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Messages - Londonjo

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Neighborhood Chat / snow clearance
« on: March 04, 2015, 05:04:52 PM »
I can't believe I am the only person experiencing difficulty with having to clamber over icy snow walls and wade through icy lakes to access bus or car in the middle of the block (where most buildings' front entrances are). Is there any solution, or must we stay indoors until it's over?

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: Town Hall Meeting To Discuss The Bruson Building
« on: February 12, 2015, 01:17:29 PM »
To me it seems obvious that a great solution would be to find an entrepreneur like my relative in London, Gillian Harwood, who many years ago founded this wonderful place: www.busworks.co.uk.

I can imagine the whole building offering small work spaces (office, studio, workshop), food outlets, shops/stalls including crafts, “incubator”, with a comfortable central space for eating, talking, laptop work. The kind of place anyone could drop by and find someone they know, or felt OK to talk to strangers, a “public house”. It should welcome seniors, and include a small indoor swimming pool with warm changing rooms. And a play corner for small children. Don’t want to put E77 or JuJu out of business, both could benefit from more space and could open a second outlet.

Problems about the per sq ft rental costs for restaurant space are answered by the food court model. My family can never agree which local restaurant to choose, so we often end up in Astoria in a jovial fish place.
 
There is much argument about who is actually moving in to the neighbourhood and also who already lives here. My impression is there are lots of new people. There really should be a survey, if there isn’t one already. I believe there are many people who work from home or travel to Manhattan to their own workplace.


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Restaurants & Food / Re: Greenmarket purchases
« on: November 16, 2014, 06:30:05 PM »
“veggies that are extremely reasonable, and a few that are extremely unreasonable”.

Food which is produced to the high standards required by GrowNYC can be more expensive, simply for that reason. And the higher prices charged by organic producers are also justified because of the extra care and skilled work involved. So I would not describe the prices as “extremely unreasonable”. The meat and cheese on sale at our greenmarket does seem expensive, but only if you don’t investigate the horrors of (industrial) factory farms, which is where most cheap food comes from.

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: irony
« on: November 09, 2014, 01:27:30 AM »
I was just thinking, we don't want to be on noisy plane flightpaths. I prefer "flightpaths for pollinators" which is what "River of Flowers" is about. Talking of loud noise, why do we still hear and smell those awful gas-guzzling leaf blowers (some places ban them), and when the bags of leaves get picked up, do they get composted or do they go to landfill? 

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: Need some help to open a restaurant/bar in JH
« on: November 09, 2014, 01:15:41 AM »
Before I read the exciting news about your new venue, I was about to comment on a couple of points about Diversity Plaza. One was someone wished there was a subway exit/entrance there. Well there is, and it was used more when the bus pulled in there. If it had an elevator, I would use it, especially if there was a Q49 stop on that side of Roosevelt, and if there was a Dudley restaurant to sit outside. The landlords should be encouraged to allow another, different-cuisine restaurant which would justify the name of the Plaza, whose restoration will benefit them. Perhaps this should be in another thread.

Anyway, I am pleased that the new one is close to Travers Park and the Greenmarket, and very near to the terminus of the Q32 (so one could afford to nod off en route). Also the Q33 and the Q66 - I think you should include these buses in your PR. When will it open?
 
Could you include a few Greek and Turkish dishes please? I haven't seen taramasalata, skordalia, "the Imam fainted" or yogurt-kebab in Jackson Heights. But then perhaps it's more fun to go exploring different neighbourhoods with distinctive character and cuisines.

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: River of Flowers
« on: November 09, 2014, 12:15:01 AM »
Read it more slowly and you will see it requires a response!

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: 82nd St station to get overhaul
« on: October 07, 2014, 09:59:29 AM »
74th st/Jackson Heights/Broadway needs more elevator capacity, or at least some help for confused passengers getting in each other's way. They also need to clean the surfaces, including the uplighter lamps you see while waiting to descend - the dust is all hairy and about an inch thick.
Is there a passenger user group for this station?
And I wonder why there's no up and down (in and out) separation on the stairways to and from the platforms. It is impossible to get through huge crowds who just got off the train you're trying to catch. It wouldn't be difficult to put up "no entry" signs.

