Publisher’s Note WALTER SANCHEZ those who might have been against such a stadium out of the hearing room - and the Queens press caught wind of it within minutes. The PR firm filled the seats by coercing soccer enthusiasts to come and drown out concerned voices. They attempted to manipulate the process. Queens people are accustomed to having things shoved down our throats, but at least they let us vent. The tactics of MLS notwithstanding, having a professional soccer team in Queens is going to be great fun, but after the way they handled this first phase elected officials and media in Queens are sure to be quite skeptical.
Queens Residents Don’t Stand For Getting Kicked Around? Major League Soccer will more than likely get a team and a stadium in Queens. A professional soccer team and a stadium in Flushing MeadowsCorona Park happens to be a terrific idea and will not only bring plenty of jobs here, but is sure to spark a new passion for Queens. But when building something that might be a bit controversial, it’s a mistake to try to puncture the process and attempt to fool the press, no matter how lame the process might appear. Instead of doing their homework on how the USTA got a stadium built and continues to expand here, how Resort World Casino became a reality and how Atlas Mall worked the community, MLS tried to taint the process and not allow dissenting voices to be heard. Bruce Ratner, the villain of Brooklyn and builder of the Barclays Center, didn’t even try to stack the deck the way MLS did at a recent town hall meeting. MLS kept 6 • Winter 5.1 2013 www.itsqueens.com
As for MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who hails from Queens (see our profile beginning on page 26), he has his own ideas about the project. Check out what he told It’s Queens about bringing pro soccer to his hometown.
Tech City – Embracing Brick & Mortar As Long Island City ripens as a technology paradise for new innovative companies, Queens will certainly continue to attract and employ thousands more in the near future. Roosevelt Island will soon be the new home to Cornell University as a tech center, and Queens should benefit greatly from that. Although technically part of Manhattan, Roosevelt Island is easier to access from Queens, and Long Island City eateries and service businesses are going to need to plan now for the growth. Even more important, staple businesses in LIC and the tech companies need to embrace each other going forward. Check out our It’s List on page 17 for instance. A new tech company like easypairings.com needs
to partner-up with some of the brickand-mortar eateries in LIC just to beta their new software development for restaurant staffing. This kind of model can’t be achieved in Silicon Valley. Here in Queens, there are thousands of small businesses that can use the tech help and the new tech companies would be wise to seek out development partners who have customers and legacy businesses.
Queens-Based Writers Finding Their Voice Audrey Dimola features the mighty, yet un-trendy as compared to Brooklyn, literary scene in Queens. Meet-up groups of Queens poets, playwrights and novelists are gaining momentum…. and it’s not a prerequisite to have had a book published to be included. We think you will find the people unpretentious and welcoming at these gatherings. Attending a reading in Queens is quite different. Queens writers seem to be able to display a broad range of experience and are quite welcoming to newcomers. Check out our feature which starts on page 37. Lastly, it looks like it might be a long, cold winter. Check out our entertainment feature beginning on page 44 - ten things Queens has to offer this winter to keep you nice and warm. You can play some vintage video games in an Astoria museum or run away with the circus, to name just a few.
Walter Sanchez Publisher