Thursday, June 18, 2009

Noisy subway fan upsets LIC residents

From the Daily News:

Hundreds of Long Island City residents are losing sleep because an MTA exhaust fan that sounds like "an air raid siren" is keeping them up at night, neighbors charge.

Residents of the swanky Citylights co-op and nearby buildings have been plagued by the loud noise every weeknight from 1a.m. to as early as 5 a.m. since late May, say numerous neighbors.

The noise is coming from a nondescript property near the building where the exhaust fan is located.

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman said workers are replacing rails in the East River tunnel for the nearby No. 7 train - and that nothing can be done to muffle the sound.

112 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is that they tell us when we complain about their loud partying at bars?

"This is NYC. If you don't like noise, move to the suburbs."

Anonymous said...

I know a couple who sold their beautiful brick $700,000 center hall colonial home a few years back in quiet, convenient, leafy northeast Queens and traded it for a two bedroom flat with a "view" in "City Lights" not far from that fan noise!

(Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle).

They're sorry they gave up their 23 minute ride to Manhattan on the LIRR for all this!

Too late....they can't move back because their former home now sells for one million dollars!

And what can they get for their "flat"?

"Look before you leap"...a wise old adage!

Anonymous said...

Didn't see anything about subway exhaust systems in the brochures or the websites eh??? VIBRANT! DIVERSE!! MINUTES TO MIDTOWN!!! YOU HAVE ARRIVED!!!!

linda said...

welcome to queens, lmao.....

and you thought you were getting a deal! boy did they sucker you in.

Anonymous said...

Heh, heh, heh....you Manhattan yuppie/pioneers moving eastward to cheaper digs had better watch out for the Indian raids too!

(The was noted in the extra-fine print of the sales contract that your attorney didn't see because he left his macro-reading glasses at the office).

Anonymous said...

I moved from Bayside to LIC and it was the best thing I ever did. Not because I think that Bayside a bad place but because LIC is a great place.

Anonymous said...

It's amazing how the Crapper crowd is so jealous of LIC.

Queens Crapper said...

Yes, we all wish we could live next to a subway fan and be kept up all night. And pay through the nose for that privilege, might I add.

Anonymous said...

Let's see - great waterfront property (real waterfront, not Crapper's "Maspeth waterfront"), midtown Manhattan views, great piers, plaza and parks right on the river, good restaurants, cafes, bars, good arts scene, 5 minute subway ride to Grand Central; 40% less expensive than the same apartments in Manhattan - sure, it's a really miserable place, I would much rather live in Crapper's neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

Is this the old cliche of a person moving next to an airport and then complaining about the noise? A quick walk of the neighborhood prior to purchasing the coop would have revealed the problem . . . then again, asking most people to think critically is often a wasted gesture.

Anonymous said...

Complaining residents: Wah! We moved into an industrial area and can't stand the industry!

QC commenters: I hate LIC "tower people"! Bitch and moan!

To me, you're all a bunch of miserable babies.

Anonymous said...

i grew up in Flushing, and i now live in LIC. i have no issues with any of the noise around there and i will agree that the majority of the complaints are coming from carpetbaggers who expect way too much living in the boroughs. suck it it up..its a decent commute to manhattan..for decent prices..you cant ask for too much..its still QUEENS after all.

Queens Crapper said...

Crapper's neighborhood:

Midtown Manhattan views, great streetscapes, large parks with every type of recreation available, good restaurants, cafes, bars, don't have much of an arts scene but not into that anyway. 20 minute bus ride (where I read the paper or listen to I-Pod ) to 5 minute subway ride to Grand Central; 60% less expensive than the same apartments in Manhattan.

georgetheatheist said...

Look at the jogger in the photo.

Folks, don't get tatooed. It's low class. And will look ugly when you get older.

Anonymous said...

I don't quite think Crapper's Manhattan views measure up to those in Long Island City.
That 5-minute ride to Grand Central is probably 98% reliable, regardless of weather. That 20-minute bus ride is probably on the best days. It's probably longer coming home too, and when does that bus stop running?
Restaurants, cafes, bars? I don't know which ones Crapper is referring, but LIC has some great ones.

Anonymous said...

"That 5-minute ride to Grand Central is probably 98% reliable, regardless of weather."

