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Sky Farm LIC Celebrates Major Upgrades

BQE Admin on May 6, 2026

Photo via Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens.

By COLE SINANIAN

cole@queensledger.com

LONG ISLAND CITY  — On April 23 the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens (VBGCQ) officially launched its new and improved Sky Farm LIC, a rooftop urban farm that provides thousands of pounds of fresh produce to the LIC and Astoria communities.

Situated atop the Standard Motors building at 21-12 30th Road, Sky Farm LIC is a one-acre rooftop farm and educational space where local students use organic farming techniques to grow vegetables, herbs and flowers in the summer and fall. About 75% of the produce goes to VBGCQ itself, while the rest gets donated to LaGuardia Community College and Astoria Food Pantry and shared with volunteers.

More than 4,000 pounds of food have been distributed and 1,200 community members have been served yearly since the Sky Farm’s opening in the summer of 2023. In addition to food, Sky Farm LIC offers after school programming, farm tours, and hosts field trips for schools from Queens and throughout New York.

Now, thanks to funding from the New York Power Authority (NYPA), Sky Farm LIC is getting major infrastructure upgrades like a greenhouse, a temperature controlled high-tunnel, a new enclosed wash and pack station, expanded electrical access, new irrigation systems, new walkway pavers, and a fully-equipped indoor classroom for cooking classes, energy education, and an expansion of art-based activities.

To celebrate the upgrades, community partners, elected officials, sponsors, supporters, and students gathered on the rooftop of the Standard Motors building Thursday.

Elected officials and community members present included Chief Climate Officer Louise Yeung, Assemblymember Diana Moreno, Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, New York Power Authority CEO/President Justin Driscoll,  Brooklyn/Queens Electrical Operations General Manager Zeffrey Frazier, Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens CEO Costa Constantinides, Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Chief Operating Officer Hydro Quebec Energy Services Serge Abergel, and NYSERDA President/CEO Doreen Harris.

“New York’s clean energy transition is not just about infrastructure,” said Harris, “it’s also about making sure the benefits of a cleaner, healthier future are felt in every community – which is at the very heart of Sky Farm LIC’s mission.”

“As the farm blooms once again, we are grateful for The New York Power Authority’s critical investment in helping us build a new greenhouse, new high tunnel, improved pathways, reimagined learning space beneath the water tower, new plumbing and our newly christened Educational Center,” Constantinides added. “These investments will help SFLIC grow our reach to exceed the fantastic more than 4,500 pounds of food in 2025 and 1200 visitors served.”

Rockin’ with Rockweed: Exploring Local Biodiversity at Hunters Point Park

BQE Admin on May 5, 2026

BY MARYAM RAHAMAN

HUNTERS POINT  — At the edge of Hunters Point Park South, most of the rocks are mossy green. Many of them are covered in layers of leafy rockweed, a kind of brown algae or seaweed that can be found throughout northeastern coastlines. Its name comes from the fact that it grows on hard surfaces, like rocks and shells.

Last Friday afternoon, the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy hosted a Rockweed workshop, dedicated to educating New Yorkers on the seaweed and giving them the opportunity to create their own rockweed art. It was one of eight events the Conservancy planned this April for Earth Month and held in collaboration with Biotech without Borders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to community-led biotechnology efforts.

“We were really looking at a balance of which communities we are serving and how we can connect with people to fulfill our tradition,” Jessica Sechrist, executive director of Hunters Point Parks, said, in regards to how the team designed programming for Earth Month.

Photos by Maryam Rahaman.

Lowell Iporac from Biotech without Borders led the workshop and provided background on rockweed. The algae provides shade and cooling for other organisms, meaning microhabitats can be found within rockweed. According to Iporac, one reason rockweed is so plentiful in New York is because its secretions make it not very appetizing for predators. Iporac does not recommend eating it because of the nutrients the rockweed absorbs. Also, Hunters Point Park is connected to the notoriously polluted waterway and Superfund site, Newtown Creek.

Because Sechrist and her colleague aren’t scientists, bringing in experts from groups like Biotech Without Borders is very important to her.

“That kind of like specialized knowledge, to be able to present it in a way that brings in an art focus and a hands on experience to make it feels much more accessible, while still giving very high quality information,” she added. “It’s just something that we’re really happy to be able to bring out.”

Between bursts of sunshowers on Friday, the workshop took a turn outside to go collect rockweed. Along the edge of the park, rockweed is married into every nook and cranny of the rocks right above the shoreline. A family of geese watched as Iporac ducked down to grab the seaweed from the slippery rocks.

