Gentrification Crashing on the East River?

Vanishing New York brought my attention to this piece in the Times. It is interesting to consider what will happen to neighborhoods on 'the verge' with the current economic downturn. Locally, I'm particularly interested in how this plays out with the LIC condo boom. We've already seen a number of those new buildings accepting rental tenants when they can't sell units. This has sent some would-be owners scrambling to get out of their agreements before closing.

Long Island City is a fascinating test case of this sort of thing. There is so little residential neighborhood there compared to the number of new developments. It seems every bit the test-bed in engineering a neighborhood. I have no idea what it will all look like if/when these developments fail, but I'm curious to see. Not sure if this bodes terribly well for new establishments like Dutch Kills.

Astoria on the other hand seems relatively culturally intact. While the number of shops that have recently closed on Steinway Street isn't a good sign, this is every bit the pre-existing neighborhood. Already a mish-mash of cultures, Astoria will likely benefit in the long run from the slowing tide of gentrification. Most of the property here is rental property anyway, and the hiccups in redeveloping LIC will slow the hand of those who would like to tear down and redevelop the neighborhood. 

Successful newer establishments like Blackbird's have found a niche and steady local clientele. They've catered very well to the Astoria that actually exists, as opposed to a hypothetical neighborhood that could be.

Headlines for February 25

As reported in numerous places, New York Water Taxi is adding another Water Taxi Beach this summer. Governors Island will play host to the city's newest fake beach. Harry Hawk and the crew have some fantastic burgers, so it'll be interesting to see what has become a Long Island City staple expand beyond Queens. Between this, the Circle Line Downtown acquisition and the Ikea shuttle, Water Taxi has emerged as a major player on the water.

Eater continues speculation on the rumor that Tishman Speyer is looking to turn the legendary Rainbow Room into more Rockefeller Center office space once Cipriani vacates. I think that would be a big mistake on Tishman's part, especially considering they would have the opportunity to more closely tie a new Rainbow Room to their very successful Top of the Rock Observation Deck.

Ephemeral New York looks back at Soho Zat, a haven for comics, zines, and graffiti artists back in the day. It later became Bomb the System, finally becoming Scrap Yard after 9/11.

Joey in Astoria confirms that the El Rey Del Taco Truck, an Astoria staple, will soon be expanding into a storefront on Steinway St. They're keeping the truck as well.

A Look at the Queensborough Bridge

Ephemeral New York checks in with a post about the Queensborough Bridge. They include one of my personal favorite quotes about the bridge. F. Scott Fitgerald wrote in the Great Gatsby that “the city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time in its wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world.”

I remember the first time I crossed the bridge years ago. Looking out along the East River around sunset, my eyes seized on the Ravenswood Power Plant, known to many as "Big Aliss". Its three striped smokestacks had been featured repeatedly in the movie "Conspiracy Theory", which I have a serious soft spot for. Having seen that movie rerun on TBS and TNT something like a billion times, the visual had an instant familiarity with me that most seem to reserve for icons like the Empire State Building.

In warmer weather, I like a nice walk over the bridge. The view is pretty spectacular, if constantly changing with the real estate development on Roosevelt Island and in Long Island City. On one day where a tunnel fire had caused massive delays on several Queens-bound trains, I opted to walk through pouring rain from my old office at Rockefeller Center to my apartment in Astoria. Aside from being waterlogged, it was a pretty nice walk. The Queensborough's pedestrian walkways aren't as appealing as those on the Brooklyn Bridge, which I think contributes to its role as the East River bridge of lesser regard. Hopefully that can be remedied in the future.