See new dance works at Green Space on Sunday, November 15th, at 7 p.m. with Fertile Ground returning for another performance. The program features works in progress by Audrey Webb, Taegan Rose Smith, Isabella Terrazas, Barbara Mahler Dances, and Poppy Louise Miller. Fertile Ground gives emerging and established choreographers a place to experiment and share developing work. After the performances, join a discussion with wine, moderated by Artistic Director Valerie Green, and offer feedback to help artists develop their work. OANA encourages neighbors to support local artists and experience the creative process firsthand. Event Details Date: Sunday, November 15, 2026, at 7 p.m. Location: Green Space, 37-24 24th Street, Suite 211, Long Island City, NY 11101 Admission: $20 in advance; $22 at the door Purchase tickets here.

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With winter approaching, rising heating-oil costs are putting pressure on Astoria homeowners, especially seniors and others living on limited incomes. In OANA’s latest op-ed, President Richard Khuzami calls for temporary, targeted relief to help resident-homeowners afford the fuel they need while supporting a longer-term transition to cleaner energy. Read the Op-Ed

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Art can give people a way to express what is difficult to put into words. At Rikers Island, creative arts therapists bring that opportunity into mental health care, helping patients find expression through music, visual art, writing, and performance. Their work, and the creativity of the people they serve, deserves our community’s attention. This exhibition came to our attention through Jeff Angell, a creative arts therapy supervisor and music therapist at Rikers Island’s Robert N. Davoren Complex. Jeff is a terrific bass player, and his wife, Jennie, is a wonderful vocalist. We’re pleased to share the important work Jeff and his fellow creative arts therapists do and to help bring their patients’ creativity to a wider audience. OANA is pleased to share Enlivened Arts as Resistance, the tenth multimedia exhibition from NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services’ Creative Arts Therapy program. More than 120 participants contributed over 150 works, including poems, illustrations, plays, and musical tracks. Available online, the exhibition offers the public an opportunity to see and hear creative voices from inside the city’s correctional health system. The Therapists Behind the Work Correctional Health Services has 13 creative arts therapists, working primarily with patients in mental health therapeutic housing units at Rikers Island. Patients participate in individual and group sessions with licensed creative arts therapists as part of their mental health treatment. This is not simply an opportunity to pass the time: creative expression is part of their care. The exhibition brings that work beyond the walls of the facilities. It invites audiences to recognize the imagination, skill, and individuality of people whose lives are too often understood only through their incarceration. As the program’s director, Dr. Barbara Bethea, explains, the exhibition represents patients who “use art to resist stigma and marginalization.” A Chance to Be Seen and Heard...

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The Lux Hotel LIC at 37-25 12th Street in LIC has been acquired for $12.4 million by hotel owner Ravinder Chopra, according to city records reported by Crain’s New York Business. The 11-story, 64-room hotel opened in late 2024. The acquisition adds to Chopra’s portfolio of properties in Queens and Manhattan, which includes Hotel Key Flushing, Sky Hotel Flushing, and the Tribeca Hotel FiDi in Lower Manhattan. The seller, developer Harshad Patel, reportedly purchased the property as vacant land for $1.2 million in August 2013. The sale follows another hotel transaction by Patel, who sold the 57-room Mirage Hotel in Crown Heights for $14.5 million in February 2025. Read more on Crains here.  

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With the upcoming cold weather approaching, HEAT USA is welcoming new members to its heating oil buying program. The program has helped households save on heating costs since it began in 1985. According to a recent HEAT USA press release, the program serves more than 50,000 members and is the largest heating oil buying program in the United States. The organization reports annual member savings of $300 to $500, with average heating oil savings ranging from 15 to 25 cents or more per gallon. Membership also includes a free or discounted service contract. Benefits include 24-hour emergency service during the heating season and a free tune-up during the spring or summer, helping members maintain their heating systems throughout the year. Residents who use heating oil can contact HEAT USA to learn more about membership, pricing, and service contract details. For more information visit heatusa.com.