After heading back inside with a bucket’s worth of rockweed, some pieces were placed under a microscope to view the microhabitats in full. At one point, the discovery of a tiny crab sent a wave of excitement through the room. As Iporac explained, three species of rockweed can be found in New York City: spiraled rockweed, bladder-wrack, and Y-shaped rockweed. The differences can be spotted based on the shapes. Y-shaped, the most common, was well-represented in the bucket.

The workshop then transitioned into making rockweed herbariums with the collected algae. Iporac demonstrated how to make no-stress rockweed presses using layers of newspaper, wax paper, watercolor paper, and cardboard. As one younger attendee aptly put it, the process is quite similar to making a burger. In a week’s time, the press will reveal a print of the preserved piece of rockweed.

Each participant left with at least one press, with several participants layering multiple on top of one another. This Thursday, the Hunters Point Conservancy will continue its Earth Month programming with a marsh cleanup to remove plastic that’s gone into the wetlands. An art opening will take place in the park post-cleanup.

Post-Earth Month, volunteers are also needed at Gantry Plaza State Park on May 2nd for I Love My Park Day, a statewide initiative. Adults can join the LIC Waterfront 5k Run/Walk on June 6th, while kids can participate in the dash right after. To learn more about events or sign up, visit hunterspointsparks.org.

ASTORIA STREET SPECTATOR: “Go Back to Hollywood”

BQE Admin on May 4, 2026

Kaufman Studios has operated in Astoria since the 1920s. (Photo via Wikimedia)

A film-production worker’s take on sharing space on Astoria’s increasingly busy streets. 

NICOLAS STERGIOU | nicolas.stergiou@gmail.com

Producer, Social Media Manager, labor Organizer, and Unofficial “Astoria Street Spectator.”

I’m one of the crew members on those pesky film sets and I hear this all the time. From drivers to cyclists and pedestrians alike–we are a minority that manages to annoy all three. But here’s the thing: most of us are from here and live here in NYC. And yeah – the frustration that comes when a truck blocks a bike lane, I get it.

And with productions like The Exorcist shooting around Astoria lately, it’s not exactly subtle when a block gets taken over.

You know how to get to Sesame Street? Take the N to 36th Avenue or the R/M to Steinway. They shoot at Kaufman Astoria Studios. That’s not Hollywood. That’s Astoria baby. Did you know the first Nickelodeon theater was in Astoria? It wasn’t—it was Pittsburgh. But you believed me for a second. Still, “Nickelodeon” comes from the Greek word “odeon”… and Astoria’s still pretty Greek last time I checked. “THERE YA GO!”

Film history and Astoria have always been closer than people think. Most of what you’re seeing on your block isn’t even a movie. It’s more likely a commercial, a TikTok campaign, a TV spot, or something you’ll scroll past in five seconds. Those trucks and vans are holding lights, cameras, wardrobe, and catering—everything needed to make that content. The people inside them are your neighbors. It might look like chaos, but it’s organized and necessary chaos for us to do our jobs properly and safely.

We hire locally, too. Background actors come from companies like Central Casting and Background Inc., and many of them live right here in Astoria. When I worked at Sesame Street we regularly got catered meals from Napoli, Pollos Mario Astoria Restaurant, and Chicken Shack. This neighborhood has long been a hub for working actors, rental houses, and crew because it’s a bit more affordable and well-connected. Astoria isn’t just part of film history—it helped build it.

But the industry is changing fast. What used to be “film” is now “content.” It’s faster, smaller, and increasingly vertical. Attention spans are shorter. At the same time, costs in New York are rising, AI is replacing parts of the process, and crews are shrinking. As Bernie Sanders often says, AI should benefit workers and not just billionaires. Right now, it doesn’t. Our days are getting cut, but the workload isn’t getting lighter.

A film crew on 30th Street. (Photo via Astoria Community Connect on Facebook)

If there’s one group carrying the weight on set, it’s them. PAs are often the most reflective of the working-class, marginalized black and brown communities that make up New York—people from the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. Many are born and raised here and the rest are transplants who are driving a truck in the city for the first time, desperate to try to make it here and accepting their first job on an indie film set. They work the longest hours for basically minimum wage, and they take the most heat. They’re the ones holding parking spots, coordinating trucks, making runs, knocking on doors, and dealing with frustrated neighbors. They get yelled at and are often too scared to speak up.

