Today the Daily News discovers Ravenswood –the Long Island City neighborhood west of 21st Street and North of the Queensboro Bridge. In typical real estate hyperbole they paint a picture of a wasteland full of soda-pop swigging old timey yokels, gritty factories, pioneering artists, and recently arrived Brazilians. For entertainment, folks hang out at Costco and watch Eric Gioia turn fast food joints into banks.
The waterfront Ravenswood power plant—known to everyone but the Daily News as Big Allis— is up for sale as a condition of British-owned National Grid’s recent merger with Keyspan. This is the first time we’ve heard anyone mention the possibility of it being sold to a developer and not another power company. Or, you know, FedEx. We’ll believe that when we see it.
Predictably, the reporter advises adventurous types to get in quickly while the neighborhood’s still frozen in time. There’s no mention in the article of any of the large residential projects already happening in the area –Hallet’s Cove Condos, the under construction Hallet’s Cove II and Sohmer Piano Factory conversion, or the planned Alma Realty Towers.
One thing we did learn from the News: Something called the Queensbridge Theater is opening this summer at 37-10 10th Street, Long Island City. It will be a “rock and roll supper club” and “will be used not just for concerts, but for Broadway and Off Broadway shows, performances for children, Cabaret, dinner theater, art exhibits and community outreach.” Hmmm….
February 29, 2008 at 8:16 am
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Eric Hundin
July 9, 2008 at 1:13 pm
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