Spotted: former Sunnyside city councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer having a vigorous discussion with Brooklyn borough president and candidate for congress Antonio Reynoso outside Cardamom on 43rd St.

Were they debating what to order at the excellent (if slow) Goan restaurant? Or is Van Bramer mulling an endorsement in the primary? If the former king of Sunnyside endorses Reynoso in the increasingly wacky race, you heard it here first. The upcoming St. Pat’s For All parade seems bound to be a showcase of 7th Congressional District primary peacocking.

• Shop of Theseus: the aisles of Fresh n’ Save continue to dwindle, as a “Grand Opening” banner now hangs over its presumed future location at the former Rite Aid, now officially flying the Key Food colors. Are the owners attempting to achieve a no-downtime grocery store move? Or is the Fresh n’ Save dying so that the Key Food can be born? Time will tell!

• Seller Door: In the former Exotic Snax location, a new instance of the Greenpoint ice cream shop “Cellar Door” appears to be moving in. We welcome any new ice cream spots in the neighborhood! Especially in a city already so full of novelty ice cream shops selling freak flavors at extreme price points, it’ll be good to have an ice cream spot with median flavors and formats in the rotation.

The bankrupt Rite Aid at 51st. St. and 43rd. Ave. is haunted no longer: workers have been steadily rebuilding the interior of the former pharmacy chain location in preparation for a new tenant that appears to be getting the space ready for business.

A neighborhood source shared that the incoming tenant may be a grocery store. But which kind! It won’t be a Food Bazaar or an H-Mart. We’ve heard rumors of a neighborhood-driven petition to Trader Joe’s to open up there. The Sunnywood Freak isn’t a business and doesn’t endorse any particular grocery store, but we are going on record with our prediction (or at least hope) that it will be a Patel Brothers.

At a recent community board meeting, a developer represented by Richard Bass presented plans for a 15 story tower in the garages by Lou Lodati park, on Skillman Ave. near 39th St.

The developer is seeking a rezoning, which means they will go thru the long process of ULURP which involves approval from city councilmember Julie Won. The plans call for a shocking 150-200 car garage; Sunnyside is one of the neighborhoods which no longer requires parking minimums for new developments like these. They might put in a school or a grocery store.

Neighborhood 7 train station construction is already making an impact: a bright yellow temporary platform has been built over the Manhattan bound local tracks at the 46th, 40th, and 33rd St. stations.

The MTA built these sweeping yellow landscapes to ease crowding for commuters displaced by the partial closure and reconstruction of the 52nd St stop. That station had topped the list of worst stations in the entire subway system. In addition to fixing its atrocious stairs and platforms, the 52nd St. construction will upgrade “the customer experience with new windscreens, artwork and painting”.

John Catsimatidis’ threat to close the Gristedes grocery store chain if mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is elected is an empty one. We should interpret such threats as an elaborate genre of billionaire fiction, authored by people who pay people to buy their produce and pasta.

There are only 17 locations of Gristedes, 15 of which are in Manhattan. While the Freak doesn’t condone shutting any grocery stores down, you could pick a worse chain to chase out of town: the selection at Gristedes is notoriously bad, and they are concentrated in the already well-served Manhattan market.

New York City deserves more, and better, grocery stores than it has. While in the Sunnywood area we love our Fresh n’ Save’s, our Food Universes, our Parrot’s, our G and H-Mart’s, and our Food Bazaar’s, the Freak believes that building more grocery stores is always an unqualified good. Zohran gets our vote, and the city would be better off if Cats moved to Florida.

The cones are in: Lt. Michael Davidson Park is finally under construction:

The signs say it’ll be finished in Spring 2026. See you there — with a confusing Donato’s slice — then.

January is “NYC Democratic Primary fundraising reporting” season at the NYC Campaign Finance Board.

Some highlights from local politicos in the 11377 and 11104 zip codes who gave cash in this cycle to NYC candidates in advance of this year’s primary:

• Sunnyside city councillor Julie Won donated $1,000 to various candidates. Mayoral candidates Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani made the cut, Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie, and Scott Stringer did not.
• Former Sunnyside city councillor Jimmy Van Bramer was not stingy, donating $3,000 to several candidates, notably former Queens Borough President challenger Donovan Richards, as well as a chunk of change to Lander.
• Former city councillor candidates from the 2021 mega race made showed up: Amit Bagga donated $2,075 to just about every random Democrat running, Jim Magee donated $350 to Julie Won, and Jonathan Bailey donated to Mamdani.
• A number of people donated to our indicted mayor Eric Adams: local landlords and real estate developers the Disaverio family donated $1,750, gas company owner Jerry Drenis donated $3,100, and Ziaur Rahman made a rare post-election donation of $500.

