EVERY few years I check in on what’s happening with the Skyline Diner at the Hunters Point Avenue #7 train at 49th Avenue and 21st Street. You may think a diner by a subway station and a Long Island Rail Road stop would be a choice spot but that’s not the case, as the station is still largely in no man’s land, as the LIRR Hunters Point station is used only by a few trains in the morning and evening. t’s a shame to see a classic chrome diner sitting empty and going to waste, but that’s exactly what has happened at 21-17 49th Avenue adjacent to the Sunnyside railroad yard since 2011. It’s a Mountain View diner originally known as the Skyline and has been in place since 1952.
When I encountered it in 2008 it was recently closed after having been known as the Blue Sky Diner. Handwritten signs were taped to the windows.
In 2010-2011, the Skyline enjoyed a brief period when it was the hottest “diner” in Queens, as the high-concept steakhouse M. Wells occupied the space, with fare such as bone marrow stuffed with escargot. Williamsburgers and Greenpointites flocked in, despite the prices. However, after a year the property owner raised the rent dramatically and Wells relocated to 43-15 Crescent Street as well as another restaurant near PS 1.
Since then, the diner has stood unoccupied, as many owners will hold out however long it takes till they get the rent they want. The future of the Skyline is still filled with murk, and the local youth have set to work “decorating” it.
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7/26/2022