Month: October 2021

Juggling. That’s what Nicole Panettieri excels at. She has two babies – a 2-year-old named Nate and a 7-year-old she called, for no deep, compelling reason, other than that it sounds so cute, The Brass Owl. Nicole opened The Brass Owl in 2014. Each is more than a full-time job, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Nate is at home with his father, so things will be a little easier at The Brass Owl today. Nicole, who lives within walking distance of the shop, has long, dark…

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You’ve never drunk The Green Fairy? Don Spiro grabs a glass goblet, chilled water and a nearly empty bottle of the spirited spirit also known as absinthe. Don’s the co-founder of The Green Fairy Society. Planting his Panama hat at a rakish angle, he heads to the rooftop, a covid-safe party space. As he pours the amber-emerald liquid into the glass, Don, who’s wearing the ghost of a grey goatee and a vintage Cuban celadon guayabera that complements the color of the absinthe,…

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It was a couple of cups of coffee at Mike’s Diner that got the creativity flowing. Astoria Art Bites setting up at Mike’s Diner at 22-37 31st St. Vendula Kalinova, a fashion designer and artist, is a regular at the mammoth-menu eatery, which is a neighborhood fixture at the Ditmars stop. It just so happens that Idania Flores, who designs jewelry for animal-rescue organizations to sell at fund-raisers, is generally the server who takes her order. Vendula shows her paintings. As…

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Gregg Peters isn’t wearing a white jumpsuit. This is a startling fashion statement from a guy who has made his living impersonating Elvis for 43 years – one longer than the King of Rock and Roll was on this planet. Elvis has entered the building. The jumpsuit, even by Elvis standards, is a little flashy for a Saturday morning interview in New York City Bagel & Coffee House at Astoria’s Broadway stop, so Gregg has come conservatively costumed. He’s wearing a jet black “Viva…

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The sunlight streams through the windows, illuminating Karen Fitzgerald’s studio, shining a spotlight on her circular paintings. The works, rimmed in gold, silver or copper halos, glitter like celestial coins as Karen, a petite presence who possesses a profound, positive energy, rocks rhythmically in a chair below. Karen’s colorful studio. Their roundness, their wholeness, is a reminder that we are all connected, we are all part of the circle and cycle of life in the cosmos. Karen’s…

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