Of course, companies should pay fair wages—that’s something we fight for every day. And it’s happening finally with movements like Production Assistant United for TV/Film and our new labor union IATSE Local 111 The Production Workers Guild for commercials. But in real time, it’s usually the PA absorbing pressure from all sides. And when you’re just trying to make a living, getting yelled at on your own block by someone who doesn’t see how long and difficult of a day you’ve had… yeah, there’s going to be friction.

And look—I’m pro-bike lane even though I don’t ride a bike (anymore). I’m pro-safety. I’m pro-making Astoria better for everyone. But I’m also going to look out for the truck driver–especially that non-union one fighting labor rights.

And to be clear, when a truck blocks a bike lane, that’s not okay. It’s dangerous. I don’t expect cyclists to just deal with that, and they shouldn’t have to. No one should be put in harm’s way because of how a job is planned. The issue isn’t cyclists versus drivers—it’s a system where workers are sent out with nowhere to legally stop, and where companies aren’t held accountable for planning safe, realistic logistics. If we actually enforced clear loading zones and required productions to plan for them, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Until then, both cyclists and workers are stuck dealing with the consequences.

Because those are workers under pressure to deliver, to move, to keep things running—often with nowhere to legally stop even when there are loading zones (often taken by cars wingin’ it). I think about people like Chris Smalls, who fights for delivery workers and reminds people that convenience has a human cost. The same people getting yelled at for double-parking are the ones delivering your packages, your food, your life. The film industry runs on that same backbone.

So while we build a safer, better neighborhood, we can’t forget the people doing the hardest, most exhausting jobs to keep it running. And we still need to hold companies accountable for safely executing that work.

Yeah, when a production takes up your parking spot for a day or two, I get the frustration. But those trucks represent jobs—local ones—for laborers and artists trying to make a living in a historic filmmaking city and an industry that is getting harder to work in by the year.

Astoria has always been a place where culture is made, not just consumed. That hasn’t changed. What’s changed is how fragile that ecosystem has become.

So the next time you see cones and trailers on your block, just remember: it’s not Hollywood invading. It’s your neighbors trying to hold onto an industry that’s shifting under their feet.

And if things keep going the way they are, you might see me out of work more often and DJing karaoke or running a Super Smash Bros tournament on 31st Avenue. But you know what? That’s not the worst outcome for me at all. The worst outcome is a city where the people who make it run can’t afford to work in it anymore.

 

The New Math of Buying vs. Leasing in 2026

BQE Admin on May 3, 2026

By Dan Rose,

Most people approach the buy-versus-lease question the same way they approach a menu at an unfamiliar restaurant: they scan quickly, pick something that looks familiar, and hope for the best. The problem is that the automotive market in 2026 is anything but familiar. New car prices, interest rates, tariffs, and EV depreciation have all moved in ways that genuinely change the calculation. If you haven’t run the numbers lately, the answer you’ve been operating on might be wrong.

Let’s start with what’s changed on the buying side. New car prices are hovering around $48,000 on average, and interest rates for auto loans sit in the 7-to-9% range. A 60-month loan on a $40,000 SUV at 8% runs roughly $810 per month before tax, title, and insurance. The same car on a 36-month lease might run $450 to $550 per month, a 30 to 40% lower payment for the same vehicle in your driveway. That’s a serious gap for any household managing a monthly budget.

And yet buying has its own logic, one that holds up under certain conditions. A car bought in 2026 and kept until 2034 will have its loan paid off around 2031, leaving roughly three years of driving with no payment where the only costs are insurance, fuel, and maintenance. Over a long enough horizon, ownership typically wins on total cost. The question is whether your life actually looks like that scenario.

Who Should Be Leasing Right Now

The case for leasing is strongest for people whose priorities match what leasing actually delivers. Younger generations express greater interest in leasing, with 17% of Gen Z and Millennials favoring it compared to 7% of Baby Boomers, reflecting a preference for flexibility and lower upfront costs. But flexibility isn’t just a generational value; it’s a practical strategy given how fast the automotive landscape is shifting.

Consider the tariff factor. Because leases are short-term contracts with fixed monthly payments, they can help insulate buyers from unpredictable market forces. If you lock in a lease today at a known payment, whatever happens to car prices over the next three years simply isn’t your problem. You return the car, evaluate the market fresh, and make your next decision with current information. Buying, by contrast, means absorbing whatever the market dealt you at signing and living with it.

The depreciation angle matters too, especially for EVs. EV values have been volatile, with some models losing 40 to 50 percent of their value in three years as new supply increased and federal incentives shifted. When you lease, that depreciation risk sits with the leasing company, not you. For most people who are EV-curious but not committed to a specific model long-term, that’s a meaningful protection.

