaway boardwalk. I pushed the buttons

spelling

my

name, and out came a little souvenir. I put it in my little pail and went

down

to

the

ocean. I recall losing it in the sand and being delighted when my grandmother found it. That night, I proudly showed it to my great aunts Sophie and Fay, who wintered in East Flatbush, but had a little summer bungalow in Arverne, where I was staying. In fact, most East Flatbush residents had bungalows in Rockaway in those days — the entire neighborhood decamped so everybody had the same friends on Beach 49th Street in Queens as they did on East 49th Street in Brooklyn.

22 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

That’s my first memory of Rockaway. I

but they just don’t do it for me. Sure the

loved it then, and I love it now. As a kid,

crowds are sparser in Amagansett and

there was nothing more exciting than

the sand is finer in Montego Bay, but in

racing down to the beach, charging

my mind diving into the Atlantic Ocean

ahead of my grandparents, who were

and looking back at the Manhattan

no doubt schlepping plastic webbed

Skyline is one heck of a great beach

beach chairs, umbrellas, bags of tuna

experience.

sandwiches and

bottles

of

Going to school in New York in the

Coppertone

1970s, I’d go to Rockaway with college

(which we used

friends. Taking the A train across the

to get a “healthy

bay or seeing the Moorish towers at Riis

tan”).

Jumping

Park always put me a good mood. Sure,

waves,

Rockaway had changed since I was a

for

kid. Many of the bungalows were gone,

shells — especially the iridescent ones

Zomick’s Bakery (great rye bread) in Far

— and attempting to catch minnows

Rockaway moved out, the arcades were

with a towel were perfect ways for a

on their last legs, and even Levine’s

seven-year-old to spend a summer

Washington Hotel — which as a child

day. Over time, it all changed. Sophie

I thought was the height of elegance —

and Fay got a little too old to rent the

was no longer. But the beach always

bungalow, my grandparents moved to

sold me. I took up running and the

Florida, and other beaches beckoned.

boardwalk, though desolate sometimes

But the soft spot for Rockaway always

even on a nice day, was always a great

remained in my heart. I have been

venue. And of course at the end of the

fortunate to travel to beaches along the

run a dip in the ocean made it worth

Pacific, Caribbean and Mediterranean,

the trip no matter the time of year!

the exploring

As I ran along the boardwalk, I’d see the large tracts of land

weeks earlier my wife Diane and my daughters Madeline and

where Sophie’s bungalow once stood. As I waited on the A train

Kerry were enjoying sangria, Moroccan couscous and nachos on

platform, I’d glance at the rundown shopping corridors. The

the boardwalk while listening to music. It all disappeared in a

Rockaways looked depressed even on a sunny day, but I knew

few hours.

the potential. I was fortunate to work in the Queens Borough President’s Office in the 1990s, when plans were made for the

Through our work at the Queens Economic Development

Arvene-by-the-Sea housing development. It was exciting to see

Corporation I have been fortunate to participate in helping to

the drawings become reality and watch the structures being

revitalize Rockaway. Our Queens Tourism Council bought the

built. During that same period, I was delegated to assist in the

rights to the Ramone’s song, “Rockaway Beach,” and now that

relocation and rebuilding of the Joseph P. Addabbo Health Center

iconic summer tune is the background music for a radio ad

(now located in a beautiful building on Beach 62nd Street, it is

campaign. Our “It’s In Queens!” website lists all sorts of events

a project which makes me enormously proud). Since that time, I

taking place on the peninsula this summer. The A train is rolling,

have had the opportunity to work on a number of projects in the

the Rockabus is rocking, the ferry is sailing and Zipcar is zipping.

Rockaways.

People are coming back — whether out of support or just for a great day at the beach. NYC Small Business Services, Citi and a

Over the last decade, the term “Rockaway Renaissance” truly

committed merchants group are revitalizing Beach 116th Street

defined what was happening. Arverne-by-the-Sea is a great

and the surrounding environs. Our QEDC Business Services team

example of a planned community that takes into account

is providing counseling and training sponsored by Capital One

aesthetic, economic and environmental needs. The new

Bank. It is a community on the mend.

concessions along the boardwalk, spearheaded by Rockaway Taco, attracted a new crowd to the beach. Slowly the peninsula

Rockaway will come back. It has to. It’s the greatest beach in

was changing. Sure there were still areas that needed significant

New York City. And I still love going out there and jumping in

attention, but overall the community was on an

the water. The best time is early morning. Admittedly,

upswing. Until Hurricane Sandy.

I am a lousy swimmer, but for all the Jewish mothers out there (especially mine) please know that I never

Driving down Rockaway Beach Boulevard a few

swim alone. My good buddy Dave shares my affinity

days after the hurricane and seeing people lined up for food

for the sea, and he is a much better swimmer than I. So we’ll go

and supplies near the piles of rubble broke my heart. Seeing the

out there at the crack of dawn and dive in. There is no better way

debris on the beach shocked me. This was a paradise. Only a few

to start the day.

Seth Bornstein is the Executive Director of the Queens Economic Development Corporation.

In his spare time, he is a Rockaway Beach bum. www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 23

There’s plenty of famous things that have their origins here in Queens, from Steinway pianos to Vitamin Water. For this issue of It’s Queens, we chose to focus on some companies making things here in Queens that might be off your radar, but deserve your attention nonetheless.

MADE in QUEENS

15. Sign-A-Rama

14. IRT Manufacturing

13. Maryam Scarves

Forest Hills

179-10 93rd Avenue, Jamaica

93-15 179th Place Jamaica

Shabbir Arif opened his new business just two months ago, focusing on indoor and outdoor signs, window and door lettering, banners, magnetic signs, decals and even vehicle wraps.

Sign-A-Rama can also make custom and specialty items like light box signs, channel letters, graphics, logos, real estate signs, exterior signs, trade show signs, lawn signs and architectural signs. “I used to live here. I love the borough,” Arif said. “Queens has a rapidly growing Hispanic and Indian community, and by staying in Queens, our diverse workplace matches well with the diverse area around us.”

Chim Samuel, the manager of IRT Manufacturing, is in charge of running a business that has been specializing in party favors for Jewish religious events for 18 years. IRT designs, creates, and produces t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and necklaces for bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs and a variety of religious holidays. They also design party favors according to the theme of the party, such as sports, music, travel and more. They take pride in running their business in an ethnically diverse neighborhood. “Growing up in Queens, you naturally connect with it,” Samuel said. “I love the culture here. Everything is so reasonable in Queens, like the prices. It is far cheaper than Manhattan or Brooklyn.”

12. Awards sign etching With 35 years of experience, Awards Signs Etching has served celebrities like Mike Tyson and Hillary Clinton along with several congressmen, senators, teams and even leagues. The business struggled at first according to Sajjad Khalfan, Jr., who prefers to go by J.R. His store manufactures awards, banners, digital printing, glass and crystal awards, name badges and tags and indoor and outdoor signs for all kinds of businesses, government agencies and financial institutions. He also manufactures signs for the city and state of New York, as well

For the past five years, Arlene Young has provided scarves and stoles for school graduations. “This school came to me and asked to make stoles for them,” said Young who was intrigued by the request and continued making them. The scarves and stoles are made of satin or kente cloth (combination of silk and cotton) and may come with school colors, name or logo draped over the graduation class. Young takes orders for standard scarves as well as logo and mascot scarves, and custom orders.

Elmhurst

as the mayor’s office. “It was very tough the first six months,” Khalfan said. “We had no customers.

We started from scratch. I would be in the shop until three or four in the morning because I had no help.” Khalfan recently moved from his Queens location, but he sees Queens as a great place to start a business. “The second most beautiful place to open a business is absolutely Queens,” he said.

“It has become the new midtown. If you go to Long Island City, Forest Hills or Rego Park; it’s not the equivalent of Times Square, but it will get there.”

11.Abbot & Abbot Box Since 1888, Abbot and Abbot Box Corporation has manufactured quality shipping boxes, custom packing and crating services. The company has seen its products featured on movie sets and backdrops, and they have been used by the military as well as for commercial and industrial use.

Their boxes have also been used to transport high-end furniture, glass and art both to customers in the United States and overseas.

President Stuart Gleiber bought the company in March of 1966 and loves the convenient location that Long Island

37-11 10th Street, Long Island City City provides for his business. “In five minutes I can be in Manhattan or I can be on the Triboro Bridge heading to the Bronx,” he said.