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: 74th Street Station
« on: June 20, 2014, 05:51:43 AM »
It's not just the inside of the station. Something should be done to make it possible for pedestrians to cross Broadway and Roosevelt without risking death. There are SO MANY problems with this station. How about a public meeting? Does MTA consult with user groups? Is there one already? Where can we find the station manager?

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: World Cup Fever
« on: June 20, 2014, 05:32:50 AM »
There was one extremely noisy Colombia fan on the 7 train yesterday afternoon. Not one passenger responded to his enthusiasm. In fact they looked annoyed and embarrassed. As someone who suffered from living close to Arsenal stadium in London for over forty years, I can't get excited either!

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: Need some help to open a restaurant/bar in JH
« on: June 14, 2014, 02:48:07 AM »
Chong Hap Market is closed. All that outside space could be enclosed to create a space like the old Czech beer garden. Although of course the train noise might interrupt conversation, music etc. Probably someone is already plotting to build a new shopping mall or apartments. Is there a public right to know who owns which land, or an elected planning committee where the public can find out what's going on? Excuse my ignorance (I'm from London).

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: 74th Street Station
« on: March 25, 2014, 05:30:32 PM »

I have 18 serious complaints (and questions, and useful suggestions) about the transit system, about half are to do with the local station. You can see exactly how thick the dirt is from the landing outside the 7 platform lift - look at the faces of the upward lights. The whole place needs a power hose. I did see a lady with a brush last week but no other staff around to help passengers. I would not be impressed if I had just arrived on the new airport bus with no clue where to go. Is there a subway map in the foyer yet? How would a stranger ever find their way to the 7 platform via the grossly over-used lift? Is there a  general transit theme on this site?

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: New Sidewalk Benches
« on: December 21, 2013, 06:23:08 AM »
OK, that's great. I'm all for local distinctiveness and pride.
But why has it taken me three years to find out about it?
Is it a secret only for insiders?
How about mounting an awareness campaign for newcomers?
You have to admit it's not exactly rational.
I thought it was something to do with computer geeks making a mistake at my expense - not unusual.
Being constantly rejected by websites for incorrect form-filling (unexplained) has been seriously undermining my confidence.

Back to benches. I think they are needed at bus stops, including at the station, and along 35th avenue.

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Neighborhood Chat / Re: New Sidewalk Benches
« on: December 20, 2013, 04:17:44 PM »
I thought I had sent an application for a bench. And I thought I had applied for a tree. Perhaps I never managed to complete these applications and gave up, for a weird reason which I have only just become aware of, this morning, after living in JH for almost three years. WE DO NOT LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY!
Filling in forms on-line we have to write "Jackson Heights" in the box labelled "city". I AM AMAZED. And, quite frankly, rather angry that I have spent hours of frustration being rejected whenever I attempt on-line tasks. Nobody told me about this anomaly, and why would I have asked? Newcomers should be warned. I have found out this only applies to Queens. People in Park Slope, Brooklyn don't have to say they live in the city of  do they?
Neighborhood: Jackson Heights
Borough: Queens
City: New York
State: NY
zip code: 11372
Country: USA
- wrong!
Even worse is that when I ask for an explanation, nobody seems to think it's irrational. It's just the way it's always been.
Like not using A size paper. How can you live without being able to fold it in half and end up with the same proportions?

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Real Estate & Home Improvement / Re: landmarked building that had indoor pool
« on: May 30, 2011, 01:49:20 AM »
My husband grew up in the Berkeley and confirms there was a pool in the basement.
We have just moved back into this building 50-odd years later. I'd love a pool. Even a temporary plastic one in the garden in the summer would be great. 

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