Author Archives: Mandeep Singh

Following with the theme of Whitestone, might as well stop by and try out the famous Christina’s.  Christina’s is a deli in Whitestone that serves classic deli style sandwiches. The names of the sandwiches are funky and get you interested to try some, Ex. The Heart Attack. Prices vary from $6 to $15 depending on how you like your sandwiches. Over the years, Christina’s has set a precedent in the Deli business and has become an iconic stop. People from all over the city come to try out the the food and see what the hype is all about. I highly recommend it and its the perfect midnight snack for me since I live 2 minutes away from it.

It’s important to explore the entirety of New York City and not just Manhattan. Being that I love nature, Francis Lewis Park is great for me. Located in Whitestone, the park located below the Whitestone Bridge. The park is usually full of boujee white people who live in the neighborhood surrounding the park, Malba to be exact. I like to visit the park every now and then and often strike a conversation with the locals. The picture below shows a walkway and the bridge in the background. The park opens up to a view of the East River where you can often see kayakers in the summer time. I highly recommend you visit the park and get out the social norm of going to Central Park every time.

The Queens Botanical Garden is a natural retreat from the loud horns and daily rush of the city life. An “oasis” within the city as many call it. I chose this location because it is often overlooked and unheard of. This may seem like a bad thing, however remaining under the radar is what gives this garden/park its unique atmosphere. The park in its entirety is quite small compared to many other parks in the city such as Central Park. I included an aerial image of the park from Google Maps to represent the size difference to Central Park.

I have visited the garden several times before and usually ask someone special to join me. It always comes as a surprise to people who never knew this garden existed in Queens. The garden has a modern and contemporary vibe which is influenced by its architecture. The visitors building for example has a sleek design coupled with Swedish influence. Clean lines and sharp edges combined with natural landscape is a sight to see. This look is rare and uncommon to come by in the city. To get a glimpse of a landscape like the one in the Queens Botanical Garden, it may require you to travel to Long Island or Upstate. I have included and image of the Visitor’s Center to help you better understand the type of architecture I discussed.

The garden is also special because it hosts a lot of weddings. For many couples seeking an outdoor wedding without traveling too far, the garden offers great views of nature and plenty of space for a decent sized venue. Many weddings have taken place at the garden and many iconic shots have been taken by the famous Gazebo. I have included an image of that gazebo.

One interesting part of this garden is that it’s always evolving. Now of course it’s a garden so different flowers are planted each year. The difference is the orientation of these plants and flowers is ever changing. “The roses that were here are may be over there now!” The park also includes a pond and stream which flow under a little bridge. Small touches like these give an interesting look to the landscape. The picture below shows this attraction. The walkway is modern, and the stream is outlined with small rocks to better emphasize the flow of the water.

For people who have yet to visit the park, here is a little backdrop of what you can expect. As soon as entering the garden, a fee is required for obviously the up keep of the garden and to make the hard-working employees’ time worth the while. The admission fee for adults is around six dollars. After paying and walking into the garden, all you can see is plants, trees, flowers, and a path going many ways. I can assure you that it does not feel like you are in the city anymore. Buildings and other structures are visible however lessen as you travel deeper into the garden. As far as hearing, birds chirping, and leaves shuffling is quite common to hear, of course with slight honking in the background. As soon as entering into the park, you begin to feel better than you felt a few steps back. The fresh air is different because it’s being filtered by trees as it should. Walking down the street, nothing but brick and concrete buildings surround you. It’s impossible to get a fresher breath of air than the one in the garden. Also, any stress you have begins to melt away. It’s commonly known that walking in areas without cars or other machinery has a positive impact on your body compared to areas with heavy pollution. It’s no wonder you see many elderly people walking in gardens because it feels comfortable.

The rest of the garden is an adventure and small paths lead to beautiful plants. My favorite part of the garden is definitely the pond. Seeing water flow has never been so interesting until you step on the little bridge with a stream of water flowing under it. You can see small fishes in the water as well. The deck at the end of the stream is made of wood that has been painted and treated to give a modern touch to something very natural.

Now of course the garden is only so big and eventually comes to an end. However, reaching the end of the garden makes most people including me, anxious to turn around and experience the adventure again, this time in reverse. The garden makes me happy and helps me understand the importance of nature. I hope you can all pay it a visit one day.

Images copied from Google Maps

Central Park

Queens Botanical Garden

Visitor Center-https://bkskarch.com/work/queens-botanical-garden-visitor-administration-center/

Gazebo-https://www.mondebloqueur.com/2241086/nyc-wedding-photography-bride-and-groom-in-gazebo-in-queens-botanical-wedding-garden-attractive-queens-botanical-garden-wedding-3/

Pond with deck-https://www.timeout.com/new-york-kids/attractions/queens-botanical-garden

I will be visiting the Queens Botanical Garden.

This is Queens Library and I have been walking past it for almost eight years now. I remembered the last time I went in looking for my book and came out empty handed. So, today I went in hoping to find a book for class, and like a couple years ago, I came out empty handed. Just goes to show how reliable NYC libraries are.