(source: Sunnyside Post)

It may be technically illegal, as the New York Times recently
reported, but one psychic in Queens has found a unique way to save on
rent, the Sunnyside Post reported. The psychic has in effect subleased
the front of a large grocery store on 43rd Avenue in Sunnyside between
42nd and 43rd streets. Instead of taking up her own property, she sits
in the box in front of the store, where she charges $5 for a palm
reading. According to the Sunnyside Post, the store charges the
psychic, who started her business in the past 10 days, $300 per
month. [Sunnyside Post]  [more]

Sunnyside, Queens (source: Dept. of City Planning)

The City Council today approved the rezoning of Sunnyside and Woodside, which aims to protect the lower-density character of those neighborhoods while allowing for a moderate increase in residential and commercial density along main corridors, according to the Department of City Planning. Encompassing about 130 city blocks, the zoning area had been unchanged since 1961. With the neighborhood growing and becoming more diverse, the current zoning can result in unpredictable building types leading to out-of-character construction, according to the Department of City Planning. –  Miranda Neubauer [more]

A proposal to rezone a 130-block swath of Queens’ Sunnyside and Woodside neighborhoods — what would be the first rezoning of the area since 1974 — has entered its public review period, City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden announced today. The proposed zoning changes would target Queens Boulevard’s main corridor for “moderate new development” by setting height limits on other, mostly-residential blocks and would provide incentives for affordable housing through the city’s Inclusionary Housing Program. In Sunnyside, the rezoning would allow for small sidewalk cafes on Queens Boulevard in order to liven up the neighborhood. TRD [more]

A flurry of retail closings along the prime shopping corridor in Sunnyside, Queens has residents of one of the borough’s most desired neighborhoods worried that the area will soon lose its cachet. According to the Wall Street Journal, among the recent departures from Queens Boulevard, between 40th and 46th streets, are the Starberry yogurt and ice cream shop, the Diving Bell bar, Jennifer Accessories and Rose Restaurant. Many of the businesses that remain are barely holding on, said Bill Psitos, the longtime owner of Sunnyside Florist, and meanwhile, a pair of pawn shops have moved into vacant spaces on the strip — a departure from the image that residents had hoped Sunnyside would project. Comments

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126-32 144th Street

From the January issue: Queens has been called the “Ground Zero” of the New York foreclosure crisis, with the most filings citywide for the past three years.
But while areas like Jamaica and Queens Village have garnered the most attention because of the devastation they’ve endured due to the sheer number of foreclosures there, the community districts that have seen the greatest increase in foreclosure filings are some of the borough’s more well-off areas.
The two solidly middle-class community districts that include Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, Sunnyside and Woodside saw the greatest spike in the average number of foreclosure filings per quarter, at 64 percent during the first three quarters of last year. In contrast, Jamaica and Queens Village saw increases of 17 percent and 32 percent, respectively. 

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