22 The QUEE NS Courier • OCTOBER 15, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Bayside’s Bourbon Street celebrates official grand opening of rooftop lounge By Stephen Vrattos [email protected] @QueensCourier Bourbon Street Restaurant and Catering on Bell Boulevard in Bayside celebrated the official grand opening of its new rooftop lounge on Oct. 7 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by such Queens luminaries as Borough President Melinda Katz, Bayside Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tom Grech and Schneps Communications President, CEO and Publisher Victoria Schneps-Yunis. The New Orleans-themed café has been a popular Bayside eatery since 1997. Owner Mark Boccia was on hand to welcome guests and thank them for their support in making his dreams of a rooftop oasis come to fruition after more than a year of planning. The 2,000-square-foot space, which accommodates up to 140 patrons, features a bar with a vast selection of beers, a raw seafood bar and pizza oven. It is illuminated with French Quarterstyle lanterns and skirted by a traditional New Orleans wrought-iron railing, and it has cozy banquettes, café tables and about a half-dozen big screen televisions. Fans of the restaurant will also notice a complete renovation of the café’s façade, which includes new brickface, awnings and lighted signage in the traditional Big Easy colors of purple, gold and green, and a completely redesigned host stand area which fronts the stairs to the third-floor getaway. The renovation also includes a street-level elevator, which stops at the new second-floor catering facility on its way to the rooftop lounge. Boccia hopes to have the second-floor catering hall open before Thanksgiving in time for the holiday season. The new space will be fitted with complete AV equipment, perfect for business meetings and seminars, as well as parties and events. He hopes to keep the rooftop open through New Year’s and is having a tent fitted over the area and adding heat lamps, so patrons can continue to enjoy the only rooftop lounge in northeastern Queens into 2016. THE COURIER/Photo by Stephen Vrattos Carol Conslato of Con Edison; Queens Borough President Melinda Katz; John Ryan, Owner of Bourbon Street and Austins Ale House; Bourbon Street owner Mark Boccia; Bayside Assemblyman Ed Braunstein; Schneps Communications President, CEO and Publisher Victoria Schneps-Yunis; and Schneps Communications Senior Account Executive Demetra Plagakis Health insurance providers celebrate opening of new Jackson Heights service center BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport Residents of Jackson Heights lined the street last week to celebrate a special ribbon-cutting ceremony at the grand opening of the new Jackson Heights Community Service Center. On Oct. 1, HealthPlus Amerigroup became Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus. To celebrate their coming together, the rebranded group invited residents on Oct. 9 to see the new service center, located at 95-40 Roosevelt Ave., have their faces painted, get their caricatures drawn and get autographs and pictures with New York City Football Club (NYCFC) player Andoni Iraola. The service center is designed to be a hub of information for members and potential members alike. “It’s all about expanding and enhancing our presence in the community,” said Brian Murray, COO of Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus. “The new service center is primarily a resource for members and prospective members to get information, to come in and talk, to pay their premium, or ask any questions that they might have.” “The health insurance process can be cumbersome and complicated, so we are here to make it straight forward and seamless,” Murray continued. “We want this to be as much a resource for our members as our prospective members.” Photo by Gary Tai
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