In addition to custom-made boxes and crates, Abbot and Abbot also make pallets, skids, custom foam fabrication and corrugated cartons, stock size cartons and promotional boxes. The business also provides on- and off-site packing and crating, and will visit a site to determine the best shipping and packaging options.

10: Expression embroidery 179-10 93rd Avenue, Jamaica Expressions Embroidery opened in 1996, and since then has offered screen-printing services to a variety of garment manufactures, promotion companies, restaurants, commercial contractors and fashion designers throughout the city. Company president George Hanakis and his staff of graphic artists, digitizers and machine operators use over 100 state-of-the-art embroidery machines to design and manufacture everything on site. “If Citi Bank has a picnic and wants 300 shirts for the event, then I’ll embroider the shirts for them,” Hanakis said. “We can do dozens of them at a time for different clothing lines.

We have a lot of promotional companies and startup clothing lines.”

24 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

Their expert needlework, whether on a jacket, a youth league baseball jersey or a fabric napkin or handkerchief, stands out among some of the most detailed and professional in the business. “I grew up in Queens and I’m very comfortable here,” he said. “It’s just where my life’s been. I live in Long Island now, but once a Queens boy, always a Queens boy.”

9: Lyla Tov Monsters

Astoria

Erin Black’s daughter Lyla drew a “good monster” when she was three years old and explained that it would protect her while she slept. Black used her experience as a costume designer to bring the monster off the page and into her daughter’s hand. Now it’s a business run from the family living room in Astoria and even continues to takes Lyla’s, now 6, creative instruction into consideration. Every member of the family is working to further the businesses by taking custom orders, handmaking products and participating in trade shows to spread the word. Black is also turning to Kickstarter to raise money to help fund a book to bring the characters to life. “It actually works,” said Black. “The amount of feedback we get is outstanding.” “Lyla Tov” means “good night” in Hebrew, and that’s exactly what the monsters have been giving children since Black crafted one for her daughter three years ago.

8: Spirited Gems Patrice Lee describes Spirited Gems as “jewelry to inspire, transform and lift the spirit.” With a background in art and design, she started her business in 2003. The jewelry soon be came a big hit, and she soon got a handle on what her costumers wanted: gems.

Her gems are not only beautiful, but each type of gem has significance. For example the stone amazonite can calm

7: The 7-Line

48-01 42nd Street, Long Island City

nerves and emotions. “I like to work with gem stones based on their meaning,” Lee said. Lee’s top selling gems are amethyst, turquoise, carnelian, and citrine. Lee custom makes bracelets, allowing the costumer to use any stone combination they want. According to Lee having a business in Queens brings costumer-based diversity. “Queens is such a big melting pot,” Lee said.

Jamaica

Darren Meenan has been printing t-shirts since 1998, and after wearing a homemade design to the last game of the Mets’ 2009 season that read “I Survived,” he decided to turn his passion for baseball into a career. “It was just a fun shirt and some fans wanted to know where to buy one,” said Meenan, owner of The 7 Line, a privately run Mets apparel business. Today, he has over 20,000 Facebook followers waiting for his next installment of the Mets-themed clothing and items. Meenan not only makes his own clothes, but he also turned his business into a Mets fan club, buying up to 500 road game tickets for local fans. “Tickets include a shirt in the package so everyone’s out there wearing our shirts,” he said of his Group Outing packages. “We try to make it for the fans so people know we’re at the ballpark.”

6: Artistic Stitch 78-08 Cooper Avenue, Glendale In 1996, Sal Loretta turned his garage into what would become the embroidery company Artistic Stitch. Since the company began, it continued growing and adding on services that are all performed in Queens. Loretta’s company soon undertook screen-printing in addition to embroidering and became involved in the community, making team uniforms and working with schools like Christ the King High School. Last year, Artistic Stitch began training athletes, no longer just clothing them. At their Glendale location, Artistic Stitch houses batting cages, training camps, a rock-climbing wall, and personal training lessons.

“Sports are an important part of growing up, and if I can help in that process in a positive way, all the better,” said Loretta. www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 25

5: Rhonda Feinman Custom Frames Rhonda Feinman, the owner of Rhonda Feinman Custom Frames, Inc., has made her own way in the custom designed, hand-carved wooden picture frame business when she started her own manufacturing company back in 2001.

“We get our wood locally, from a sawmill in Connecticuit and in upstate New York,” Feinman said.

Often using bass, poplar or maple wood in her work, Feinman’s team of 16 frame makers utilize a 7,500-squarefoot Woodside warehouse space to produce up to 100 gold leave-finished frames each week for a variety of cus-

tomers like art galleries, picture frame stores or museums.

“I employ people with a living wage in manufacturing and that’s really important,” she said. “There are some that do that, but not a lot.”

Her customers can choose from a wide variety of pre-selected frames, they can have one made from scratch or even reproduce an antique.

“There’s a huge range,” she said. “We make them from very huge to very tiny.”

While originally located in LIC nearly 11 years ago, Feinman said she is happy to be at her new location.

“We moved because the lease was up

4: The Ravioli Store When most people think of Long Island City, they probably don’t instantly think of pasta, but that might be changing. They’re mind isn’t filled with thoughts of artisan pasta or ravioli, but it should be.

Rainbow Leather has been keeping Queens in style for over 25 years from it’s manufacturing location in College Point. This family-owned company works with stylists to supply leather goods and high fashion products.

“When we hear polka-dots are hot, we pull out our polka dot embossing plates,” said Richard Lipson, president of Rainbow Leather. “We buy all the ingredients and cook them up to create our own special leathers.”

Despite using equipment from 70 years ago, this team of 10 employees 26 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

and everything around us was turning into residential,” she said. “I’m perfectly happy here. It’s good. We like Woodside.

39-01 22nd Street, Long Island City

The Ravioli Store has been operating in LIC since 2006, and has been redefining the traditional stuffed past with nontraditional flavors like butternut squash, potato truffle and sweet potato fig.

“Our flavor profiles are really bold and strong and sometimes bordering on funky,” said owner Michael Nasoff. “Unusual just gives a chef an opportunity to create.”

Nasoff said the unusual ingredients means the Ravioli Store never competes with the traditional cheese ravioli market, something that Nasoff said he doesn’t want to do.

“We’re an artisan company,” he said. “We do a lot of handmade and custom products.”

3: Rainbow Leather

55-15 37th Avenue, Woodside

“Since moving to Long Island City, we’ve expanded into also selling to the retail channel,” said Nasoff. “So we sell to stores like Fairway, Fresh Direct and a lot of gourmet stores.”

Looking toward the future, Nasoff said that the two main goals are to create a gluten-free pasta and become USDA certified, allowing the company to stuff ravioli with meat and poultry.

“It’s great to see all the residential growth in Long Island City and now the supporting business community, including restaurants, however these smaller restaurants very quickly find themselves in cash-flow problems.”

Nasoff said. “But it is definitely a great new opportunity.”

14-15 112th Street, College Point

still finds a way to stay ahead of the fashions trends. Suppliers have said that the costs pale in the compassion of the European goods.

Not only is this printing and embroidering leather company the only of it’s kind in Queens, it is the only one in the United States as well.

“We don’t have direct competition,” Lipson said. “No one else does anything like we do. We’re unique and

specialized.”

Along with manufacturing leather to high fashioned designers; Rainbow Leather also supplies to footwear, accessories and furniture industries.

2: Plexi-Craft For over 50 years, Plexi-Craft has been designing, fabricating and providing acrylic furniture, fixtures and accessories across the five boroughs with a special emphasis on custom crafted items. George Frechter purchased the company in 1972 and it has been in the hands of the family ever since. Once located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the company moved to Long Island City in 2008.

“We moved here five years ago because it’s the new center of design in NYC,” said Ethan Steiner, the head

30-02 48th Avenue, Long Island City

of marketing and product manager.

The new location allows the business to interact with designers, fabricators and other businesses in the industry.

1: Clara Kasavina Clara Kasavina and husband Misha Berger decided on Long Island City as the place to launch their fashion business after they outgrew their first workspace: their kitchen.

This husband-and-wife duo relies on the creativity of Kasavina and the craftsmanship of Berger to create unique pieces of jewelry, bags and other accessories.

While they still refer to it as a “small business,” Clara Kasavina products have been worn by stars such as Rhianna, Jamie Lynn Sigler and Beyonce.

