17 years of Queens Crap

Queens Crap is sexy and seventeen and it's going to get crappier with the City Of Yes doctrine being pushed by our hyper-compromised Mayor of New York City and his confederacy of yes team of deputy mayors and advisors.

 

Crappy sweet sixteen

 

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QNS 

For close to a century, the Forest Park Carousel has been part of the rituals of growing up in Woodhaven, Glendale, Richmond Hill and many of the other nearby neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn.

In many families, several generations have fond memories of riding on the carousel as children before passing along the tradition by taking their own children or grandchildren for their first ride. The Forest Park Carousel is not only a fun ride, but also a beautiful and historically significant piece of work.

Nearly all the figures were created by the hands of legendary Master Carver Daniel C. Muller, a crucial factor in the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission’s decision to designate the Forest Park Carousel a New York City Landmark in 2013.

To gain a better understanding of Muller, we need to start with Gustav Dentzel who had learned the craft of carousel-building from his father Michael in Germany and immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1864. Though he initially took up trade as a cabinetmaker, in 1867, he began the G.A. Dentzel Steam and Horsepower Carousel Builder company.

Dentzel’s firm completed an average of four full carousels a year, some of the earliest carousels in the United States.

One of Dentzel’s carvers was also a close friend, John Heinrich Muller. When Mueller died suddenly, Dentzel raised his surviving two teenage sons as his own. The brothers, Daniel and Alfred, joined the Dentzel family business in 1890 and began carving carousel figures.

Although both brothers were talented carvers, it was Daniel C. Muller (born in 1872) who truly shone, honing his craft at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. D. C. Muller’s carvings were notable for being very beautiful and realistic. He was also known for militaristic carvings with horses sporting bugles, swords and canteens.

In 1903, the brothers left Dentzel and started their own company, D.C. Muller Brothers Carousel Manufacturing Company, a much smaller shop than Dentzel ran. The Mullers only managed to build 12 carousels over 14 years with much of the delays attributed to Muller’s attention to detail.

The Mullers closed the shop in 1917 and rejoined their former company, which had been run by William Dentzel since his father Gustav’s passing in 1909. They remained with the Dentzels until William passed away and the company folded in 1928 as the Golden Age of Carousels in America came to a close.

And that brings us to the Forest Park Carousel. In the early days of Forest Park, the golf course was much larger, covering all the land down to what is known today as Park Lane South. All the land that the Forest Park Carousel sits on today, plus all the area surrounding it, was originally part of the golf course.

The residents of Woodhaven complained and in 1923 the Parks Department reduced the size of the golf course and the land that was freed up was set aside as public park space. It was at that time that Forest Park began to more closely resemble the park we know today.

Plans for playgrounds, a concrete bandstand, tennis courts and a carousel were announced. It’s hard to imagine, but residents of Woodhaven were opposed to the placement of a carousel so close to Woodhaven Boulevard, which was a sleepy one-lane road called Woodhaven Avenue at the time.

Construction on a building to contain the carousel finished in December 1922, in the woods, well off from Woodhaven Avenue. And by the spring of 1923, a carousel was spinning in Forest Park.  The original carousel in Forest Park was a Muller creation and was owned and operated by Fred J. L. Hassinger of Glendale.

For over half a century, residents of Woodhaven and surrounding communities flocked to the Forest Park Carousel. Parents and grandparents put their children on the carousel, then sat and enjoyed the pipe organ music and the smell of hot dogs and popcorn.

Serpico's 50 year vindication arrives with medal of honor

 

NY Daily News 

Mayor-elect Eric Adams wants to make sure whistleblower cop Frank Serpico gets the honor he was denied 50 years ago.

Serpico, 85, will get a Police Department Medal of Honor certificate, Adams promised Saturday night on Twitter.

Serpico, a Brooklyn native, has been waiting for formal recognition ever since he was shot in the face in February 1971, nine months before his Knapp Commission testimony.

Serpico tweeted out the News story after it was published online Saturday.

In the tweet, Serpico told his 5,000 Twitter followers that the article “neglected to mention I’ve been waiting 50+ yrs for the NYPD to issue me my authenticated Medal of Honor certificate and properly inscribed medal.”

Serpico got the medal — it was handed to him over a countertop, without any pomp or ceremony. He also never got the certificate that usually accompanies the medal.

NY Daily News

On the morning of Dec. 14, 1971, NYPD undercover detective Frank Serpico put on his only suit. The son of an immigrant cobbler then stopped to get his good pair of shoes shined.

The bearded 12-year police veteran was about to dismantle the department’s infamous “blue wall of silence,” exposing the NYPD’s systemic corruption across three hours of unprecedented testimony before the Knapp Commission and its probe of crooked cops.

A half-century later, the 85-year-old Brooklyn native remains a strident critic of police misconduct and a sounding board for fellow whistleblowers — while sharing his thoughts and concerns on a variety of topics with more than 5,000 Twitter followers.

Serpico, who survived an on-duty gunshot to the face nine months before his testimony and death threats afterward, remains unsure how he’s lasted this long.

 To use the old corny expression, somebody up there must like me, ya know?” says Serpico, his borough accent unchanged by the years. “This is what people don’t understand: You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

“But people are afraid of the truth.”

 

It's that time of year again...

Racino royale

 

Queens Chronicle

When Resorts World Casino opened 10 years ago, “the naysayers thought the apocalypse was coming,” recalled state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach). “And they find, 10 years later, that was the furthest it could have been from the truth.”

Resorts World New York City, the only casino in the city, celebrated its 10th anniversary on Oct. 28, a celebration preceded by the August grand opening of the new luxury hotel, Hyatt Regency JFK Airport.

On Oct. 29, a celebration was held with about 45 elected officials, community leaders, nonprofits and Resorts World staff.

“It was an opportunity for us to share our gratitude and thanks to them for all of the support that they’ve shown Resorts World New York City over the last ten years,” said Meghan Taylor, vice president of government affairs and public relations at Genting Americas Inc., which operates the casino.

Addabbo recalled residents’ initial concerns over crime, gambling, prostitution and traffic but said they did not come to fruition.

“Yes, there were issues with traffic early on and we addressed them,” he said.

Addressing addiction remains a priority, he added.

“It was a major milestone to have a casino of its type here, the first of its kind in the city. It is certainly a feather in the cap and something to admire for the borough of Queens,” said Addabbo, who was on Community Board 10 when officials were working to save the Aqueduct Race Track.

The South Ozone Park casino and hotel neighbors Aqueduct, which the “racino” is credited for keeping afloat 10 years ago. It was decided at the time that the casino could exist only if Aqueduct remained open.

9/11/01-9/11/21

 

Crappy anniversary

 

Happy Birthday, Neir's Tavern

Queens Eagle

A Woodhaven watering hole will be celebrating its 190th anniversary on Oct. 5 — making it older than more than half the states in the country.

Neir’s Tavern has been around since 1829, beginning the same year that Andrew Jackson became president. Called the Old Blue Pump House at its inception, it became Neir’s when Louis Neir bought it in 1898. He added a bowling alley and hotel, and even ran the place as a speakeasy during Prohibition.

Neir’s changed hands several times up until 2009, when Loy Gordon, an FDNY lieutenant and the current owner, bought the bar along with some friends to save it from closure.

 

It's our 12th anniversary

Hi all,

This blog was started 12 years ago today. Not much has changed. Actually, as we're sure you've noticed, it's only gotten worse.

Many crappy returns.

- Crappy

Simply having a wonderful Queens Crap time!

Where has the time gone?

Where have the tweeders gone? (A lot went to prison.)