You know me, I’m always looking for a bargain and a good cause!

During the whole month of October, Transportation Alternatives is offering all Queens residents a special discount on membership, only $20!  (Minimum single membership is regularly $30.  ) In addition to the TA magazine Reclaim, new TA Queens Members also receive a limited edition “I bike Queens” t-shirt.  It’s easy to sign up, just go to https://transalt.org/support/join/queens. By increasing increasing membership in Queens, TA will improve its ability to advocate for transit, pedestrian and cycling improvements in our fair borough.

Since I’m still sidelined with the fractured foot, I feel so out of the loop! I’m very glad to encourage others to get on their bikes and get out and walk in Queens, especially in the crisp, brisk fall season. Enjoy!

Personal Ad

Seeking local sweetheart who is into long walks into the sunset, good health and giving to charity. Must be kind to their mother.

If this describes you, join the Queens Boulevard walk for the American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” fundraiser, Sunday, October 19, 2008.

And while you’re at it, sign up yourself or a loved one for an automated mammogram reminder!

Newsflash, it’s Williamsburg.

They’re paying $150 per square foot. On Bedford Ave. In the “North Side.” At N. 7th Street, near the subway station.

Anyone who is familiar with Williamsburg knows how incredibly choice that location is.

Next location for a Ricky’s? Surprise, it’s Park Slope.

 Here’s a reminder of what Ricky himself wrote to me in February about why they’re not in this area:

We looked on austin. Speak to the landlords and tell them not to ask for rents higher then we have in the city. Let them know they r in forest hills not manhatten, until they see this, u will only see what u see now. Rents in queens should be $35-$50 for prime not a penny higher. They r aslong $85-$125. More then triple what the market.

Sorry
Ricky

Even though it is “right next door,” we never go to the FoHi Library. After years of worry that my 1984 outstanding overdue book debt would still be on record and grown to a 6-digit figure, I finally got over my fear and got a new Queens Library Card this month with no problems! (Hmm, I guess I must have paid it..)

Soprano Marlena de la Mora, Tenor Benjamin Sloman, Pianist Inna Leytush

I was lucky enough to go back to the FoHi branch a second time this month to hear a 150th Birthday Tribute to Giacomo Puccini, composer of La Boheme, Madama Butterfly and Tosca, among other classic operas, on Saturday, August 23rd.

This presentation featured Australian-born tenor Benjamin Sloman, and Texas-born soprano Marlena de la Mora, both now local residents. Mr. Sloman has performed internationally as a soloist in recitals and concerts in venues ranging from the Sydney Town Hall and Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia to One World Symphony in New York. Ms. de la Mora is a soprano at the Metropolitan Opera, and has performed with the NYC Opera tour of Madama Butterfly, and as a special guest soloist at various events, cruises and concerts.

Joining them was Russian-born pianist Inna Leytush, who has performed as a coach and accompanist for various vocalists in venues around the world, including Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, San Francisco Opera, Moscow State Philharmonic, and Funabashi Opera Society in Japan.

After starting out with a piece from Wagner (who is sometime linked to Puccini stylistically), the talented trio performed a lively assortment of arias from La Boheme, Madama Butterfly and Turandot to the mostly blue-haired and balding crowd. Ms. de la Mora ended her set with Klange der Heimat from Die Fledermaus, and Mr. Sloman rounded it out with a “sing along” (more like a “mumble along”) to the much-loved Neapolitan song, Santa Lucia. Despite the basement atmosphere, the singers let loose and almost shook the plaster off the ceiling. They belted out the big notes and hit the high notes!

Brava!! Brava!!

I must say that a library basement, with folding chairs, linoleum floors, flourescent lighting and 7-foot ceilings is possibly the worst venue for opera singers, especially when singing Italian arias. Not only does it make some notes sound needlessly crass and harsh, the acoustics can easily blow out a hearing aid battery. But the performers were really good sports about it, and the crowd was very appreciative. I overheard that there were many opera aficianados in the audience, even a retired tenor who must’ve been about 90 years young.

There was also the expected bit of crankiness, too. Frankly, some of these seniors giggled and whipsered like fidgety junior high school kids! Settle down, people!

Maestra Leytush will return to the FoHi branch on October 30 to present a program celebrating operas based on the poetry of Alexander Pushkin. Enjoy the classic melodies of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Rimski-Korsakov as well as pieces from the opera, “Eugene Onegin,” with the talented vocalists Victoria Kurbatsaaya and Alexander Krinkov.

It was a decent burger in a pleasant, friendly but small setting. Cooked exactly medium rare with yummy carmelized onions, goat cheese and a nice set of fries. That about sums it up!!

“These are the people in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood…”

Summer in Central Queens

Chess in McDonald Park on a Sunday Afternoon

“Future McMansion” (aka, a house for sale) on Jewel Avenue, near 112th Street.

Rainbow over Queens Boulevard (photo courtesy of my OH)

AND…the latest installment in “HOORAY, IT’S NOT A BANK OR CELL-PHONE STORE!”

