How Is YOUR Day Going?

Queens Gay Pride

The annual Queens Gay Pride parade and celebration was held this past Sunday - and as you can see, the streets (and the gay bars) of Jackson Heights were filled with eye candy.

But, alas, I was unable to attend - due to work obligations {sigh}


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New Yorkers To Census Bureau: WTF???

For a larger PDF version, click HERE

The 2010 Census figures for NYC were released last week, and there's something rotten in the state of Denmark ... or at least in the offices of the Census.

The Census Bureau says that NYC grew by only 166,855 people (or 2.1 percent) since 2000, to a total of 8,175,133. Really?? So just who are all these people crowded butts-to-balls on the subway with me during rush hour ... tourists???

And when you break the numbers down by borough and by neighborhood, it gets curiouser and curiouser...

Here is a personal example: I live in Astoria - a vibrant neighborhood in Northwestern Queens. According to the Census, the borough of Queens (with a population of over 2.2 million) grew by only 1,300 people between 2000 and 2010!! Let's put that into perspective: Radio City Music Hall holds 6,000 people. So the Census Bureau is saying that the entire 110 square-mile borough of Queens grew by the same amount of people that can fit onto one of Radio City's balconies (below). Ridiculous.

Furthermore, the official data says that my particular neighborhood - Astoria - experienced a LOSS of more than 10% its residents. Also ridiculous. On my block - ONE BLOCK - a new apartment building (The "Astoriana") opened last year, and there are two more in various states of completion. All three were built upon empty lots - these are NEW apartments (not renovations) - and this same thing is happening on many of the underdeveloped lots in the neighborhood.

If there's one thing that NYC real estate investors are NOT, it's "reckless". So if there were a ton of vacant apartments already on the market (which is what happens when people leave), they wouldn't be building three new buildings ON ONE BLOCK. These Queens real estate people aren't the huge real estate moguls that you see in Manhattan - they are (in many cases) local investors who know the various neighborhoods and respond when they see an opportunity. A neighborhood which is LOSING  residents wouldn't be experiencing this kind of construction because no one would invest in what is essentially a "dying" neighborhood. It's as simple as that.

The "Astoriana" - One of the new buildings on my block

Not surprisingly - the politicians have been freaking out at the potential loss of federal revenue and House seats. Mayor Bloomberg announced this week that the city will formally contest the count and Senator Schumer has been burning up the airwaves with cries of "INVESTIGATION!". And rightly so.

The question remains: What happened?? One explanation is that some of the neighborhoods which saw declines (including mine) have large Hispanic populations. Could it be that all the Conservative yelping about "illegals" over the last few years convinced Hispanic residents to avoid Census Takers? You never know.

Maybe I should bring this information to my landlord and tell him to LOWER my rent. After all, people are leaving the neighborhood in droves (according to the Census), so he should be happy just to have renters. I wonder what his answer will be?...

Does anyone know any Greek curse words - I should probably learn a few, because his response would certainly be chock-full of them.

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Pepe Le Pew Trying To Sweet Talk His Way Into Arby's !

According to the New York Daily News, Middle Village, Queens - the only NYC neighborhood with a subway-accessible Arby's - is being overrun by Skunks! Sacré bleu!

Warning To Mr. Pepe Le Pew: If you even THINK about getting anywhere near that delicious Arby's roast beef, I will hunt you down, catch you, and make a lovely (albeit malodorous) scarf out of you. Your seductive French charms will be of no help if I catch you with even ONE curly fry in that fancy European mouth of yours.

Besides ... there's a Burger King across the street. Go have a Whopper with Cheese if you need a fast food fix. But leave my beloved Arby's alone.

Going To "Hollywood" For Clean Laundry

Yesterday it couldn't be put off any longer - I was forced to go to the laundromat and wash clothes. I could no longer afford to purchase clean undergarments, and my "previously worn" work clothes were becoming "obviously worn and not washed" clothes. So I piled up all my crap into my Queens Housewife Laundry Cart (see below) and went around the corner to the laundromat.

Well, lo and behold, they spruced up the joint since the last time I was there. They even changed the name to the "Hollywood Laundromat". Their new motto: "We have a DRYER sense of humor". Oy.

Apparently this "dry" humor translates into a Hollywood Walk Of Fame (WASH of Fame??). Each machine has a clever (???) laundry-related name - Soaprah Winfrey, Kate Rinslett, David Washitoff, etc.

But my favorite was George Cleany ... [[insert "George took care of my LOAD like a pro" pun here]].

Bag Of Groceries Costs $60 In Manhattan

On of the (many) reasons I like living in Queens is the fact that a I'm only four subway stops from Manhattan - and yet everything here is so much cheaper.

Take, for instance, groceries. Every year the New York Post buys a dozen common grocery items at D'Agostinos, Food Emporium and Gristedes (the 3 major grocery store chains in Manhattan) to see how much they cost. This year's total came to a whopping $59.85 - up $9.11 from last year. Ouch. I would hate to see what those same 12 items cost at Whole Paycheck Foods!

If I had to venture a guess, those same items would probably be 25-30% cheaper at the Associated supermarket (below) around the corner from my apartment, or at the quirky Trade Fair a few blocks away.

I should have gotten out of Manhattan a long time ago...

