Date: 4/25/16
Sandy and I arrived at Astoria around 11:19AM. The weather was mostly sunny at 64 degrees Fahrenheit. I took the same train as last time but got off at a different stop, Astoria-Ditmars. My first impression of this area is different from what I witnessed last time. There were many more ethnic food restaurants and bars. There were visibly more Greek cuisine than the area we visited last time. The names of these restaurants are also very obviously Greek (ex. Dionysus Restaurant, Manavi Market). Also there were more fast food chain restaurants in the Ditmars area, including BareBurger.
The residential area was similar to what I saw last time. This time, I paid more attention of what type of housing there was. The most prevalent form of housing was two-family and three-family homes. This shows that this area is mostly occupied by middle class working families. When we walked around the residential area, it was extremely quiet except for the areas where passing trains such as the subway and Amtrak can be heard. The noise level is definitely a concern for new residents of this area, according to our research online. For older residents, however, the noise of passing trains are no longer audible because they are so used to it.
We continued walking down the street and went to Astoria Park. Again, the area was really quiet except for the occasional passing of Amtrak. We sat there for a while and enjoyed the weather that day. It was quite a relaxing place for people sit, do exercises or jog. This park is a great asset to this neighborhood as it provides scenery and entertainment for local residents. We observed a woman with her baby sitting on the lawn and toddlers running around. During our time there, I smelled water and grass most strongly, as the park is near East River.
From this trip, what really stood out to me is that Astoria is really a community. It might not seem that way because New Yorker are not particularly known for close personal relationships with their neighbors, but the abundant family stores we observed convinced me otherwise. While walking on Ditmars, we also saw several old men sitting outside a coffee shop smoking and conversing with one another. In my neighborhood, Forest Hills, I don’t see a lot of this happening. Maybe I am not as observant because I’m not doing a project in my own neighborhood, but Astoria really gives me a different feel. We took a lot of pictures and also sound bites during this trip so we can incorporate into sense on our website.