The two are originally from the former Soviet Union and were introduced by their parents in the United Stated.

At the time, Kasavina was a computer programmer and Berger was an outof-work model maker who needed to make ends meet.

“This is when I realized that he can

Acrylic began to fade in the 1980’s when more thoughtful designs started appearing in the market, according to George’s son Allen Frechter. By the 1990’s, acrylic was used as a supplemental piece to compliment other furniture.

“Now, designers consider acrylic much as they do steel, granite, and wood. It’s another tool or material in their kit of resources,” Allen said.

“They want a fabricator who can make anything they need out of acrylic. That’s where we shine.”

43-01 22nd Street, Long Island City

do something that not everyone can. If you can’t find a job, let’s go into business together,” Kasavina recalls telling her husband.

Belt buckles replaced the fine china on their kitchen table, and as Berger worked on his craft, Kasavina called retailers.

“Every door practically opened for us,” she said.

Once they began to make some noise in the fashion industry a contractor agreed to work with them. However, the contractor eventually quit because the intense creativity made them “hard to deal with,” said Kasavina.

That was when the two made their way to Long Island City, with offices and a small showcase in the front and a factory in the back where the handcrafted pieces are made.

Clara Kasavina was the recipient of

the 5th Annual Independent Designer Handbag Award of 2011, and was nominated for best use of Swarovski elements in 2010.

When asked about the growing trends taking over Long Island City, the two said that they were pleased with the direction the neighborhood is going.

“We are surrounded by artists, even in our building,” Kasavina said. “And I feel that we are one of the companies that are contributing to this movement.”

Berger said that local legislators and the mayor should work on legislation that would make Long Island City a tax-free zone for small businesses.

“Especially for people like small artists who are renting little rooms and are scrambling for money to pay rent,” Berger said. “It’s not easy for those people.”

www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 27

Cover Story

28 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

Miss New York still at work

It’s been nearly two years since Astoria’s own Kaitlin Monte took the title of Miss New York in 2011, but the journey she began years ago was just the start.

by Andrew Schilling

www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 29

On a typical day, this overnight local celebrity will typically wake up and head to work with a development team of Columbia University interns in an organization she helped launch combating digital defamation.

Depending on the day, Monte will also host the television show NBC Trivia on Weekend Today in New York, or fill the role as face of the Mets on Mets Insider on SportsNet New York.

“I still take the subway, I still have to pay my rent and nothing gets handed to me,” Monte said looking

in 2008 when she was just 19 years old, earning a double major in Performance Art and Public Relations.

the boroughs, where she says the age of cyberbullying has created far-reaching problems among our youth.

While aspiring to become an actress and serving as an active member of the USO of Metropolitan New York, Monte combined her two loves in life and forged a brand new path for herself.

“When I was in school you could fight bullying by keeping one person from accessing another person, and a rumor could only expand as far as the attention span of the group,” Monte explained. “People just get over it and they want to talk about something else.”

“Becoming Miss New York wasn’t enough. I had to prove that I deserved it,” she said. “Getting a job, doesn’t mean that I deserved to get it, it’s how do I perform within the job.”

In her one hour presentation for students from kindergarten through 12th grade, Monte helps children and parents cope with the fast-

“Becoming Miss New York wasn’t enough.

I had to prove that I deserved it” back on her push to the limelight.

“I also realize that fame and that concept is all very fleeting, so as soon as you trust it to be there, it won’t be and that is the New York mentality.”

Monte was the recipient of the Anti-Defamation League’s 2012 “No Place for Hate: Difference Maker of the Year” for her Anti-bullying Through Leadership campaign.

growing digital age by teaching strategies for handling bullies, places to go to get help. She also serves as the young familiar face in an older crowd of supervisors and authoritative figures.

Her dream of becoming Miss New York came following graduation from the University of Tampa

Through the program, she has reached out to over 10,000 students across 100 schools in

“So many of these kids weren’t taught how to make better choices,” Monte explained. “They see their

30 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

parents yell at each other or their dad punch a wall and they think that’s how they deal with stress. We can’t blame them for things if they haven’t been exposed to different options.”

In Cyberbully Census, Monte teamed up with the New York State Independent Democratic Conference to help lawmakers gain a better understanding of bullying online.

She says children who bully often just need attention to help uncover a greater problem.

“Children’s worlds have expanded because of the Internet, but their scope and their understanding hasn’t necessarily kept up, so it’s difficult because they don’t understand the repercussions of taking these fights online,” she explained. “We just can’t blame them for things when they haven’t been exposed to different options.”

Along with her focus on a bullying in the community, Monte also fulfills her passion of reporting and publicity marketing with major television networks, NBC and SNY.

On Mets Insider, Monte interviews players and gives a behind-thescenes look at the team. On NBC Trivia, she hits the air on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Weekend Today in New York.

As she manages her busy life postMiss New York, she says she can always look to the rest of the bluecollar working world in the city for motivation on keeping her eyes on the prize.

“There’s always someone working harder than you and always someone willing to wake up earlier and work those extra hours,” she said.

“Anytime I feel like I’m slacking, I try to think, ‘Did I meet a level that I feel was competitive today?’”

One thing is certain, wherever Miss New York is going in life, she is not only making a better for herself, but for all New Yorkers.

“We’ve all seen people who got a job they didn’t deserve and I never want anyone to say that about me,” Monte said. “If you don’t work and you don’t hustle, it will all go away.”

“Anytime I feel like I’m slacking, I try to think, ‘Did I meet a level that I feel was competitive

www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 31

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advertorial

Employers are Protecting Their Rights Too

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The attorneys at Stephen D. Hans & Associates have a proven track record of successfully defending countless commercial enterprises and individual business owners in both New York State and Federal Courts.

Located in Long Island City, NY, the law firm of Stephen D. Hans & Associates, P. C. represents small and mid-sized businesses in connection with any employment related matter, including litigation defense and government agency investigations.

They represent companies and business owners across a wide range of fields, including non-profit organizations, doctors and medical practices, restaurants, building owners and managers, construction and security companies, law firms and lawyers, wholesalers and distributors and suppliers, car washes, grocery stores and several 34 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

other types of commercial operations.

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In today’s business climate, employment-related litigation is often an unfortunate reality for employers and a necessary cost of doing business in New York. At Stephen D. Hans & Associates, they know the frustration and disillusionment employment lawsuits and investigations can cause.

Stephen D. Hans & Associates, P.C. is recognized as a top New York law firm for their extensive knowledge, experience and professional skills.

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Sr. former speaker of the New York City Council.

Stephen D. Hans has practiced law in Queens County, New York for over 35 years. He has successfully represented a wide range of individuals and organizations in such forums as the Public Employment Relations Board, the NYS and U.S. Departments of Labor, the NYS Division of Human Rights, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, the U.S. District Courts and the New York State Courts.

Stephen Hans is also involved in various professional and civic associations, such as: Queens County Bar Association, Board of Managers, Queens County Bar Association Labor Relations Committee, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Labor Law Panel, board member and counsel of the Chamber Orchestra of New York Counsel and former Board member of the Queens Botanical Garden and board member of the Boys & Girls Club of New York.

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www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 35

advertorial

Rockaway Manor Home service health care is a necessity for some elderly patients to provide safety and comfort in their home and still receive the necessary professional health services. As people age and are faced with more and more illnesses, it is recommended you use a reputable company to provide a wide variety of this type of special care.

One up-and-coming home care company that serves clients in Queens County as well as the rest of New York City, as well as Nassau County, is Rockaway Manor Home Care (RMHC), a New York State Department of Health licensed home care services agency. The corporate office, located at 150 Beach 9th Street, Far Rockaway, is a community staple and is now in their seventh year of

36 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

operations.

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To Mercedes Cano, Immigration is Her Life For the past 13 years, Mercedes Cano has been the legal voice for the diverse immigrant population in the Jackson Heights area of Queens.

She represents clients facing deportation, fighting for political asylum and for those seeking green cards.

Cano has successfully represented immigrants in immigration courts in and out of New York State and has filed appeals for the Board of Immigration Appeals for those in deportation proceedings. She has experience in real estate and business transactions and understands the need for her expert advice and guidance to help immigrant entrepreneurs and small business owners grow and thrive.

