46 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JANUARY 11, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Photo: Facebook/New York Hall of Science
Make your own lightsabers at the Hall of Science in Queens
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
You don’t need to go to a galaxy far, far
away to build your own lightsaber — just
take a trip to Corona.
Th e New York Hall of Science, located
at 47-01 111th St. will be hosting the
Star Wars-inspired “Make It: Lightsaber”
workshop over the next three weekends
in January. Recommended for children
ages 6 and up, the 90-minute interactive
workshop teaches kids about the power of
light and simple circuits while young Jedi
padawans can make their own lightsaber.
Th e New York Hall of Science will be
hosting the workshops on the weekends
of Jan. 13 & 14 and Jan. 20 & 21. Each
day off ers two sessions, one from 1:30 to
3 p.m. and the other from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Tickets are available for $5 per adult
and child pair, plus the cost of admission
into the museum. For more information,
visit nysci.org.
Queens musician set for historic homecoming at Neir’s Tavern
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@qns.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
Wes Houston became a household
name playing gigs across Queens and
Long Island during the 1970s and 1980s,
but there was one historic venue that he
couldn’t check off his list until now.
On Jan. 20, Houston and his band,
the Wes Houston Trio, will take the
stage at Neir’s Tavern, the long-standing
Woodhaven watering hole founded in
1829. Over the years, Neir’s became well
known as the backdrop in scenes from
“Goodfellas” and “Tower Heist,” which
fi lmed inside the bar. But to Houston it
has a more personal signifi cance as the
spot where his grandfather was a regular
performer with his orchestra in the
early 1900s.
“It’s pretty crazy, and tough to put
into words,” Houston, a lifelong Queens
Village resident, told QNS. “When I say
it’s like I’m closing the circle everyone
looks at me like I’m going to drop dead
the next day.”
Yet, full-circle is the only way to
describe Houston’s upcoming show. He
remembers his grandfather, R. Petersen,
telling stories of playing at Neir’s and
still has some of the programs from those
performances more than 100 years later.
Houston’s grandmother used to warn
him about the fi nancial struggles of being
a musician, while Petersen told him about
the joys of playing and performing. “I
always went with his stories,” Houston
said.
Neir’s has been a staple in the
Woodhaven area for nearly two centuries,
but it almost disappeared eight years
ago. Th at’s when owner Loycent Gordon
heard it was three days away from shutting
down, so he took a chance on it
despite having no experience running a
bar, he said. Gordon thinks it would have
been a “disgrace” if someone hadn’t kept
Neir’s around, and he has been on a mission
to promote its historical importance
ever since taking over.
Houston’s performance is the latest
example, he said.
“Th is is just another testament to
the importance that Neir’s plays for
Woodhaven and the New York City historical
landscape,” Gordon said. “And
family history is just as important.”
Th e gig came together on a whim, when
Houston decided to stop at Neir’s for
lunch aft er visiting his relatives’ graves
in Cypress Hills Cemetery, he said. Aft er
striking up a conversation with general
manager Yvette Cuevas, a 35-year
Woodhaven native, Houston mentioned
his grandfather’s playing days at the
bar. Th e two immediately started talking
about setting up a show.
“It’s what we’re all about,” Cuevas said.
“Everybody that used to come to Neir’s
used to come in to hear the stories.”
Th e Wes Houston Trio will hit the stage
at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20. Th e trio is
formed by Queens natives Ray Forgione
on the drums, Steve Hawk on the bass
guitar, and Houston on the guitar and
vocals. Houston said that he is looking
forward to adding to Neir’s history,
his own history, and performing for the
friendly people of Woodhaven, no matter
how many come to watch.
“It should be a lot of fun, I just feel I
have to do this one,” Houston said. “I told
the guys if we don’t break numbers or get
a big crowd, that’s OK, too.”
The Wes Houston Trio will be performing at
Neir’s Tavern on Jan. 20.
courtesy of Wes Houston