Now THAT'S funny!

Anonymous said...

I ran into this guy a couple of weeks ago(former Lehman Brothers employee) who bought one of those new condos for 800K two years ago. He told me there is a LOT of inventory of these condos in that area.

Can't be a good thing......

Queens Crapper said...

I don't quite think Crapper's Manhattan views measure up to those in Long Island City.

I have a view of the entire skyline from the Upper East Side to downtown. You?

That 5-minute ride to Grand Central is probably 98% reliable, regardless of weather.

No subway is 98% reliable.

That 20-minute bus ride is probably on the best days.

No, actually, on the best day it is more like 15.

It's probably longer coming home too, and when does that bus stop running?

No, it's not longer coming home. I'm not staying late at the office so I don't care when the bus stops running. There are buses here that run all night if I am coming home from late from Manhattan.

Restaurants, cafes, bars? I don't know which ones Crapper is referring, but LIC has some great ones.

Never said LIC didn't have them.

If you like it there and want to live there, no one's stopping you. Enjoy the din of the subway fan, which is aimed toward making your commute more reliable. When I go to bed I hear crickets and when I wake up I hear birds. Wouldn't trade that for anything.

Italian Boy said...

Italian Girl:

Of course there is! Manhattan is cheaper now, so people are moving there instead. Experts all predicted LIC would be the first area to go bust if the real estate market went belly up. Why do you think the realtors and people who bought there are so defensive about how great it is there? "I live near great restaurants"? How vapid is that? Don't most people still cook for themselves and go out to eat once in awhile?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I know, most people brag that they live near a great park or a great school, have quiet streets, have low crime areas... not that they live near a great watering hole. Yet that is the main sales pitch on every LIC condo website.

Anonymous said...

Crapper, if you are a 20 minute bus ride away, then your view is from 5 or 10 miles away at least. You are really trying to say you have a similar view as from LIC? Thanks for another laugh.

The 7 train is one of the most reliable in the system. Maybe 95% if that makes you feel better.

And I guess you don't care about meeting friends after work and going home later on. You do have friends?

Traffic is heavier coming home than going in. You are being disingenuous.
How long does the bus take during rain or snow storms? During UN week? Stop trying to kid everyone that the bus is consistent.

If you like your boring neighborhood, great, but why be a jackass and insult and disparage other people's homes and neighborhoods?

Anonymous said...

I like the line about the 98% reliable 5-min commute to Grand Central. Yeah. Maybe after you let 3 or 4 trains pass first and are waiting for 15 minutes.

Anonymous said...

"If you like your boring neighborhood, great, but why be a jackass and insult and disparage other people's homes and neighborhoods?"

Good question.

Why did you just do the same thing?

Anonymous said...

Oh great, Ms. Italy is back and now she is a real estate expert. I'm sure she is sitting in College Point and knows exactly what is going on in Manhattan real estate!

How are sales in Naples and Calabria nowadays Ms. Italy?

FYI, LIC's public school is very highly rated.

Anonymous said...

"I like the line about the 98% reliable 5-min commute to Grand Central. Yeah. Maybe after you let 3 or 4 trains pass first and are waiting for 15 minutes."

Obviously this person is clueless. I would say that during rush hour from LIC on the 7 train, you would have to let a train pass once every 2 or 3 months. They run one after the other and have very long platforms.

Queens Crapper said...

Italian Girl is not from College Point.

And I am about 3 miles from the LIC waterfront. That's why I have a sweeping view of the entire City while you get to look at a cluster of buildings.

"I would say that during rush hour from LIC on the 7 train, you would have to let a train pass once every 2 or 3 months."

Now that's B.S. And those of us who take the 7 train all know it.

Italian Boy said...

My only question is why do you care so much about what Queens commenters think about your lifestyle?

Anonymous said...

Just wait until they have a fan like this in Maspeth outside the contaminated high school. Residents of Maspeth -- get a peek of what's in store for you. Thanks Elizabeth Crowley!

Anonymous said...

"They run one after the other and have very long platforms."

It's called overdevelopment, stupid. Building up Corona, Woodside, Flushing, etc has led to no more room at the inn.

Anonymous said...

