Entertainment
36 OCTOBER 2017 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
Belitsky, who spent time in Long
Island City as a kid when his brother
attended Aviation High School, said
he chose the neighborhood not only
for the property he found but because
of its character.
“It’s different in a really wonderful
way because if you look at how this
neighborhood has changed compared
to how Bushwick and Williamsburg have
changed, there’s an integrity to how this
has evolved, whereas those neighbor-hoods
are very lipstick; they’re very Hol-lywood,”
he said. “This neighborhood still
has its foundation. Queens is just a real
place.”
Belitsky is also working with a partner
who has years of experience opening
music venues throughout the city. They are
both adamant about getting community
support before beginning any work on
the building.
“There’s a community here that needs
to be respected and we have to figure
out what’s good for them, too,” he said.
“Because what we can put in here and
what people want us to put in here might
not be the same thing.”
Belitsky did not give a timeline for
the opening of the venue, saying that he
must go through the community board
process first. But he is excited about
welcoming artists into what he calls a
“working farm.”
“I’m most excited about when I hear
new sounds, when I hear someone actu-ally
find a new sound, a new voice,” he
said. “That’s the thrill of it all. I would
love for this to be where a new sound
emerges because right now that’s the
internet.”
Though the venue is not officially
open, Belitsky has been inviting musi-cians
to participate in invite-only “blind
date jam sessions.” Last week, jazz mu-sicians
from as far away as Australia
(pianist Nick Marks) and as close as
Astoria (saxophonist Andrew Joseph)
deconstructed the jazz standard “Spain”
by composer Chick Corea for several
hours and then spent hours talking
about music.
“I want people to know that when you
come here you’re going to experience
something you’ll never get anywhere
else,” he said.
Photos by Angela Matua