New health food store coming to 63rd Drive, near the Rego Park Mall parking garage and Dress Barn

And a veterinarian’s office is coming to the Windsor, on 71st Road

“…three banquets a day, our favorite diet!”

First, DESSERT:

yogomonster

A cool, tangy fro-yo seemed like the perfect snack on a classic hot and humid July day in NYC, and there I was with a golden opportunity to sample the goods at Yogomonster and have new blog material.

The fro-yo was good, if a little crunchy with ice crystals (maybe I got a bad swirl?), and it was almost as tangy and creamy as any of the current competitors, Red Mango, Pinkberry or Yolato. If you really want the pucker-face tanginess of acidopholus, go to Red Mango or Pinkberry, but if you prefer a more mellow fro-yo, Yogomonster is for you.

The decor is contemporary, spare and well-lit, and is similar in style to the other fro-yo chains - solid shapes of bright colors like fire engine red and school bus yellow contrasted with clear lucite and bold graphics. Another notable feature of Yogomonster is that they have branched out beyond “Regular” and “Green Tea” - the Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, the Romulus and Remus, the Ashley and Mary-Kate, if you will, of the fro-yo flavor world.

As one teen girl put it so eloquently after she looked at the Yogomonster menu, she squealed a squeezy-toy squeal, and then huskily whispered to her friend, “OMIGOD, Nikki, they have…..FLAVORS!”

That’s right, you can get Green Apple, Strawberry, Blueberry or Mango fro-yo at Yogomonster. Take that, Flurt!

I went with the fro-yo-flow and ordered a small plain with some fruit toppings.

Definitely satisfying on a hot day, quite filling and I felt better about myself afterwards than I did when I used to have those amazing Ralphaccinos. Oh, how I miss them!

Next: STEAK!

PJ’s Steakhouse (73-11 Yellowstone Blvd. , at the old “Backdraft’s” location, 718-544-5757)  was a little sleepy on Sunday evening, but no matter, we had a great evening! There were four adults in our party, and we ordered The Porterhouse for 2 and the Rack of Lamb with Moroccan Spices. Yum! While some things were not perfect, the meat was top notch.

We are unrepentant carnivores and we have been to our fair share of NYC steakhouses: Peter Luger’s umpteen times, Capital Grille, Craftsteak and, our most recent all-around wonderful steak experience, BLT Steak. A couple of years ago, when schedules were lighter and the economy was better, my spouse and her business colleagues would take turns treating a bunch of us for dinner at local steakhouses. We made the rounds at many of the Peter Luger spinoffs, such as Blair Perrone (excellent, but now closed), Wolfgang’s (mixed experiences) and Ben & Jack’s (feh.)

So, we know the drill about ordering aged porterhouse “for 2, for 3,” served sliced, and presented in the slanted serving dish, propped up on one side on an overturned saucer, with sides of German potatoes and creamed spinach, and apple streudel with schlag for dessert. Hard to beat that formula!

We had lovely service and a great piece o’ meat! The steak definitely held its own against the big leagues. The flavor, cooking and texture was excellent. The lamb was also excellent, with great spcing and a soft, tender texture.

This photo is not very good (I don’t have a flash on my phone camera), but you can see the steak in front and the rack of lamb in the background.

The only drawbacks were the uninspiring side dishes. The creamed spinach and mixed vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots) were kinda blah. Not much better than the frozen types from the grocery store. The home fries were browned cubes of potatoes that were, frankly, dried out. I liked the taste of them, but next time I’d ask if they were fresh. Dessert was fine, nothing fabulous, but pleasing. We shared a lemon meringue pie and an espresso creme brulee.

BLT STeak is still at the top of our list in the “all around” (to borrow an Olympic-season phrase), but I would not hesitate to recommend PJ’s as a local option for marvelous meat.

“Secretive and rich, a little scary
Queens Boulevard, tempting boulevard
Waiting there to swallow the unwary”

The Transportation Alternatives press conference on improving safety and creating a bike lane on Queens Boulevard, held Sunday, July 27, was short, sharp and to the point: there is no reason why Queens Boulevard must remain an infamous “Boulevard of Death.” I’d say at about 40 people, including City Council Member James Gennaro, came to support the Rahman family and TransAlt. And I wasn’t the only one who raised an eyebrow or nodded knowingly during the two small but screeching near-misses between cars that occurred during the event.

Asif Rahman’s ghost bike

The press conference took place at the spot where Asif Rahman was run over by a truck in February of this year. This area is directly across the boulevard from The Queens Place mall and the popular Georgia Diner, an area that is in great need of better accommodations for pedestrians and cyclists. You can watch an excellent short video of the press conference, and hear excerpts from Asif’s mother and sister. Note the sign for Forest Hills to the left of the microphones!!

Photo: Forest City

The event got widespread local coverage on The Daily News, amNY, metro, Fox5News and  NBC. I’ve also been following the whole bike lane issue the last couple of months in the local blogosphere and in the neighborhood papers, and I’ve noticed some consistent themes in the comments.