It is mid June. Any day now, the MTA will be announcing (or forgetting to announce) upcoming service changes due to extensive track work along the 7 line. Expect full weekends of no service into the city tower dwellers. That 5 minute train ride is about to turn into a 45 minute bus ride.

Anonymous said...

"Regularity of service: The L and the J/Z lines had the greatest regularity of service, arriving within two to four minutes of its scheduled interval 92% of the time. The most irregular line is the 4, which performed with regularity only 78% of the time."

Looks like the 95% reliable theory was shot to hell by the Straphangers Campaign.

Anonymous said...

College Point?? I don't think so. Never said I was a real estate expert on Manhattan.
Must suck to overpay for a crappy condo and watch it's value plummet.

Real estate ain't so hot in Italy either right now. Like here, banks are not lending and therefore properties are not selling. And by properties, I mean apartments because that's what most people buy over there.

Ass.


LIC public schools??

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


Oh and I don't live in College Point, but I'd rather be there (even with all the Willets Point crap coming) than LIC.

Queens Crapper said...

"And I guess you don't care about meeting friends after work and going home later on. You do have friends?"

I already answered that there are alternate ways for me to get home by public transportation should I go out after work with friends. But since I am saving tons of money by living here, I usually opt for a car service. I appreciate your deep concern for my well-being.

Anonymous said...

It doesn't take 20 minutes to drive 3 miles Crapper. I can't trust anything you say.

The MTA doesn't shut the 7 train down on weekends during baseball season or the holiday season. It may get shut down a few weekends in January, February or March, but they run shuttles to Queens Plaza or you can just walk to the E or V.

Ms. Italy, you can make up whatever you like about me, but it is meaningless. Do you still live at home with your parents?

Anonymous said...

Crappy said...
"And I am about 3 miles from the LIC waterfront. That's why I have a sweeping view of the entire City while you get to look at a cluster of buildings."

Wow! That's sounds really nice Crappy.
:)

Anonymous said...

"Do you still live at home with your parents?"

Yes! And my "daddy" makes sure he tucks me in every night.

Queens Crapper said...

"It doesn't take 20 minutes to drive 3 miles Crapper."

Whatever. The bus zips right through the industrial sections that you despise so much, usually without stopping to pick up passengers. But you wouldn't know that.

I really am enjoying the fact that you care about what anonymous internet commenters from Queens think of you and your choice of living arrangement. We also hope you keep badmouthing our neighborhoods because it keeps our cost of living down.

Queens Crapper said...

If you're talking about driving, then it's more like 5 minutes, plus waiting for lights.

Anonymous said...

The point here is that these people have taken our taxes, money that should go into our communities for our families, hospitals, firehouses, schools, sanitation, and now bellyache on all those little indigities that the rest of us put up with.

Noise, bike lanes, grrrrrr

F*ck the Tower People. F*ck them All! Bastards.

Anonymous said...

You got caught in a lie Crapper, stop trying to backpedal. It zips through the industrial section but takes 20 minutes for 3 miles. Sure.

Oh and thanks for telling me what view I have out of my window. I guess that the river, the Chrysler building, the UN, the Empire State Building, the Citi Building, etc. are all just a "cluster of buildings" to you.

If you don't want people to talk badly about your boring, bland neighborhood, don't bad-mouth other peoples' homes.

Anonymous said...

Pray tell me how taxes you pay go to LIC services, but the taxes that LIC residents pay do not go to your services? Ridiculous.

Queens Crapper said...

The bus route is not a 3 mile route. It meanders and makes a lot of turns. Have you ever taken a bus in Queens? Driving, it is more direct. You're so obtuse.

Anonymous said...

I take the Q67 from Maspeth and I get on around 7:20 and arrive in LIC at about 7:40 to board the 7 train. Sometimes I get on the E instead, which would make bus deboarding at around 7:42. So there is no lie being told here. And Mapquest puts the distance by driving at about 3.10 miles. I live in the co-ops on 65th Place and can see the entire skyline, just like Crapper explained. And what's a few extra minutes commute when you can save all that money? I use that time to grade papers which means less work when I get home to my family.

And yes, driving would get you there much faster. You can be in Midtown in 10 minutes if you drive when there is no traffic.

Anonymous said...

