New homes in the Rockaways and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Monday January 14, 2013

Happy days for two Rockaways households

We were happy to write about two different households – that of Breezy Point resident Kim Leib and that of Roxbury couple Burt and Jeanne Metz, and their daughter Johanna-Claire Metz – who have been given new homes after theirs were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. In Leib’s case, Steve Conboy, president and CEO of Eco Building Products, came to the rescue, with the aim to both help her get back on her feet, and to showcase his company’s products. For the Metzes, Operation Blessing came to help – 300 of their volunteers spent three weeks, starting in mid-December, building the home without the couple knowing this was to be the end result. As you can imagine, they were really surprised! Congratulations to both households – we wish you all the best in your new homes.

Changes at Jackson Heights’ Tawa Food 

Queens Love mentioned there are some changes at Tawa Food. According to the post, “The front section of Tawa Foods is under new Nepalese ownership and is now Dhaulagiri Kitchen.” Try the thali and the beef momos.

New Colombian restaurant coming to Sunnyside

This week, Los Verdes – a Colombian restaurant based in Miami – is opening a location here in Sunnyside on Greenpoint Avenue (just up the street from Pecas Y Mas, another Colombian restaurant that makes one of the borough’s best cholados). They’ll be offering quesadillas, burgers, fries topped with myriad things, empanadas, and Postobon, among other things, and on the evening of January 17 at 9pm they’ll be having their grand opening celebration – stop in for a free beer to help them cheer on their new home in Sunnyside!

Elm East in Elmhurst is doing very well in leasing their rentals

We were happy to hear that Elm East (86-55 Broadway – GMAP), a new luxury rental building in Elmhurst, has leased half its units in the first month on the market. The building is located right on top of the Grand Avenue M/R stop and nearby some truly stellar food in the neighborhood, NYC’s (unofficial) fourth Chinatown. Starting later in the fall, the developers will be building Elm West, which will be right across the street.

Hindus in Jamaica Bay

The Guyanese Hindu community uses Jamaica Bay as part of their worship practice – this is yet another facet to life in Jamaica Bay, though we wonder how this Hindu community is managing since Jamaica Bay was damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Here, Guyanese Hindus make religious offerings – they need to be near the water, though their practice is somewhat controversial to some outside the faith. More on that:

The water of the bay is seen as a form of god, to which the people offer food, flowers and sometimes cloths. The offerings shall be washed away to the Atlantic Ocean, that is connected to the Indian river Ganges through the Pacific and Indian Ocean. But because of the tide in New York harbor, the offerings end up on the shore again. In the past few years, the National Park Service and some environmental watchdog groups have raised concerns about the protection of Jamaica Bay’s environment.

“The problem is that many of the things that Hindus leave are not bio-degradable,” said Dan Riepe, who calls himself the Jamaica Bay Guardian. Riepe is part of the Jamaica Bay Research and Management Information Network, an environmental watchdog group that patrols the bay regularly.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/42545383]