Astoria, the neighborhood of Queens that is right along side the East side river where many who know it adore it and love it. It is one of the few places in NYC whose rent is rising, but not so high that it is being gentrified. Many view this neighborhood as a friendly neighborhood, which still is true to the New Yorker spirit. Much of the community is Greek, but recently the neighborhood has welcomed in slews of different immigrants from all around the world. Many are currently leaving Manhattan for the lower rents in Astoria. There is diversity in this neighborhood, a rich history, and a long lasting heritage of immigrants. It is also the site where many of the big time blockbusters of today are filmed, making Astoria not only a neighborhood, but a beacon of the arts. Its true New Yorker spirit, combined with its inclination towards the arts, and its lower rent, makes Astoria something special. Most who live here are happy with their neighborhood, and most agree that Astoria has a certain appeal to it, one that hopefully is not lost as the city continues to grow and change.
Astoria has come a long way from its beginnings, it has become a home for diversity for the arts, and a city outside of Manhattan, but it did not start that way. Back when the town was originally being created New York did not exist like it did today. Manhattan was all there was to the city, and the rest was essentially farmland dotted with houses every now and then. Originally Astoria was called Hallets cove (Astoria.org). However, in the 1830’s John Jacobs Astor, then the richest man in the world, and by todays standards he would be among the top ten, invested $500 dollars in Hallets Cove (Astoria.org). From then on the village would be known as Astoria, and the name never changed. Astoria became popular for its arts in the 1850’s when Steinway and Sons began to build their world famous pianos and built buildings for their employees (Astoria.org). Many of the residents around the area of Steinway Street love the history of the relationship between the workers and owners at Steinway, it has become part of the tale of what Astoria is. The Steinway Family even provided schooling for their workers children, in English and German. At this point most of America and New York’s immigrants were German. The 20th Century would see Astoria become the beacon of Greek immigration in New York.
Astoria soon would become the village of the Greeks in the 1950’s as much of Greece began to immigrate to Astoria. It is claimed that today Astoria is the second on the list for the most Greek speaking population, second to Greece. This is because a massive demographic shift occurred in the 20th Century as tons of Greeks flocked to New York, particularly Astoria. Soon after that much of the population would continue to change (Shepard, Astoria). Joe Salvo reports that the current diversity of immigrants into Astoria is greater than anywhere else in the city. Greeks, Bangladeshi, Arabians, Mexicans, Egyptians, Tibetans, all come to Astoria (Slavo, Newest New Yorkers). Many of these groups are part of the second big wave of immigration to Astoria that occurred around the 1970’s and 80’s. Currently Astoria is one of the ten largest immigrant neighborhoods in the city. In total there are ten different ethnicities in Astoria each amounting to about 5-7% of the population of Astoria, with 10% being native-born Greeks (Salvo, Newest New Yorkers). This high influx of Greeks in the early 50’s establishes a main part of Astoria’s culture, its food. One could ask a random person on the streets of Astoria what to eat, and they will say Greek food. In fact Amy, a recent resident of the Ditmars area of Astoria stated, “I just can’t eat enough Greek or Italian food. A bunch of new bars have also opened up along Ditmars as well.” Which is an example of the growth Ditmars has recently had, previous to the past couple of years, it was not well known for its bars and restaurants.
Almost everyone around Astoria agrees that it has a very happy and friendly atmosphere, a true neighborhood. Natalia, a stranger walking out of the subways in Astoria told me that she used to live here and said “I loved it this summer when I lived here!! The rent is a lot cheaper than it is in Manhattan and it has a nice friendly atmosphere with shops, a lot of Greek restaurants and cafe’s.” Many of the people around Astoria agree with this. Indeed Astoria is full of little Greek restaurants and barbershops all along the boulevards. There is Steinway Street where the old village that the family built for their workers still stands. Then inside the grid of streets that was created when Astoria and Long Island City joined the New York City are little connected houses. Most of these are two story red brick houses. Some look very much like a rendition of a brownstone, some more like the buildings seen in eastern Queens, with capes and triangular roofs. The community look was quaint. The NYPD crime records show that Astoria sees about 1887 crimes per year (NYPD crime map). This is about the same per person as it is in Bayside or Flushing Queens. Which means that the safety many find in living in Astoria is real, although a robbery is still possible.