Cano’s story is an amazing one as she emigrated from Colombia to the U.S. in 1971 as an undocumented 16-year old who did not speak English. “Life was tough,” said Cano, who shared an apart-

ment with her aunt in the Bronx while attending school.

practice and representing clients before immigration courts.

After she finished high school and her aunt decided it was time to return to Colombia, she ran away and spent a year on the streets; at times sleeping on the same No. 7 train that today rumbles past the Centro offices.

She is a member of the Queens County Bar Association, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). She is currently the President of The Latino Lawyers Association.

She has worked as a maid, a waitress, driven a cab for 10 years and was a union shop steward with the U. She did all this while attending Queens College and then City University of New York Law School, as she knew that education would be the foundation of her dreams.

Ms. Cano received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature cum laude from Queens College and her Juris Doctor from CUNY School of Law. She has given conferences to CLRN lawyers, a community network of 250 lawyers from CUNY School of Law, on the immigration

Cano opened Centro with a $13,000 grant from the initiative of public interest from Yale University and received several sponsors later that year.

Her schedule is filled and her days very busy, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I love what I do, I love the law,” she said. “I love the idea of giving back to life, of empowering people. I love challenging authority, rectifying even the 1 percent of the wrongdoings that come through that door.”

www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 37

The it’s list

Breastaurants,

Bathhouses,

& Booze

by Hoyt Jacobs

A Brief Tour of Queens’ Novelty Bar Scene Sweating out a hangover even while taking the first swigs toward your next; riding a mechanical bull to jello shot heaven; resisting the urge to smash a beer can against your head: Welcome to the wild and wooly world of Queens’ novelty bars. Presented for your pleasure are a motley assortment of the best our booze-borough has to offer. To help ease the headache of planning your weekend-long vacation from reality, we present these fine establishments in two sections: Day Drinking and Evening Drinking. Take two to ten and call us Monday morning (or afternoon, we prefer that). And please, try to enjoy responsibly.

59-21 Calloway Street Forest Hills

Day Drinking Spa Forest Hills: Drinking:: Forest Hills Spa, Hung over from last night, but not willing to call it quits on the weekend just yet? Forest Hills Spa has what you need to get your second wind.

What appears to be just another bland building from the street immediately gives way to an expansive pool area for lounging, eating Siberian pelmeni, and, most importantly, drinking Russian beer out of enormous glass mugs that would give Cheers’ Norm momentary pause.

Those willing to ignore all sense of self-preservation are free to sweat out last night’s whiskey in one of the saunas (the Russian room has a low ceiling and is especially hot for 38 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

it), but we’d recommend sticking to the pool area, where local families frolic and the well-stocked beer bar and restaurant is never more than a few steps away. With flowing beer, hot chicken tabaka on your plate, and kids running through your legs, you’ll feel like you’re at a subterranean Russian family reunion. Is there a better way to prepare for another night of drinking than that? http://www.foresthillsspa.com/

40-11 30th Avenue Astoria

Canz Ok. So therez nothing particularly novel about a Breastaurant, especially in NYC where underground cave barz and go-go dancer happy hourz are so last century. Rural Kansaz may find their new Hooters franchise shocking, but for everyone else, it’s a passé deal. And Canz is as Breastaurant as it gets: a franchise spinning Hooters’ patented short shorts and wet-tee-shirt-contest ready white tanks into a decidedly unoriginal Daisy Dukes-and-black wifebeater combo and adding little else… until you realize that isn’t even the point.

What ends up being the stand out feature of Canz are not the standard ironic signz or jaded beyond their

years waitressez, but, well, the can motif that permeatez the aestheticz of every corner in the place, from the bar stoolz to the bathroom wallpaper. Yes, at Canz the girls take a back seat to the owner’z apparent can fetish. Just don’t tell the lunch crowd, who range from former high school quartebacks in suits to former high school quarterbacks in muscle shirtz, both of whom can be found smoking and flexing outside the front door.

Champs Sports Bar

There may not be much to Champs: a small bar area with reasonably friendly, no-nonsense staff, a few simulcasting TVs, and scattered chairs.

Etched glass images of various sporting events like boxing, horse racing, baseball? They’ve got that.

But one hardly notices, bland as the overall ambiance is. (Think airportbar-as-cinder-block and you’re on the right track.) In short, it’s as pure

a dive bar as can be. And if that isn’t enough to excite your inner Bukowski, the fringe benefits will: Can the ambitious customer take their drink outside to the concrete seating area and watch the horses run while smoking cigarettes and eating hot dogs? Why yes. Yes they can.

Cigarettes. While drinking. Need we say more? And if this isn’t enough to have you gnawing at the bit, consider

And their menu features the most prominent use of z’s since the introduction of Zima. http://www.canzaciti.com/gallery.html 110-00 Rockaway Boulevard South South Ozone Park

that few things go better with alcohol than cigarettes… except gambling of course, an indulgence Aqueduct is more than willing to facilitate should the urge strike. And if you’re doing things correctly, it most certainly will. What better way to start a long night of drinking than winning — or losing — on the horses? http://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/

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131-10 11th Avenue College Point

Aqua Bar and Tonic Lounge Rooms of gold, semi-precious stones, and ice; a pool with jets propelling you in an out of massage chairs and colorfully illuminated jacuzzis. Massages. Sleeping rooms perfect for napping that hangover off before sweating last night’s toxins away. This is Spa Castle, College Point’s least-kept secret and a beacon to Korean spa enthusiasts across the five boroughs.

Some have called Spa Castle the McDonalds of bath houses, and with small children running amok, one of the worst buffets in New York state, and a cartoonish waterpark vibe, it certainly doesn’t compare to more adult fare a bus ride away in New Jersey. But we’re not here to relax; we want to drink (after sweating off last night in the Loess Soil Sauna, of course) and for that Spa Castle has not one, but two goofy options.

Tonic Lounge, the more refined of the Castle’s two bars, is located on the third floor, adjacent to a relatively decent Korean restaurant. More adult than it’s downstairs neighbor (we’ll get to that in a minute), Tonic Lounge features a variety of mixed drinks, as wells as a proper bar (with illuminated bottles of your favorite

liquors), and a balcony for gazing wistfully down on the outdoor pool area while pontificating your latest geopolitical embroilment and drinking Sex on the Beaches from a plastic cup. Indeed, it is difficult not to imagine oneself an international traveler during the minutes and hours spent indulging in Tonic Lounge, though you may often feel as though you’re on a layover.

On the flipside: Aqua Bar, a jacuzzi bar and restaurant where waiters serve beer and booze to happy customers soaking in ketchup infused water. (Beware, French fries are known to float by and get caught in unsuspecting bather’s suits.) It’s actually pretty great –the Spa Castle

experience in a nutshell: booze, Americanized Korean culture, and hot water in a single shot. We’ve known people to spend far more time in Aqua Bar than FDA or EPA recommendations allow. And in this case we’re proud to count ourselves among those bucking government regulations.

By the time we were done drinking in Spa Castle’s two glorious bars, we had plenty enough Dutch courage to see us into the booze-soaked night, not to mention assuage our modesty in the clothing-discouraged locker rooms downstairs. http://spacastleusa.com/ny/food-beverage/

Evening and Beyond: Play Lounge If day drinking at one or two novelty bars gets you in the sporting mood, look no further than Elmhurst’s premiere adult wreck room: Play Lounge. Crave bowling? Check.

Foosball? They’ve got that, too. Pool tables and ping pong?

Oh yes. Want to do jello shots and watch a daring (or just drunk) lady or two ride a mechanical bull? Then simply sally on up to the bar, ask the ‘tender for one of the cherry shots stacked uniformly in their specially designed glass-door mini-fridge, pass through the beaded curtain to your right, and behold the amateur rodeo antics for yourself. (Bring a jello shot for the rider too, while you’re at it.) Neighborhood demographics ensure an assorted clientele at Play, so the place seldom suffers too much from the frat-house ambiance so common to those of its kind. But we’re just describing what happens after the sun goes down: if you don’t feel like traveling all over the borough to pull an all-dayer, we recommend enjoying a few afternoon beers and some bowling before the night crowd packs in. Jello shots available all day, people. http://www.play-ny.com/our-venue.php 40 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

77-17 Queens Boulevard Elmhurs

Penthouse 88

8-08 Queens Plaza South Long Island City

A hotel bar cool enough to attract locals of a certain disposition, Penthouse 88 is a cocktail-soaked perch with views that make a trip from Manhattan worthwhile, if only to gaze at the magnificence of from whence one has come (or wishes they’d come from).

