54-46, that's my number: the Queens thread

Don was awesome. Carried great CDs but didn't have enough turnover on used vinyl. Prices a bit higher than I liked for vinyl, would've been perfect if they were a few bucks cheaper and he'd sell more and get more used stock in. He'd tell great stories though. A few years ago when I did the Part Time Punks festival in LA he came out. He has/had a store there, Don's in Eagle Rock.

Holy Cow (not happy!) was this guy, I think Steve was his name? It was on 9th st just below 5th avenue. Nice selection, unpretentious, store. friendly.

Trying to remember, there was this weird faceless little CD store on Montague Street named something like Sound Exchange or Record Exchange- there was a sister store in the Slope or somewhere-that actually turned out to be pretty good. Even more surprising was that sometimes the kids that worked there would be playing something that I didn't know at the time and I'd buy it- Eddie Palmieri, The Sun of Latin Music and My Favorite, The Happiest Days of Our Lives come to mind.

My Favorite...big in Long Island!

Were they actually big somewhere? They had that mopey mirror star Morrissey vibe so I never could tell

They had a decent sized regional following and some indie-success/attention outside of Long Island/Brooklyn, but never quite broke through.

If only nabisco had held his current position back then when he could have given them the push that they needed.

While we are walking down Court Street memory lane here are some other names that just came to mind, for good or for bad- Cousins, The Bagel Point, La Carciofa, Roberto Cappuccino- the last one seems to still be there.

Bagel Point...which turned into Court St Cafe or whatever it was called, which I really liked, same guy went on to open the mediterranean place on 5th avenue whose name I can't remember.

But Bagel Point...I heard some serious stories about sexual harassment from one of the owners.

Carciofa was my corner, is now Watty and Meg, right?

Cousins I get mixed up with Cody's Ale House. One of them I used to go to for brunch on weekends for pub grub. No Waterfront Ale House but decent.

Never heard those stories about BP owner, but yeah, place it turned into was OK.
Don't what is there where Carciofa was. Think Cody's replaced Cousins, not sure.

In other memories of Ct. St. past
Shakespeare's Sister: gone
Sweet Melissa: still there, apparently

Sweet Melissa's food was ok to great but I had the WORST customer service experience there.

That was always problematic but I'm wondering what exactly happened to you that was so bad.

I don't remember, just waiting for ever and ever as was all the other tables, and they were full, but they were clearly serving everyone who came in to get coffee or stuff to go, while we sat and waited for like an hour.

When did this become the Downtown Brooklyn thread? Is queens so boring that you have nothing to talk about except longing for other neighborhoods?

We used to refer to Community Bookstore as "Bipolar Books"

We just decidde to give the Unisphere a little rest, is all.

Ha. Was in the neighborhood yesterday evening so went by there and it was harder than ever to get into.

It reminded of what I read about the apartment of the late great cinemaniac Roberta Hill.

I miss that neighborhood even though it's a bit Hobokeny now (and noticeably moreso even than when I moved in about four years ago)

Yeah, I miss that neighborhood too, obviously. I even liked walking around there when I was completely bored and had no interest in going in any of those stores or restaurants.

It was hard to get into the Unisphere?

Can someone explain Forest Hills to me? I was poking around on Trulia, and on one hand I kept seeing all these extremely affordable coops near good schools, and then there would be these very ordinary looking single family homes for like $1.5 million. Is there like fake Forest Hills and real Forest Hills or something?

well there's the forest hills garden neighborhood which is like a wealthy suburb and then the rest of forest hills which is mostly yr average queensy apt buildings

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Forest_Hills_Gardens,_Queens,_NY.jpg

forest hills gardens

vs.

rest of forest hills

http://www.queensnewyork.com/realestate/dix/fh7992.jpeg
http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/79/bigphoto/066/2206066_1.jpg

forest hills garden = burt bacharach
forest hills = the ramones

forest hills gardens is also privately owned and so there are signs on every road that say 'no loitering' or whatever. it's basically a gated community w/o a gate that has the benefit of being on like 6 subway lines.

And for many years Jews weren't allowed, so it has that going for it.

Really, from the LIRR train station into the gardens, it's one of the most beautiful areas of NY, but you can't afford to live there, and the rest of Forest Hills is just ok. Some people are like "hey Brooklyn, I live in Forest Hills, it's on the train and it's so cheap so there!" except you're way out in Forest Hills.

what I find interesting is the contrast between the super pretty forest hills area and the brutal ugliness of the 239273-lane queens blvd around there. I guess all the pretty parts of queens are just little bubbles though. I mean, that's true for most places in new york I guess. but it's particularly glaring there.

