A secret garden and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Tuesday January 15, 2013

A secret garden in the least likely place in Queens

We were recently turned on to a lovely garden outside the historic Marine Air Terminal (it’s been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982) at LaGuardia – airports are about the last place we imagined would hold a green oasis like this. There are benches, trees, grass, and even a statue (of sorts). If you happen to be in the area and want to check it out, it’s to the right of the main entryway of the Terminal.

A potential therapy pig in Queens

CBS published a story about a pig from College Point, owned by Navy vet Nadine Darsanlal. She originally got him as a companion for her service dog, Harvey. The pig’s name is Wilbur. She hopes he can become a therapy pet, though pigs are illegal in the city. She’s working to get him legal, though, and it’s a priority – “Once I get the thumbs up from the Department of Health, then I’ll go to the next step. I will go through anything just to get him certified.”

Big land parcel near Citi Field for sale for $21 million

We learned this week that there is a large parcel of land – 73,000 square feet in size (1.67-acres) with 350,000 buildable square feet, zoned for residential or commercial use, and located at 112-21 Northern Blvd (GMAP) – for sale for $21 million. It’s an entire city block. Almost anything could go up there – condos, shops, a hotel, since the zoning is so flexible. Local residents are receptive to development but hope that it’s done in a way that it brings jobs to the area without raising housing and cost of living prices. Looks like the Flushing Bay waterfront continues to be a desirable area for redevelopment.

It’s My Park Day – Rockaways

At a recent It’s My Park Day, volunteers came to dig out the parks in the Rockaways that were covered in sand.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZC04271cTI]

Quintessential Queens food

Today we asked, “what are quintessential Queens foods?” and got some answers – falafel and… octopus! We actually got into quite a good discussion over twitter about falafel (places to get great falafel include the new Mezze Place, Falafel King, and Duzan in Astoria).

Alex Cannon ‏@tehevilcannon – @QueensNYCity by no means definitive, but I’ve lived in the NYC area my entire life and have never eaten so much falafel since moving to QNS

CitySpoonful ‏@CitySpoonful – @QueensNYCity Duzan!!!

Mackenzi Farquer ‏@SITEnews – @QueensNYCity @cityspoonful @tehevilcannon I really like the light and SUPER crispy falafel at @MezzePlace. Pairs perfectly w/ their dips.

tastoriaqueens ‏@tastoriaqueens – @QueensNYCity Octopus! Especially grilled Greek style here in Astoria, but served throughout our borough’s many cuisines.