Ever since the dawn of its establishment, Astoria has increasingly become an attractive location for many who seek convenient transportation and relatively low rent. Throughout history, Astoria has successfully transitioned from a plantation, industrial area to a location that enjoys the balance between residential and commercial sectors.
When we look at the demographic change of residents who reside in Astoria, the age range has gradually dropped throughout history. Rather than being a family oriented neighborhood, Astoria has increasingly become a haven for young professional workers. (Check Demographics for detail.)
In fact, compared to other neighborhoods in Queens (Flushing, 16%), Astoria shows relatively high annual residential turnover rate, 27%, that is comparable to that of Manhattan’s 23%. In addition, while the age bracket and highest education achieved seemed to be in-between that of both neighborhoods, generally, the data shows stronger correlation to that of Manhattan’s than other parts of Queens. [1] The main element that differentiates Astoria from Manhattan is the cost of living. Buyer power ratio in Manhattan is 48.31% higher than Astoria’s. [1]
Despite the relatively lower rent, throughout history (1974-2010) , the housing price of Astoria was generally higher than that of New York. [2]
Housing Price Appreciation Index, 2-4 Family Buildings by Community District from 1974 to 2010
This leads to the low housing stability and high percentage of houses that were rented(74.4%) than owned(16.0%). [1] In fact, the high turnover rate suggests, the dynamic atmosphere of the area, constantly filling with artists and young professionals, and the speed of which gentrification occurs.
http://www.elliman.com/new-york-city/astoria
Government Revitalization Efforts
From 2000 to 2010, Astoria has seen steady increase of housing prices thanks to the constant revitalization efforts by the local government. In 2002, “Revitalize Astoria“[3] campaign initiated to improve the streets in Astoria, enriching local businesses, and boosting local economy first by installing antique lights on Steinway Street, Broadway, 30th Avenue, Ditmars Boulevard and 31st Street. The effort to revitalize the area continued through renovation of the cultural arts venues from 2008 to 2011.
There has been a surge of units authorized by new residential building permits between late 2009 and 2010/11, from 37 to 862. This seems to be the result of the rezoning plan and the Inclusionary Housing Program [4] within the rezoning area that initiated to incentivize the development of affordable housing.
In fact, the median sales price of homes showed slight decrease since 2010, in which rezoning plan and inclusionary housing program started to take effect.
Inclusionary housing that started as a means to inhibit gentrification and rising housing costs, however, seem to have backfired. When we look at the number of sales since 2009, we can see it is gradually increasing. The increase of affordable housing seems to have attracted the group of people who triggered gentrification in the first place, such as young professionals, college students, and various immigrants of considerable amount of wealth that add to cultural diversity and tolerance.
Crime rate in Astoria
Historical Perspective on Crime in Astoria – NYC.gov Statistics
As usually happens in gentrifying neighborhoods, major crime in all categories has gone way down over time (except for rape, which has predictably fluctuated with the economy.) This makes Astoria even more desirable as a location for people to live, which drives demand, which drives rental prices even higher.
Population and Housing Discrepancy Issue
There has been concerns regarding the negative correlation between the population data and the actual amount on population influx in Astoria. Data accumulated by government agencies suggested that Astoria had the biggest drop in population, which decreased by nearly 15,000 people, despite the neighborhood being home to one of the borough’s booming real estate markets, and its reputation for being a desirable place to live in Queens, which was also supported by steadily increasing rent appreciation rate. [5]
http://furmancenter.org/files/sotc/QN_01_11.pdf
[1] http://www.elliman.com/new-york-city/astoria
[2] http://datasearch.furmancenter.org/
[3] http://www.qgazette.com/news/2002-10-30/Front_page/012.html
[4] http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/zone/zh_inclu_housing.shtml
[5] http://www.queenstribune.com/feature/Feature_033111.html