Who Should Be Buying

Buying makes the most sense in a specific set of circumstances that are worth naming plainly.

  • Long Holders: If you intend to drive a vehicle for seven years or more, loan payoff eventually produces payment-free miles that leasing never will. The longer your horizon, the more ownership favors you.
  • High Mileage Drivers: Lease contracts typically cap annual mileage at 10,000 to 15,000 miles. If you routinely drive 20,000 miles per year on Long Island commutes and weekend travel, overage fees will erase any payment savings quickly.
  • Equity Builders: The average new-car buyer pays $812 per month in 2026, with many opting for 72-to-84-month loan terms. For buyers with strong credit and a clear plan to own, that commitment does build an asset over time.
  • Customizers: Leased vehicles must be returned in largely original condition. If you’re the kind of driver who puts on aftermarket wheels, tints, or audio upgrades, you’ll either lose those investments or pay to reverse them at lease end.

The Honest Middle Ground

Neither path is universally correct, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. The right answer depends on your annual mileage, how long you tend to keep cars, your monthly cash flow, and your tolerance for depreciation risk. What has changed is the relative weight of those factors. Leasing as a share of all new vehicle transactions has risen to 23% in early 2026 and analysts expect that trend to continue, reflecting how many drivers are voting with their wallets in a high-price, high-rate environment.

Working through the actual numbers with someone who understands the current Long Island market is worth the conversation. The deals shift month to month, and the difference between a competitive lease and a mediocre one is rarely obvious from the advertised payment. Reach out to a team that tracks Nassau and Suffolk County lease programs in real time before you commit to a path based on outdated assumptions.

Contributed by Dan Rose, A Senior Auto Finance and Leasing Strategist.

Wondering Which Option Actually Works Better for Your Budget?
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Want to Get Involved? CB2 Has Ideas

BQE Admin on April 17, 2026

City Councilmember Julie Won speaks to Sunnysiders. Photo via NY City Council.

BY SIDDHARTHA HARMALKAR

SUNNYSIDE  — Between Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 19, Queens residents across Council Districts 25, 26, 27, and 29 will be able to cast their ballots for how they want to fund local projects to improve schools, parks, libraries, streets and other public spaces in their community.

District 26 residents, for example, can vote on upgrading community gardens in Long island City or Astoria, providing technology upgrades to enhance learning for students, funding a 24/7 road service truck for fire trucks and ambulances, and more.

Voting is open to everyone aged 11 and older (or at least in 6th grade) who lives in, works or has a special connection (i.e. goes to school) in participating districts. Cast your ballot at https://rnd.council.nyc.gov/PB_Voting/.

This month’s Community Board 2 meeting featured announcements about other ways for community members to receive support and get involved with a variety of initiatives to shape their district.

On April 21, Sunnyside Community Services is hosting a free conference about memory loss, care options, and caregiver tips and resources at the Queens Botanical Garden.

The center, which also hosts Community Board 2 meetings, recently held an information session on the Sunnyside Yards development project that brought out close to 200 local residents.

Next month’s community board meeting will be on May 7.

Board members encouraged community members to take part in the public comment period at these meetings in order to advocate for local issues. The board recently welcomed 12 new members at April’s meeting, who will serve for 2 years.

A representative from the newly elected board of the 472-unit Phipps Gardens Apartments Tenant Association said during the public comment period that the group is hoping to build community and advocate for tenants living conditions, and is looking for more members who live in the complex.

The board is looking for a community member with tech skills to help them create an online tracker to keep track of public and private commitments made by the OneLIC development project. At the meeting, Amaurys Valdez, chair of the Engagement and Inclusion and Tech Committee, encouraged community members to reach out to the board to get involved with the project.

In mid-May, the board will be distributing a survey about community needs and ideas for budget expenses, kicking off a 7-month-long process that culminates in a public hearing and votes to approve budget requests that will be sent to the city to advocate for funds for the following fiscal year.

The Capital and Expenses Budget Committee is also seeking a community member to assist the board with survey development, community outreach, drafting/proofreading, and otherwise help with the process.

Interested applicants can email the board at QN02@cb.nyc.org with the subject line “Public Member Application” and a paragraph describing what they hope to bring to the process.

Medusa Art Studio Reopens As Whimsical Bar

BQE Admin on April 15, 2026

Artist and Medusa owner Katherine Grammes.

