New Glen Oaks library and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Tuesday January 8, 2013

A really nice new library is coming to Glen Oaks

Best known as the location of the Queens County Farm Museum, Glen Oaks will also be known for a “swanky” new library, planned to to open sometime this spring. The cost to build it is $17.1 million, and it will be an 18,000 square foot building with a “three-level edifice with a glassy exterior.” This will house the circulating library itself, as well as a “cyber center” (public computers), reading lounge, outdoor space, and community meeting spaces. They’re looking for LEED Silver certification, too. Half of the building will be underground, so that they can be in accordance with zoning regulations. We think it sounds pretty awesome and can’t wait to check it out!

Greek Astoria

Check out this nice little video of scenes from Astoria through its Greek community.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/55059099]

A review of the issue #1 of the Newtown Literary Journal

We took a look at issue #1 of the Newtown Literary Journal, the first journal of its kind based in Queens. In it are various styles, including fiction, creative nonfiction, essays, and poetry, and 26 entries were included. All the writers are based in Queens, both amateur and professional. An excerpt:

Many of the featured poems, stories, and essays reflect glimmers of life in Queens: the diverse set of characters we encounter everyday and the urban scenery that surrounds us. Maria Terrone‘s poems consist of authentic observations of people seen in mundane situations such as reporting for jury duty, waiting in the emergency room, and getting a manicure – reminding us that behind every face in this borough is a backstory, each one as important as the next.

“There There” at LIC’s Chocolate Theater gets rave reviews from the NY Times

We caught this great review from the NY Times about “There There,” currently running at The Chocolate Theater in LIC (GMAP). In the words of the reviewer,

I can’t think of a better way to start the theatergoing year than with this language-drenched, resonant knockout, part of the Coil festival, organized by Performance Space 122, which commissioned the show with the Chocolate Factory.

On paper, the concept for “There There” is a bit wacky: during a Russian tour of a solo show inspired by Captain Vasily Vasilevich Solyony from Chekhov’s “Three Sisters,” the actor Christopher Walken meets with an unfortunate accident involving a ladder. Karen (Ms. Kosmas) must replace him, performing in English with an accompanying Russian interpreter, Leo (Larissa Tokmakova). Karen, naturally, isn’t very familiar with this play, and Leo is the usual interpreter’s understudy.

What follows is something of a dual monologue (Matvei Yankelevich wrote the Russian translation, which has its own poetic life), and it’s a virtuosic feat.

It runs for just a little while longer – til January 12 – so head on over soon.

More contemporary art in LIC – this time at the Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs

We told you about the amazing Fisher Landau Center for Art in LIC, and now we’re telling you about Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs, a family run organization that presents independently curated exhibitions of contemporary art in Long Island City. They are very much focused on art of the now, so much so that they give away a portion of their collection each year, often to university museums, so they can make room for additional acquisitions. All the shows a DGCP are independently curated, so there is quite a range in what is shown throughout the year. And did you know that anyone is welcome to submit proposals for future exhibitions? The organization has worked with all sorts of artist, historians, and curators over the years, all in various stages of their careers, from emerging to established. Reaching out to a broad audience is also one of the points of the organization. So stop on in and experience some new art, right here in LIC!