The New York Philharmonic Announces Free Concerts In Queens

The New York Philharmonic Announces Free Concerts In Staten Island, Queens, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, And New Jersey As Part Of The 2008 ‘Concerts In The Park Series."

The New York Philharmonic today announced details about free concerts in the boroughs of New York City as well as New Jersey as part of the 2008 Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, taking place June 24 and July 8–15 2008.

-The New York Philharmonic will perform in the Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Staten Island (July 8);

-PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey (July 9);

-Cunningham Park in Queens (July 10);

-Van Cortlandt Park, the Bronx (July 11);

-Prospect Park in Brooklyn (July 14),

-Heckscher State Park, Long Island (July 12).

In addition to previously announced concerts in Central Park (June 24th and July15th)

The concerts on Staten Island and in New Jersey, Queens, the Bronx, and Long Island will feature works by Mozart, Bach, and Elgar, conducted by Philharmonic Associate Conductor Xian Zhang. Music Director Designate Alan Gilbert will lead the concert in Prospect Park in works by Bach, Beethoven, and Sibelius. New York Philharmonic Associate Principal Concertmaster Sheryl Staples and Assistant Concertmaster Michelle Kim will be the soloists in J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043, in these concerts.

All concerts at 8:00 p.m.

Seems like Queens is the place to be this Spring.

Brownfields: Making Fresh Meadows... Less Fresh?

Per Queens Chronicle
(Photo by Michael O'Kane)

When it comes to environmental cleanup, sometimes the wheels of change grind slowly.
Take the case of such a location at 183-15 Horace Harding Expressway in Fresh Meadows, a 1.6-acre site which formerlyhoused a strip mall and was demolished three years ago under the state’s voluntary Brownfield Cleanup Program.

The property is owned by Whitestone Realty LLD, which wants to develop two hotels and attached houses in the back of the property. Plans call for two six-story hotels with 70 and 90 rooms, respectively.
Susan Seinfeld, district manager of Community Board 11, has been trying to work with the developer for years, but has had little success. “I have been trying to reach George Xu, an official with the developer, to discuss all the problems, but he didn’t call me back,” she said.

At this point I'd take the proposed project over the vacant land/Brownfield. Queens should not be a place where stagnation should occur. It is unacceptable, to deny Queens residents possible services the occupants of this land could bear. It is also unacceptable to bring downt he quality of the neighborhood, leaving eyesores like this around.

Pot Holes No Longer An Issue?

Apparently that is what the New York Department of Transportation was saying. Claiming that they attend to potholes with in 3 days of discovery. However, I know in my own daily driving that I come across so many potholes in the Flushing/Fresh Meadows area that have not been fixed yet for so long that it is now instinctive to avoid certain stretches of certain roads. (Mainly around Peck Park and Kissena Park.)

Potholes: The City Says They Only Exist For A Couple Days But Queens Residents Say Differently:

No one denies that many of the City’s roadways can be a bit rocky. The discrepancy lies with how quickly the city acts to shore up potholes and other defects in the roadway.
Scott Gastel, New York City Department of Transportation deputy press secretary, said that potholes are filled in less than three days.

Stella Rakhman of Community Board 8 said although there weren’t any outstanding complaints in the district, DOT usually took approximately 30 to 45 days to fix a pothole.
Even in DOT’s own ranks, there is a discrepancy. Craig Chin, DOT spokesman said on average it takes nine days to repair a pothole.

“We have a number of complaints, but not any more than normal,” Gaska said of the pothole situation within the boundaries of Board 14. “In the last year they have gotten a little better.”

Could January be the best time to shop for new Christmas lights?

Could January be the bets time to shop for new Christmas lights?

Because it sure is clearance time!

Well I know most of you who are reading this probably have not taken down their current Christmas decorations, however if you ran short or chose not to decorate this year because you didn’t get around to buying lights with the mad rush of Christmas presents for your friends and family, now is the time to buy. After searching for a mere 30 seconds I have found a website which seems to have everything on clearance. Although I do not know the quality of the lights, I can sure say that the prices look awfully good.Please remember I am not affiliated with any of the websites or stores that I mention in this post.

Over at www.christmasdepot.com they are having a “monster sale”. I took a quick peak at some LED lights I was interested in buying this season and the price has dropped from $16.50 to $5.78.

If you feel more comfortable with a well known store, one that you can physically visit, Home Depot is the place to go. HomeDepot Although when most think of Home Depot they cringe at the idea of spending hundreds of dollars on supplies and tools for home renovations as well as a mix of having what ever you are looking for being “out of stock” and the usually poor customer service. I certainly know I think of all those things as well as walking out of the store in a frantic race to get out of there, anywhere safe from all the items that are almost what you were looking for and oblivious customers pushing carts loaded everything from power tools to 2 X 4’s. Anyways I’m getting off topic here aren’t I?

Most of the people who I have come into contact with, prefer Lowes over Home Depot. But unfortunately there are no clearance sales that could be easily found on there website.

Good ole Sears has all your basic decorations for Christmas time on sale. ( Just like everyone else because they are already making room for Easter stuff.) The lights did not appear to be that great of a deal to be honest but all that other stuff that Mom loves such as Bath towels and wash cloths etc. Also for all you craft sale people, this could also be a good time to stock up on decorations and other household décor that could make great gifts once put into gift baskets. Myself only knowing this because my aunt has made a nice chunk change buying low and selling cheap however in large quantities could be a good business idea for any household mom who is looking for something to do that’s time consuming, relatively cheap to start up and there is no rush to complete your goal as you have another 11 or so months until the Christmas season gets back in full swing and Bam! What cost you roughly $10.00 to put together and 15 minutes of your time just paid itself back at a minimum double what you spent because next season the stuff will be back at full price.

Walmart, the conqueror of the retail industry has already sold out of most of its online stock. However if you have a Walmart in your local area its worth the trip. (Like you weren’t going to go anyway.J)

Amazon.com at first glance did not appear to have any great deals, after a few revised searches I was destined to find something. Most of the stuff you may see they’re really not your traditional lights; but hey there is always a chance to stand out in the neighborhood by having something no one else has.

Kmart the Faux Pax of retail actually has some good supplies you could use next Christmas season. From my own experiences, the suction cups work nicely when hanging wreaths and the shingle clips and similar models make the possibilities where you can string along lights endless.

Kohls, surprisingly was a major flop. I have a local one in the Fresh Meadows area over on 188^th Street and Horace Harding right off the LIE. If you get off at Utopia. They were certainly lackluster when it came to holiday clearance supplies. Yes I know it is more of a clothing store, but they do sell the occasional decorations. (I bought a group of snowmen for a co-worker there, relatively cheap to boot.)

Even Macy’s is having a 50% off sale on its holiday items. The real kicker with this one is that even at 50% off they still make 200% profit if not more. Anyways that is besides that the fact and if you like more expensive “higher quality” stuff (then you probably would not be reading my Blog in the first place) then Macy’s may be the place for you.

Well all my resources that I could think of off the top my head are spent, hopefully I have saved you some time and energy by reminding you to prepare for Christmas early can always alleviate stress later on. If you are not satisfied with my links, please email me and let me know or if you have another great site for cheap decorations. We appreciate all those who write comments on our Posts, both local and distant please feel free to do so.

Very truly yours,

Mike