BY COLE SINANIAN

cole@queensledger.com 

ASTORIA — For any Astorians who may have been wondering what exactly goes on behind the green facade of Medusa Art Studios at the corner of 21st St. and Astoria Blvd, you’re in luck. The studio and event space is now opening as a whimsical new bar, part of owner Katherine Grammes’ yearslong vision to merge her love of hospitality, art, and fantasy into a single, one-of-a-kind experience.

Grammes has operated Medusa as an art studio since 2021, but as she explained in an interview, integrating her two livelihoods — art and hospitality — into a single venture had always been the plan.

“I thought it’d be a cool idea in the end to eventually have a place that could support both things,” she said.

Originally from Maryland, Grammes has lived in Astoria since 2019, where she’s worked as a photographer and set designer, supporting herself as a bartender in between when necessary. Now that she’s finally got a liquor license for Medusa, Grammes has committed to hiring fellow artists who can’t quite make ends meet on their art alone; one of her bartenders has a homemade candle business, another is a singer.

Medusa’s decor comes mainly from Grammes’ personal antique collection. It counts a cozy back patio, a spacious back room with several tables and a fireplace (stand up comedy happens here), a transitionary nook with a giant leather chair and a “cave wall,” and a “splash room” decked out with curtains and ever-changing mood lighting. Gargoyles, Roman statues, masks, skulls, faux ivy and whimsical paintings of all sorts adorn Medusa’s corners, the bounty of a lifetime of perusing the antique shops of America.

“It brings a welcoming aspect to the space,” she said. “So when people come here, they can speak to another world a little bit, but also just relax and feel welcomed.”

From the bar at the front comes an expansive list of bespoke cocktails with names like “Strawberry Monster Matcha Martini” and “Medieval Cherry Blossom” featuring several varieties of nordic meads (one of which is called “Viking Blood”). For the less adventurous there’s wine of all shades and local beers by the can.

Regarding her mead-heavy cocktail menu, Grammes explained that the ancient honey-wine pairs well with Medusa’s aesthetic.

“It worked well with the fantastical and the Renaissance— we have a lot of those themed events here,” she said. “Not everyone’s tried mead, so the first week I had to do a buy-one-get-one-free so people would be more open to trying.”

Rather than just a bar or art studio, Grammes wants Medusa to be something in between, what she describes as a “community creative space.” Come on a Tuesday and you might find comedy in the back room. If it’s a Wednesday it might be a movie in the “splash room.” Grammes’ calendar is already packed— on Thursday, April 16 an event called “Intuition and Oracle Cards 101” is listed, during which a professional Tarot reader will give a class on the secrets of her craft. Last Thursday was Dungeons and Dragons. Come on a weekend afternoon for a “Ritmo and Reiki’ Zumba class or a workshop on “enchanted figure drawing.” While the activities are fun, guests are welcome to drop in for a quick drink as well; the separate rooms are intentional, allowing multiple vibes to be cultivated simultaneously without interference or interruption.

“Tuesdays, you can still chill out, but if you want a good laugh at the end of the night, come,” Grammes says. “Wednesdays, if you want to chill and watch a movie and just get the week over with, you can watch the film or you can still hang out over here.”

As for the name, Grammes says it comes from her childhood affinity for the monstrous Greek goddess, whom she says is misunderstood. Also, with her Greek roots and deadly looks, Grammes pointed out that there’s something vaguely Astorian about Medusa.

The Queens Poet: Spring Laughs at QED’s Poetry Open Mic

BQE Admin on April 8, 2026

Ally McHugh, host of QED’s “The Queens Poet” open mic series. Photo by Maryam Rahaman.

BY MARYAM RAHAMAN 

As performers got ready to perform Frank Ocean’s “White” at the Queens Poet open mic on Saturday, the piano stool collapsed. Hannah Lieberman, who owns the host venue QED Astoria, asked if anyone had adjusted it. Regular Danny Fowler replied, “I took the screws out,” propelling the room into laughter. 

That kind of communal banter, along with support, characterizes the monthly event at QED, which takes place on the first Saturday of each month. Hosted by Ally McHugh, the open mic features works from poets, spoken word artists, musicians, and more. This month’s show was home to a variety of poems, as well as two musical performances. The show is free with a $5 minimum purchase to QED. 

A few years ago, McHugh found a longing for a sense of community and socialization beyond going to restaurants or bars. “I was thinking ‘What do I want in life?’” McHugh said. The first time she went to the Queens Poet, she just observed. The openness and support of the space encouraged her to share for the first time.  

“I never really imagined that I would be able to get over that hump of being able to stand in front of a crowd,” McHugh said. “I loved the vibration that this venue had. Everybody felt open and supportive.” 