1. People who ride bicycles on NYC streets, especially those who actually use QB, are thrilled and excited.
2. People who know victims of car accidents (pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers) praise efforts to make major thoroughfares safer and calmer.
3. Nearly all the other comments say, “why bother? It’s only going to cost money, cause more accidents and not solve the problem. As long as bicyclists and pedestrians continue to ignore traffic rules and the right of way of cars, they’ll continue to be killed. The victims were too old, too slow or too foolish.”

The resignation, absolute certainty of failure, and blaming of the victim is so classic New York, it could have been written by a Norman Mailer. I once read that New Yorkers are experts at presenting opinion as fact, and it shows. The comment about bike lanes being the cause of more accidents really takes the cake. I’d like to see that data!

And, by the way, have you noticed that folks who post anti-bike comments, who rail against reckless, foolish and lawless pedestrians and cyclists, usually have screen names like “Ninety5rpm” or “race-car-driver?” Here’s a tip, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: those screen names aren’t exactly helping your cause. Next time, try posting as “ITurnSignals” or “Never-pass-on-the-right,” and I’ll take you a little more seriously.

The press conference

Transportation Alternative’s Deputy Director Noah Budnick (below) introduced the campaign to make Queens Boulevard a “complete street” - meaning a street with “human-friendly signal timing, bike lanes…streets that are sensitive to the needs of all road users.” Despite a welcome reduction in fatalities in recent years, approximately 100 bicyclists and pedestrians are struck on QB each year.

Asif’s mother, Lizi, and sister, Moumita, spoke very movingly. They described Asif’s love of bicycling, poetry and community involvement.  Before the crash, they had never really taken a look at Queens Boulevard. Once they saw the crash site and the rest of QB, they were astounded that no bicycle safety measures exist on the road. The historical lack of concern for bike safety on QB is shocking, and the pedestrian safety measures made in 2001 should not be the end of improvements. How many more people need to die on Queens Boulevard before changes are made, they asked.

    
Councilmember James F. Gennaro (D) (Fresh Meadows) represents the area where the Rahmans live, and has joined them every step of the way in this endeavor. He held up his bike helmet (see below) and said that he wears one whenever he bikes, but a helmet will do nothing to save you when you’re run over by a truck. As Lizi Rahman affirmed later, when her son’s body was found, “Asif’s head and face didn’t have a scratch,” painting a horrifying and sad image of what must have happened.

Councilmember Gennaro’s staff distributed a letter he wrote to the Bloomberg Administration, co-signed by Council Members John Liu and Eric Gioia, calling for a improved safety and a bicycle lane on Queens Boulevard.

Gennaro also echoed what others have said - Let’s face it. Cyclists will continue to use Queens Bouelvard. Bicyclists use QB for the same reasons cars do: it is the most direct way to get into Manhattan. Especially with current gas prices, popular concern about the environment, and improved bike lanes throughout the rest of the city, the number of recreational and commuter cyclists in Queens will only increase. Yet, despite it’s infamous moniker of “The Boulevard of Death”, Queens Boulevard was not included whatsoever in the Mayor’s 2006 3-year, 200-mile plan for safer bicycling in NYC

Queens Boulevard is, at some areas, twelve lanes wide, and is treated by many drivers as a highway. Similar thoroughfares in other boroughs (such as Eastern Parkway) have been improved and beautified. Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn has had a separated, protected off-street biking and walking lane since 1894. Even the Grand Concourse in the Bronx - possibly the second most dangerous road of its kind in NYC -  enjoyed years of car-free Sundays until 1996, and revived in 2006.

Ocean Parkway, arial view (www.nycbikemaps.com)

Ocean Parkway (www.nycbikemaps.com)

Shouldn’t a modern, cosmopolitan society in 2008 be motivated to make changes to a street called “The Boulevard of Death?”

“Queens Boulevard, ruthless boulevard
Destination for the stony-hearted
Queens Boulevard, lethal boulevard
Everyone’s forgotten how they started
Here on Queens Boulevard!”

Pardon my taking license with another Broadway musical, but I couldn’t resist.

(apologies to Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Christopher Hampton.)

This is just a reminder that the Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee (TAQC)  will be holding its monthly meeting this evening at 6:30 PM at the Greater Astoria Historical Society, 35-20 Broadway, on the 4th floor of the Thomas M. Quinn & Sons Memorials and Funeral Home. Easy to get to from both the Steinway Street stop on the R, V lines and the Broadway stop on the N, W lines.

If you’re interested in bicycling around our great borough, and representin’ central Queens, this is the committe for you.

Thanks to comrade blogger, Forest Hills 72, for inquiring about the TA Queens Committee’s mission. Read the comments page to learn more about the inner workings and goals of the TAQC, and read my Forest Hills-Park Slope round-trip biking route.

There will be a packed agenda and lots to discuss, and lots of ways to get involved.  I also look forward to getting everyone’s opinion on a variety of topics. 

Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee advocates on behalf of cyclists, pedestrians, and mass transit users, in Queens.  They meet the 2nd Monday each month (unless otherwise noted) at the Greater Astoria Historical Society from 6:30p-8p.  All are welcome to join.