44 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • DECEMBER 9, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Flux Factory will stay rooted in Long Island City
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Flux Factory is not only staying put in
Long Island City, the artist-led nonprofit
organization will expand to a second
location on the Hunters Point waterfront
next year.
Aft er facing displacement since its
founding in 1994, Flux Factory announced
it has recently purchased the space they
have rented since 2009. Th e purchase of
the building will allow Flux Factory to
deepen the aff ordability of its Artist-in-
Residency program and make long-term
investments in the quality of its space.
“When I was hired as executive director
at Flux Factory seven years ago, we were
facing imminent buyout. We were broke
and didn’t have much of a plan, but everybody
knew that Flux was important and
unique enough that it had to somehow
survive,” Flux Factory Executive Director
Nat Roe said. “We’ve turned over every
stone since then to somehow put the pieces
together. Th e notion of owning two
buildings seemed impossible until it was
suddenly inevitable.”
Th anks to recent allocations from
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, former
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz
and the Department of Cultural Aff airs,
Flux Factory purchased its location on
29th Street in Dutch Kills, and next summer
it will open its new location, Flux
IV, in a 3,000-square-foot space on the
ground fl oor of Gotham Point, a massive
development currently under construction
in Hunter Point South. It will become
the fourth space it has operated.
“Only in New York could this transformation
be possible, and it’s primarily
thanks to Jimmy Van Bramer’s trust in
Flux Factory announced it will stay in Long Island City after purchasing the building has rented since 2009 and it will expand into Gotham Point space
in summer 2022.
our vision,” Roe said. “With this sustainability
comes new accountability: We have
to fi nd a way to grow into larger shoes
through providing better artist stipends,
expanded staff and better equipment and
facilities. Support toward the pilot year of
the Flux IV space will make all the difference
toward doing full justice to Flux’s
potential and avoid a threadbare reopening,
risking stunted growth for years.”
Flux Factory lost its initial home in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 2002, and
moved to 43rd Street in Sunnyside. Th ey
were displaced through eminent domain
in 2009 and moved to its current location,
an old greeting card factory located
at 39-31 29th St. in Dutch Kills.
“Flux Factory’s legacy as an artist-run
nonprofi t that supports new and emerging
creators makes them an invaluable
neighbor in our community,” Van Bramer
said. “Aft er more than 20 years of multiple
moves throughout Brooklyn and western
Queens, I’m happy to say that with the
help of funding secured through my offi ce,
they’re now able to put down permanent
roots in the 29th Street location and
expand their footprint in Long Island City
Photo courtesy of Flux Factory
with a new satellite site in Gotham Point.”
Flux Factory is temporarily closed for
renovations, but when it does reopen,
they promise to never close their doors
again. Th e organization’s founder, Morgan
Meis, grew emotional when he learned
the nearly three-decade-long search for a
permanent had fi nally been realized.
“I have to say I got choked up reading
this … but it’s been a long time coming,”
he said. “Anyway, you guys have fi nally
done it. I can’t do justice to my feelings
about this, but thank you all for your
work.”
Popular vegan fast food delivery HipCityVeg opens in LIC
BY JULIA MORO
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
HipCityVeg — known for its
plant-based fast-food options —
has added a new location in the
Long Island City area, now open
for delivery orders only.
Th e company opened its fi rst
location in New York in late
October near Union Square in
Manhattan. As part of the company’s
mid-Atlantic expansion,
they will also be adding eight
more locations along the East
Coast by February of 2022.
“From Long Island City, to
Astoria, to Ridgewood, to Forest
Hills, we are so incredibly excited
to deliver our juicy burgers,
crispy chicken sandwiches and
fresh salads to hungry people in
Queens,” HipCityVeg CEO and
Founder Nicole Marquis said.
“Our customers love us because
they say our food is like their
fast food favorites, but better for
them and the planet.”
HipCityVeg found success
as a Latina woman-led, vegan
fast food chain, fi rst opening its
doors in Philadelphia in 2012. In
February, the company will have
15 stores across the mid-Atlantic
region.
Some of HipCityVeg’s locations
only provide delivery and
pickup options, unlike other fast
food chains. Th e company said
they decided to utilize this strategy
aft er the pandemic changed
consumer behavior. According
to Marquis, only delivery stores
helps the company grow and
serve customers more quickly.
“During the pandemic, we had
to quickly develop ways to get
our food to more people’s homes
faster and fresher,” Marquis said.
“Our expansion strategy refl ects
those learnings.”
HipCityVeg feels that eating
more plant-based meals in an
impactful way to slow
down the eff ects of climate
change.
“People are realizing they
can get the juicy burgers
and fried chicken sandwiches
they crave, and
enjoy them in a way that
has a much lower impact
on the planet, while aligning
with their compassionate
values,” Marquis said.
“No matter where people
enjoy plant-based foods, whether
it’s at HipCityVeg, or wherever
is most convenient for them,
it’s so important for all of our
futures to have more aff ordable,
convenient and delicious ways to
do so. Plant-based is the future,
and now is the moment.”
As of Dec. 1, HipCityVeg is
available on all major delivery
apps. To learn more, visit hipcityveg.
com.
Photo courtesy of HipCityVeg
Philadelphia-based HipCityVeg, a vegan fast food restaurant,
has opened a new location in western Queens.
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