Thursday, January 26, 2006

Thursday Night Fun in LIC and Astoria

Ah, Thursday. One more day before Friday and then Le Weekend! Last night I attended the public meeting at ARROW regarding the East River Greenway. There was a good turnout and it was really nice to see so many in the community attending. There's nothing like being informed and given the opportunity to ask questions to promote a healthy process. One point that came up from a number of people was the desire to shut down the section of Shore Boulevard alongside Astoria Park to car traffic. I, personally, like the idea! I look forward to hearing more about the Greenway project, and of course seeing it come to fruition.

Tonight, stop by the Art-O-Mat for the debut of O’Keeffe Illuminated: Photographs by Tony Vaccaro. Tony is the former chief photographer of Flair Magazine in 1950, and later of LIFE, LOOK, Time and Venture magazines, and a long-time Hunters Point resident. The exhibition includes selections from an extensive body of work taken of Georgia O’Keeffe over a two week period in April 1960 at her home in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Only two images from this body of work have ever been exhibited. Tonight is the opening reception, starting at 6pm.

The Art-O-Mat seems like a pretty cool place. They describe themselves thusly:
Art-O-Mat L.I.C. began in 1995 as one of the Internet’s earliest online art projects. Its latest incarnation is an Artisan Store and Gallery in the heart of Long Island City’s Hunters Point. In the short time since the store’s opening in November 2005, the store has sold works from over 50 artists, artisans, musicians, and authors as well as items from local cultural organizations. Art-O-Mat L.I.C. holds community events such as children’s workshops, community folktales (local oral history), and readings. The store also sells unique gift items, items with local flavor, and books. O’Keeffe Illuminated will be Art-O-Mat’s third exhibition in the Gallery space.


After the reception, head over to the Freeze Peach Cafe to create something yourself! Thursday nights at the cafe are dedicated to ACK, Astoria Crafty Knitty. Bring your knitting needles, crochet hooks and yarn, and join your fellow crafters for some creative fun. As always, tea, coffee, and snacks are available at the cafe, and quite delicious they are.
Crafting starts at 8:30pm

Art-O-Mat
46-46 Vernon Blvd
Long Island City, NY

Freeze Peach Cafe
22-00 29th St (Ditmars Blvd & 29th St)
Astoria, NY

5 comments:

Unknown said...

oddly enough i was just checking out that Art-O-Mat online. its very interesting. may have to stop in!

Anonymous said...

I was disappointed in the Greenway. I thought it would be a park/bike path ALONG the waterfront (as in New Jersey and Manhattan). A thru street on the wrong side of developers and power plants would not only destroy Astoria Park, but not have the East River visible thru most of its course.

A big fat disappointment.

megc said...

Some of it will be along the river. Just not all of it at the beginning. I've been through these processes before (when I lived in Berkeley I was involved with the Bike Boulevard project), and it really does take time for it to happen in the way we want it to (yes, I wish outright that it was all along the waterfront). Bureauocracy is a pain. As they said at the meeting, the goal is to eventually have the greenway 100% along the waterfront. Don't lose hope! We are only at the beginning of this whole thing, and I am confident that it will eventually be a wonderful addition to the community, and very "green." Your last sentence confuses me, about destroying Astoria Park, though. Can you please elucidate?

Anonymous said...

I agree with the earlier post. Making Shore Blvd a street connected with LaGuardia and the bridge will cut us off from the waterfront. I can just see the TLC guys speeding with horns blaring. Thousands of apartments are to be built along the route. It will be a nightmare for those who are expecting to enjoy the river.

Why can't the city buy the land along the waterfront and make it a park? I have friend in Ft Lee and understand the WATERFRONT in Jersey is to become public property.

A bike path fighting trucks on 20th Ave. or looking at the wall of Big Allis had no appeal for me.

Why don't your site look into waterfront proposals for other areas in the region?

Anonymous said...

Friday is the best there in AStoria.




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