Jazz and Queens became inexorably linked more than a century ago, with dozens of its founders and best practitioners living in the borough.
The Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series, ongoing through Sept. 5, seeks to not only pay tribute to that rich heritage, but to take it to new generations.
John West, a boxer, married Matilda “Tillie” Doelger, a corset model, on Jan. 18, 1889. They settled in Brooklyn.Their first child, Katie, born Aug. 23, 1891, died two months later on Oct. 30. Mary Jane “Mae” was born Aug. 17, 1893, followed …
Got kids who can’t get enough of dinosaurs? The Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy has got you covered this Saturday, when Dinosaurs Rock will roar into Triassic Playground with a presentation youngsters can really sink their teeth into…
Since 1978, Danny’s Szechuan Garden has served the Howard Beach community and beyond with delectable Chinese cuisine and entertaining hibachi dinners.The restaurant has two sections — one dedicated to the sit-down Chinese, Szechuan-style cuis…
Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac of French-Canadian ancestry was born in Lowell, Mass., on March 12, 1922 into a French-speaking household. He learned English at age 6 and spoke with an accent until his teens.Along with a group of friends from Co…
With the summer season underway, local artists reflect its sunny skies and blue waters on canvas, where visitors can enjoy them without risking sunburn.Beat the heat at Long Island City Artists’ two member showcases at The Factory this summer…
When The Secret Theatre recently invited writers to submit their works for its Act One: One Act Short Play Festival (to be presented beginning July 17 and running two weeks), no fewer than 180 would-be Paula Vogels and August Wilsons responde…
Stephen Patrick Kennedy was born in Greenpoint Brooklyn on Oct. 27, 1906. After high school graduation he worked as a boxer and longshoreman. He was appointed probationary NYC patrolman in the class of 1929.That October in 1929, he married hi…
Looking to escape the sweltering heat and dive into a world of captivating stories this summer? Whether you’re lounging by the pool, relaxing at a shady park or inside enjoying the AC, a book can transport you to distant lands and thrilling a…
It’s Independence Day, the Fourth of July! Time to celebrate!In between the barbecues and fireworks, many read the Declaration of Independence to mark the holiday. National Public Radio had it read on air each July 4 for more than 30 years, t…
Polish immigrant Raymond Gikofsky, a plumbing contractor, married Ida Newman in April 1939, in Brooklyn. Their first child, Helene, was born in 1940, followed by Irving Joel on May 10, 1945.When the Pomonok Houses were built in 1951, the fami…
Espresso 77, located on 77th Street and 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, is a café and wine bar offering a large assortment of delicious food and drinks. But what’s on the menu is only part of the reason neighborhood diners flock to the spot.O…
You mean you’ve never heard of 7-year-old kids studying chemistry and physics?Well, that’s exactly what’s going on in the Whiz Kidz Science Zone, a weekly program sponsored by the Eastern Queens Alliance at the Idlewild Park Environmental Sci…
Veronica Kern was born in Queens on July 12, 1923, the second child of four of John and Mary (née O’Connor) Kern. She enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps on May 5 1944. She met Arthur Lueken at the Flushing Meadow Park ice skating rink and mar…
From the time he first discovered Shakespeare at Archbishop Molloy High School, Queens Village actor Jim Haines developed and cultivated an interest in the play “Hamlet,” the title character and the actors who portrayed him both well and not …
Like Cinderella, the Queens Jazz Orchestra comes out to party just one night a year.While the name has the ring of solid permanency, the orchestra is in fact a confection — a concert of top-rank jazz whipped up by Flushing Town Hall each year…
Edward Francis Glynn was born on April 25, 1920, in New York City. He was raised in Jackson Heights and married Helen Reid in 1945. They had two daughters, Karen and Donna. On June 3, 1953, Edward Paul was born. The whole family lived in Hele…
“This is a show tune, but the show hasn’t been written for it yet,” says legendary jazz musician Nina Simone in her 1964 hit “Mississippi Goddamn,” written at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in response to the oppression of and acts o…
Get ready to feel the love on June 23 as Tom’s Elton Tribute rockets into Queens — though it took a little while for Tom Cridland, the man behind the dazzling homage, to get the Saturday Night’s Alright vibe.“It’s not something you’d delibera…
Roone Pickney Arledge Sr. was born Jan. 4, 1895, in Columbus, NC. He passed the bar and came to New York City working as an attorney for the Equitable Life Insurance Co. He fell in love with a 21-year-old vaudeville dancer named Gertrude Stri…
As the workday concludes, the sun sets and the blazing heat dies down, grab a yoga mat at Socrates Sculpture Park to let your mind rest and follow suit.The park invites guests from all walks of life and states of mind to Mindful Astoria’s fre…
A bilingual, five-borough production of Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors” is touching down in three neighborhoods in Queens this month.The Public Theater continues to takes its Free Shakespeare in the Park show on the road via its mobile u…
Irving Lew was born on Feb. 7, 1912 in Russia, according to ancestry.com —not Poland as reported elsewhere.He immigrated with his family, including five older sisters, to New York City in 1919. He assimilated quickly and became a citizen. He …
Tonight you can see The Stones. Next week, The Beatles.No, it’s not that you’ve boarded a magic bus to some rock ’n’ roll fantasy from all those years ago. It’s that tribute bands to those giants of British rock are coming to Queens, in a mag…
Mothra is one of the most beloved kaiju to come from the monster universe. The giant, flying, mythical monster has been a fan favorite since her debut in 1961.
