You can't get there from here...

It was brought to my attention that "Resident Magazine" has a feature in their November 2014 edition about LIC, calling it the next Williamsburg. How original! Anyway, the funniest line of the piece is this:

LIC’s residents also enjoy a very efficient transportation system. The Long Island Railroad into Penn Station stops at Hunters Point Ave.

Bloomberg admits he's in love with himself

From NY Times:

He is depicted as the ultimate narcissist: a man so content with himself that hearts spring from his head when he gazes into the mirror and a box of Valentine’s Day chocolates by his side is labeled, “To: Me.”

But Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg does not seem to have any qualms with that caricature of his personality, which appeared on the cover of this week’s New Yorker.

“It was great,” Mr. Bloomberg told reporters on Thursday. “I thought it was cute looking into the mirror.”

Mr. Bloomberg, not known for a humble demeanor, seemed content to offer his own interpretation of the work.

“I like what I see in the mirror, and I hope everybody here does,” the mayor said. “I get up in the morning, and I work as hard as I can, and my kids have turned out great. I’m a lucky enough guy to have made a lot of money, and I’m giving it all away and making a big difference.”

NYPD arrests guy for photographing nostalgia train

From pixiq:

The editor of a popular railfan magazine was detained, handcuffed, frisked and cited by New York City police officers for photographing trains four months ago – but the incident is just coming to light now.

Apparently, Railfan & Railroad Magazine editor Steve Barry was acting under the advice of lawyers by waiting this long to publish an account of the incident, which took place on August 21.

An account of the incident will be published in the January issue of the magazine, but the editorial was posted Thursday on Subchat.

On August 21, 2010, your editor, along with contributor Mike Burkhart, went into New York City to photograph the Transit Museum’s historic train, which was making a run to the Rockaways. After shooting for most of the day, we were waiting for the return trip at the Broad Channel station when we were approached by two (and eventually, five) officers of the New York Police Department. They insisted that photography was not allowed. After asking for i.d., I gave a verbal legal i.d. (full name and hometown) and repeatedly asked for a supervisor. I soon found myself in handcuffs.

The two men were cited under 1050.9.C of the New York City Rules of Conduct, which only forbids the use of tripods, lights and reflectors when photographing or videotaping trains, which apparently they were not using.

Photography, filming or video recording in any facility or conveyance is permitted except that ancillary equipment such as lights, reflectors or tripods may not be used. Members of the press holding valid identification issued by the New York City Police Department are hereby authorized to use necessary ancillary equipment. All photographic activity must be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

They contacted the New York Civil Liberties Union, which got the citations dropped.

They were also cited for not producing proper identification, which they were really not obligated to do since they were not breaking a law in the first place.

Photo from Second Avenue Sagas

Christine Quinn bathes on Sundays

From the NY Times:

"I love to take a bath. I take baths a lot of nights, but I love to take a bath on Sunday. It helps me go to sleep. It’s relaxing. You get to put stuff that smells nice in the water. I’ll read People magazine — something that is interesting but not wildly intellectually challenging."

Thankfully, there's no photo to illustrate this.

Breeding ground for vibrant, diverse terrorists

From the Daily News:

A slick new Al Qaeda magazine written in English to lure U.S. jihadists may be the work of a former New Yorker with an eye for graphics - and a lust for American blood.

Intelligence officials see chilling similarities between a militant blog Samir Khan produced and the Internet-based magazine Inspire.

Khan landed on intelligence radar in 2007, when he was 21, after posting an Osama Bin Laden screed to the blog he maintained from his parents' basement.

The blog boasted crisp graphics, an easy familiarity with American culture and attitudes, and a pipeline to hard-core rhetoric.

Fast forward to last month, when Al Qaeda put out Inspire, with the message that U.S. military action in the Arab world must be avenged.

The packaging spooked experts with its potential for recruiting Western youth. It also seemed familiar to those who track militants, like the Jawa Report blog.

Khan was born in Saudi Arabia but his family moved to Queens when he was 7 years old.

In 2007, he told the New York Times that he was a typical American kid until he turned 15 and went to a weeklong summer camp sponsored by the Islamic Organization of North America.

He stopped dressing like his pals at John Adams High School in Queens, grew tired of IONA's moderate tenets, and joined the more militant Islamic Thinkers Society, sources said.

His family moved to Jersey in 2000 and North Carolina in 2004, sources said. That's when he started his blog, "Inshallahshaheed," or "A martyr soon if God wills."

Project Woodhaven issues new magazine

The Woodhaven Residents' Block Association is proud to announce the release of "The Voice of Woodhaven" -- a newsmagazine that covers Woodhaven on its 175th Anniversary. Click the link below to view the magazine in a super-neat-O format --

We hope this format will make it easier to disseminate information amongst our residents -- we also hope to highlight our sponsors, whose support has helped us survive these last few months. Over the last calendar year, the WRBA received zero dollars in grant money -- zip, nada, bupkus. The money our sponsors paid us helped keep our doors open.

Eat your way across the borough

From NY1:

A new niche publication called "Edible Queens" will cover the borough with the nation's most diverse food culture.