It only matters to the one anonymous commenter who wants to prove he is better than the rest of us because he bought an overpriced condo next to a noisy subway fan. He is trying to convince us and himself that he is better off because he is closer to the Empire State Building and has cool bars that he can stumble home from as if anyone cares. His 7 train being 95% on time was already disproven by a credible source and he is desperately trying to frame everyone else that lives in Queens as losers for not buying the same line of shit that he did. People who truly like where they live will tell you the upsides as well as the downsides if you ask them but don't spend all day on a blog writing about how everyone else's neighborhood is a "boring" shithole to make theirs seem better.

Anonymous said...

I used to see the NYC skyline from my home.

Now the Tower People block my view. On July 4 their front desk gives them passes to the piers.

Anonymous said...

Pray tell me how taxes you pay go to LIC services,

WHO PAID FOR EVERTHING WHEN YOUR TOWER LOCATION WAS SIMPLY A MUDDY BROWNFIELD.

"ARCHIE AND EDITH" YOU LITTLE SNOTNOSE.

Anonymous said...

midtown Manhattan views, great piers, plaza and parks right on the river, good restaurants, cafes, bars, good arts scene, 5 minute subway ride to Grand Central; 40% less expensive than the same apartments in Manhattan

Realtorspeak!

Anonymous said...

You are trying to say that views from 3 to 4 miles away are as good as the views from right at the East River? Just let that one go please.

I don't hear any fan noise from my apartment, but thanks for asking.

I wasn't the one who first came on here and insulted another person's neighborhood. When you disparage someone's home and they criticize you back, don't start crying about it.

Isn't the public park and plaza open to everyone? And now all the residents of those new buildings are paying lots of taxes that are paying for your services, so quit your whining.

Anonymous said...

You mean these are the only new condos in NYC that don't have a 25-year tax abatement?

WOW! Then it's really a mystery why people would want to live there.

georgetheatheist said...

Italian "girl". Does your "daddy tuck you in at night?

If not, may I come over and "tuck" you in?

;) (XXXXXX)

Anonymous said...

From LIQCity:

"when the Hunters Point section of LIC was famously rezoned in 2001, developers were granted a 421-a tax abatement of 15 years in order to encourage development in our little neighborhood. As of July of 2008, the honeymoon’s over. Hunters Point enters the ‘exclusion zone’ and developers will have to meet the affordable housing criteria in order to get the tax abatement. Any building with their foundation poured before July 2008 will still receive the abatement without the affordable housing requirement."

And 95% of what's built in LIC was started before July 2008. No pay taxes.

Anonymous said...

"You are trying to say that views from 3 to 4 miles away are as good as the views from right at the East River? Just let that one go please."

Why? To each his own. Personally, I'd rather see the entire vista from afar than have a close-up view of the rusty Queensboro Bridge. But I understand if you feel differently.

Anonymous said...

"If not, may I come over and "tuck" you in?

;) (XXXXXX)"

I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm not pregnant. I hear that's that's your thing.

Anonymous said...

Boo hoo! Diesel train yard makes noise!

Boo hoo! Subway fan makes noise!

It was so much quieter in Oradell, NJ!

Anonymous said...

Boy, aren't we defensive about being ripped off for a co-op in LIC? Go back to the mid-west already!

BTW, here in Eastern Queens we pay alot less for co-ops in much safer neighborhoods where the food delivery people are not getting robbed, we have 2 of the top school districts, the LIRR, alot of 24/7 buses, express buses to the city (that means Manhattan - Josh or Megan) and lots of fantastic restaurants and bars. We also have a lot more history (i.e. look up the Flushing Remonstrance or Fort Totten.) We do too have an art scene, it's just more sophisicated than Five Points. Swing by Queens Museum of Art, QCC or Flushing Town Hall. Oh yeah, when we need something at 3 AM, we can WALK to 7-11, CVS, RiteAid, DuaneReade or several mom & pop delis.

Anyway, if you're a tower owner why are you busy reading a blog about overdevelopment? Shouldn't you be busy working to make more money to pay for your apt?

Can't wait till Mike converts half your building a homeless shelter!

Anonymous said...

"Personally, I'd rather see the entire vista from afar than have a close-up view of the rusty Queensboro Bridge. But I understand if you feel differently."

The new buildings are not at the bridge. Thanks for showing you are clueless. Beside, no one thinks you actually believe what you said.

