Steinway St.

For those who know about pianos (I only learned about this quite recently) but Steinway & Sons are apparently a big brand in the piano making. They were also big on naming quite a large street in the Astoria part of Queens. Steinway Street runs till Northern Blvd (shown above) where Astoria ends and Sunnyside begins. In Queens we have tens and tens of names for every area and due to the ill-defined borders some areas have two names or overlap each other. For example, Steinway can be considered its own part in Queens but it's actually in Astoria. This can be confusing even you if you live here let alone for those who don't!

Bon weekend todos!

DP December Theme Day: A photo of people from the waist down.

This month's theme was taking a picture of people from the waist down. I figured the best way to capture this theme would be on the train, or "my" train: the N line. Additonally, this is an important photograph because these specific trains have already begun being phased out. Just a couple of days ago the new trains were brought in for the N and W lines which are also used for the green 4,5 and 6 lines. Now you get to hear an automated voice informing you of the next train station rather than listening to a mummy like voice :).

Good Month! - Καλό Μήνα!

52 Daily Photo Cities are participating in this month's theme. Take some time to visit another city from around the world by clicking on any of the links below. Enjoy!
1 (Porto ) -2 (Greenville ) -3 (Evry ) -4 (Queens ) -5 (Seattle, WA, USA ) -6 (Stayton , OR, USA ) -7 (Albuquerque, NM (USA) ) -8 (Joplin, MO (USA) ) -9 (Singapore (Raymond) ) -10 (Guadalajara, Mexico ) -11 (Santiago, Chile ) -12 (London (UK) ) -13 (Jakarta (Indonesia) ) -14 (Bandung (Indonesia) ) -15 (Melbourne, Aust (John) ) -16 (Phoenix, AZ (US) ) -17 (Twin Cities, MN ) -18 (Newcastle upon tyne(England) ) -19 (St. Paul, MN (USA) Carol ) -20 (Szentes (Hungary) ) -21 (Tuzla (BiH) ) -22 (St. Paul Kate ) -23 (Dubai (U.A.E.) ) -24 (Nelson (New Zealand) ) -25 (Sharon, CT USA ) -26 (Tenerife (Spain) ) -27 (Auckland (New Zealand) ) -28 (Budapest (Hungary) ) -29 (Sydney, Australia (Sally) ) -30 (Sequim, WA ) -31 (East Lansing, MI (USA) ) -32 (Vantaa; Finland ) -33 (Singapore (Zannnie) ) -34 (Paris (France) ) -35 (Kuala Lumpur ) -36 (Shanghai, China ) -37 (Sydney Aust (Nathalie) ) -38 (Hyde (UK) ) -39 (Akita City, Japan ) -40 (Tokyo (Japan) ) -41 (Rotterdam ) -42 (Manila (Philippines) ) -43 (Not Strictly Seattle ) -44 (Stavanger (Norway) ) -45 (Hong Kong ) -46 (Chattanooga, Tennessee ) -47 (Barcelona (Spain) ) -48 (Trujillo (Peru) ) -49 (Naples Florida ) -50 (Delta Colorado ) -51 (Buenos Aires, Argentina) -52 (Cheltenham, England)

East of Queens

Recently, I was visiting some family in Long Island (the remainder of the island East of Queens and Brooklyn) and while looking for a bank I came acrosss this remarkable feature photographed above. It is a drive through ATM. You can actually go to the ATM without having to get out of your car! I was so fascinated by this I kept pressing on the buttons that allowed for car adjustment until the people behind us started getting irritated. I guess if in NYC you can get anything you want without having to leave your home, then in suburbia you can get anything you want without having to leave your car.

Queensborough Plaza

Queensboro Plaza is the area where the Queensboro Bridge (aka 59th street Bridge) enters from Manhattan. It is also where the two elevated subway tracks of Queens (the 7 train and the N/W trains) meet. Finally, at night, it is also an area where one can find many adult entertainment venues as well as an area with a lot of prostitution. Ironically, none of these have had an affect on the increasing real estate market of the area.

Borough Sunet

This photo was taken by the Brooklyn-Queens border. Brooklyn and Queens are the only two boroughs of NYC that have a land border, and it's not drawn up very definitely. I always insist that each borough has it's own unique smell. Luckily, these pictures don't send out any smells :)

A New Drink on an Old Building

The Blanchard Building located in Long Island City has a total area of about 1,900 m2. I was unable to find out how old it is exactly but I'm sure it was a sweatshop at some point during the previous century. It is located in the very industrial area of LIC directly across from midtown Manhattan. Two years ago it was on sale for 20,000,000USD, but not sure who and if anyone bought it. At first I wondered how a new drink could afford to advertise on such a huge space, but then I found out this new green tea drink (claiming to burn calories?) is just another product of the Coca Cola company.

