Hey! I’ve been gone forever, but what better event to bring me back (besides an extended Mickie T. vacation) than the always-fun Forest Hills Festival of the Artsкомпютри? I was on the scene, and despite being the World’s Worst Photographer™, I took loads of photos. Did you see me awkwardly fumbling around with my hand-me-down Elph?

The FHFotA is one of the events that makes me proud to live ’round these parts. It seems classier than your average New York street fair, with its discount socks and stand after stand after stand after stand selling mozzarepas. (I only counted two at ours!) What I liked most about this year’s FHFotA was its distinct local character, with many local businesses and organizations represented–more, I’d venture a guess, than in previous years. After the jump, a sweaty photo journey down Austin on a humid-as-all-get-out 96-degree day.

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EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! The new newsstand arrives on a rainy Wednesday evening,

and after-work commuters congratulate Jai on his new home!

See the slide show of the event here.

News stands are a whole social scene!  You should have seen have seen the number of local folks congratulating Jai, shaking his hand, giving him the thumbs up. Many passers-by were pleasantly surprised that the news stand and Jai were coming back. Many thought, like myself, it had closed forever and he had simply moved on. One guy even told him, “When I saw the new cement platform, I praised God that you were finally getting a new place!”

These newsstands will have an upgraded Lotto machine and phone lines.

Just like Weegee used to do, it’s important to be at the right place at the right time, and have your camera ready.

If you go at 11 AM on a gorgeous, sunny Saturday morning, you’ll have the place all to yourselves!

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As a result of the outcry from late-night QC readers, the news stand is saved!

Just kidding.

As the rest of the world seems to know, local newsstands are being replaced. Here’s this week’s progress.

One day, you’re the lead-off story, next day you’re yesterday’s news.

Last week we were coming home late in the evening and saw the newstand guys cleaning everything up, and we thought they were just going on vacation or something. Guess not.

The curious thing about it is that the newstand was left open and abandoned like so for at least 3 days.

The guys who ran the newstand always seemed to have a great rapport with their regulars every morning. They always seemed to have steady business during commuting hours, even with a supermarket, candy store and subway-based newstand within spitting distance. One of the more comforting phenomena of NYC is the ability of a newstand and a candy-and-newspaper store to co-exist and thrive right next to each other.

To the Queens Boulevard and 71st Road Newstand Guys: I wish you all the best! May you always have many customers, sell lots of candy, and sell winning lottery tickets wherever you are!

As first reported on the forums a couple days ago and confirmed by yours truly on one of my many walks, the former location of Rockaway Bedding on AQUA’s North Side of Queens Boulevard will now be a pharmacy. CVS? Rite Aid? Duane Reade? Sorry–it’s going to be a “pharmacy and surgical supply [store].” Yes, one of those.

Let’s review the tenants of that storefront in the past few years, shall we?

1. West Coast Video: not really cool, antiquated, but at least mildly OK
2. Rockaway Bedding: useless, not OK at all
3. Yet another pharmacy and surgical supply store: completely unacceptable

In case you’re unfamiliar with these places–and if you are, I hope you pay us a visit in Forest Hills sometime–they’re not the kind of pharmacy that has candy and magazines and a blood-pressure machine in the back. They charge five times the going rate for medication and display canes in the window. They will sell you a sitz bath. There are something like three of them within a one-block radius of the old Rockaway Bedding.

A related forum report–same thread–claims the Rite Aid across the street, which I use all the time and is at least a neighborhood hub of sorts where people can run into each other buying Hershey’s Miniatures and Cape Cod potato chips, will be closing to become “a First Med place,” which appears to be a McDoctor’s. I’m reserving judgment on this one until I see or hear solid evidence that it’s true. Oh, who am I kidding? I’m not reserving judgment. This would be the worst thing to happen ever.

Back in high school, a friend of mine observed that, in NYC, the price of a plain slice of pizza is usually the same price as one subway fare. Interestingly, this has held true for over two decades. Has this equilibrium been thrown out of whack by the new subway fares!?

Barely. It’s holding steady, but it’s not looking good for pizza lovers. At the Queens Central Labs, I conducted an incredibly in-depth, scientific phone survey of pizza places in Kew Gardens, Rego Park and Forest Hills and found that a plain slice is still being sold at most establishments for $2.00. Out of 11 pizza joints surveyed, six still offer the “subway rate”, while five have broken the conventionally accepted price barrier, up to 50 cents more!

“Taste of Forest Hills 2008”

Sponsored by:
The Wine Room of Forest Hills & The Shops at Atlas Park

Saturday, April 26, 2008 1:00 - 4:00 pm

The Community House

15 Borage Place, Forest Hills Gardens, NY 11375

Tel. 718.268.7710 -  Fax: 718.268.8771

Amish Market, La Tavernetta, CPK, Q-Thai Bistro, La Vigna, Garcia’s, Dee’s Brick Oven Pizza, Pasticcio, The Family Restaurant, Metro Café, Da Silvana, London Lennie’s, db Wine Bar & Restaurant, Morrison’s Bar & Restaurant, My Kitchen & La Dolce Italia are just a few of the fine participating businesses who will be here to savor your appetites!

General Admission

$30 per person CH Members

$40.00 per person non CH Members VIP Admission $50 per person includes VIP gift bag, special raffle drawing &complimentary glass of wine.

If anyone goes, let me know how it is. Thanks! -MT

P.S. “savor your appetites!” ?

“Skip the chain shops lining this popular strip for homegrown stores.”

Austin Street makes it into Time Out New York’s “Best Streets to Shop” feature (Issue 654, April 10 - 16, 2008)! Eight little gems - including our personal favorite, Stoa - get their props in this collection.

“Argh, come visit me at Games Workshop!”

Yes, they mention The Body Shop - a chain, they admit - but despite the dominance of chains on Austin St., they need not rely on them for this article. Look at which stores they had to select for the other shopping strips they feature: CB2, Filene’s Basement, Lush Soaps, Loehman’s! They even give a shout-out to Laytner’s on the UWS. But the Laytner’s on Austin Street? Sorry, didn’t make the cut.