Friday night in Long Island City
I live in the Hunters Point Historic District in Long Island City, a neighborhood which has undergone tremendous change in the fourteen years I’ve lived there, and for some reason unknown to me last Friday night was party night. I attended two of them, one with my kids and one without.
The first was held in a re-modeled firehouse in the Dutch Kills section, just north of the 59th Street bridge. This is one of the most beautiful private residences I’ve ever been in and the view of Manhattan, especially at sunset, was spectacular. It was a nice group of people, most of whom knew each other from working together at a soup kitchen in Manhattan every Friday afternoon, and a visit from the local City Councilman, Tony Avella, made it especially interesting.
The second party, in the Vernon/Jackson neighborhood, was more of an Artists’ gathering. There were lots of kids underfoot, two dogs (why are there always two dogs at these kids of things?) a pot luck groaning board of food, a lot of it vegetarian (although there was one blues guitarist manning the grill out back working up some cheese-stuffed jalapeno peppers wrapped with bacon) lots of wine and beer, and a diverse crowd of people that included a couple of sculptors, some painters, several craftsman-style home builders, at least one filmmaker, several writers, a group of models, a couple of Native New Yorkers and even a few people who grew up in the neighborhood. After a few hours there was a pick-up bluegrass jam session going on in the living room, and I was talking with our local Assemblywoman, Catherine Nolan, whose son, it turns out, plays in the local soccer league, where I am a volunteer referee. Eventually my kids got tired of the video games which were going on downstairs and we all walked home past an iron foundry, some new condominiums, a vacant lot or two (read prime building sites) and some of the detached and semi-detached houses you’d expect to find in that part of Queens.
It was one of those nights where you’re glad to be alive, and living in a city as vibrant as ours.