New Year’s resolutions, Queens style

By Victoria Merlino

It’s 2020 now, and in the traditional New Year’s fashion, we’re all scratching our heads trying to think up doable, attainable New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions tend to be a slog, but not all of them have to be “go to bed earlier” or “eat more salads.” Here are three Eagle resolutions — Queens-themed, of course — that we’re looking forward to accomplishing this year. Will you join us?

Tour one of Queens’ cultural landmarks

Who wants to deal with the crowds at Manhattan’s museums, the Bronx Zoo or the Brooklyn Botanic Garden when Queens has its own world class cultural institutions? Take a peek behind the celluloid and see how films are made at Astoria’s Museum of the Moving Image; stop and smell the roses — or the Mexican bush sage — at Flushing’s Queens Botanical Garden; or catch a sick Instagram flick at landmarks like the Long Island City Pepsi-Cola sign and the Louis Armstrong House in Corona.

Attend a community event

A lot happens at the hyper-local level in Queens. Whether its a community board-sponsored  meeting on bail reform, a public input meeting on a massive land use project like Sunnyside Yards, or a town hall with the mayor in Southeast Queens, community meetings and events are where decisions are made and where things happen. Though many New Yorkers won’t have time to attend every community board meeting in their neighborhood, or understand what every protest is about, take some time to scout out an issue that interests you, and make some waves. To get started, find out when community boards meet by visiting nyc.gov. 

Taste a dish you’ve never tried

Queens is called the World’s Borough for a reason: it’s one of the most diverse places on the planet. A little under half of all residents were born outside of the United States, with each person bringing their own cultural traditions, heritage and, importantly, their food. It’s no secret that Queens is the true food capital of New York City (sorry Manhattan), and what better way to spend a Saturday in 2020 sampling the best of what it has to offer. Whether you’ve been dying to try Tiger Sugar’s bubble tea in Flushing or arepas in Jackson Heights, let this be your year.