{"id":21081,"date":"2011-04-25T12:11:06","date_gmt":"2011-04-25T16:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=21081"},"modified":"2020-12-19T01:44:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-19T05:44:32","slug":"things-to-do-vernon-boulevard-queens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/21081\/things-to-do-vernon-boulevard-queens\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens For a Day: Things to Do on Vernon Boulevard"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vernon Boulevard is long. Really long. More than 100 minutes long, more than 200 minutes long. This thoroughfare bevels its way from the Long Island Expressway up to Astoria, along the western coast of Queens<\/a>. Exploring the stretch between 51st and 46th Avenues provides an excellent sense of Long Island City\u2019s newly trendy spirit while making sure you don\u2019t overly tax yourself or get too thirsty.<\/p>\n

Exit the subway on 50th Avenue, turn left onto Vernon, and make your way over to Vernon Mall<\/strong><\/a>. Visitors looking for cheap jewelry from Claire\u2019s or hats from Lids will be disappointed, however, as this isn\u2019t that kind of mall. Instead, the strip of concrete topped with benches and trees is named for British admiral Edward Vernon (1684\u20131757). Say a quick thanks that the park and street bear his actual appellation, rather than his nickname, which was derived from both a coat he wore and a rum drink he served his men. You could, after all, now be standing on Old Grog Boulevard.<\/p>\n

Speaking of drinks, PJ Leahy\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> (No. 50-02) pours hefty pints and screens all manner of sporting events. It\u2019s a testament to the neighborhood\u2019s steadfastness that the pub manages to survive among other ritzier watering holes. Nearby, Domaine Bar a Vins<\/strong><\/a> (No. 50-04) and Tournesol<\/strong><\/a> (No. 50-12) exude an entirely different atmosphere. Try the almost nightly jazz concerts at the former, the housemade foie gras terrine at the latter. If the lack of blooms on the mall got you down, pop into fLorEsta<\/strong><\/a> (No. 51-02), about where the sidewalk ends, for an exotic arrangement.<\/p>\n

\"Looking

By this point, you\u2019ve no doubt noticed another curious feature of Queens cartography: many roads and avenues have the same name. As you cross 47th Road and 47th Avenue, for instance, don\u2019t forget to look left. The Manhattan skyline is playing peekaboo with you. Temper (or toast) the intense beauty of all that glass and steel with a stop at Dominie\u2019s Hoek<\/strong> (No. 48-17), a bright blue bar with a year-round garden.<\/p>\n

Ahead of you is the recently renamed Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge<\/strong>. Behind is the elevated Long Island Expressway. If so much traffic has you feeling fenced in, you can always turn down a cross street to the East River waterfront. 47th Road leads to Gantry Plaza State Park<\/strong><\/a>, home to the iconic Pepsi sign. Or you can focus on a different type of liquid at Lounge 47 <\/strong>(No. 47-10). In the early 1980s, this writer’s family had the same knobby plaid couch as the one near the bar. For a light bite, pop into Blend<\/strong> (No. 47-04), a Latin fusion restaurant, for its so-called tapatizers, including mazorca (corn topped with mayo).<\/p>\n

\"Manducatis

End by popping into LIC Bar<\/strong><\/a> (No. 45-58), nestled among auto repair and electrical supply stores. Make sure to look up at the original tin ceiling and over at the refurbished wood bar, details that go back almost as far as the aforementioned Societa. Salute!<\/em><\/p>\n

Got a few more minutes? Hoof it to Socrates Sculpture Park<\/a><\/strong> (No. 32-01). You\u2019ll be rewarded for your efforts with challenging, giant sculpture and, if you\u2019re truly lucky, lots and lots of licks. (Residents often use the park as a huge dog run.) Or stay in the neighborhood and visit the Chocolate Factory<\/strong><\/a> (5-49 49th Avenue, at Vernon), a performance space and art gallery.<\/em><\/p>\n

How to get there:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Take the 7 train from Times Square or Grand Central to Vernon Boulevard\u2013Jackson Avenue. As always, caveat rider: remember to check MTA<\/a> for service advisories.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photos:New York City Department<\/a>,\u00a0Garrett Ziegler<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vernon Boulevard is long. Really long. More than 100 minutes long, more than 200 minutes long. This thoroughfare bevels its way from the Long Island Expressway up to Astoria, along the western coast of Queens. Exploring the stretch between 51st and 46th Avenues provides an excellent sense of Long Island City\u2019s newly trendy spirit while […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":55430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[325,759,315,1869,770,326,774,849,751],"tags":[195,125,391,577,84,175,257],"class_list":{"0":"post-21081","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"category-bar-activity-2","9":"category-day-trips","10":"category-editors-picks","11":"category-food-drink","12":"category-queens-outer-boroughs-destination","13":"category-restaurants-food-drink","14":"category-shopping-2","15":"category-walk","16":"tag-bars","17":"tag-food","18":"tag-history","19":"tag-parks","20":"tag-shopping","21":"tag-subway","22":"tag-walking-tour"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":55430,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/14384577286_762a5b7695_k-e1481762984864-350x197.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}