Situated just to the left of arguably the most resplendent bridge in the city, the Queensborough, Penthouse 88 is an oasis of opulence in the middle of an industrial area.

(Think South Bushwick with an unmistakably Queens flavor.) The booze is flowing, the staff is stressed but accommodating, and the music pulsates – an apparent mating call to the cool-water and cocktail-dress crowd populating corners of the bar not already taken by out-of-towners. Sip a cocktail, watch the sun turn the bridge a gold-beyond-golden color and snap!, you’re a modern day Gatsby. The 2013 film version, of course. http://penthouse808rooftop.com/lounge/

Tropix Bar and Lounge

95-32 Queens Boulevard Rego Park

Full disclosure: we are total rubes when it comes to flash animation and Edwin Bonilla. Add hardpartying party people silhouettes, the beach, and a sea gull caught in a Sisyphean limbo (trust us) to the mix and there’s no way we can resist. Which is why we loved Tropix Bar and Lounge in Rego Park long before stepping foot in the door.

Because their website has not one, but all those features.Not being ones to judge a book by its cover, we had to check Tropix out. And it didn’t disappoint. Though we arrived well before the sun had set, the joint was already packed with carefree people we choose to believe were merely taking a quick booze-break from their cruise ship jobs. With a big back loft area perfect for dancing, Tropix had us shaking “it” with our mixed drinks struggling to keep up.

And yet: no sea sickness here, folks. http://tropixny.com/ www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 41

Gottscheer Hall A little slice of comfort food in a world in thrall to goofery, Gottscheer is not your average novelty bar.

Ostensibly a German beer hall – and with its expansive diner area, dark wood interior, and free oompahstocked juke box , it certainly fits that mold — Gottscheer has a local bar vibe but with a welcoming smile. Put simply, the staff know their beers and they make you feel right at home. But if friendliness doesn’t pass for novelty in your book (and we sincerely hope it doesn’t have to), consider that the 42 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

bar is 85 years old and is managed by the Ridgewood Gottschee trustees.

So Gottscheer Hall isn’t a German beer hall per se, but rather the alcoholic flagship of obscure European diaspora. (Lest we forget the price of history is turmoil: Gottscheer, now an ethnic enclave in Slovenia, has been in recent years a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Duchy of Carniola, and the Kingdom of Illyria.

Or so Wikipedia tells us. And, no, we don’t know what a Duchy is.)

But all this is irrelevant. Because

657 Fairview Avenue Ridgewood

once we walked into Gottscheer Hall to be met with the smell of ancient beer and warm smiles, we were hooked. Attracting a younger crowd as the neighborhood changes, the free juke box is now semi-officially open to guest DJs (if they know you).

So we’ll keep stopping in until they let us put our special Global Kryner mix in rotation.

Still here? Go! Tie one on, please. http://www.gottscheerhall.com/

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Maspeth Dry Cleaners

Cleaning is Our Art

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69-37 Grand Ave 71-23 Eliot Ave 79-14 Eliot Ave (718) 335-6042 (718) 458-8408 (718) 803-3045 Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com Monday-Saturday 7am-7pm

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Ridgewood’s New Boarders: A Queens Art Crawl

Something is happening in Ridgewood. Just a few blocks north of Bushwick’s exposed brick and raw wood adorned restaurants, the artsy hip are busy planting the seeds of the next Williamsburg, usurping that title from their southern neighbors. We all know this story: one minute a handful of artists are reclaiming that dingy basement apartment in your building. Then suddenly, your “East Williamsburg” bodega has chandeliers and organic produce; the Puerto Rican family in 2L is gone, replaced by 20 something MFA candidates and reptilian lawyers; and the shabby molding giving way to exposed brick and flatscreens poised on atomic furniture, as the misguided define and redefine what it means to be “authentic,” while our inner cynics rest assured that this is the way it was and the way it will be again. In a few years

Various Spaces 17-17 Troutman

Half a block above the Bushwick-Ridgewood border sits a former factory converted to accommodate artist’s spaces and galleries.

Sound familiar? That’s because it is, but not necessarily in a bad way. Though the space is reminiscent of what you’ve already seen a bazillion times in Williamsburg (see also: “East Williamsburg”), 17-17 Troutman houses some cool work – and enough of it to make dropping in worth your while. This sprawling labyrinth is home to at least four gallery/studios, and that’s just what we could fumble our way into finding. With more than one owner/ artist suggesting there are more galleries soon to come, it looks like 17-17 is becoming the go-to space for ambitious artists eager for a rent that doesn’t preclude the occasional Michael’s spending spree.

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by Hoyt Jacobs

Ridgewood artists will be pushed further east to Cypress Hills or north to Maspeth to lay the gentry’s groundwork. But for now, Ridgewood, like Bushwick before it, has an edge.

Bearing in mind the eternal return of the New York art scene maybe it’s better to ask, Is something happening in Ridgewood?; something that sets the neighborhood apart from its Chelsea and Williamsburg predecessors? With this in mind, It’s Queens went to the borders of our borough to see what gentrification’s artsy shock troops are up to before they’re priced out the neighborhood they’re converting. And though we were ambivalent about what we found (this is perhaps too negative), we are happy to report that the bodegas still lack chandeliers.

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But what we really liked about the 17-17 galleries was the sense of camaraderie that went above and beyond the one-stopshopping homogeneity of the spaces themselves: while every gallery we visited was more than happy to talk about their own shows, they were equally excited when recommending a new installment down the hall or singing the praises of Regina Rex, the complex’s resident flagship. This mutual promotion impressed a satisfying Chinese box narrative on our visit making our trip in, around, and through 17-17 cohere in a way decidedly less nightmarish than the David Lynchian task of simply moving

from one white box of art to the next. The occasional standout art piece (see Bull and Ram’s crude-animation-meets-weirddialogue-loop display, the pastel 1980s revival paintings at Harbor, and most everything a Parallel) doesn’t hurt either.

Bull and Ram: www.bullandram.blogspot.com/ Harbor Gallery: www.harborbk.com/ Parallel Art Space: parallelartspace.com/Parallel_Art_Space/Current.html Regina Rex www.reginarex.org/

Outpost Artist Resources: 1665 Norman

With its proximity to Myrtle Avenue and high-standing ranking in the Ridgewood art scene, Outpost Artist Resources isn’t as remote as its name would have you believe. But considering they’ve been operating for 22 years, it’s possible things in the neighborhood have changed.

(Wasn’t Ridgewood a farming community in 1991?) Regardless of whether or not OAR once catered to Nan Wood Graham, for the last couple of decades they’ve provided local artists access to video, audio, and custom programing, making them the true old guard of Ridgewood.

The space itself is Spartan-cum-science fiction: Simple U stairs and exposed duct pipes in the mezzanine; a spacious performance area; the obligatory white walls. But be warned: patrons wanting for sculptures and paintings need look elsewhere. OAR caters exclusively to the visual and audio arts, and is only open during scheduled performances. But even if you’re not in the A/V club, it’s worth giving their performance space a drop in, particularly at show time, of course. The week

we visited the featured performer utilized handmade and traditional instruments to create aural landscapes and plain-old weird sounds. A particularly compelling setup made all the more so by being held in a – yes – former barn renovated in the style of MC Escher’s Super Mario Bros level.

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www.outpostartistsresources.org/

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Emart

61-50 Palmetto Emart isn’t a gallery one just wanders into. (Seriously, you need an appointment.) Rather, it’s a place where one experiences a living, breathing dialogue with culture. And that culture is Polish.

Situated on an unassuming stretch of Palmetto Street between Fresh Pond Road and 64th Street, Emart is Ridgewood’s premier Polish gallery space dedicated to the promotion and preservation of modern Polish art. Fittingly, Emart is as warm and inviting as a plate of cheese pierogi. This is due in no small part to the hospitable owner/operator, Mietko Rudek, he of the profound mustache and burly, but open, arms. Mietko made us feel at home before we’d so much as crossed Emart’s threshold, with handshakes and the promise of cocktails inside.

And indeed, home was where we were: Emart is a DIY display of Mietko’s own collection housed in his private residence, a townhouse where the innumerable sculptures and paintings seem poised to devour walls and furniture alike.

