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.

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.

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.

Whew, the coast is clear. I’m finally in! Not since “Mission Impossible 8: Alternate Side of the Street Parking in Forest Hills” has the media seen such wire-splicing and infiltration.

Greetings, QC cuties. I’m helping Steve out while he is away. I’ve had a lot on my mind about central Queens since I discovered Queens Central last summer, and Steve has graciously accepted my application to contribute here.

I moved back here to my ‘home town’ in December 2004, after 15 years in Park Slope. I had moved there when it was very much Park Slump, and I enjoyed its steady rise to what it is today. I was last living on soon-to-be-overpriced 5th Avenue, when, during a classic “who should get rid of their precious NYC real estate” debate, my beloved uttered those three magical words we all long to hear: “two full bathrooms.”

Nu? Momma didn’t raise no fool, so here I am, back on the Boulevard of Death.

Speaking of which, Queens Boulevard is today’s topic. Ever since Steve said “go”, I have been wracking my brain trying to think of an introductory story that encapsulates my observations since I’ve been back in FoHi. Thursday morning, my spouse reported to me this great moment in FoHi congeniality.

Near the intersection of 71st Road and QB, a car hit the back of a truck. The driver of the car got out asked the truck driver for his insurance, and the truck driver screamed at the top of his lungs, “You want my insurance papers? You’ll have to suck my dick to get those!!” And the response from onlookers? A low, drawn out, “Oy,” from a local woman.

Still in Oklahoma, but I had to take a break and relate the news that the former giant CompUSA on Queens Boulevard in Rego Park will now be a Loehmann’s, so you’ll no longer have to go all the way to Chelsea for your headbands and stretch pants. I was a little worried that the store would have a hard time finding a new tenant due to its size, but it got rented in no time flat. With Century 21 set to move into the new Rego Park II mall project, it looks like Rego Park is becoming quite the home for top-tier discount retail.

Well, that was fast. Heard a rumor this past week that a Chinese bakery would open in the recently closed Le Croissant Shop and sushi location on Queens Boulevard near Continental, which had to shut its doors due to terminal disgustingness. According to Forest Hills 72, it’s already there it’s set to open soon. This is the third location for Fay Da, which already has locations in (Manhattan’s) Chinatown and Flushing, and it’s right next to the Chinese bank, which I think officially creates what must be the smallest Chinatown in the entire world. It’ll be interesting to see who patronizes the new Fay Da — will it be almost entirely the local Chinese populace, or will everybody be interested in their steamed buns and almond cookies? Should be interesting to see what develops.

If you’re a Central Queens subway commuter, chances are you’ve experienced service on the Queens Boulevard subway line grinding to a screeching halt because it’s raining. That problem, it turns out, is thanks to 70-year-old sewer pumps that can’t handle such large volumes of water. But believe it or not, such delays may soon be a thing of the past — according to Visionary from the Queens Boulevard Restoration Group, the MTA is hard at work ripping up the BoD and replacing the pumps that lie underneath. They’ve been in the area lately, so perhaps you’ve spotted them. Vis already reports results — no flooding whatsoever after the big rainstorm this past week.

A special added bonus to this project: After the pump replacement is finished in about a year, all of QB will be resurfaced. That was definitely on my list of hoped-for QB improvements, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Walking past the Midway Theater on my way home from work today, I got handed a flyer by a couple of fresh-faced young women promoting the Forest Hills Community Church, which I had never heard of. The flyer advertised a Father’s Day breakfast and prayer service and was the sort of bright, glossy, intentionally kitschy artifact you don’t really associate with local houses of worship, which tend to favor sober motifs and a definite Xerox vibe. No, this was the kind of flyer that you might expect to see from a church with its own highly paid PR team, say an evangelical congregation housed in the former home of the Houston Rockets.

It’s not quite in an NBA arena, but it turns out the FH Community Church is actually located inside the Midway Theater. This strikes me as a strange arrangement; as a new church, either you should have your own building or meet in someone’s living room. Unless, that is, you’ve got few resources and big dreams. I’m not sure I like this — it’s so not New York. A few years ago, I saw an evangelical-Christian study lamenting that Queens is one of the nation’s most underserved areas when it comes to megachurches, and that was fine with me. I suppose this is a burgeoning attempt to fill in the gap. I must admit to being fascinated by the concept of a church in the movie theater. But with a local population that’s heavily Jewish and Catholic and proud of it, maybe throwing in a couple of free tickets and some popcorn is their best shot.

A few days ago, I unilaterally declared that Central Queens would never be graced by one of Virgin Mobile’s snarky “You Rule” ads that have been popping up in fashionable neighborhoods around the city and proceeded to create my own for Forest Hills.

But shockingly, I spoke too soon! On a spring photography walk through eastern Forest Hills and western Kew Gardens this afternoon, I spotted the specimen at right, appropriately on a bus shelter directly in front of Borough Hall. Full text after the jump.

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Hey, Queens Boulevard fans! Did you know our Boulevard of Death has its very own watchdog group that “monitors the city’s handling of safety and maintenance issues”? It’s true! The 3-year-old Queens Boulevard Restoration Group is there to bug The Man about replacing trees and fixing potholes, while all you can do is look forlornly out your window and wish that stupid shrub would grow some leaves already, for God’s sake, it’s almost June. The QBRG has a logo and everything, so you know it’s legit!

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