“Astoria Skyline,” June 2, 2013. Various buildings as photographed from a Ditmars Boulevard–bound N train.
This is one of my favorite Arts for Transit pieces. The mural is at once sort of 8-bit but also remarkably realistic and detailed. I love Queens even more each time I walk by it.
…At the Queens Plaza station on the E, M and R lines, artist Ellen Harvey asks riders to imagine that they are gazing skyward at the 360 degree view that surrounds the station. In her series of mosaic murals, entitled Look Up, Not Down (2005), Harvey celebrates the romance and nostalgia of the skyline as seen from this Queens neighborhood. Harvey’s work here demonstrates shows hope and resilience, with the shining sun marking the former location of the World Trade Center. In years to come, as the city continues to reinvent itself, the mosaics will serve as a view of a past moment in time.
Finally made the very worthwhile trip to Ridgewood to taste this Pho Ga at Bun-ker Vietnamese. The smoked shallot broth with Bo Bo chicken takes almost eight hours to prepare, and I would find it hard to believe there is a better ‘chicken noodle soup’ anywhere else around. The banh mi (with 5 spice house smoked pate), banh xeo (crispy egg crepe with bacon and veggies), crab spring rolls, creamed taro leaves, tomato garlic fried rice… well, everything was beyond exceptional. Even the artichoke iced tea. But this noodle soup I will dream about. www.bunkervietnamese.com
The Knockdown Center in Maspeth, Queens, is like DIA:Beacon + Roberta’s + The Foundry + post-apocalyptic landscape. Gallery here on papermag.com. It’s a 3-acre complex that used to serve as a glass factory but now hosts events and happenings and projects.
Sushi at Takesushi in Sunnyside #Queenslove http://bit.ly/Z9XwPF