Astoria has the M, R, N and Q subway lines run through it, making it easy to get to Manhattan. Many interviewees stated that they liked the closeness to Manhattan. But many of these subway lines are overhead. There are the constant noises of the trains cackling overhead at major boulevards. But for the commute from this quaint neighborhood, it’s worth it. Then there is the huge Amtrak bridge that can be seen from anywhere in Astoria. This is one of the parts of the town that I found the most interesting. There where these huge walls of concrete, with arches over the streets that looked magnificent and huge. The Hells Gate Bridge rises slowly for a mile, with at least 5 major arches that go along its way(Forgotten NYC). It must have been a massive engineering project. I asked a couple of residents on the street near one of the massive arches, one that was about 100 feet tall. He said, “They are huge, but they aren’t ugly and they don’t do what a elevated highway would do, there is some antiqueness to them, they are more monuments then they are concrete arches.” Indeed the arches do look a lot like the Roman arches used in the aqueducts, and are a beautiful sight that only adds to the interest of the neighborhood, but also helps it to become this friendly neighborhood everyone agrees it is.
Despite its history of Greek food, and its Neighborhood feeling, there is a more particular allure to Astoria. Partly because it has not yet been gentrified, and still has a true New York spirit, whatever that may be defined as. It is also because the town is a major hub of the arts. Many major movies of the past and present are shot in the Kaufmann Astoria Studios. Both of the popular Men in Black films were shot there, according to my brother who goes to school in Astoria. My brother also notices that they are filming the new movie “Tomorrowland” at Kaufmann Astoria after he read the signs. There is also the museum of moving picture. But, many residents agree that Tony Benet had an influential effect on Astoria. One person I interviewed stated that “the arts are very important to this city, and Astoria is where a lot of it happens.” Astoria does indeed love the arts; at least, this is also where a lot of art is taught. Astoria has a large sum of special talent programs in its schools. One of which is the Louis Armstrong middle school, which has special talents programs for many of its kids. Another is founded by Astoria favorite Tony Benet, Frank Sinatra School of the Arts (Inside School). The school is one of two major art specialized high schools in the entire NYC DOE district, the other being LaGuardia. One person I interviewed on the street in Astoria said that there is an “influx of artists not being able to afford Brooklyn rents.” Which means that combined with the teaching of art in the public schools, Astoria’s long history of arts back to the Steinway family, and its current influx of New York based artists makes Astoria a beacon, not just of art, but of New York art. When asked what’s the difference between Brooklyn and Astoria, one resident retorted “smaller number of those annoying hipsters! what’s better than that?” This is another example of the fact that Astoria has maintained its New York attitude, while changing and becoming an artsy place.
In the end it is the combination of the history, the people, the neighborhood, and the arts that makes the name Astoria so beloved in todays New York City. Astoria is one of the biggest and most diverse immigration spots in the city. It has long been the home of the Greeks, but now is welcomingly the home of many other different types of people from all over the world. There is also this neighborhood feeling, this quaint little feeling that so many of its residents love so much. But what adds to the name Astoria even more then its friendliness, or its diversity is its pure New York spirit and its art. Astoria is a major hub of the arts, especially in the filming industry. But while many artists in New York City move there for the lower rents, which cause the rents to rise, gentrification has not yet become a problem. As long as Astoria remains the neighborhood that has the New York attitude, it will be the Astoria that so many love today, the little city of art and great Greek food, only 20 min away from Manhattan by subway.
References
-“Astoria History,”Astoria.org, 2012, May 10, 2015. http://www.astoria.org/astoria-history.html
-Shepard, Richard. “Astoria, a Greek Isle in the New York City Sea,” New York Times, NYT.com, November 15, 1991, Used on May 10, 2015.
-Salvo, Joe, “Newest New Yorkers,” NYC.gov, 2013 edition, May, 10, 2015
-“NYPD Crime Map” NYC.org, 2015, May, 10, 2015. http://maps.nyc.gov/crime/
-Walsh, Kevin, “Astoria,” Forgotten NY.com, 2014, May 10, 2015. http://forgotten-ny.com/tag/astoria/
-“District 30.” Inside Schools.org, NYC DOE, 2015, May, 10, 2015. http://insideschools.org/districts/queens/district-30
