neighborhood Boy and Long Island City

Okay, I can’t believe I blogged about Ten-63 and did not mention local sensation neighborhood Boy. neighborhood Boy is a local newspaper published by some 11-year olds in my ‘hood. You can get it at Ten-63, and you can also read about it here, or here, or here.

neighborhood Boy is one of the many cool things about Long Island City. I am waiting for it to become a blog…

And while I am at it, Long Island City, for those not in the know, is not in Long Island proper, but in Queens. (Yes, Queens and Brooklyn are technically on Long Island, but those from around here should know the difference.) And, in fact, Queens, for those not in the know, is in NYC. When I moved here a year ago, I had to explain this repeatedly not just to midwesterners, but to New Yorkers, who can be sadly Manhatto-centric in their thinking. LIC is the closest you can get to Manhattan and yet outside it: one stop and five minutes from Grand Central to Ten-63 or Brasil. Actually, you can stand in Long Island City, say on 21st Street, or Vernon Blvd., and you can look down 46th Avenue, and you can see the Chrysler Building just “down the street,” as if you were in Manhattan. The Empire State looks as if it’s a few blocks over and a few blocks down. But if you walk towards the shiny lights, you’ll realize there’s a bit of swimming in your future. (I don’t recommend it.) And you Manhattanites don’t have neighborhood Boy.