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Scenes From My Neighborhood: Joy In 'Little Egypt'

Shortly after moving to Astoria, my BFF and I did a little exploring of the neighborhood. During our travels one evening we came across a stretch of Steinway Street (one of Astoria's main shopping drags) that seemed to be almost in a different country. The street was lined with hookah lounges, Middle Eastern grocery stores and a ton of restaurants serving Kofta, Kebab, Baba Ghannoug, Tehina and Shawerma. Gentlemen sat on chairs along the sidewalk (with some sitting on their Off-Duty taxicabs) chatting and laughing with each other - while gorgeous twenty-somethings sipped cocktails in open-fronted bars. The neighborhood had a REALLY cool vibe, and the BFF and I vowed to return sometime for dinner (which we have yet to do).

It was only yesterday I found out that this particular stretch of Steinway Street is known as "Little Egypt" - and is home to a large number of Egyptian expatriates. Naturally, the people of Little Egypt have been following the events in their homeland closely - glued to TV's and radios in their homes and in neighborhood cafes.

And then it happened. Yesterday, shortly after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek stepped down, Little Egypt erupted in joy - and the celebrations lasted well into the night.

Tales From Astoria: Body Found In Snow-Covered Car

The body of a 31-year-old man was found in his snow/ice-covered BMW yesterday - just a few blocks away from my apartment. Police are still investigating.

Unfortunately this comes as little or no surprise for anyone who has seen the huge piles of snow that line the streets of NYC. There are still many parked cars that were never dug out after all the storms - so goodness knows what else we'll find when it all melts.

Story HERE.

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Looks Like Somebody Discovered Spellcheck

The days of Checkin Gayros are apparently over (pictures taken this morning) ...

Wee Spel Gud In Qweens

On my way to the subway this morning, I noticed the sign above on the open door of a small food stand on Steinway Street. I passed it and had a chuckle, but then decided to take a picture of it. So I turned around, and noticed THIS sign on the OTHER side of the door ...

I wonder if they sell Checkin Gayros or just regular Gayros??

To make matters even more funny/sad, this small food stand shares an address with Popeye's CHICKEN and may or may not be owned by the same people!!!

Don't Bring Your Hippie "Green" Shopping Bags To Trade Fair

Trade Fair - a small independent supermarket chain with locations in Queens - doesn't welcome those reusable "green" shopping bags, citing theft as the reason. I guess those socialist eco-hippies believe everything should be free so they just march into Trade Fair with their hippiebags and steal it??

Privately, however, employees say that the rule is never enforced - so feel free to take anything you want, you plastic-hating Commie bastards.

Anywhore, seeing this reminded me ... when I was in the hospital this summer I got a craving for those all-vanilla Oreos - so I sent Mama Bunny to the Trade Fair (which was close by) . She was confused by the nontraditional layout of the cramped aisles, and also amazed at the various ethnic sections there in this small market. There is a Greek section (Astoria is traditionally the Greek neighborhood in NYC), a Middle-Eastern section and a Latino/Spanish section - along with various other ethnic sub-sections crammed under one roof.

What she could not find, at least for a while, was the damn Golden Oreo section. But my loving Mama wasn't about to come back to me empty handed - so she kept searching and finally scored the goods...

Lastly, doesn't "Trade Fair" sound like the perfect name for a seedy hustlergogoboy bar?? Just saying ...

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Just Call Me "Edith Bunker"

Over the weekend I felt good enough to get some laundry done - so I packed up my new red laundry cart and went to the laundromat.  In other words, I have officially become a middle-aged lady from Queens.

My cart, by the way, is awesome.  It has a huge compartment in the front to hold my laundry/groceries/whatever and a smaller compartment in the back for my purse and a cocktail.  Oh, and there's even room for a kitty...

Now I need a name for my new wheels - any suggestions??

Apartment/Neighborhood Update

Check out my new place!  That pink thing is supposed to be me (I WISH I was so skinny) waving to you from my balcony.  Yes, I have a balcony now - which overlooks the Virgin Mary shrine my across-the-street neighbor meticulously maintains.

My building is 3 floors - the first floor is a doctor's office, the second floor belongs to the building owner's daughter (and her young family), and the 3rd floor is our 3-bedroom apartment.  Most of the buildings in the neighborhood look similar to mine - VERY different from Manhattan.

My roommate Tim is really nice, straight, and is never home.  And he was able to put my loft bed together in no time flat AND he likes my kitties.  However, Tim is practically young enough to be my son.  And when I say "practically", I mean "totally".

As far as the neighborhood goes, I think I'm falling in love with it.  Astoria has traditionally been the Greek neighborhood of NYC (our landlord is Greek), but my section of Astoria is very Latin.  OK - so maybe I'm not falling in love with my NEIGHBORHOOD, as much as I'm falling in love with every other Papi I pass on the street.  Seriously - it's distracting.

There is one problem with my neighborhood, however.  It is filled with all the Dollar and Discount stores I VOWED to stay out of once I moved.  I can already tell that this one store will be a problem for me ...

El Mundo Discount Department Store - despite what this old Google Street View image says - is still VERY much in business.  And I must pass it every day to get on the Subway.  It is three levels of dirt cheap cleaning supplies, socks & underwear, Virgin Mary Shrines, and all-around fabulousness.  In other words - Heaven.

I purchased a short-sleeve polo shirt there yesterday.  It cost me $3.20 ...