Within a year, McHugh became friendly with the previous host. When she had to move away, McHugh took over. She says that at almost every show, she’s had a first-timer join—just as she did. 

One such first-timer was one of Fowler’s friends. He was inspired to do so after a previous show where he had seen Fowler read. 

“I guess he was my first protege,” Fowler joked. For a long time, Fowler would write but didn’t call it poetry. That is, until about a month ago, where he sat down with the intent to write a poem. The algorithm led him to the open mic.

“I wasn’t really nervous going in,” Fowler said. “But if I was, it wouldn’t have mattered. Everybody’s so welcoming.” Before, he says, he never would have imagined being at a poetry open mic. Now, he looks forward to it every month, performing two original poems on Saturday. 

Host Ally McHugh with Danny Fowler (left) and his friend, Zachary Jones.

While the themes of the poems and performances shifted from person to person, many performances were witty in nature. A few also touched on the changing seasons. One poet read a few more solemn poems to balance it out. Kamau Jones closed the show with a performance of his original single called “I’m so Ugly,” a comedic tune about a man who’s so ugly that he makes “babies cry” and “neighborhoods hide” —one he assured he didn’t actually relate to. 

No matter the thematic content, an audience of about three dozen people responded with ample applause. 

Regular Matt Leazer, who often blends poetry and comedy in his work, performed a piece that intertwined ants, the possibility of being a flight attendant, and Lent. He ended by asking the audience to applaud for themselves “for creating and making the world better.”

The community aspect has continued even when Leazer’s missed a few shows.

“Everyone’s like ‘Oh my gosh, tell us everything,’” Leazer said. “It’s a real special place to go home to.”

“I’ve seen people fall in love at the mic,” Leazer said. “I’ve seen people get up and sing with their guitar and this is the only place I feel comfortable enough to do that.” 

“There’s strange things all the time,” he added. “But I think we’re all so strange that it feels normal.”

The next open mic will take place on May 2nd. More about the Queens Poet, or find times for future open mics, can be found on Instagram @thequeenspoet.

Sick of the Apps? “Date My Friend” in Ridgewood Offers a Zanier Alternative

BQE Admin on April 2, 2026

Cassette, a bar on Forest Avenue in Ridgewood, has been holding pitch nights where patrons paint their single friends in the rosiest light.

By CAROL CHEN

news@queensledger.com

RIDGEWOOD  — “Date Alice, because she won’t date us.”

It was the closer of a double pitch — two best friends, Camille and Esther, sharing a microphone at Cassette, a bar on Forest Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens, last Thursday night. They’d all come wearing baseball caps. They made Alice take hers off, because she was the catch.

The two friends painted a vivid picture of just how much of a catch Alice, who is sitting on a bar stool right next to them, is: she is an actress and filmmaker from Australia, someone who delivers flowers wrapped in brown paper and leaves gorgeous voice messages; someone who will show up when you need her and say “I’m going to be here with you every step of the way.”

“The fact that she doesn’t have a partner,” said Esther after her pitch, “is always very befuddling to me. Baffling. Befuddling. Perplexing, all of those synonyms.”

This is “Date My Friend,” the sold-out event series where friends take the stage to pitch their single besties to a room of strangers. It started in January when Brit O’Brien, a married LA music photographer, held a low-key singles night at a record store bar in Los Feliz on a whim. It became popular in Los Angeles and has arrived in New York for two consecutive nights, one on the Lower East Side and one in Ridgewood.

The apps, meanwhile, are becoming less popular with the younger generation. A Forbes Health survey found that more than three-quarters of Gen Z respondents felt burned out on swiping. Even Hinge has launched a one-million-dollar initiative to fund in-person social events.

“The revenue model for these apps is not to help you find someone you’re really compatible with and get off the app,” said Jonathan Gilmour, 28, from East Williamsburg, who came to be pitched by his friend. “It’s to keep you enticed, but just frustrated enough that you buy the premium version. I feel jaded and resentful that that is the way we have chosen to connect with one another.”

“There’s so much painful dating online in New York,” Brit O’Brien said after the Ridgewood show. “I knew it would go over (well) here.” The event charges $18 and asks that you bring someone who loves you enough to pitch you on stage

The pitches at Cassette ranged from tender to comical, sometimes in the same breath.

A friend of Sophia’s admitted she had taken to inviting Sophia to parties early — before other guests arrived — just so “her energy permeates the room.” She described Sophia as a dancer, a great host, someone who would bring “more beauty and more grace” into your life. Then she told the story of the shrimp: Sophia had thrown a dinner party so abundant that she forgot an entire pound of fresh shrimp in the refrigerator. The next morning, she cooked it, packed it into Tupperware, and drove around the city delivering it to her friends’ houses.