LIC is very safe. No crime problems, thanks for asking.

You are trying to argue that you have just as convenient access to Manhattan? What dimension do you people live in?

Anonymous said...

"The new buildings are not at the bridge."

Those aren't new buildings at Queens Plaza? You mean View 59 (With a view of the 59th Street Bridge) has been there all this time? Also, Silvercup is in the works, my friend.

"You are trying to argue that you have just as convenient access to Manhattan?"

Not everyone requires or desires convenient access to Manhattan. Many of us work in Brooklyn, Queens or Long Island. And the rest of us are willing to trade convenient access to Manhattan for the savings living further east provides.

Anonymous said...

The MTA doesn't shut the 7 train down on weekends during baseball season or the holiday season. It may get shut down a few weekends in January, February or March, but they run shuttles to Queens Plaza or you can just walk to the E or V.
-----------------------------------
OMG, you are in for one rude awakening!!!!

Yo ho ho and a bottle of Rum said...

Remember the whining about moving next to a railyard, then complaining they hear trains?

Better get some 'affordable housing' in here quickly to keep this community in the machine's pocket.

This quality of life stuff is a nightmare for "Honest Joe" and the 'bhoys.'

Wade Nichols said...

Folks, don't get tatooed. It's low class. And will look ugly when you get older.


Agreed, 100%!

There's a reason they're called "tramp stamps"!

I especially can't stand them on porn stars! It's so low class!

Anonymous said...

LOL - I bet we get our noise issues resolved before the flooding in your neighborhood does. LOL. When the lights go out this summer guess whose lights will still be on? LOL

Anonymous said...

Yes, you're right about this being resolved soon. From the article:

He said the work will be completed in late summer.

Enjoy your summer, fools!

When the lights go out, Eastern Queens will still have theirs on because they smartly curbed rampant overdevelopment years ago.

Anonymous said...

How are the floods in your area today? LOL

Anonymous said...

No flooding here. DEP came around and cleaned out the catch basins after the last big storm and since then they have handled the water. There's upgrades in the pike over the next 5 years.

Anonymous said...

When a hurricane hits, we'll see who'll be laughing and who'll be crying.

Anonymous said...

I guess Bloomberg did a great job fixing the flooding problem, since Eastern Queens has had flooding problems for decades. Thank Bloomberg for fixing the problem!

Anonymous said...

Don't live in Eastern Queens, so I don't know about the situation there. And I am talking about my immediate area, not an entire neighborhood. 2007 was when we first had flooding.

Anonymous said...

The flooding has been fixed!! You heard it here first! LOL!

Anonymous said...

Long Island City, convenient to buses (to Riker's Island), vibrant community (of Bloods and Hookers), near all (industrial pollution, noisy fans, half-way houses) Buy Now!, (Bye now.)

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the views from Maspeth are just like this:

http://curbed.com/archives/2009/06/18/new_part_of_gantry_park_looking_cool_for_a_hot_lic_summer.php

georgetheatheist said...

Where I live in Woodside, I have a nice view from a bedroom window of the Empire State Building where if you look closely at night you can see the tourists' flashbulbs go off periodically on the observation deck.

The same window in 1997 had a fantastic view of the Hale-Bopp comet. I used to go to sleep looking at it through the branches of my neighbor's tree.

Wade Nichols said...

The same window in 1997 had a fantastic view of the Hale-Bopp comet.


You obviously didn't put on the purple robe and the black Nike sneakers when Hale-Bopp came, or else you wouldn't be writing this!

Remember those nut job "Heaven's Gate" wackos? Marshall Applewhite....

Anonymous2 said...

Oh, you're by QP? Never really considered that as LIC. Another poster mentioned the Rikers bus. Just so you know, the bus goes both ways. When released from Rikers, they drop you off in QP. No crime? Look up your precinct and mine -
the 111th. Tell me who's safer. Good luck to you!

Anonymous said...

hey georgethefag how often do you "tuck" yourself in?

Anonymous said...

I have nothing to say. just wanted to be commenter no. 75.

Anonymous said...

No, the views from Maspeth don't look like that. But if I want to go see it, I'm only a 5 minute drive away. Still not worth paying double or triple my rent to live around the corner from it.

