Writing New York

In District 29 (Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens; parts of Maspeth, Richmond, Elmhurst) council member Melinda Katz has a plan underway. Become pregnant. She is successful now and has made front page news. Of course other council members have kids but the way Katz went about it has made some raise their eye brows.

Katz has used In vitro Fertilization to get pregnant, a process where the egg is fertilized outside the womb. Katz, 42 and single claims that she has tried many times before to get pregnant but failed. She comes from a family active in the city. Her late father, Maestro David Katz founded the Queens Symphony Orchestra and her late mother, Jeanne Dale Katz founded the Queens Center for Arts. Since 1994 Melinda Katz has been involved with New York politics.

Currently Katz is running for City Comptroller and has recently voted against Congestion Pricing. She is also very close to giving birth. Katz is 8 months pregnant. She only gained 10 lbs in the process and sports only a small bump, which is why she was able to keep it a secret for so long.

Walking up the hill towards Austin street on Lefferts BLVD might get you a little hungry. You’ll pass a Chinese food store, walk a couple blocks and see another. But the best thing about this area is the pizza. The only problem is deciding which place you’re going to eat at. Theres two pizzerias and they are right across from each other. The first is Dani’s. Dani’s pizza is a little restaurant/pizzeria. It sits on a corner on the hilly landscape, much of it is restaurant but their is a pizzeria in the front. You can sit on stools and eat your pizza at the counter. Beer from around the world is advertised and as you eat the restaurant is a buzz with people. After 5 there is normally a line that goes out the front door, mainly because people just come out of the railroad and are looking for a quick snack.

Dani’s has been around for over 40 years, making them the only pizza shop in the area. However during 2005-2006 there was major renovations going on across the street. A sign read “Singas Famous Pizza Coming Soon”. One customer shook his head when asked about how he felt when he found out another pizzeria was opening, “It’s stupid, how you gonna open up a pizza shop across from a pizza shop”. Well, Singas soon opened and Dani’s waited, what would happen. Nothing much actually, turns out that they both had different approaches.

Danis pizza was a thinner traditional New York style pizza. They had a much more sweeter taste to their pizza than normal pizzerias. Their pies were large and cooked in a brick oven. One slice cost $2. Singas on the other hand sells a pie for $4, however their pies are small and really equal about 2 of Dani’s pizza, so in a way their pretty much the same in terms of cost and size. Singa’s pies have a unique taste, its a little more savory than sweet. They cook their pizzas in 2 giant gas ovens unlike Dani’s. However the atmosphere at Singa’s is more pleasant. Walk in and you’ll find clean tables with benches, a real upgrade over Dani’s small stools. You won’t hear a a commotion of people at Singa’s as you would at Dani’s, because theres no restaurant attached, its just a pizzeria. The lights at Singa’s are bright and shine down on the stainless steel oven like a piece of jewelry. The bathroom is clean and theres even a small sink in the corner of the restaurant for people to wash off pizza grease. Best of all Singas delivers so I can get my pizza fix without waiting on line. As much as I like the traditional place (Dani’s), Singa’s just does pizza right. If your ever in the neighborhood (Austin St. and Lefferts in Kew Gardens) stop by and judge for yourself, I’m betting you’ll like Singa’s though.