Fall(en)

I took the picture on top a few weeks ago and the one on the bottom a few days ago. I am still very fascinated at the changes of seasons here in Queens, since I've been living in 2 season (and 1 season) climates for most of my life. Along with the leaves of trees, the temperatures have also begun to fall recently as Autumn slowly gives its place to Winter.

Right on Red

In the United States a red light can be treated as a Stop Sign when you are making a right turn, meaning you dont' have to wait for the light to turn green in order to turn. This is not the case though in the boroughs of New York City, due to the high volume of pedestrians. There are, however, a few exceptions when the sign above is posted. But I guess by the time someone reads the sign upside down the light will already have turned green.

Repos

On my day(s) off and when the weather permits, I always enjoy spending a morning at one of the many greek/euro style cafes that can be found on Astoria's 30th Avenue. An iced espresso and a chocolate/biscuit crepe make for great breakfast :)

Billboards

While entering the Queens Midtown Tunnel through the LIE (that's Long Island Expressway) there is usually lots of traffic during peak hours. Cleverly, many companies have sought to take advantage of this by posting numerous billboards on the surrounding buildings of Long Island City (buildings which probably used to be sweatshops at some day). This was my first time taking this expressway in the day time and after a while I found myself really wanting an ipod - even though I already own one. Hmmm...

JFK: Where NY Greets the World

Queens is home to both of NYC's airports: JFK and La Guardia. JFK International Airport is located by Jamaica in southern Queens. It's quite a big airport with 9 Terminals (1 is vacant - Terminal 5 formerly TWA) . Almost 100 airlines from 50 countries operate flights in JFK. A word of advise: if you ever fly to JFK do not fly Delta. They have the worst terminal where Arrivals/Departures/Domestic/International are piled together. Terminal 1 (pictured above) is my favourite as it takes me to all the places I care to go to :)

New York State Pavillion

The New York State Pavillion refers to the three building structures shown above, which inclue an elipictical complex (in the background) and two observatory towers. It is located in Flushing Meadows and was built during the 1964 World's Fair, making it a pretty impressive architectural structure for the time. But even now the towers seem nice in the park, even though they really serve no purpose as I am not sure there is access to the observatory deck of the towers anymore.

Yellow Pages

The new Yellow Pages for Queens have come out apparently because everywhere I go to I see piles of them stacked up so I figured I'd show a copy to you too. Does the cover look familiar? It's the Unisphere along with the observatory towers. Tomorrow a real picture of the towers :)

Astoria Park

Astoria Park is probably the biggest park in western Queens. Located directly under the Triborough Bridge. While in the afternoon and weekends you'll find people of all sorts of ages, the park is frequented mostly by third generation folk in the earlier hours of the day. It's a great place to run, stroll by the East River or just simply hang out in the summer times. The public Astoria Pool is also located in the park, which was featured in a recent independent movie "A Guide to Recognising Your Saints" starring Robert Downey Jr.

Abandoned

[Sorry for the short absence; I was in Atlantic City but don't worry, I didn't pawn off my camera to gamble :)]This abandoned house is located on 31st street and 37th avenue in the Long Island City/Astoria border of Queens. I would assume it will be demolished for a building to take it's place as it's in a pretty convenient location by the train station only 10 minutes away from midtown Manhattan. It must have been quite a pretty building back in the day...

I voted - Voté

Yesterday we had elections in the US for state Governors and members of Congress (Parliament) as well as other measures/ referendums. I know this is not the greatest picture because in fact it was taken by my phone's camera, seeing as I didn't expect to bring my camera to the voting polls yesterday. I still thought that the picture would be interesting. This was my first time voting in Queens and I was quite fascinated with the ballot that was used. There was a huge board of about 1m by 0.75m where you could just flip the switch to vote for your candidate. If you changed your mind you could just flip the switch back up. It seemed like something that must have been installed back in the 1970s but I loved it. I have voted in California 3 times before and the voting method was by punching holes into a piece of paper which just isn't as fun. I'm really looking forward to voting again soon:). Also, notice the use of Spanish on the ballot. It has become officially the unofficial language of New York at this point which is muy bueno :)

The N Train

I was kind of hoping I'd get to create a theme of the Queens trains by posting continuous photographs but it gets dark so early now it's quite difficult to take pictures at will. This is the N train arriving at my station. The N is part of the yellow line (although for some reason I think I'm the only one who refers to the trains by their colours) and begins in Brooklyn, makes it way through Manhattan, takes Broadway all the way north and then turns East under 57th street to cross over the East River into Queens. In Queens it makes 3 stops in Long Island City and 4 stops in Astoria. It runs 24 hours (interchangably with the yellow W on weekdays) with the longest waiting time being 20 minutes between 00:00-5:00.