Queens Crapper said...

The 7 train... always reliable!

Queens Crapper said...

From Transit Blogger:

I have spoken with a few friends who live in the area. They all agreed that the noise is frustrating, however they understand that is a temporary issue & have learned to deal with it. They feel (and I agree) that fellow residents should suck it up & stop complaining. Subway service benefits many in the area & if these repairs were not made, they would be complaining about how these issues should have been fixed. With people like this, it is impossible for the MTA to win.

Now we throw in the local political figure who will always jump in head first when an opportunity to go against the MTA in the court of public opinion presents itself. In this case, it is no surprise that the opponent is Democratic City Councilman of Sunnyside, Eric Gioia. He is one of the usual suspects who is quick to grab an opportunity to oppose the MTA. Councilman I urge you to take a break & find a legitimate battle to fight for your constituents. Seriously…….

linda said...

boy crapper never let the yuppies insult you....

i went to see the codos and it's not worth the money or the damn view. first thing i noticed about the place they have alot of renters, so that tells me people will come and go... second they're building more not to sell but also to rent out. so why would i buy and pay outrageous amount of money for small rooms? i could not fit my king size bed in what they called the master bedroom. if the one complaining about us folks in the better areas are jealous, fuck no...... we have great views, great neighbors,backyards, and restaurants we can walk to... hey when the sun finally decides to come back out, i'll put on the bbq and have a tall one :) and toast it to crapper, italian girl and george......

faster340 said...

"I take the Q67 from Maspeth and I get on around 7:20 and arrive in LIC at about 7:40 to board the 7 train."

Are you that delusional? I used to go to 23rd street in Manhattan and it was 5.8 miles door to door for me and most times minimum would be 50 up to an hour and a half! The best time was 35 minutes. The Q67 is crap and the Q18 is even worse!!!

"The bus route is not a 3 mile route. It meanders and makes a lot of turns. Have you ever taken a bus in Queens? Driving, it is more direct."

Exactly crappy... I started driving into Manhattan and it cost me a lot of $$$$ but it was worth getting to my job in 10-15 minutes. My record was 8 minutes door to door!!!!

Anonymous said...

Faster, these past few years since the MTA took over, I've found that the Q67 has improved dramatically. I guess it also depends what time you take the bus.

The Q18 is bad when it approaches Queens Blvd, and then getting on the packed 7 train is even worse.

Anonymous said...

What makes me laugh is that all those new condos in LIC were built by non-union, illegal immigrants. They are worthless pieces of shit and eventually when they have to rip open walls because these unskilled criminals built, will cost you even more. I would rather live in a cardboard box than to be an ass and pay out of my ass for a condo or coop that took less to build than I am asked to pay for it. Keep saying how wonderful it is to live in LIC. i park my car there to catch the train and it hasn't changed all that much. Just lots more condos. It is still a pile of CRAP and will always be. And as for the trains, be serious they suck. I take them so I know.

Anonymous said...

Oh boy! These little LIC Hunters Point folks living on a Standard oil polluted dump barely cleaned are mighty defensive about their new toy property that involved removing long time residents. For that price arent your wonderful condos sound proof more by an industrial area? Many industry is not leaving for you kids, especially the trains.
Pretty thoughtful self important folks I guess. If your paying that much would'nt you do your research and learn about the worst river in the country, Newtown creek? The new building's by Gantry park are notoriously poorly built. Nothing to brag about kids.
You had to build a grocery store thats a model of a Whole foods, but more expensive and not even an independent grocer either. Also the new neighborhood has maybe five bars, and the Cave and the Creek is a bad episode of 90210. The epitome of gentrification is LIC Gantry park etc.
Oh, and the arts community?? You pushed them out with your development in case you didnt notice newbies.How long until you kind folks push out Recycle a bicycle's location? Not long I imagine.

The view at Astoria park is 100 times better and not fake like Gantry park that feels more and more only for the the residents jammed together in the 10 buildings in that spot.
But I bet your excited about camp Bow Wow? Cheesy

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I was surprised actually at how much industrial space was still left in LIC last time I was there a few weeks ago. That used to be the "grit" that attracted the hipsters. Unfortunately, yuppies followed them and destroyed the area just like they did in Williamsburg. These folks are complaining about a subway fan? Get a life. You want to be able to continue to brag about your 5-minute trip to Manhattan, don't you?

