Queens Leisure
The Bald Eagle is at home in the Queens Zoo.
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Americans spend one-third of their time on leisure activities, and Queens has it all when it comes to providing recreation: a variety of ethnic eateries, numerous bars, several sports stadiums and plenty of parks. Discovering Queens pasts, singing karaoke or basking in the outdoors are just a few pastimes in a borough of 2.2 million that has almost as many leisure choices.
Best Real Wildlife
While the closest some Queensites get to wildlife is seeing a subway rat scamper across the tracks, The Queens Zoo in Flushing-Meadows Corona Park houses some of the best North American animals. It is the only zoo in New York City that houses the spectacled bear, an Andes Mountains’ species named after its beige-rimmed eyes and markings. It is also the only place where people can meet Simon and Garfunkel—two Nubian goats—and Otis, the coyote found wandering through Central Park in 1999.
Source: www.queenszoo.com
Get away from it all at the Queens County Farm Museum.
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Best Country Escape
October is Pumpkin Month at the Queens County Farm Museum in Floral Park, and the 47-acre farm includes a pumpkin patch where 1,500 pumpkins are grown for picking. The farm is also home to the city’s only corn maze. Halloween hayrides, haunted houses and an apple festival draw thousands of visitors each weekend during the fall.
See Source: www.queensfarm.org.
Internet Hotspots
New Yorkers like to stay connected, and with communication lines becoming more invisible, people no longer have to hunt for an Internet café. These Queens spots offer free wireless Internet to online addicts who just can’t wait to get home to check their email.
1. Bagels And Bake: 40-15
Bell Blvd., Bayside
New Yorkers get connected at Pop Diner in Elmhurst. Tribune photos by Ira Cohen .
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2. Modus Vivendi: 72-07
Austin St., Forest Hills,
67th Ave. stop on G or R
3. JetBlue Airways: Terminal 6 - JFK International
Airport, Jamaica
4. Ten63 Café: 1063 Jack-
son Ave., Long Island City, Vernon Blvd.-Jack-
son Ave. stop on 7
Some classic theaters, like the Valencia in Jamaica, have found new life while others have perished |
5.Queens City Bakery &
Café: 24-05 Jackson Ave.,
Long Island City, 23rd
Street-Ely Ave. on E or F
and 45th Road-Court House Sq. on 7 or Court Sq. on G.
6. Communitea: 47-02 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City, Vernon Blvd.- Jackson Ave. on 7 and 21st Street-Van
Alst on G.
7. La Marjolaine Bakery / Coffee Shop: 50-17 Skillman Ave., Woodside, Hunters Point on 7
8. Pop Diner: 86-02 Queens Blvd., Elmhurst
9. Plaza Lounge: corner of 30th Ave and 29th St., Astoria, two blocks from 30th Ave. on N or W.
10. Comfort Inn: 133-43 37th Ave., Flushing, Main St. stop on 7.
Source: www.wififreespot.com/ny
The Final Curtain
Queens has lost at least 85 movie theaters to development, growth and, unfortunately, apathy over the last century. Though many of the buildings still remain, used today in different forms – from churches to pharmacies – some were returned to the ground from which they were raised.
These theaters have all been demolished, leaving not the slightest trace of the Hollywood, Silent Era and Vaudeville treasures that once played there.
Carlton Theatre, 175-02 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica
Columbia Theater, 1014 Beach 20th St., Far Rockaway
Evergreen Theatre, 926 Seneca Ave., Ridgewood
Forest Hills Theatre, 107-16 Continental Ave., Forest Hills
Fox Kew Gardens, Queens Blvd. & Union Tpke, Kew Gardens
Garden Theater, 113-12 Jamaica Ave., Richmond Hill
Glenwood Theatre, 60-60 Myrtle Ave., Ridgewood
Grand View Theatre, 716 Woodward Ave., Ridgewood
Hyperion Theatre, Kingsland & Way Avenues, Corona
Jamaica Theater, 155-16 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica
Parsons Theater, Parsons Boulevard., Kew Gardens Hills
Prospect Theatre, Main Street & Kissena Blvd., Flushing
Savoy Theatre, 152-04 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica
Sunnyside Theatre, 50-19 Roosevelt Ave., Woodside
Whitney Theater, 67-05 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood
Source: www.Cinematreasures.org
Happy Hour Hangout
Astoria’s Bohemian Beer Garden at 29-19 24th Ave. was built from the toil of Czech and Slovak immigrants at the turn of the last century and was created to preserve homeland traditions. It’s the last of the 800 beer gardens that once existed in NYC, and is the only place where people can sit at the bar’s backyard picnic tables and enjoy authentic Eastern European food, like pierogies and kielbasa, along with mugs of beer. Wednesday nights celebrate the bar’s ethnic roots with drinks like “Czechs on the Beach,” and “Bohemian Bangers.”
Source: www.bohemianhall.com
American Idol Talent
Come on out and get your karaoke on at these Queens hangouts.
1. Baybreeze Marina: 22-25 Van Brunt St., Broad Channel, every Mon- day.
2. Belmont Stakes: 79-11 Myrtle Ave., Glendale, 10:30 p.m. every Thurs- day and Saturday
3. The Cartoon Lounge: 86-51 Broadway, Elmhurst, every Thursday
4. The Clubhouse: 137-09 Cross Bay Blvd., Ozone Park, 10 p.m. every Saturday
5. Evergreen Chinese Restaurant: 19-11 Francis Lewis Blvd., Flushing, 10 p.m. every Saturday
6. Gibbons’ Pub: 67-63 Woodhaven Blvd., Rego Park, 8:30 p.m – 12:30 a..m. every Sunday
7. Grand Stand: 85-35 Grand Ave., Elmhurst, 11 p.m. – 3 a.m. every Friday and Saturday
8. Grandview Inn: 52-25 Metropolitan Ave., Maspeth, every other Fri- day
9. KC’s: 41st Ave. Bayside, 11 p.m. – 3 a.m. every Sunday
Enjoy a few pints at the beer garden. |
10. Tequila Sunrise: 34-37 Bell Blvd., Bayside, 9 p.m.- 1.a.m. every Mon- day
11. St. James: 116-34 Metropolitan Ave., Kew Gardens, 10 p.m. every Tuesday
12. Vinnie’s Bar: 52-20 Flushing Ave., Maspeth, 11 p.m.- 3 a.m. every Friday
13. Sheehan’s: 171-57 46th St., Flushing, 11 p.m. – 3 a.m. every Sunday
14. Neville’s: 62-29 Woodhaven Blvd., Rego Park, 10:30 p.m. – 2:30 a.m. every Friday
15. Paradise Lounge in the Cozy Bowl: 98-18 Rockaway Blvd., Ozone Park, 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
Source: www.murphguide.com
Watching the Game
Cranberries: 82-02 Grand Ave. (82nd St.), Elmhurst
Charlie’s Sports Bar: 44-08 60th St., Woodside
First Edition: 41-08 Bell Blvd. (41st. Ave.) Bayside
The Starting Gate: 59-10 Woodside Ave., Woodside
Source: www.murphguide.com