“As much as I hate to say it,” the pitcher told the crowd, “when she falls in love, she will be less present in my life. I have to share this girl.” But she was willing to make the sacrifice: “Please. Please. Please. Date my friend.”

“I figured there were two possibilities,” said one participant. “He would say something really genuine and sweet, or he would really roast me.”

Alice Kim, 27, pitched her friend Max, whom she met on Tinder four months ago, went on one date with and immediately determined was too chaotic to actually date. “We’re both a little bit too crazy,” she said. “It would end in Earth exploding.” So they became best friends instead. Her pitch described him as “a high definition human living in a low res digital world,” someone with “the emotional intelligence and outfit coordination of your favorite she/they mutual” who is also “100% a straight man who actually just listens.” As proof, she cited a Venn diagram he once drew to help her work through her anxieties about money and the future. The diagram, she added, also contained “a really nice, detailed penis drawing. A breath of fresh air, because he actually cared.”

Gilmour said that watching his friend Alexander Ging pitch him onstage changed something. “I figured there were two possibilities,” Gilmour said. “He would say something really genuine and sweet, or he would really roast me. And I was okay with both.” Ging said watching the earlier pitchers shifted his approach. “It made me realize it’s not that I need to give the best presentation possible,” he said. “I just need to describe the person I know and love as authentically as I can and hopefully that will feel genuine, instead of a sales pitch.”

Camilla Crawford, 31, who came to pitch her friend said she’d deliberately avoided using AI. “I was like, if I use AI, they’ll clock out right away,” she said. “So I just went down the list of my friend’s best qualities.” Gorgeous. Really smart. About to become the youngest chief compliance officer in finance. Has an accent. From South Africa.

Carol Cohen, 23, pitched her friend Harry Abrams by recounting how he once left a party to spend an hour looking for her when she got lost in her own neighborhood. “People that can prioritize a friend like that,” she said, “I can only imagine how they would show up as a person to date.”

“I just feel like there hasn’t been a space where people can go share their friends with the world,” O’Brien said, “even if it’s not about dating. For two hours, there’s just some really genuine, honest joy in the world, and you get to take that in.”

Esther, watching Alice work the room after her pitch, seemed to be feeling exactly that. “I don’t really know how we could be closer,” she said. Then she reconsidered. “But I’m even more in love with her now.”

The New York crowds, O’Brien added, felt different from that of L.A., less like a singles mixer and more like an intentional hangout. “A really nice mix of wedding speech happiness, and people who just know their friends in and out. There’s a little bit of grit to it. I loved it.”

Sen. Gonzalez Tackles AI at OANA Monthly Meeting

BQE Admin on April 2, 2026

State Senator Kristen Gonzalez (left) and Richard Khuzami of OANA.

By COLE SINANIAN

cole@queensledger.com

ASTORIA — State Senator Kristen Gonzalez wants your personal data to stay personal.

Having sponsored a series of ambitious bills aimed at limiting tech companies’ access to New Yorkers’ personal data, the Elmhurst native is on the forefront of the push to regulate the tech industry at a time when artificial intelligence seems to be creeping into every corner of society.

During an online meeting on March 25 hosted by the Old Astoria Neighborhood Association (OANA), Gonzalez outlined several of her recent bills, including legislation that would stop the MTA from sharing rider data with law enforcement and restrict government agencies’ ability to use artificial intelligence tools.

Gonzalez, a Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed senator who began her legislative term in 2023, has sponsored and introduced several AI bills, including the landmark Senate Bill S1169A  — also known as the New York AI Act — which would give the state government the tools to prosecute AI companies by authorizing independent audits and prohibiting algorithmic discrimination. Gonzalez also sponsored Senate Bill S3044, a bill that would empower consumers to obtain the names of all entities collecting their data, and has supported Assembly Bill A5739, or the ‘Secure Our Data” Act, which would compel state agencies to develop a standardized data protection framework regarding state-held consumer data.

Her bill, the “legislative oversight of automated decision-making in government” act (LOADinG) was  recently signed by Governor Hochul and aims to regulate the use of generative AI by government agencies. At the OANA meeting, Gonzalez explained that prior to the bill, there was no public reporting on which AI tools the state government was using. The now infamous MyCity chatbot, for example, an AI tool for small businesses implemented by the Adams Administration, encouraged users to break the law by suggesting that business owners should take a cut of their employees’ tips.

