R.A. Dickey's Cy Young Award and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Friday November 16, 2012

Congrats, R.A. Dickey!

We learned this week that R.A. Dickey, one of the most well-known knuckleballers in the MLB, won the NL Cy Young Award this year! This is quite an honor, not only because this is the pitching award in the business, but that Dickey is the first knuckleballer ever to win a Cy Young Award. We couldn’t be prouder of him.

A favorite cocktail of the Papermag folks was born in Astoria – the Smokey Buffalo Manhattan

While we know Sparrow primarily for their amazing food, they are really a bar (or a “tavern” in their full name of Sparrow Tavern). Their beer and wine selections are good, as are the cocktails they make. Astorian Alia Akkam from Papermag recently enjoyed the Smokey Buffalo Manhattan at Sparrow and deemed it a fave. Here’s the recipe:

2 oz. Buffalo Trace bourbon
2 dashes Fee Brothers whiskey barrel-aged bitters
2 drops hickory flavored liquid smoke (available via Amazon.com)
Splash sweet vermouth
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir gently and pour strained mixture over brandy-soaked cherry in a chilled cocktail glass.

Have you ever heard of a babysitting co-op? Parents, check it out

In their increasingly busy lives, parents are having to come up with creative ways to find and afford quality childcare. That’s where babysitting co-ops come in. There are a couple of them in Queens – one called SunnyBaby, which covers all of Sunnyside and parts of Woodside; and one called ParentSitter, a co-op in Jackson Heights that is currently accepting members. If you are looking for new/additional childcare options, this might be for you.

Losses to the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department from Hurricane Sandy

This video shows the horrible flooding in Broad Channel during Hurricane Sandy, and the aftermath, including a fire engine that flooded, then shorted out and burned up the front of the truck. Eerie shots and emotional commentary within. As for the needs of the community, some people have stepped up and donated some pretty amazing items.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FPniy445fI]

NY, NJ, and CT artists and non-profit arts organizations who suffered financially from Hurricane Sandy’s wrath – we have good news for you

We’ve learned that The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and the Lambent Foundation are putting together a $2M+ fund to help visual arts organizations and individual artists who sustained damage during Hurricane Sandy. NYFA will be administering this re-granting program. Queens has pockets of artists, especially in LIC and Ridgewood, so this is great news for these folks.