Anonymous said...

Yes, they "commute like a rocket" ROFL!

Anonymous said...

Please, don't tell them about the views at Astoria Park. Whatever you do, don't send more of them down here.

I am already in hand-to-hand combat with my landlord who has surface-gentrified my tenement from a solidly-built but homely 100 year old dwelling to a modernized house-of-cards with all the modern violations and no C of O.

georgetheatheist said...

Yes Wade, I remember well those delusional Heavens Gate wackos who thought the spaceship was behind the comet. And don't forget those other delusional wackos like the Jonestown Kool-Aid drinkers and the Obama voters.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a bunch of incoherent, inaccurate, unintelligent comments above. I'm sure you are all experts on construction quality and the history of LIC!!

By the way, LIC was never a hipster area. That is Williamsburg. And Astoria Park? It has nice views of the Upper East Side and Harlem but you are pretty silly to downplay the views from Gantry Park. They can't be beat from anywhere.

As far as the quality of stores, cafes, restaurants, bars, etc., please don't try to compare Maspeth to LIC. Unless you want to give me another good laugh.

Anonymous said...

No one has to be an "expert in construction quality."

The daily pickets outside sites using untrained, scab labor, the multiple stop work orders on these buildings (in spite of conveniently provided bribes--more should be issued.), the publicly available records at DOB and HPD that recount deadly violation after deadly violation and occupied buildings with no C of O, the collapses, the artist flung 200 feet into space--all of these speak for themselves.

As far as the history goes, my family has been a part of this area for 80 plus years; myself for 50, and we've written much of the history ourselves.

Furthermore, for those not blessed with personal experience, numerous websites such as "Forgotten New York", books such as "Gotham" or museums such as "The New York Historical Society" can provide necessary information.

Queens Crapper said...

"By the way, LIC was never a hipster area."

Wow, you really haven't been around LIC for long, have you? In the 1980s and 1990s, it was where a multitude of artists and musicians were both living and working. It was quite affordable.

Anonymous said...

All construction in the whole city in the past 5-10 years used some non-union workers because union costs were out of control. If the contractor runs a good operation that doesn't mean the quality is lower.
Stop work orders? Most of these are from NIMBYs calling in dumb complaints.
The stair collapse where the artist was hurt was in an industrial building that has been there for decades.
Please educate yourself before commenting again.

Anonymous said...

Crapper - the Hunters Point section of LIC had mainly townhouses and industrial buildings before the condo and apartment build up. Yes there were artists and musicians, but it was not a hipster community like Williamsburg. You are showing again how out of touch you are.

Anonymous said...

"it was not a hipster community like Williamsburg"

It most certainly was, and if you go to Tournesol for Sunday brunch you'll still see there are a few around.

Queens Crapper said...

From the Village Voice (which most definitely knows hipsters):

Long Island City residents like Semzcuk are not uncommon, giving the neighborhood a distinct sense of stability, just as more industrial areas draw transient hipsters looking for a cheap place and room to practice their art or music.

From city-city-bang-bang:

This weekend while cruising around LIC, we discovered something: hipsters have to eat too.
And we saw plenty chowin' down at Tuk Tuk, LIC's top Thai spot on Vernon Blvd. So much for squeezing into those skinny jeans...


Your knowledge of LIC history is sorely lacking. But then again, you just got here, after your ilk priced the hipsters out.

Anonymous said...

LIC had the real hipsters, not the trust fund babies pretending to be poor.

linda said...

lmao, keep your damn waste of a condo and when they start to sub'in it out to the homeless, i'll be the last one laughing, asshole... and if you don't believe this could happen to your area, read on about the developer in brooklyn, he stated it's better then going bankrupt....

asshole of LIC, kiss my ass. :)

Anonymous said...

OMG Linda, you're too funny.

:)

Anonymous said...

I have educated myself. Unskilled scab immigrants working on my 19th century building collapsed a Ceiling onto my living room and barely missed killing me. My bathroom ceiling is now leaking raw sewage because of faulty pipes put in by same.