“These aren’t perfect  tools either, and I think we have to be mindful in what context we’re using them,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of them have kind of been sold as these silver bullets but at the end of the day, you should always be in control of the data that’s being used, where that tool is sending information.”

Gonzalez also called attention to her efforts to secure rider data collected by transit companies through her bill, SB S4886A, which would prohibit the disclosure of individual fare payment data to outside agencies. Transit companies like the MTA collect rider data that shows their movements— possibly sensitive information that could compromise rider privacy if shared with law enforcement or tech companies without their knowledge or consent, Gonzalez argued.

“Sometimes it’s not just a single company or an authority like the MTA that’s suddenly getting a lot of data about you that could be used for a number of purposes,” she said. “Sometimes there are companies that are literally dedicated to taking that and buying and selling and creating an entire market around it.”

Urban Vegan Roots Closes Its Doors

BQE Admin on April 1, 2026

BY MARYAM RAHAMAN

ASTORIA  — Jackson Heights native David Tianga grew up in the Golden Age of hip-hop. For Tianga, owner of plant-based restaurants Urban Vegan Kitchen and Urban Vegan Roots, hip-hop and veganism share key traits: giving a middle finger to the system and trying to live optimally. 

Urban Vegan Roots, Tianga’s second restaurant, recently closed its doors in Astoria this Sunday. The restaurant was not only a vegan staple in the neighborhood, but a community space. Tianga said there were a compilation of factors behind the location’s closing, including the accrual of debt after the restaurant opened in May 2022, several months behind the original schedule. Urban Vegan Kitchen, Tianga’s first restaurant which opened a decade ago, will continue business in Chelsea. 

Before working as a restaurateur, Tianga worked for years in theater and television writing. After two TV show pilots that didn’t work out, he started working part-time at Blossom du Jour, a vegan restaurant owned by Pamela Blackwell. Though Tianga intended to continue writing, he ended up becoming Blackwell’s general manager—looking for stability writing couldn’t provide. 

When Blackwell went to close a restaurant, Tianga pitched his idea for Urban Vegan Kitchen. At the time, Tianga said vegan spaces weren’t speaking to the multiculturalism of the city. Though incorporating graffiti and sports into the space turned some vegans off at first, the space and its audience grew together. 

“People like us were looking to turn vegan,” Tianga said. “So they wanted a space where they felt they could go eat and feel like ‘I belong here.’ This is built for me. I’m not going into somebody else’s house.” 

A few years later, Tianga opened Urban Vegan Roots, bringing a culture he loved to the borough where he grew up. As a long-time yoga practitioner, some of his favorite moments in the space were yoga classes open to the community. Last December, CBS News reported that Zohran Mamdani first spoke of his plans to run for mayor to his longtime friend State Sen. Jabari Brisport at the restaurant. 

Tianga also said that while the restaurant received a lot of take-out orders, there were comparatively less customers dining in—and more money going to delivery apps rather than the restaurant itself.

“People right now don’t want to have a good time because they don’t want to celebrate anything. And why would they? That’s why people go out to eat: to celebrate. What are we celebrating?” Tianga said. “Why am I gonna go spend $50 when I could just stay home, watch my Netflix, zone out, get my food delivered?”

For Tianga, the lack of dining out also represents a shift away from creativity in the New York restaurant business, especially for those not backed by investors. 

“Are people moving here for Eataly, for Whole Foods, for Starbucks? Is that why kids are moving here? I don’t think so,” Tianga said. “They’re moving here for authentic New York City culture, and that is an artist coming here with a dream, creating something, building it, making it their own. It doesn’t mean you have to be born here, but it means you’re putting your voice in and it’s authentic and it’s unique.”

When asked what customers can do, Tianga said “If you really love a restaurant, try and go there as much as you can.” He also recommended trying to order take-out directly from the restaurant if possible to avoid the cuts delivery apps take. 

Urban Vegan Kitchen in Chelsea, open seven days a week, can be found at 265 W 23rd St. One regular, who recently moved to Queens, told Tianga she’d be making the trip there often. 

Tianga said that part of the reason why the Chelsea location performs better is because of tourists who are interested in an authentic experience. 

“A tourist will come to our spot in Chelsea, hear the hip-hop, hear the reggae…and they’ll be like ‘Oh wow. This is real. This is what I came to New York for,’” Tianga said. 

Tianga said the final moments of the restaurant felt like a “funeral.” 

“I see other restaurants go through the same thing, like, they’re suffering,” Tianga said. “Then they announced they’re gonna close, and then everybody runs over there, and it’s too late.”

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