Though Emart is homespun, Mieko is serious about what he does. While touring us around his various treasures, he exhibited an encyclopedic knowledge of Polish art and an enthusiasm for each piece bounding on ebullience, and with good cause: his collection included a little bit of everything, provided it is Polish, complete with a personal narrative or two to boot. (Many of the artists are Mietko’s friends.) One didn’t need to have a glass of whiskey in hand to enjoy the show and tell, but it didn’t hurt either.

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www.facebook.com/pages/Emart-Gallery/173586259447564

Valentine

464 Seneca Ave

“You don’t look like you make enough money for that.”

Former pioneering Williamsburg artist Fred Valentine doesn’t think we can afford the art on his walls. And he’s right. Still, our feet were tired after a day of walking back and forth across Ridgewood, and his charming space on Seneca had us hooked right away: the first sight upon entering are a pair of comfy chairs arranged for optimal viewing pleasure. Alas, relaxing was off the menu once we discovered a narrow dark shaft off the main gallery delineated by a wall of steam pipes on one side and back-lit-satanic-insect-collages on the other.

We generally find hell’s gates compelling, and we’re cuckoo for photo-collage. When said collage features photographs of naked humans, broken glass, wood grain, and fabric all smooshed together to form moths, dragonflies, and cockroaches, well, we’re sold. Even if we can’t afford them.

Luckily,Valentine provides old school handheld magnifying glasses at the corridor’s entrance so the unassuming consumer can play Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Missing Wallet while appreciating some of the most compelling art in five boroughs. www.valentinegallery.blogspot.com/

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Small Black Door 19-20 Palmetto

Okay, Small Black Door is our kind of gallery. Located in a basement under someone’s apartment, the only external indication that this is a gallery at all is the eponymous black door, a heavy slab of iron which hung ambiguous and open as we approached one sunny afternoon.

Moving further in, we knocked awkwardly on the unadorned interior door, unsure if we were in the right place. A few minutes passed before a smiling man arrived to let us in. “You weren’t waiting too long?” he asked, explaining that the upstairs neighbors had been making a racket all day.

The man introduced himself as Joe, SBD’s guest curator and that weekend’s door man. His show “Exhibition Game” celebrates and examines contemporary American values through the lens of popular sports. But that’s almost beside the point, so far as we’re concerned. What made us love this show and venue were Joe’s unadulterated enthusiasm for the tee-shirt gun he rented for the installment opening.

While showing us around the space and pontificating on the politics of obtaining and maintaining a tee-shirt gun in New

York City (no easy feat), Joe explained that his job that weekend was basically to drink beer and play video games which, when paused, doubled as an installation.

Indeed the projected pixels from an 8-bit Nintendo football game stretching across one wall passed nicely.

SBD isn’t cool and it isn’t slick. But it does have a certain something that everyone is looking for. As Joe put it, “art is about doing the things you wanted to do when you were a kid.” Exactly. www.smallblackdoor.com/

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Entertainment Calendar A Roundup Of All The Cool Happenings In Queens

session. Seats are available on a first come first serve basis. @ 12 pm | Queens Library at Long Island City, 37-44 21 St.

in the American psyche. @ 7 p.m. | Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, LIC

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Friday, July 5, 2013

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Foreclosure Prevention Learn how to keep afloat in this tough economy and keep your home with a foreclosure prevention class. Call 718-478-3848 for more information. @ 5:30 pm. | Chhaya CDC, 37-43 77th St, 2nd Fl Jackson Heights.

Corona Greenmarket Come out to Corona’s Greenmarket and for some delicious vegetables, herbs, fruit and freshly pressed juice. @ 8 am – 5 pm. | Roosevelt Avenue at 103rd Street.

Mario the Musician Queens Library has paired up with Lincoln Center to present Mario the Magician. This free event will be followed by a question and answer

Our Nixon For an evening of historical footage about former President Richard Nixon, “Our Nixon,” documents and honors his legacy and place

JULY 2013 Monday, July 1, 2013 Enjoy a different take on a classic fairytale Little Red’s Hood, as it will be performed by way of puppeteering at this event for the whole family. @ 7 pm | Rockaway Beach 17th Street Performance Space

Extended Museum Hours It’s the first Friday of the month, which means Noguchi Museum hours are extended. The museum will be open from the extended hours of 5 to 8 pm. There will also an extra discussion about a piece of art at 6 pm. The night will finish off with a film at 7 pm.

The museum will be offering wine and beer for purchase. For more information please contact the museum at 718-204-7088. *This event happens on the first Friday of the Month. | Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Road, Astoria.

Saturday, July 6, 2013 Street Fair Join the neighborhood of Woodside for a fun festival and street fair. For more information call 646-230-0489. @ 11 am- 5 pm | Woodside Avenue from 63rd Street to Roosevelt Avenue, Woodside.

Sunday, July 7, 2013 30th Avenue Festival The Friends of Community Board 1 host the 30th Avenue Festival.

Call 646-230-0489 for more information. @ 11 am- 5pm | 30th Avenue from Steinway to 29th

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Street.

Open Studio Get creative at the Noguchi Museum’s open studio on first Sunday of every month. Contact the museum at (718) 204-7088 for more information. @ 11 am – 1 pm | Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Road, New York, NY 11106.

Monday, July 8, 2013 Classical Jam Join a number of chamber musicians for a performance and a question and answer session. @ 6:00 – 7:00 pm | Queens Library at Richmond Hill, 118-14 Hillside Avenue, Richmond Hill.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 Water Festival Slip and slide into a day filled with water inflatables, food, cotton candy, bounce houses, popcorn and fun. Prizes will be given away and the FDNY will provide fire safety instruction. @11:00 am – 1:00 pm | Beach 108th Street Hockey Rink, Rockaway.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013 Astoria Greenmarket GrowNYC hosts the weekly Astoria Greenmarket, offering up a wide variety of fresh and locally grown fruits and vegetables, community activities, cooking demonstrations, film screenings and more. * This event is held on Wednesdays from July 10 to November 20. EBT/ Food Stamps, Debit/Credit Card and WI and Senior FMNP Coupons are accepted. @ 8:00 am- 3:00 pm | Astoria Greenmarket, 14th Street between 31 Avenue and 31

Road, Astoria.

Thursday, July 11, 2013 New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic performs their annul concert will include classical music such as, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. @ 8:00 pm | Cunningham Park, 193 Street and Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadows.

Exhibition The Museum of Moving Image presents the third installation of Persol Magnificent Obsessions.

The exhibition will examine 10 stories of obsessive workmanship within filmmaking. There will be artifacts from films, notes from the films along with other sketches and materials used in the films.

The exhibition will run through November 10. | The Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Avenue, LIC. Friday, July 12, 2013 Concert Listen to the local sounds of the Solshyne Band as they play music

by The Band, Derek and the

Dominos, The Allman Brothers and Neil Young. The event is sponsored

by Councilman Eric Ulrich. @ 11 am – 1:00 pm | Beach 97th Street Island, Rockaway.

Pay tribute to the legendary career of the Beatles and John Lennon. @ 7:30 pm | Forest Park Bandshell, Woodhaven Boulevard and Forest Park Drive, Woodhaven.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Friday, July 19, 2013

Latin Music The Villalobos Brothers have mixed the sounds of Veracruz, jazz with classical music and have become known as a top World music artist among Classic Fusion ensembles. @ 2:00 – 3:00 pm and 4:00 – 5:00 pm | Queens Library, 35-51 81st Street, Jackson Heights.

Camping Get your tent and your dancing shoes ready as the Queens County Farm museum invites 21-year-olds to a camp out for a feast on all you can eat Queens Farm veggies, Dickson’s Farmstand BBQ meats and Brooklyn Brewery beer. The night will conclude with s’mores, music from live DJ’s and dancing. When the festivities stop you are welcome to sleep in the apple orchard under the stars. @ 6pm to 10 pm | 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013 Music Lessons The band Hip Pickles will perform a morning full of interactive music as they teach kids about music and their instruments as the band will allow their audience a chance to play along. @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm | Beach 97th Street Island.

Rockaway.

Thursday, July 18, 2013 Beatles Tribute

Saturday, July 20, 2013 Abridged Opera La Piccola Opera presents a shortened version of the legendary performance, “Carmen, the story will be sung in French with an English narration. The event will also conclude with a question and answer session. @2:00 – 3:00 pm and 4:00 – 5:00 pm | Forest

Hills Public Library, 108-19 71st Avenue, Forest Hills.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013 Salsa Band at the Park Set out your picnic blankets and dance the night away to the sounds of salsa group, Swing Sabroso. Sponsored by Councilman Erik Dilan. Free @ 7:00 pm | Highland Park, Elton Street and Jamaica Avenue, Cypress Hills.