On my block I pass pickets daily from starving union men undercut by these same scabs. On the same block, 18th Street, incompetent or crooked contracts demolished an adjacent house during construction, dug a huge foundation on land that they did not own for a house they cannot build, and severely damaged two adjacent buildings while constructing another. This is on ONE STREET.

You are obviously a nincompoop and a blowhard who is oblivious to the way you have been taken or else you are in cahoots with the thieving real estate interests yourself.

I would like to educate you myself, the traditional old-school way with a yardstick, but those days are past, alas.

Dear Ms Ceiling on the Floor said...

We all know about your ceiling.

You had better do something to derail that upzoning for Astoria and wake up your community before your whole neighborhood falls into the toilet.

Anonymous said...

Crapper, that was weak. Really weak. The Voice article talked about how the area has traditionally been working class. It said (in 2005), "JUST AS more industrial areas DRAW transient hipsters" (emphasis added), meaning they weren't there before. And guess what, the area never became a hipster area.

As for the restaurant review, read it again. It said the hipsters from Brooklyn came over to eat there because the restaurant had formerly been in Brooklyn.

I pass Tournesol frequently. It has a great mixed crowd. If you think that is hipster, you've never been to Williamsburg.

linda - thanks for another crude, foul-mouthed comment with no substantive value whatsoever. I'm not surprised Ms. Italy liked it, that seems to be her level.

Queens Crapper said...

You have the same level of vitriol in your rantings, so I wouldn't talk.

Hipster areas were all traditionally working class. What do you think Williamsburg and Greenpoint were? Duh...

Why do you think a hipster hangout would move from non-hipster Brooklyn to LIC? To be where the hipsters are! (Smith Street is in Carroll Gardens.)

There was a thriving art and music scene in LIC before it was condo-fied. Whether you want to believe that or not is your choice.

I know what was there because during those years I used to hang out with my musician friends all the time in LIC. They had to move out because a different element has moved in.

faster340 said...

Hipster definition for all who care to read...

Anonymous said...

Unlike linda and a lot of the Crapper crowd, I never have used foul language, and I never have personally insulted anyone unless they personally attacked me first. I may criticize their opinions, but never them personally.
Seriously, the cursing and name-calling is just so low class.

Queens Crapper said...

Name that hipster

An awful lot of 'em board the train at Long Island City-Court Square!!

Anonymous said...

"I'm not surprised Ms. Italy liked it, that seems to be her level."

I'm gonna say this one last time:

GET LAID ALREADY!!!!!

You're too damn frustrated

Anonymous said...

Unlike linda and a lot of the Crapper crowd, I never have used foul language, and I never have personally insulted anyone unless they personally attacked me first. I may criticize their opinions, but never them personally.
Seriously, the cursing and name-calling is just so low class

---------

Sometimes, if the two bit crooks that run your community sell you down the river, that is the only way you can express your powerlessness and frustation.

linda said...

lmao, ok let's try it your way!

it seems that your the one that's the most frustrated, i guess investing sooooooo much money hoping that the nonsense they sold you would become a reality. I know for a FACT because i did go down there to look at a condo and again I was not impressed at all. the rooms are too small and the view wasn't all that. if i offended you by my foul mouth i do apologize, but again I'll toast a drink to EVERYONE who agrees with me and it's just a bunch of illusions they're selling down there. i did ask the salesman what the other sites will be and he's the one that said it will be rented out. SO "bud" really hope you didn't buy, that your only renting.

have a blessed weekend :)

Anonymous said...

So linda likes LIC more than her neighborhood, went to look at condos, saw that she can't afford them, so now she badmouths them.

Queens Crapper said...

Where did she say she can't afford it?

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your support Dear Ms. Ceiling on the Floor. I am trying my best to follow your advice since it is excellent.

I wish that I had known 5 years ago what I know now. I would have gathered the neighbors up with flaming torches and took off for Vallone's office.

linda said...

no linda never said she liked LIC i thought the condos looked nice on the net but to my surprise they weren't when i went down to see them.

well tonight i enjoyed a wonderful dinner, walked around my great town, it's wonderful to know your neighbors and community.
also got to enjoy my backyard.

oh and by the way i could afford to live down there i choose not to.....

Anonymous said...

And don't forget those other delusional wackos like the Jonestown Kool-Aid drinkers

And frothing-at-the-mouth Ayn Rand fanboys.