Queens Daily Photo

A Photo Blog of the NYC Borough of Queens.

31 October, 2006

Boo!

Smokey, the Jack'o'lantern from Queens, wishes you all a safe and happy halloween to those who celebrate it. And for those who don't, don't worry Carnival is much better :).

[Kudos to Zoe for her fantastic design of the pumpkin - I was responsible for carving the unevenly shaped left eyebrow]
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

30 October, 2006

Ashe Stadium

Ashe Stadium in Corona Park where the US Open is held every year in September. It includes over 22,000 seas, 90 luxury suites and 5 restaurants. It is the biggest outdoor tennis venue in the world and is located right by Shea Stadium (home of the New York Mets baseball team) in Corona Park.

29 October, 2006

Parked

The World's Fair Marina is located on Flushing Bay, with East Elmhurst to the West, College Point to the North and Flushing to the East. Those boats looked like they wanted to head off but for the time being they'll probably be staying there for a while. At least until the weather gets better!

28 October, 2006

Sanitation

When you park your car on a side of the street that is being cleaned in NYC, not only do you get a ticket but you also get a big fluorescent yellow sticker on your window that does not come out very easily. Sort of like the Scarlet Letter. But instead it's neon yellow.

26 October, 2006

Little Boxes on the Hillside...

Whitestone is an area in Northeastern Queens and is the closest thing to suburbia you will find in our borough. Main characteristic in common with suburbia: a bunch of houses that all look just the same. Main difference: smaller properties.

25 October, 2006

Unisphere

The Unisphere was built for the 1964 World's Fair and is located in Flushing Meadows/Corona Park (I'm not sure why the park has two names). It was built right after the first man (Yuri Gagarin) was sent into space to orbit the Earth. Thus the Unisphere was created to commemorate the beginning of the "space age." It is made out of stainless steel and is about 12 stories high. In the summer time there are jet stream fountaints i It looks much bigger in person than it does in the picture!

21 October, 2006

Hell's Gate

As Halloween approaches I thought it would be appropriate to post a picture of the Hell's Gate bridge, also located in Astoria, Queens. The bridge got it's name from Hell Gate, the small strait of water beneath it that connects Randall's Island with Astoria. An interesting fact is that the name Hell's Gate has nothing to do with the deadly currents of the East River (as I had always thought) but actually came from the dutch Hellegat which is supposed to mean "Bright Passage" (does it?). Also, the bridge is only for passing of the Amtrak railroads and no cars ever pass the bridge, therefore it extends past the river and into Astoria as another elevated train track. In fact, it even crosses the N subway line at Ditmars Blvd. train station.

20 October, 2006

Boat Ride

A couple of pals taking a boat ride on the very dirty river. Now of course they might not be pals, and one person might be plotting the to kill the other. If that's is the case then they certainly went to the right place! The currents on the East river are very strong and I have never heard of anyone who's gone in to have come out alive...

(Note: Halloween is approaching; I'm not always like this)

19 October, 2006

More Triboro

This is the first pillar (from the east) of the Triborough bridge; the only one that actually is placed on land in Queens.

18 October, 2006

Naptime In The Park

Yes folks he is alive and his clothes don't suggest he is homeless. Everybody can use a nice nap in the park on a beautiful autumn afternoon. Clever use of the book as a pillow too.

17 October, 2006

Autumn

Although the temperatures have gone down in the past few weeks and autumn has officially taken its place, it's nice to see that there's still some sunshine, even if just for a few hours during the day. This is my first autumn in Queens in almost 15 years. I think it's my favorite season here in NYC because it's not too cold, it doesn't rain every other day and there's no humidity! Which season suits your city the best?

16 October, 2006

Triboro

The Triborough Bridge is one of the famous Astoria landmarks. You can probably see it from the rooftop of any building in Astoria. It's a suspended bridge that connects the three boroughs (hence triborough!) of Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx. Although, it has a length of about 800 metres no part of the bridge is set in the East River, which was made easy by Randall's Island (the land mass on which the column above is placed on).

15 October, 2006

Citi sunset

Here's anothe picture of the Citi building taken from Queens Blvd, where the 7 train track runs on top. The sun is setting in the West and in the background you can see the Chryslar building.

14 October, 2006

No worries

If you can't make out what the advertisement on the bus stop reads, it says: "Why should you worry about a Hurricane? It's not like you live on an island." I find this extremely funny because it is so melodramatic and the use of sarcasm just makes it even funnier. At first, I thought it was a joke but when I read the little fine print on the top it was apparently sponsored by the City. However, I think this makes it even funnier. Luckily, the girl at the bus stop doesn't seem to worried.

13 October, 2006

Oktoberfest

In Queens (and all of New York) I would have to say the best place to celebrate Oktoberfest would be at the Astoria Beer Gardens, located at the Bohemian Hall on 24th ave and 29th St in Astoria. If you can appreciate good beer (like Hoegaarden draught - mmmmmmm) then you are guaranteed to have a good time here. I always do!

12 October, 2006

Gas prices have fallen...

I think Americans might have learned how to appreciate how low gas prices are here after they "skyrocketed" over the summer. Now I'm not sure how expensive they are in other places but I know in Greece gas is about 1Euro per litre which would be approximately the equivalent of 4Euro per gallong or about 5.00USD per gallon!!!! And, if I'm not mistaken, gas prices are higher in other parts of the world. How are they in your country?

10 October, 2006

Citi of Queens


The Citi building is the tallest building in Queens. It is located in Long Island City which is directly across from Midtown Manhattan, separated by the East River (in Roosevelt Island in the middle of the river). It usually goes unnoticed mostly because it is overshadowed by the skyscraping skyline of midtown and also because it's really not that flattering :)
This picture on the left of the Citi Building (located far in the centre of the photograph) was taken by my friend Zoe from downtown Manhattan. This is quite a distance, which shows how high her apartment is. The buildings in the foreground (including the smoke stacks) are actually part of midtown but Long Island City is quite similar. I bet in 15 years time the building will be surrouned by many more condominium sky rises. In fact, condominiums have been already sold for buildings that haven't even been built yet!