■REAL ESTATE REPORTS: High Line-style park might be making its way to LIC Some unused railroad tracks in Long Island City might soon be given new life, as the MTA begins to reach out to the community for ideas on how to put the space to use, according to published reports. The transit agency is currently looking for local groups to aid in restoring two sections of the Long Island Rail Road totaling more than a mile, which haven’t been used since the 1990s, the New York Post reported. The sections include parts of the old Montauk and Main Line tracks located by the intersection of Skillman and 49th avenues. According to Curbed, the MTA has released a Request For Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for that section as a way to examine different options from businesses, nonprofits, community groups and individuals. Ideas can include, but are not limited to, public open space, urban farming, or museum or sculpture garden space. The stretch used to connect the LIRR’s Lower Montauk Branch, running along Newtown Creek, to the Sunnyside and Arch Street Yards to the north, according to the RFEI. For anyone looking to submit concept ideas, they must offer access points; plan to bring utilities such as electricity and water to the area; and plan for site maintenance, according to Curbed. This isn’t the first time a High Line-style park has been proposed for Queens. Plans were announced last year for a 3.5-mile stretch – dubbed QueensWay – of recreational, walking and biking trails crossing through the neighborhoods of Rego Park, Forest Hills, Glendale, Richmond Hill, Woodhaven and Ozone Park. LIC’s Stolle café chain hosts grand opening for first US location BY ANGELA MATUA Stolle, which first opened as a restaurant in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2002, is hoping that Americans fall in love with their Eastern European version of pie. Located in the Falchi Building in Long Island City, the bakery signed a 10-year lease in March to set up in a 2,175-squarefoot space that also includes a production room. According to Irina Belska, co-owner of the company bringing the Stolle brand to America, each pie is handmade and the bakery never sell pies made the day before. “It’s totally different from the pies America knows,” Belska said. “We use all fresh ingredients, no preservatives.” Patrons will have a wide variety of savory pie fillings to choose from, including cabbage, scallion, potato with mushroom, salmon, chicken and rabbit. Sweet pie fillings include strawberry, raspberry, plum and apricot. Stolle bakery sells both whole pies and pies by the slice. Belska said her company, Bakery Group LLC, chose this location primarily because they had a good relationship with Jamestown LP, the owner of the Falchi building. The company offered a fair price in a good location, she said. “When we entered into the new market, it’s very important to have a good working relationship with the landlord because it’s a long relationship,” Belska said. Belska likened the pies to “grandma’s home cooking” and said people looking to watch their figure should not worry about consuming these pies as they are made with fresh, natural ingredients. The pie connoisseur said she eats a pie every day and people would be “shocked” to see how slim she is. Though the bakery had a soft opening on Aug. 17, they celebrated the grand opening today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and sampling of their offerings. Belska said she is eager for people to try these pies and marvel at their beauty. “We bake with love each day, fresh and no preservatives and all natural,” Belska said. “All this beauty is done by hand and when you will see it in real life, it’s like in a picture.” G&M Realty to use 5Pointz name for LIC towers: reports BY ANGELA MATUA The owners of what was once home to the iconic outdoor art exhibit 5Pointz – which has since been demolished completely – have reportedly announced that they will recycle the name for new residential towers taking its place. Jerry and David Wolkoff of G&M Realty tried previously trademarking the name but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied their request. A California-based real estate company had already trademarked the name. However, they were able to register the name as a servicemark with the state, according to published reports. The site, located at 45-46 Davis St. in Long Island City, will soon be the home of two $400 million luxury towers with 1,000 units divided between the two buildings. A group of 5Pointz artists started an online petition earlier this year to stop G&M Realty from trademarking the name, saying the trademark would add to the “constant disrespect” shown by the Wolkoffs since the beloved site’s whitewashing in 2013. A reserved graffiti space has been shown in a rendering released by G&M Realty and the Wolkoffs have said the new development will have art studios and walls specifically for artists to use as canvasses. In June, nine artists who displayed their work on the former site filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court, claiming that the property’s owner, Jerry Wolkoff, committed an illegal act by painting over their work without giving them enough warning to take it down and save it.
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