Friday, July 26 2013 Thunderbird American Indian Pow Wow Join in in traditional Native American pow wow and dance competition as more than 40 tribes will present their cultural dances. Native American arts, jewelry and food will be sold. @ 6:00 pm | Queens County Farm, 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park. *This event will also be held on Saturday and Sunday @ 10:00 am Saturday, July 27, 2013 Poetry Shakespeare gets a twist. The Hipto-Hip Shakespeare is presenting “The Tempest,” their take on a classic poetry. Bring Blankets and chairs and come early for the children’s programming that’s occurring 30 minutes before. Free @ 7:00 pm | Beach 17th Street Performance Space, Rockaway.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013 Queens Symphony Orchestra The Queens Symphony Orchestra

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performs a wide range of patriotic tunes and popular classics.

Call 718-570-0909 for more information. | St. John’s University Queens Campus, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica.

“The Music Men,” starring Robert Preston, Shirley Jones and Buddy Hackett. Free. @ 8:00 – 10:00 pm. | Cunningham Park, 196 Street & Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadows.

Jack and the Bean Stalk See one of your favorite childhood stories come to life as the Patty Cake Theatre is presenting Jack and the Bean Stalk. @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm | Beach 97th Street, Rockaway.

Fitness Walk Take the Joe Michael fitness walk every Tuesday and Thursday morning. For more information call (718) 352-4793 ext. 301. @ 9 am | Crocheron Park’s western entrance, Cross Island Parkway between 33rd and 35th Avenues, Little Neck.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013 Sonido Libre Take part in a variety of Latin dances like the Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Cumbia and Mambo.

Sponsored by Councilman Erik Dilan. Free. @ 7:00 pm | Highland Park, Elton Street and Jamica Avenue, Cupress Hills.

Fashion Show Villa Russo hosts a showcase and fashion show for Quinceaneras and Sweet 16s for guests to meet with photographers, videographers, DJ’s and stilt walkers for party ideas. Food and beverages will be served. Free. @ 6:30 | Villa Russo, 118-16 101st Avenue, South Richmond Hill Film Screening Watch a relatable comedy about animals that love their owners no matter what. “The Domestic” is a touching film that is sure to get you laughing. @ 7:00 pm | Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, LIC.

August Thursday, August 1, 2013 Movies Under the Stars Set up a picnic with the family and enjoy the 1962 romantic-comedy,

Saturday, August 3, 2013 Yoga on the Beach Bring a mat or a large towel and join the instructors from Elaine’s Dance School for free beginner Hatha Yoga class on the beach.

Free. Call (718) 318-4000 for more information. @ 8:00 – 9:00 am | Rockaway Beach, 108th Street, Rockaway Park.

Mediterranean Dance Zikrayat performs a dance from Egypt and to Arabic music and will portray 1940’s to 1960’s era of musical cinema from the region.

The performance will conclude with a question and answer session. Free. @2:30 - 3:30 pm | Queens Library Ridgewood, 20-12 Madison St. Sunday, August 4. 2013 Queens Symphony Orchestra The Queens Symphony Orchestra performs a wide range of patriotic tunes and popular classics.

Call 718-570-0909 for more information. @ 5:00 pm | George Seuffert Bandshell in Forest Park, Woodhaven Boulevard and Forest Park Drive South, Woodhaven.

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Wednesday, August 7, 2013 Hey Dango Dance the night away at Highland Park’s supersonic dance party for children with a fun loving alien named Dango. Free. 7:00 pm. | Highland Park, Elton Street and Jamaica Avenue, Cypress Hills.

Thursday, August 8, 2013 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Come out for a special screening of “Dr. Suess’ The Lorax,” starring Danny DeVito, Ed Helms and Zac Efron. Lay out a blanket and have a picnic with the family during this event. Free. @ 8:00- 10:00 pm. | Cunningham Park, 196 Street and Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadows.

Saturday, August 10, 2013 Astronomy Night See the stars, like never before.

The Museum of The Moving Image invites you to Astronomy Night with solar telescopes and sun print paper to learn about the constellations. @ 4:00 pm | The Museum of the Moving Image, 3601 35th Avenue, LIC. Tony DeMarco’s Tunes.

Irish-Italian fiddler, Tony DeMarco, will play a variety of Irish, Celtic and Folk music in the garden. @ 6:15 – 8:00 pm. | Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main Street, Flushing.

Japanese Boat Festival Join over 2,000 people will be out at the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival as 170 teams from around the world celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. The festival will include boat

racing, a variety of performances and a diverse food court. @ 9:00 am- 5:00 pm | Meadow Lake at Flushing Meadow- Corona Park. *This event is also scheduled for Sunday.

Sunday, August 11, 2013 Vicky Show The Noguchi Museum and Bang on a Can/Cantaloupe Music present contemporary, chamber pianist Vicky Chow as she performs in the museum’s sculpture garden. @ 3:00 – 5:00 pm. | Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Road, LIC. Thursday, August 15, 2013 Ain’t the Bodies Saints Ain’t the Bodies Saint is a strong post-modern Western love story. @ 8 pm | Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Glen Oaks Saturday, August 17, 2013 Ballet With A Twist Watch a Ballet With A Twist’s booze-inspired performance, Cocktail Hour. Each dance pays tribute to a well-known beverage. @ 2:00 – 3:00 pm | Queens Library, 41-17 Main St. Flushing.

Saturday, August 24, 2013 Off-Broadway Sing-A-Long Teri Dale Hansen brings fairytales from Broadway to the borough of Queens. The performance will include sing-along songs as well as an opportunity for the audience to create their own story. The event will conclude with a question and answer from the artists. @ 3:00 – 4:00 pm | Queens Library, 37-44 21st Street, LIC

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www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 55

entertainment

How to break into

comedy In Queens

Queens comedian releases a new concert DVD and prepares for first live taping at Union Hall in Brooklyn

Liam McEneaney, a Queens comedian who has been featured on Comedy Central, VH1 and Showtime still lives in his childhood apartment in Rego Park, writing jokes and continuing his lifelong path to comedy stardom.

It all began when he dropped out of Francis Lewis High School. After getting his GED, in comedic fashion, he then went on to attend Queens College, only to drop out a year later to pursue his career in joke-telling.

In his recently released standupconcert DVD, Tell Your Friends!

The Concert Film!, McEneaney hosts an intimate night of musical comedy and standup with comedians Reggie Watts, Christian Finnegan, Rob Paravonian, Leo Allen, Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler.

It’s Queens sat down with McEneaney to discuss his lifelong pursuit of a career in comedy, his ties to the borough and his philosophy 56 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

on what it takes to tell a joke.

What made you want to do standup?

I always felt I was funny, even though I was never the class clown and I could never make anyone I know laugh. But I always felt like if I could just do stand up comedy, or if I could get an audience that wasn’t just dudes from the middle of Queens, then I could do it.

Who are some of your influences?

I would say the big one growing up was Cosby. Any comedian from my generation watched Bill Cosby Himself a few times. My family taped it off HBO, and we would watch it together. My parents would laugh, my sister would laugh, I would laugh; but we would all be laughing at different things.

When I was a kid I discovered a guy named Tom Lahrer, who was like a musical comedian. Very smart, very

dry, but then other than that it would just be whomever I could find on television.

When did it all begin?

My mom always tells a story that when I was little my first words were, “You want to hear a joke?”

My sister would come home from Montessori High School every day, and she had a joke she heard in class and say, “Do you want to hear a joke?”

And then I just babbled some nonsense and started laughing, and my sister was like, “He’s making fun of me.”

Is there a difference between being funny and doing standup comedy?

A lot of people can say stuff that can make people laugh. Like if you’re at a party, or if you’re at work, it’s easy to just come out with something to

make people laugh.

It’s harder to sit down and write something and then do it over and over again in front of a different group of strangers until it works.

How do you write your jokes?

It’s very rare for an idea to just hit me. I tried to do it that way for a long time, but it just didn’t work.

So I’m very lazy, and essentially what I have to do is just sit down for like three or four hours every day and keep writing and eventually I’ll hit on something very interesting.

