By The TimesLedger
Bayside Times
1935
The very first Bayside Times was published on July 2, 1935.
1946
According to archives, when Queens Post Publishing bought the paper, The Bayside Times was located in Room 21 at 41-02 Bell Blvd. At that time, owner Frank Fay published The Bayside Times and The Broadway-Flushing Times, which then became known as The Flushing Times.
He was also printing The Little Neck-Douglaston Times. The first issue of all three papers under his ownership on Jan. 24, 1946 contained a note from the publisher in a box on the front page
1960
The newspaper was later bought by the Allisons, who merged it with The Little Neck Ledger in 1969. The offices were located at 214-11 41st Ave. for some 30 years before moving to the second floor at 41-02 Bell Blvd.
1989
Steven Blank bought both The Bayside Times and The Little Neck Ledger and expanded staff and space to add seven more community weekly newspapers.
The Little Neck Ledger
By the time The Bayside Times was just 3 years old, The Little Neck Ledger had already seen a succession of owners and editors. The exact date of the first issue remains a mystery. The Ledger may date back as far as 1918, although a 1940 edition at the Bayside Historical Society archives places it in 1926.
1938
The Ledger, founded by Arthur Culley of Floral Park, was bought by Mitchell Luther, who quickly resold it to Nat Palzer. At that time — and until the late 1950s — Kathleen Pitt-Smith, the wife of playwright Eugene O’Neill, was at the helm.
The eight-page Ledger was rapidly expanding into Douglaston, Great Neck and Bayside, covering social news, weddings, births and obituaries as well as bowling scores, the names of students in school plays, and pets that died.
1956
Carmine Gentile bought the Ledger. “It was something I hadn’t done before,” the retired businessman said. Gentile also expanded the paper’s coverage to compete with The Glen Oaks News.
1969
Under the Allisons, the Ledger was merged with The Bayside Times and The Glen Oaks News, expanding as far south as Floral Park.
“It stayed with local issues that concerned the whole section of northeast Queens, from the bay to Floral Park,” said David Allison, who ran the family business in the 1970s and 1980s.
1989
Steve Blank bought both The Bayside Times and The Little Neck Ledger and founded Queens Publishing Corp.
Queens Publishing
1991
The Whitestone Times was the first of 11 new sister papers, published in February.
1992
The Flushing Times opened in February.
1993
The Fresh Meadows Times made its debut in February and The Glen Oaks Ledger first hit newsstands in August.
1994
The Queens Village Times opened in August, marking the company’s first venture in southeastern Queens
1995
The Jamaica Times became the eighth paper in the chain in February and the Laurelton Times joined the Queens Publishing family in June.
1997
The Forest Hills Ledger opened May 1, becoming the 10th paper in the Times-Ledger family.
1998
The Richmond Hill Times opened, the Ridgewood Ledger appeared on the newsstands June 4, and the Astoria Times began, bringing the newspapers in the Times-Ledger chain to 13.
1999
The TimesLedger Newspapers joins the Internet generation when its Web site, www.timesledger.com, is launched. “In a sense we have almost become a daily paper online,” said Publisher Steve Blank.
2002
The Howard Beach Times, the 14th paper in the TimesLedger family, debuts in early May, just a few weeks before legendary mafioso and Howard Beach resident John Gotti dies.