Martin M. Colby, a television executive, married a 20-year-old Forest Hills beauty named Carole Triansky. Their firstborn was Jonathan, who became an attorney and Dade County, Fla., Circuit Court judge. Jamie Nell Colby was born on Dec. 21, 1…
Some of nature’s most majestic creatures — and one of the oddest-looking — will welcome visitors to their homes in a series of three free events scheduled at the Jamaica Bay Wildilfe Refuge.This Saturday, May 25, guests are invited to Birdwat…
The Parkside Players’ Shakespeare-themed season is coming to an end with an original tribute to The Bard, “Sound and Fury and Shakespeare,” which runs weekends through June 2.The title comes from a famous soliloquy in “Macbeth,” which, in thi…
George Git Lum was born in Canton, China, on Nov. 1, 1922. His middle name of “Git” means a foolish or worthless person and he rarely used it except for legal purposes. He came to America and on July 4, 1942 enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forc…
“In the beginning, the Creator made heaven and the Creator made earth.”Those are the opening lines of “Third Law,” a production by creative group What Will the Neighbors Say? at Culture Lab LIC.
The latest attraction at The Secret Theatre in Woodside is a new musical whodunit set in a discotheque in 1974.Surprisingly, the show’s creators are two young women who weren’t even born until some three decades later.
Elaine Edna Kaufman was born on Feb. 10, 1929, in New York City, the fourth and final child of Joseph and Pauline Kaufman.They operated a dry goods store at 95-19 Sutphin Blvd. and lived above it, in racially mixed South Jamaica. Elaine never…
Audible gasps could be heard from the audience during the Douglaston Community Theatre debut performance of “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller as they reacted to the twists and turns of the drama. The play is showing at Zion Church Parish Hall, a…
Artists, art administrators and area elected officials last Thursday gathered at the Queens Museum to kick off Queens Rising’s third annual season.Throughout the month of June, institutions all over the World’s Borough will present a plethora…
Luigi (Louis) Balducci was born in Corato, Italy, on March 10, 1899. He arrived in New York on the ship Providence on July 28, 1922 with his wife Maria (nee Miscioscia). Their firstborn, Charles, was born April 24, 1923, followed by Andrew on…
It’s a tale almost as old as time, dating back several centuries. It’s been adapted to seemingly every medium known to man, from musical theater and opera to ballet, film and television.And now, “Cinderella” makes its way to the stage of St. …
Thalia Spanish Theatre, the first and only bilingual Hispanic theater in Queens, is celebrating May as Mother’s Month with a theatrical debut, called “Como Si Pasara Un Tren” (”Like A Passing Train”), that is sure to tug at your heartstrings,…
Enriqueta (Henrietta) Caballero from Barcelona, Spain, who spoke five languages was on vacation in New York when she met Francesco Gallo, the sports editor of “La Prensa,” at the Spanish Consulate. It was love at first sight.After a two-week …
It’s entertaining! It’s informative! It’s inspiring! It’s part of a worldwide phenomenon! It’s coming your way this year May 3 to 5. And, if all that weren’t enough, it’s free!It’s Jane’s Walk NYC 2024, a celebration of neighbors, history and…
Melissa Cody is a fourth-generation Navajo weaver who combines traditional spinning and weaving techniques with new technology to create textile works with colorful geometric patterns and overlays.Pacita Abad (1946-2004), a native of the Phil…
Friedrich “Fritz” Gretsch was born in Prussia in 1856. He left for America on the Vandalia, arriving in New York at age 17 on May 13, 1873. Working as a bookkeeper in a music shop, he decided to manufacture banjos, tambourines and drums. He t…
The Living Museum isn’t easy to get to or particularly well known.It is buried deep in the campus of Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, the massive, state-run mental-health hospital in Queens Village.
The life, loves and music of the Queen of Soul will be explored in the play “Natural Woman: An Aretha Story,” at Black Spectrum Theatre today, April 18, to April 20.The work depicts Aretha Franklin’s life from her childhood to adulthood and t…
Harry Weiss was born in Ridgewood on Dec. 22, 1909. He married Elizabeth Treubig in August 1939 and worked as a draftsman for the New York Telephone Co. They purchased a brand-new home in Cambria Heights at 118-46 220 St.A son, George, and da…
Even after 13 years with the Queens World Film Festival, Executive Director Katha Cato is still capable of viewing an entry from Queens, New Jersey, London or Nepal and being amazed.The festival this year has 152 films from 19 countries. Betw…
When “Urinetown: The Musical” opened on Broadway in 2001, it was shocking on many levels, beginning with its provocative title.In its exploration of an imaginary world in which a severe drought has led to the outlawing of private toilets, it …
Eddie Cabán, of Puerto Rican heritage, was born on Oct. 11, 1960. He lived at 31-67 49 St. in the Woodside public housing projects. He married Beatriz Nazario, who was exactly nine days younger than him, in 1979 — both age 19.On July 24, 1987…
Isolating during the Covid pandemic got many people more in touch with their hobbies and creative sides.Some opted to take up baking. Others got really into home improvement, or began taking long walks.
For Karlene Douglas, a Jamaican-Haitian American in Rochdale Village, it was music that brought her parents together, and on Saturday, April 20, she hopes it will bring a community together to listen to America’s original art form at the inau…
Armando Giamatista Corea was born on Oct. 26, 1906, in Boston. His family had roots in the Province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy.He fell in love and married Anna Zaccona. He made a good living as a trumpeter. Too old to be dra…
Do you know who was mayor in 1857 and how he influenced modern police lingo? Are you a fan of both “Saturday Night Live” and New York City history?Are you a fan of entertaining evenings out — and at least a little bit competitive?
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