Ran Craycraft's Blog – February 2011 Archive (44)

Meet GiGi La Femme

There's another GiGi in town. Meet GiGi La Femme, an Astoria native and 6-year burlesque veteran. She's performed at the City's most popular venues and is currently producing a monthly (ah hem, full-nude) burlesque show in the East Village.

Photo: GiGi La Femme by…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 25, 2011 at 10:00am — No Comments

Free in Astoria (2/23/11)

Looking for a gently used sofa or simply love doo-dads? Take a look at what's free this week in Astoria.

Feb 23 - moving boxes (Astoria /LIC)

Approximately 20 moving boxes, assorted sizes…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 23, 2011 at 3:10pm — No Comments

Astoria Park Child Molester Captured

Photo: Peter Belegrinos mugshot (2005)

After more than five years on the lam, 29-year-old accused child molester, Peter Belegrinos was arrested today in the main Amsterdam airport.

According to court documents, in August, 2005, Belegrinos approached three children in Astoria Park between the ages of 9…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 23, 2011 at 12:00pm — 6 Comments

Astoria Missed Connections (2/22/11)

Kicking yourself for not saying hi on the N train? Here's your second chance at love...

Feb 22 - to j - w4m (astoria)

i wish the time were rightbut i know it won't be tonighti see in your eyes what i want…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 22, 2011 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Food Porn Contest

This week, we opened up a challenge amongst members of our Astoria Foodies Network group in search of Astoria's best food porn.

We received hundreds of member submissions and were able to narrow them down to these top ten. Judging was exceptionally scientific--based largely on

The winner of the photo contest will receive a dinner for two to…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 22, 2011 at 12:00pm — 3 Comments

Food Porn Contest (Top 5)

Continued from Food Porn Part 1

5. Spaghetti con Sarde

This gorgeous, entangled maze of spaghetti even makes sardines look sexy. The tightly arranged dusting of parsley adds contrastand excitement to an exceptionally well photographed…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 22, 2011 at 12:00pm — 1 Comment

'The Koch-borough Bridge' Doesn't Have the Same Ring to It

This week, Council Member Vallone issued a statement addressing Mayor Bloomberg's planned project to rename the Queensborough Bridge after former Mayer Ed Koch. Vallone brought up a good point in this WSJ article that this would never happen to the Brooklyn Bridge, so why rename NYC's skyline tribute to Queens?

…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 19, 2011 at 9:00am — 5 Comments

New Astoria Restaurant Brings Contemporary Comfort Food to the Borough

To some disappointment, the old Blue Restaurant shuttered its doors last December with little speak of what its future held until now.

Photo: The old Blue Restaurant by craneboy on Flickr

We're happy to announce a new restaurant called…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 18, 2011 at 1:00pm — 9 Comments

Free in Astoria (2/18/11)

Looking for a gently used sofa or simply love doo-dads? Take a look at what's free this week in Astoria.

Feb 18 - Curb Alert - Free moving boxes (Astoria)

Lots of clean, bed-bug free moving boxes in good condition and ready to…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 18, 2011 at 12:25pm — 1 Comment

This Weekend in Astoria (02/18/11)

Don't pack the winter coats away just yet--after a couple of balmy days, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday return to sweater weather.

Our WLA6K Bash has legs! We're still a week away and almost at capacity, so grab your spot while there's still guaranteed admittance. We'll be featuring live band karaoke--live out your rockstar dreams on stage backed by a real live rock band. Oh, and…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 18, 2011 at 7:30am — 2 Comments

Holiday Bandit Robs Seventh Local Bank

Astoria's Holiday Bandit has now risen to #1 on the FBI's Most Wanted list. After seven armed robberies since his spree began in December, Ukrainian-born "Mark" Marat Mikhaylich struck again today at the Investors Savings Bank located at 35th and Broadway.

The FBI believes Mikhaylich does not have a getaway vehicle and is instead fleeing on foot to a nearby hideaway. Federal officials are now offering "a significant…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 17, 2011 at 9:01pm — 6 Comments

Jobs in Astoria (2/17/11)

Thinking of picking up a little work on the side or simply tired of taking the train to Manhattan every day? Consider finding a job in Astoria.

Feb 17 - Fine Art Crate Maker (Long Island City/ Astoria)

Long Island…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 17, 2011 at 1:00pm — 2 Comments

Free Condom Locator

It's no secret, people travel long and far to collect a cache of the infamous free NYC Condoms distributed by the Department of Health throughout the City. The condoms have been under fire from religious and parents' groups who believe they promote *gasp* premarital sex.

Those in favor of the program (which began in 2008) have often found the lack of distribution to be a bit of a shortcoming.

On Monday (Valentine's Day), the DOH released a…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 16, 2011 at 3:30pm — 10 Comments

Astoria Missed Connections (2/16/11)

Kicking yourself for not saying hi on the N train? Here's your second chance at love...

Feb 16 - Brooklyn Bagel Astoria: young woman in red coat - m4w (Astoria)

Brooklyn Bagel. Broadway and 35th St., Astoria.Around 7:40am (this…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 16, 2011 at 2:35pm — No Comments

Valentine's Day Picks

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, seatings are running out. Here are some of our favorite neighborhood picks:

Find out why Astoria voted this place best date spot of 2010.

Prefer staying in? Check out this 3-Course Valentine's to-go for only $15.

Get up close…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 13, 2011 at 10:32am — 1 Comment

This Weekend in Astoria (02/10/11)

To celebrate Valentine's Day, we've put together a couple of exclusive discounts you won't find anywhere else.

First, we recommend picking up a gift for that special someone at one of Astoria's premiere boutiques. They're knocking off $5 for every $20 you spend--not bad. Have a WLA Card from last year? They're still honoring it--save another 10% on top of…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 10, 2011 at 9:00am — No Comments

New Astoria Tshirts...in Manhattan

An eagle-eyed Astorian spotted this tshirt today in Manhattan on the shelves of the Converse store in SoHo. Though it requires breaking the assumed Queens > Manhattan embargo, we suggest an investment in one of these.

Added by Ran Craycraft on February 9, 2011 at 7:15pm — 9 Comments

Mayor Allocates $360MM to LIC Waterfront Development

The Mayor's office has just announced the award of a $360MM contract for the first phase of a low/middle income housing project in Long Island City to be completed in 2014--and will become NYC's largest housing…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 9, 2011 at 2:00pm — 15 Comments

Vallone to Mayor: Come to Astoria

The NY Times ran another article today about the Steinway Mansion and the growing need to find a new owner in the wake of Michael Halberian's recent death.…

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Added by Ran Craycraft on February 8, 2011 at 5:00pm — No Comments