That might be a funny idea that people haven’t tackled before and I’ll go and do it and try to write different punch lines around it.

Generally I’ll walk away with like six or eight pages, which is not a lot.

Premium Blend.

So you write for three to four hours a day. What do you do with the other 21 hours?

I sleep. I sleep for about 15 hours a day. Bill Hicks said, “I need eight hours a day, and at least ten at night.”

But for a long time I was just writing and working on my standup stuff.

Currently, until the end of June, I am working with the Red Cross on some long-term, post-Sandy recovery stuff, which has been a very interesting experience.

How did you get your first big break as a comedian?

My first big break was when I did Premium Blend on Comedy Central in 2001, and before that I was writing for the Humor Network and before that I was just doing shows in New York City.

How much of that do you keep?

If I’m lucky I’ll come away with a good joke or a good start for a joke, and once in a blue moon I’ll sit down and write the entire thing from beginning to end. But that’s so rare.

Comedy Central used to host Open Mic Fight. I entered the contest, and the head of East Coast Talent at the time called me and said she looked at my tape and I did not get into the contest, but she did want to offer me a spot on

I was like, “Man, that is so much better.”

Did you feel like, at that point, that you conquered something?

I did, but then I found out that wasn’t true. It was a great first shot being on TV, but then a lot of people have been on Premium Blend. But, it got people looking at me and it got me gigs.

What is a bad crowd?

A bad crowd is usually a bunch of drunks that want to talk to you, each other or both.

I’ve performed at comedy clubs where there are just these tourists that want to go see a stand up comedy show, but they don’t speak English so well.

And sometimes there are just these awful human beings.

When was your last bad show?

A few weeks ago there were a few women from Suffolk, Long Island, sitting up front. If your readers are from Queens, they know exactly what I’m talking about.

Right away it started with a woman

www.itsqueens.com Summer 5.2 2013 • 57

entertainment looking at her cell phone and I called her out on it because they were sitting right up front. And she was like, “I’m looking at pictures of my niece,” and then it was like they just declared war on me.

What did you say to her?

I remember she was drunk and she was a redhead, and I remember I really tried to make nice at first. I made some remark like, “I actually date a lot of redheads,” but then she

Is Queens funny?

weren’t doing comedy?

I think Queens is a very funny borough. I think that you almost can’t come out of Queens without developing a sense of humor, and there seems to be a very specific, cynical sense of humor that a lot of people have in Queens, mostly because it is very much a workingclass borough.

I’m actually at the age now, 36, at the same age as when my mom went back to law school. So, I think about that sometimes, and that I could always take the LSAT, but I would be miserable and I wouldn’t be doing what I want to do.

There’s a lot of cynicism about the powers that be, because it’s not like

Yeah. Not standup. You can’t make money in standup. You’d be eating

Do you see yourself doing this forever?

"Queens is a very funny borough...you almost can't come out of Queens without developing a sense of humor" replied, “What are they like?”

I said, “Actually a lot of them are loud mouthed drunks,” and the rest of the audience just roared because I guess they’d already had enough of these women. Then her mom went at it. She looked like a half empty leather bag.

And then I made a point of being super nice to everyone sitting around them.

Brooklyn where there is a lot of new money now. As a result, a lot of the comedy that goes over in Brooklyn is more cerebral, something that maybe kids in college more appreciate, whereas in Queens you get a lot more of an earthy sensibility.

Can you explain the difference in the types of jokes you have to tell to a Queens audience versus Brooklyn?

So at that point do you feel like you had control of the audience?

There’s a great comedy club in Queens called the Laughing Devil in LIC, and they get a lot of Queens residents.

With that, I could say there’s a bad segment of the audience, and the rest of the audience hates them too, so if I’m just nice to everybody else around them, then I can turn the entire audience on them.

With that kind of audience from Queens, its actually a lot like audiences like I’ve found in Europe, where in Brooklyn you’ll get more time to set up a joke and to follow a premise and to follow an idea.

Have you ever set up a mob to fight another part of the audience?

In Queens, especially, you really have to just cut the fat out of your act and just go punch line, punch line, punch line. You have to be able to talk to the audience.

No, I don’t like to set up situations like that.

The ideal is to have a good audience that’s laughing and enjoying themselves. I don’t ever go to a comedy club where I think it’s going to be a bad scene or I’m going to make someone leave or go home crying.

They don’t want to see you experimenting or trying something out. They want to know that you have worked on this and that you are working as hard as they do at their job.

What would you do for a living if you

58 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

dog food at 75 if you stick with standup.

So what’s the next move?

I was hoping to be producing movies and that’s not out of the question.

I’m in the running for a producing job right now, but I don’t think I got it. And then there’s writing. Writing is where the money is.

What do you want to be doing when you’re 46?

I would love to have the Louis C.K. thing, where you have a T.V. show that pays your bills, but gives you a lot of creative freedom and also touring as a headliner.

Do you think comedy is a forgiving field?

Absolutely. Comedy is a weird field and it’s very easy to break with when you’re young because showbiz loves anything that’s young and shiny.

Lena Dunham is the new big thing because she’s young and shiny, but Louis C.K. is also the new big thing.

In comedy, when you’re young, you can break and do well. But also if you take your time and develop and get good, then you can break really big and do really well. I hope.

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Blogs of Queens Queens Politics queens-politics.com Audience: Borough Political Junkies Queens Politics is an oft-updated blog devoted to bringing its readers analysis of politics in Queens and occasionally the tidbit of insider information, often with an anti-establishment bias.

Why Leave Astoria WhyLeaveAstoria.com Audience: Astoria Lovers If you love Astoria (whether you live there or not), chances are you’re a member of the bloggish social networking site WhyLeaveAstoria. com. Why indeed, when there’s so much to do; the popular site features upcoming events of all kinds, throws great parties, and serves as a forum for groups of like-minded individuals.

The Newtown Pentacle newtownpentacle.com Audience: People Interested in Issues Surrounding Newtown Creek Over the past decade, this long-overlooked (and neglected) waterway separating Brooklyn and Queens was a natural disaster.

But thanks to people like Mitch Waxman - the creator of The Newtown Pentacle - the creek is starting to get a little love, and a federally mandated cleanup is underway. Heck, even if you don’t care a lick about Newtown Creek, you should visit this blog just to check out the stunning photography, which is some of the best we’ve seen in a while.

Sunnyside Post sunnysidepost.com Audience: People With an Interest in Sunnyside Sunnyside Post is an active blog with the most up-to-date information on local happenings and news in the neighborhood of Sunnyside.The blog recently added a couple of writers, so the posts have been getting increasingly longer and more in-depth.

66 • Summer 5.2 2013 www.itsqueens.com

Queens MaMa’s queensmamas.com Audience: Mothers (and Fathers, too) For a mother in a borough the size of Queens, finding healthy and wholesome activities to do with the kids can be an overwhelming and duanting task. Enter www.queensmamas.com. This website does all of the work for you, giving you thousands of ideas, activities, and events that will be fun for the whole family. (Yes, even dads, too.) The site was founded by Leni Calas, a Queens native with two daughters. Queens Mama’s receives thousands of visitors per month, and in 2010 won 1st place in the Queens Economic Development Corporation’s StartUP! Business Plan Competition. It’s still going strong.

Eating in Translation eatingintranslation.com Audience: Adventurous Eaters Eating in Translation began as a collection of the eating notes of Dave Cook, who scours the city looking for new and exotic foods. And since there’s no more exotic place in New York City to eat than Queens, a lot of his posts have to do with out-of-the-way and unusual ethnic offerings throughout the borough.

Faith & Fear in Flushing faithandfearinflushing.com.com Audience: Suffering Mets Fans Faith & Fear in Flushing is the brainchild of two longtime friends and Mets fans. It’s an erudite blog that touches on a wide variety of news and features related to the Mets beyond the box scores and the previous night’s outcome. Which means it’s a great read even when the hometown team from Queens is struggling between the foul lines. (In other words, right now.)

Project Woodhaven projectwoodhaven.com Audience: People Who Are All About Woodhaven If you want to know what is going on in Woodhaven, then you have to be tuned in to the ProjectWoodhaven blog. More than just a blog, it’s actually a clearinghouse for all sorts of information about Woodhaven across a variety of platforms.The site will post not only news and events going on the neighborhood, but videos and other media, as well.

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