Successfully stopped thinking about that for a while, but I guess the repressed always has to return

Yeah we just got a car and decided to drive out to the Trader Joe's in Queens, and MAN does it get ugly around Metropolitan Ave. I guess we were basically driving through Middle Village and Rego Park? Yuk.

haha yeah that part of queens is so oppressively ugly it's kinda amazing. when we lived in woodside we would go to that trader joe's once in a while cause there's a bus that goes directly there / sorta just out of fascination.

Hey Queens people and observant Jews: I need to send a shiva platter/basket to someone in Kew Gardens and I need to order it today or tmrw. Can anyone recommend where to order from? My normal go-to religious person that I can always ask for advice is the person I'm sending the food to, so I can hardly call her up and ask. :-/

I come close to being in that venn diagram but I don't eat in jewishy queens that often

web search suggests this place tho: http://www.yelp.com/biz/bens-best-kosher-delicatessen-rego-park

It also has to be glatt kosher/Star K-certified, but I guess I can call and ask them that. Thanks, E.

Any other suggestions also welcome.

That's probably "best". I imagine there's a ton of places out there amidst the bukharian jews but I wouldn't know where to start. Like this place:

http://www.kingdavidkosher.com/

20% rent increase. I probably actually am moving to Queens guys.

We don't want you anymore.

:(

you know my response.

there's seems to be more people discovering Sunnyside, my girlfriend said she saw more hipsters than ever at the start of this season's CSA. That could mean like 5 people, but still.

I'd say the same as I always have, which is Woodside is cheaper than Sunnyside, closer to the express train and LIRR, closer to Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, etc. But Sunnyside can be pleasant.

Ditmars is cool, but we generally don't love Astoria. Not bad if you really love the N train.

j/k

tempted to just move somewhere where you DON'T see hipsters. Hipsters share apartments and stretch their finances, driving up rents.

sunnyside is a perfectly fine hood but it just seems weird that some outsider from the burbs would get excited about such a modest place. As someone who grew up in a relatively generic lower middle class neighborhood like sunnyside it's hard to imagine getting excited about it. Of course the areas that would get me excited are way out of my price range these days so there you go

I mean I know the suburbs suck but aim higher when you go urban

If you move to Sunnyside, Hurting, I know a place where you can go see the jazz guitar you hate on Wednesdays.

It's not hard to understand how you can get excited about a relatively cheap and pleasant neighborhood that's really close to Manhattan and Brooklyn and has everything Queens has to offer. That's all I'm talking about. It's not like someone's gonna come in from the suburbs (or where ever, not sure what you mean), and be blown away by all the amazing shopping and nightlife or whatever. How much higher can you aim? You can move somewhere "cooler" that's a few minutes away and pay twice as much. It's not for everyone but for those of us who maybe don't need a cool bar every night, and who have a car, these areas of Queens are a godsend.

I'm talking as someone who grew up in NYC in a less than hip place and I just find it slightly odd to hear "ordinary" queens hoods praised as great places to live
I mean they are absolutely fine. I guess the practical reasons seem not entirely diff from the practical reasons people choose the burbs

Also I value bars way more than restaurants so take that with a grain of salt and a lime chaser ; )

sunnyside is not an ordinary queens hood. it's very close to manhattan, sunnyside gardens is fairly historic / unique and the grocery etc. options are way better here than just about anywhere else in western queens (much of this is due to recent developments). anyway I sorta love it cause of the overwhelming practicality.

but in any case, it's def not flooding with hipsters in any sense.

Welcome back, thought that would draw you out

it's heartwarming that someone noticed

anyway there is no hood in queens w/ good non-ethnic bars but I imagine sunnyside is still a lot different today than it was when you lived here.

My only point I guess was to point out that only someone who grew up in a mind-crushingly bland suburb (admittedly a lot of people) or a committed urban idealogue ( : D) could get hot & bothered over sunnyside. But yes the gardens and proximity to manhattan and the ethnic mix are all admirable

I actually like ethnic bars a lot but assume most transplants might not be thrilled with old Irish alkies

yeah I mean I love it here because I have a 24/h cvs on my corner, a v. good commute and there are lots of good places to eat and take pleasant strolls w/ the gf. and this part of queens has a very interesting history w/r/t things I am a nerd about.

but in the longer-term these parts of queens are not gonna get flooded w/ young people, they're gonna be flooded w/ professionals who see them as a good deal and commute.