OuterB on Queens Real Estate

Once again, some in Fresh Meadows, Queens look backwards and away concerning pedestrian and bicycle safety. [Streetsblog]

Save the Elmhust Public Library! [Historic Districts Council Newsstand]

Storm damage in Queens is overlooked. [City Room]

There are ice sculptors in Long Island City. [LICNYC]

Sunnyside Gardens is getting a facelift; too bad the Queens Tribune can’t get some of their facts right. [Historic Districts Council Newsstand]

The 11434 gets new green buses. [The Progressive Southside]

It’s move-in day at 2 Court Square [Long Island City]

Jamaica rezoning - development foes Weprin, Genaro and Avella wish really hard that it wouldn’t happen, but admit it’s inevitable. [Queens Chronicle]

Kevin Walsh took some snaps in LIC, found a lot of old buildings to indicate that LIC isn’t going to hell in a handbasket after all. [Forgotten NY via LICNYC]

Photo credit: Meg Cotner

What a pleasure it was to be on the Brian Lehrer Show talking about Queens and blogging! This was the first time I’d been on the radio, and it was a great experience. The show was a follow-up to Monday’s show (8/6) featuring Brooklyn bloggers. Well, that generated a number of comments in favor of balancing the outer borough representation and giving attention to Queens bloggers as well. Thank you, said commenters, for the Queens love.

I was joined by two other guests, Steve Tiszenkel of Queens Central and Kel Sawyer of The Progressive Southside, both giving their own perspectives on the issues at hand. I’ve communicated with them this past year over email, and this is the first time I’d gotten to meet them; they are both really nice, intelligent, and well-spoken guys, with blogs that are definitely worth reading.

Thanks to everyone who let me know they listened. And if you didn’t get a chance to listen, you can with the audio player below. I hope you enjoy the show!

Zipcars are starting to become an amenity at many new developments. They’re already available at CityLights in LIC. [NY Post]

“Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted this afternoon to authorize a $10 million installation of protective bollards in front of the Marine Air Terminal at La Guardia Airport.” [City Room]

Hot preservation news in Douglaston, Maspeth, and Forest Hills. [Historic Districts Council Newsstand]

The bungalows on 129th Ave. [the progressive southside]

ForestHills72 explains that it might be cheaper to buy than rent in Forest Hills. At least currently. [ForestHills72]

Grody stuff is dripping from the El in Richmond Hill [NY Times]

Bjork’s big black boat spotted in LIC this week. [Curbed]

Check out the “challenge course” at Alley Pond Park in Queens. Activities include a climbing wall and a 60-foot-high pulley called a “flying squirrel”. [NY Magazine's Daily Intelligencer]

Photo credit, Flushing Meadows Park: Meg Cotner

Baisley Park Pond, courtesy of [the progressive southside]

“It looks more like an A-bomb shelter from the 1950s.”

That’s the description Thomas Lucas gives John Hsu’s “dream home” in Flushing, according to an article in amNY. Flushing is one of the areas of Queens that has given rise to the McMansion, a kind of house that almost overshadows the lot it’s on. Many consider them ugly and overbearing and certainly not in the character of the surrounding neighborhood. Other parts of Queens, often referred to as “suburban” are also home to these leviathan buildings, including Bayside, Douglaston and Richmond Hill.

In places like Jamaica Estates, home of many old tudor homes and plenty of old trees, both are falling to the desires of “younger tastes”. These tastes lean toward the need for more space, which usually means tearing down an existing structure and rebuilding on almost the entire lot. Long time neighbors find this frustrating and say it’s disrespectful to the character of the neighborhood and the quality of life they are used to. There’s an awful lot of cement in these new buildings, too. They become mini heat islands, especially with the trees gone.  Frankly, I find the exurban aesthetic rather grotesque and find the exurbanization of the suburban areas of Queens - with regard to the concept of space in both home and vehicle - repulsive.

Related:
‘McMansions’ pit neighbors vs. dream homes [amNY]
Tudor Charm Loses Ground to McMansion Space [NY Times]
We’re Losing Our Capes! Part 2 [progressive southside]

in southeast Queens… those are some nice capes.

Photo credit: [the progressive southside]

Over on [the progressive southside], lamentations are heard about the slow and steady disappearance of the Queens-style Cape house.  Often, then are torn down - even when they are in fine shape - and replaced with a leviathan of a house, a McMansion.  Or, a one story ranch house has a second story added (I’m guessing above instead of raising the first floor to the top).  This does affect the suburban feel of the area, although a lot of suburbs in other parts of the country are moving in the direction of gigantic houses.  Anyway, head on over, read the story and see the pictures.  Let them know what you think!

Related:
We’re Losing Our Capes! [the progressive southside]

A friend of mine said Thursday felt like Monday again!  So glad the weekend is upon us…

Check out the lovely views of Baisley Pond Park this past week. [the progressive southside]

A report from a nutty co-op meeting in Jackson Heights. “Ko-Op” is the new variant spelling, and apparently they are full of angry Network-type enraged people. [Open Trench]

The Plot thickens in Hollywood East [The Real Deal]

Jamaica Bay has jellyfish, but an uncertain future. [Newsday via Lost in the Ozone]

More whining and hand-wringing about Astoria by a “lifelong New Yorker”, and the response by some in the community. [astorians.com]

• Condo’s whopping ads a big headache (Daily News)
• Hedging on home prices (Daily News)
• Southside Queens - 50 Cent’s Neighborhood (About.com)
• Are There Sex Offenders in Your Neighborhood? (About.com)
• Luxury Is Condo (NY Times)
• Tower atop historic theater may get OK (Daily News)
• Pedestrian Safety Construction on Atlantic Ave (Daily News)