A Weekend in Queens

A trip to my favorite borough.

As some of you may know, I used to live in Queens pre-pandemic. I actually moved out in 2019, so I managed to miss all the craziness that happened in 2020 and still going on today.

I’m grateful for that.

Last week, I had an opportunity to go back and visit the place where I used to live. As in, the exact same house. My friends live there now. So, that’s exactly what I did.

After classes ended on Thursday, I packed a quick bag and drove out with a close friend of mine to our destination- Forest Hills, Queens.

Austin Street is a little street that has great food and shopping. Some of my favorite places on the street are the Red Pipe Cafe, the Pink Forest Cafe, and Michaels’ Bagels.

But Forest Hills has changed dramatically since I’ve lived here, as New York has changed, in both good and bad ways.

People are friendlier now than they’ve ever been here. I was out for a walk, and I made eye contact with a bunch of people and even smiled at them.

Or as much as you can, through a mask.

That’s not something that happens often when you’re living in New York. People generally mind their own business and do their own things, with a “leave me alone” attitude. Which is fine. In fact, I kind of like that about the city.

Another instance was when we were on the Long Island Railroad. We took a ride into Manhattan last night and on the way back, a random lady chatted with us.

And she wasn’t weird. All New Yorkers know what I’m talking about when I say how weird that is.

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