The Department of Buildings has filed a stop work order at the sad husk of a building where Sunnyside Cinemas used to be located:

AT TIME OF INSPECTION AT ABOVE PREMISE OBSERVED CONSTRUCTION WORK ON ROOF WITH ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF DEBRIS/GARBAGE BEING STORED. NO PERMIT ON DOB RECORDS FOR SCOPE OF WORK. STOP ALL WORK AT COMMERCIAL SPACE., OBT

Several construction permits for this building expired in 2023. The building’s owner John Ciafone, who in 2022 said that construction would begin within months, is a three-time Democratic primary loser who recently penned an op-ed about how congestion pricing will “kill New York City”.

• Legal weed is coming to the neighborhood: Renaissant NYC has applied for a CAURD license to open a retail weed store, at 40th St. and Queens Blvd. in the same mini complex as Baruir’s.
• The Ethiopian restaurant Makina, at 46th and Skillman Ave., is ending its long streak of not opening: an employee recently popped out of the storefront to say that they plan to open in January 2025.
• The old PJ Horgan’s location is being renovated as a restaurant called Cousin Larry’s.

On the occasion of Sunny Deli reopening under new management, here are neighborhood prices for a 6-pack of Modelo (cans) as of 9/8/2024:

The annual Queens United International Party [QUIP] music festival returns to Sunnyside Gardens park this September 21st. It’s the best public event at the otherwise private park.

This year’s lineup looks to be totally new, with the exception of the you-can’t-miss-it Somer Suarez synth set. Last year’s QUIP included a mind-melting six-part wooden percussion group, and the year before that was such a fun party that some misguided neighbor called the cops. We’ll see you there!

Exotic Snax was one of the first graymarket weed stores to open in the neighborhood, and appears to be the latest to close. The storefront doesn’t have any notice of padlocking or closure from the NYC Sherriff’s office, but a quick look in their rollbar’s peephole reveals a neon-washed scene of cannabis destruction:

Was this a NYPD cannabis raid gone wrong? A coincidental theft? Or something more sinister…

The Department of Transportation posted flyers announcing a project to better protect pedestrians and cyclists who use the 39th Ave. bike boulevard from cars turning the wrong way at 50th St.

Drivers on 39th Ave. regularly drive over the plastic bollards installed there today, which makes pedestrian crossings at the corners hazardous. This project will replace those bollards with a hardened concrete diverter, similar to those used without controversy to direct traffic flows in other cities around the world.

Driving culture in NYC post-pandemic is full of drivers breaking the law without consequence. Using the average driver’s fear of dinging their car to get them to do the right thing — by building a concrete traffic diverter — is a perfect response to this type of casual lawlessness in the neighborhood.

Romanian citizens living in NYC had two places they could vote in the 2024 EU Parliament elections: the Romanian consulate near the UN, or the Sunnyside law offices of Voicu & Nica on Skillman Ave. and 49th St. An official EU pollsite ,sponsored by the Romanian government, was opened there over the weekend. Notices were posted that the pollsite was under surveillance.

At the May 7 meeting of the Queens CB2 Transportation Committee, the DOT shared their plans to extend the Queens Blvd. protected bike lane further west, from 48th St. to 32nd Pl. With pedestrian islands, one less travel lane, and a bike lane protected by parked cars, there’s something here to love for cyclists and pedestrians alike.

There was a strange moment during the DOT’s presentation where the non-member CB2 district manager Debra Markell Kleinert felt moved to share that CB2 is not a branch of Transportation Alternatives, and asked whether drivers had been consulted. Only 11% of people from the census tracts along this stretch of the boulevard drive or carpool to work.

Also spotted at the meeting: AD 37 candidate Claire Valdez, who supports the new bike lane.

By the numbers:

• 5 years since the city purchased the vacant lot at the corner of 39th Ave. and 50th St. in Sunnyside.
• $3-5 million in capital funds, secured by Jimmy Van Bramer, to create the Lt. Michael Davidson Park and playground.
• $4,222,881.00 was the lowest bid made at a Department of Parks sealed bid reveal on 4/18 by AR Brothers Construction Corp., for the construction of the park.
• 10/2024 is when the city currently estimates construction will begin.
• 2 play structures, 1 water feature, and 15 benches, and 1 picnic pavillion in the Department of Parks plans for the new park.

