Edge of the City Chat Room – Now Open !

I am trying out a new chat room here on the blog – you can find the link to it on the right-hand side of this page. I am thinking that aside from just a cozy place for you all to drop in and shoot the breeze, I’d also like to use it every so often for informative live chats with special guests who can take your questions and delve deep into local topics of interest. Anyway, let’s see how it goes! If you have any ideas for special chat events, or even would like to host one yourself, just drop me a line via email at drakefohinyc@gmail.com, or post a comment below.

Here is the link:
Edge of the City Chat Room

Town Hall Meeting On Post-Tornado Clean-Up Tonight

Re-posting this from Congressman Weiner’s website:

Come to a Town Hall Meeting On the Post-Tornado Clean-Up in Queens with New York City Office of Emergency Management

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 6:30pm
Forest Hills Jewish Center
106-06 Queens Boulevard
Forest Hills, New York
Enter on 69th Road

Sponsored By

Congressman Anthony Weiner
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall
State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky
Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi

__________________________________________________________

Dear Neighbor:

The tornado that swept through Queens the night of Thursday, September 16 wreaked havoc on our community. We’re all relieved few people got hurt, but the twister left a path of destruction in its wake.

Borough President Helen Marshall, State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi and I are inviting you to a town hall meeting with the New York City Office of Emergency Management. Top officials from OEM and other agencies will inform you about what actions are being taken to clean up our neighborhood.

The meeting will be held at the Forest Hills Jewish Center, located at 106-06 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, on Tuesday, September 21 at 6:30 PM. We at every level of government need to work together to make sure all your questions about the clean-up are answered. As always, feel free to call my community office at 520-9001 with any questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing you there.

Two Pictures From The Storm

There are so many images from the tornado that will stay with me, but I wanted to just highlight two for now.

The first is that of the crumpled baby stroller that just lay there on the sidewalk at Queens Blvd. and 71st. Road, across from the Key Food. It seemed to be just abandoned there in a hurry right in front of what is some of the worst damage in the immediate vicinity – a huge mess of downed trees that still covers that corner.  This image immediately had me wondering  — what happened? Did the parent of this child quickly scoop him or her up and flee for shelter as they saw the storm approaching?

Another image I noticed that night and quickly snapped a photo of is Le Pitou Dog and Cats Salon on 71st Road off of Austin. I had in a previous post on this blog spotlighted this proprietor as a great example of an innovative retailer, the likes of which Forest Hills could use more of. I was pleasantly surprised to find in the hours after the tornado that Le Pitou’s charming outdoor display had been mostly spared by the storm, even while trees on that side street had been toppled right near by.