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NYC Ferry has started using their off-season boats to work as floating science classrooms for NYC public school students. The new “Floating Classroom” program, developed by NYC Ferry, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and Billion Oyster Project, will offer 90-minute educational rides focused on marine biology, climate change, and maritime careers. The initiative aims to serve 10,000 K–12 public school students each year. Educators from Billion Oyster Project will lead the voyages, bringing lessons about oysters, marine life, and water quality out of the classroom and onto the harbor. The nonprofit, which works to restore oyster reefs in New York Harbor, already provides curriculum, teacher training, and hands-on science programs across 109 schools. The Floating Classroom will expand opportunities for students to experience the environment they are studying firsthand. Schedule The program will operate twice daily on weekdays, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., from Labor Day through Memorial Day. Introducing Students to Maritime Careers Alongside environmental science, the program will introduce students to careers connected to New York Harbor. That connection is already exists at the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School on Governors Island but NYC Ferry is hoping to expand it helping graduates to work as captains and deckhands. Read more in the New York Daily News.

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Now on view at Socrates Sculpture Park: new works by Xayvier Haughton and Andrew Cornell Robinson as part of “Artists Choose Artists,” celebrating the Park’s 40th anniversary. Explore Haughton’s monumental sculpture inspired by his Jamaican heritage and Robinson’s installation of ceramic bells painted by local students and neighbors at the Sculpture Park. Read more here.

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The Burger King property on Astoria Boulevard has sold for $20 million. While many have enjoyed late-night Whoppers at this particular establishment, the door is now open for potential mixed-use development. According to Patch Amara Astoria LLC purchased the burger joint’s property between Hoyt Avenue South and 34th Street. The seller, Stage Coach Associates LLC, had owned it since 1981. Former Marketing materials suggest the site could accommodate around 97,000 sq ft of residential, commercial or office space. A rendering shows a nine-story building but there are no official development plans. Read the original article on Patch.com.

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The Noguchi Museum invites families to explore art, light, and creativity this November, with activities ranging from drop-in gallery art-making to programs designed for toddlers and their caregivers. Free First Friday | Friday, November 6, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Enjoy free Museum admission all day, with art-making activities in the galleries from 2:30–4:30 p.m. Visitors of all ages are welcome, and advance reservations are not required. Gallery Kit | Saturday, November 7, 2:30–4:30 p.m. Explore Isamu Noguchi’s work and current exhibitions through hands-on art-making. Each session begins with a question that encourages participants to experiment with materials and ideas. Open to all ages and experience levels; no advance registration is required. Open Studio: Play with Paper | November 15, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Families with children of all ages can discover Noguchi’s Akari light sculptures, then experiment with paper to create their own containers for light in the Education Studio. No advance registration is required. Art for Families: Continuity | Saturday, November 21, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Families with children ages 5–11 will explore repeated circles and curves in Noguchi’s sculptures, then create mixed-media collages inspired by the theme of continuity. Register here. Art for Tots: Light, Ages 3–4 | Sunday, November 22, 10:30–11:30 a.m. Preschoolers and their caregivers will explore Akari light sculptures and opposites such as bright and dark, while learning ways to navigate museum spaces together. Register here. Art for Tots: Light, Ages 1–2 | Tuesday, November 24, 10:30–11:30 a.m. The Museum’s youngest learners and their caregivers can explore light and dark through Noguchi’s Akari sculptures and sensory material exploration. Register here. To learn more, please visit the Noguchi Museum website here.

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No Ordinary Light: Akari at 75 Opening November 4th at The Noguchi Museum, No Ordinary Light: Akari at 75 celebrates 75 years of Isamu Noguchi’s light sculptures. The exhibition brings Akari together with his work in stone, metal, and clay and explores how he displayed the lights in different settings. Free First Friday As always, on Friday, November 6th, neighbors can see the new exhibition for free from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. No reservation is needed. Visitors of all ages can also stop by the galleries for art-making from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Drawing from a Distance On Monday, November 16th, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., join a free online drawing session to explore Noguchi’s work and spend an evening sketching with others from home. Noguchi Talks with Alanna Heiss and Martin Puryear On Wednesday, November 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., Alanna Heiss and sculptor Martin Puryear will discuss what it means to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale. Heiss commissioned Noguchi’s exhibition there in 1986, and Puryear represented the country in 2019. The talk is free, but seating is limited. Please reserve a seat in advance.

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