Production for the CBS Show “Elsbeth” consumed all available sidewalk space in front of Go Natural Health Food recently. PA’s for a show about “the offbeat, unconventional but astute attorney who, after a successful career in Chicago, utilizes her singular point of view to make unique observations and corner criminals alongside the NYPD” directed passers-by to walk instead on Queens Blvd. traffic between two traffic cones.

It’s helpful to remember these truths about film production in Sunnyside/Woodside:

• Production staff have no authority to stop you from walking on a sidewalk.
• The economic rationale for film and TV tax credits isn’t well supported by data.
• Most productions don’t patronize neighborhood businesses. Case in point: nearby lunch mainstays El Buen Sabor, Brookside, and Souk El Shater, had short lines at the time.

Walk up the hill on 46th street past the All Saints Episcopal Church and you’ll spot some fresh place-making in action: a new “Little Window Gallery” in the window to the right of the door:

Go right now and you’ll see ceramics by local ceramicist Jacqueline Gurgui and can respond to a prompt about the experiment. We’ll be cruising by in the future to see what else shows up.

Recently, while scrolling a social media site, this writer was shown a sponsored post featuring an astoundingly hyper-local background: a basement stairwell on 45th St. between Skillman and 43rd Ave. Is it an AI-powered composite based on this writer’s location data?

Or is Charlotte Stone shoes, an LA-based brand, hoping to conquer Steve Madden’s territory? Research uncovered that Stone, the eponymous designer, worked for Steve Madden for a time, though it is unclear whether that was at their Woodside headquarters. Either way, most residents would agree that this is hardly the most picturesque location our fine neighborhood has to offer, and the choice is baffling. The writer did not purchase the shoes.

• Patron’s Grocery, by the 52nd St. 7 train station, has been shut down by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for “operating illegally”. They seem to have been licensed as an Electronic Cigarette Dealer, but the closure may be unrelated.

• There’s a new graymarket weed store in the storefront that used to be a Tibetan gift store at Queens Blvd. and 42nd St. Nameless for the time being.

• Another graymarket weed store whose name approaches perfection — Cave Smoke — has opened up at 43rd Ave. and 49th street.

Graymarket weed stores: March update

Sunnyside Convenience, by the Fresh & Save at 51st Street, got hit with a notice from the NYPD.

New stores: 7 Line Greenery in the zoned-for-medical-offices building on Queens Boulevard at 49th street. The shop logo leaves some ambiguity about whether the business is actually called “Line Greenery”, presumably to circumnavigate some MTA trademark?

For a number of years, the Sunnyside/Woodside area was home to a unique distinction: two locations of the slowly dying Boston Market chain, less than a mile apart. One was at Queens Boulevard and 50th st., the other in the strip mall at Woodside Ave. and Northern Blvd.

Perhaps nowhere else in the world was it possible to get a Boston-style rotisserie chicken from one Boston Market, and walk 18 minutes or 0.8 miles to get another rotisserie chicken from a non-contiguous Boston Market. They both appear to have closed in the last year, as part of the chain’s slow corporate death.

The ownership of Souk Al Shater, the Lebanese lunch spot and small grocery at 43-03 Queens Blvd, recently changed hands. Several neighborhood reports suggest that the new Souk, defying the odds, has gotten better: great Zataar bread, exceptional hummus, and the already-oustanding sandwiches. There’s also a larger case of baked goods. Try their chocolate-covered date.

We’ve recently noted an uptick in dog poop that dog owners are not picking up. There are hot spots on Skillman Ave. and some of the streets in the gardens. Know of a street that’s particularly bad? Send us a tip

There have been a cluster of armed robberies on Skillman Avenue between 48th and 49th streets in the past year: December 2023 stealing ~$4k in cash, November 2023 stealing $10k in cash, and September 2023 stealing $60k in cash. Many people appear to carry unusual quantities of cash around near 48th Street and Skillman Ave.!

What hasn’t been reported: this location is the place of business for V & R PAYROLL FACTORS, INC., a state-licensed check cashing business that moved to Sunnyside in 2022. I originally took notice when its storefront was being built, because it has blacked out windows and no name — at the time, it seemed like it might be a graymarket weed business. But unlike the graymarket weed shop that is on that block, it’s been robbed three times, and now appears to have hired an armed NYPD police officer as part of its security.

Why does this business belong in the neighborhood? And why isn’t anyone reporting that the “random” high dollar amount robberies presumably all share a common cause: check cashing customers with large sums of cash to be deposited?