Bohemian Hall

The Bohemian Hall is the location of the Benevolent Bohemian/Czech Society of New York but also the location of my favorite place in all of Queens (and NYC): The Beer Garden! It's a fantastic place that holds about 10,000 square feet of open space full of outdoor benches where one could easily mistaken for a Central European park. It has a wide selection of beers (and food) including the best beer in the world on draught: Hoegaarden (I know I've said before and I'll say it many times again - I love Hoegaarden!). Although it's gotten very cold lately I still stop by every chance I get :).

Queens Museum of Art

When you have so many wonderful museums in the city it is only inevitable that other smaller museums get overshadowed. I have never actually been inside the Queens Museum of Art (located in Flusing Meadows) but I think I'll be dropping a visit when I get the chance. One exhibition that seemed interesting from their website is a Panorama of New York City which is a small structure of all the boroughs of NYC featuring every single building that was created before 1992, resulting in almost 900,000 small structures!! I'll take a picture of my building when I get there :).
More info: http://www.queensmuseum.org

Ditmars Blvd

View of the train tracks from the Ditmars Blvd. Station of the N and W yellow lines on Ditmars Blvd and 31st street looking south. Ditmars Boulveard is techinically part of Long Island City but actually part of Astoria even though it is also referred to as its own separea area called (what else?) Ditmars. Did that make any sense? I didn't think so. The borders of areas in Queens are very weird and we are in fact the only borough in NYC that refers to specific areas on our mailing addresses instead of the entire borough (i.e. Astoria, NY instead of Queens, NY) . Also, the Citi builidng can be seen in the background as the sun sets in the west. Finally, the arch shown is part of the Hell's Gate bridge, which crosses over the metro line and continues into the island on the east and through the East River on the west.

Autumn Romance

When the day gets a little warm this time of the year you'll take advantage of it anyway you can. Just like these two who are glued together in the middle of the park.

Theme Day: Something That is About to Disappear Soon

This month's Theme Day mission was to photograph something that is about to disappear soon. I realized that "soon" is a very loose term so I chose Shea Stadium, home to the Major League Baseball team the New York Mets. Shea stadium will only be there for the next few years, as a newer stadium is being built in the parking lot, located directly to the left of the where the photograph was taken. It will be a sad day for baseball fans - but not for me :).

Καλό Μήνα! - Good Month! :)

55 Daily Photo sites are participating in the 1st November theme, please use the links to below to visit them.
(Due to time zone differences and other factors, the theme photo may not be displayed until later if you are viewing early in the day.):


1 (Porto ) -2 (Seattle WA USA (Kim) ) -3 (London, UK ) -4 (Greenville, SC ) -5 (Albuquerque, NM (USA) ) -6 (St Paul Kate ) -7 (ShangHai, China ) -8 (Phoenix, Az ) -9 (Twin Cities, MN ) -10 (Sequim, WA ) -11 (Stayton, OR, USA ) -12 (Bandung (Indonesia) ) -13 (Dallas, USA ) -14 (Stavanger (Norway) ) -15 (Singapore (zannnie) ) -16 (Budapest (Hungary) ) -17 (Paris (France) ) -18 (Tuzla (BiH) ) -19 (Melbourne, (Aust.) ) -20 (Auckland, New Zealand ) -21 (Singapore (Raymond) ) -22 (Dubai UAE (DXBluey) ) -23 (Vantaa, Finland ) -24 (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada ) -25 (St. Paul MN Carol ) -26 (Singapore (Keropok) ) -27 (Delta Colorado, USA ) -28 (Rotterdam (Netherlands ) -29 (Queens, NY (USA) ) -30 (Tenerife (Spain) ) -31 (Santiago (Chile) ) -32 (Nelson, New Zealand ) -33 (( Japan ) ) -34 (Hyde (UK) ) -35 (Sydney (Sally) ) -36 (Manila, Philippines ) -37 (Aliso Viejo, CA (USA) ) -38 (Nottingham UK ) -39 (Brussels, Belgium ) -40 (Sharon, CT (USA) ) -41 (Sydney Australia (Nathalie) ) -42 (Edinburgh, Scotland ) -43 (Evry, France ) -44 (San Diego, CA (USA) ) -45 (Santa Clara, CA (USA) ) -46 (Saarbrücken, Germany ) -47 (Joplin, MO (USA) ) -48 (Indianapolis,IN (USA) ) -49 (rujillo (Peru) ) -50 (arcelona (Spain) ) -51 (erlin (Germany)) -52 (ancouver, BC (Canada)) -53 (Trier (Germany)) -54 (Houston, TX (USA)) -55 (Joensuu, Finland) -

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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)