Queens Chronicle

A bike share program will come to Queens this year after all.

The banking giant Citi, also known as Citigroup or Citibank, will install 10,000 bikes and 600 dock stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island City. The bikes in the “Citi Bike” fleet will be branded with the bank’s name.

Mayor Bloomberg, Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, other officials and Citi CEO Vikram Pandit announced the deal on May 9 at City Hall Plaza. At the time Sadik-Khan said the $40 million project would come to Long Island City eventually, but did not say when. Andrew Brent, a spokesman for Citi, said the bikes would be available in LIC sometime next year.

However the plan quickly changed.

Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) on May 13, just three days after the announcement of the environmentally-friendly plan, said the bikes will roam the borough that has the company’s name on Queens’ biggest building and on the Mets stadium.

“You can’t have a citywide bike share program that doesn’t include Queens,” Van Bramer said.

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Mr. Wonton Chinese Restaurant, located at 44-11 Queens Blvd, was shut down by the NYC Health Department on Tuesday,May 15.

The restaurant was cited for the following:

Sanitary Violations:

1. Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.2
2. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
3. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
4. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.

The closure comes two years after the NYC Health Department shut it down for similar reasons in March, 2010.

T-ball at Sunnyside Gardens Park

After remaining closed to new members for nearly four months, Sunnyside Gardens Park combed through its long wait list and accepted new families.

Forty-one families on the wait list who live “in zone” have been invited to join, according to Park President Natalie O’Sullivan. As defined by the park’s constitution, “in zone” refers to people who live in Sunnyside Gardens and the Phipps development, which borders the park.

When families were turned away this winter, it was the first time in years “in-zone” residents were denied membership.

The park, with a capacity of 465 families, still has a further 92 families clamoring to join.

The 92 additional families on the wait list will be invited to join based on how close they live to the park, should spots become available, O’Sullivan said. Spots typically become available when existing members decide not to renew their membership.

The difficulty gaining park membership is a far cry from the years (decades ago) when membership was so low the park was actually shut down due to a lack of funds.

“The park is getting more popular and that’s a great sign for Sunnyside,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s a great place to be a part of.”

Annual membership dues range from $335 for a family with children to $40 for a senior.

1) The EVENTS CALENDAR. This calendar allows residents to submit an online- form and list their own community events. This page can be used by local community groups, schools, bars/restaurants to residents holding yard sales.

2) A REAL ESTATE Ads: This page allows the public to list a property for sale or rent by filling the online form (on the real estate page) and submitting it.

3) CLASSIFIED ads: Readers are able to go to the classified ad page and list an item for sale, a help wanted ad, etc.

Note: All listings are free.

From NY1

Soondooboo, boiling mini-cauldrons of spicy, silky soft tofu stew, is the specialty at Natural Tofu Restaurant — a busy, inexpensive, Korean spot in Sunnyside, Queens, complete with kitschy, village-like interiors.

Six varieties of tofu stews are available here from vegetarian, to kimchi, to intestine. I recommend their seafood soft tofu with boiled shrimp, clams, mussels and green onions. You can enjoy the customary side dishes while you wait for your soondooboo to cook.

Into a thick clay pot, the chef adds a spoonful of traditional Korean red pepper paste, a pungent mix of oil, chili powder and chili paste. This is how your heat level is determined. A half spoonful means mild. A whole spoonful means spicy, which is how I order it.

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NOTE: Natural Tofu Restaurant is located at 40-06 Queens Boulevard, between 40th and 41st Street.

The cartoon showing, which was held free-of-charge at Thomas Noonan Playground (47th Ave. and 43rd St.) was part of the annual jazz festival that led up to the highly-touted Bix Biederbecke concert, which has been held in Sunnyside for more than a decade. Biederbecke was an acclaimed musician who died in his Sunnyside apartment in 1931.

James Bray, the executive director of Sunnyside Shines, said the cartoon showing was such a great success that the group decided to screen three this year—separate from the jazz event. “Last year, there were more than 200 people who went to watch the cartoons,” he said.

This year, Sunnyside Shines is showing the following three movies at Thomas Noonan Playground for free:

The Sandlot: 8:00pm on June 1st

The Land before Time: 8:00pm on July 6th

Footloose: 8:00pm on August 3