From Urbanite:
Long a destination for Greek dining, neighboring Astoria has always been a village of Old World Mom and Pops. It's now enjoying a new generation of sophisticated restaurant and bars owners. Places like Rickshaw Dumpling, William Hallet and Butcher Bar-all opened in the last year-have a hip vibe not previously seen in Astoria. It's rumored that celebrity chef Michael Pslakis will take over an empty spot on Ditmars Boulevard, and downtown wine guru Paul Greico says he has his eye on Astoria for an expansion of his popular Terroir wine bars.
The changes are welcome to long-time Astorians like Katherine and David Flaherty, 34 and 36 respectively, former Manhattanites who still work there, but increasingly play in Astoria.
"I [lived] on Houston Street and had so many cool bars, restaurants and shops, I was worried it was going to be boring here," said Katherine. "But over the years, we've seen exciting growth and concepts around here." She added, "At first I used to embarrassingly say I live in Astoria, but now I'm proud to live here."
25 comments:
Hipsters,
newbies and transplants
forever seem to be loving
"cool bars".
LOL!
There they gather at sundown
to exchange trivialities...
perhaps meet "the right one"...
and slowly dissolve the few smart brain cells they posess
in "Absolut" splendor.
Imagine being a bar tender in one of these "hip" watering holes?
Give me a good old
honest gin mill any day.
Bottoms up!
@ Annonymous
Yeah actually, what Astoria could actually use is another Greek or Mediteraenean themed bar/lounge. Hopefully they can blast dance music and 'sick' techno beats, since Astoria is SEVERELY lacking in all of these things...
If you actually went to any of so called 'cool bars' you would realize it's Astoria and not Williamsburg, BK. I like a good old honest gin mill myself every once in a while, but folks think Astoria is the new Williamsburg. It isn't. Not yet at least..
I see the Crapper has sunk to a new low--calling people names for liking the neighborhood where they live. Maybe the Crapper can explain exactly what is wrong with people being happy that their neghborhood has improved in recent years. Most people in Queens would welcome some new restaurants and bars in their neighborhood--provided that they are good places with good food and drinks.
The people quoted in the article aren't assholes because they like new restaurants. They're assholes because they were ashamed to tell people they lived in Astoria before the restaurants opened. Astoria used to be a well known destination for ethnic food, but the white bred transplants thought that was embarrassing. Most people choose neighborhoods based on safety, schools, quality of life, etc. Not restaurants.
Anyone who grew up in Queens would call these folks assholes.
#5, I wonder why you think you can speak for millions of people--"anyone who grew up in Queens"? You might be surprised to find out how many people who grew up in Queens actually disagree with the Crapper and with you.
Maybe the Crapper can explain exactly what is wrong with people being happy that their neghborhood has improved in recent years.
No one, outside of real estate types bleeding the community dry and clueless kids that can't afford NY or Bklyn is happy with the way Astoria is getting overdeveloped.
The true test is to have an event in Astoria. Most of the people in NY or Bklyn simply will not go - they make a face.
What does that tell you?
Astoria, where a three million dollars is spent to make a theater with gigantic diving board stuck in the middle of the stage and whee another cultural venue named after a two bit hanger on who used to keep coke in his toupee.
There is more culture in my icebox than the whole community.
Even the NY Observer thought this was funny.
There is plenty of culture in Astoria.
Why look at the Noguchi Museum that just spent 6 months asking the community to 'envision' the area crosscorssed by ziplines between work and home.
in the spirit of Noguchi himself they tell us - pretty funny, a pal of Diego Rivera - now a talisman of wise guy developers.
now that is REAL culture ... Astoria style!
a two bit hanger on who used to keep coke in his toupee
huh?
"happy that their neighborhood has improved in recent years"
Assholes from Iowa and Manhattan driving prices up is an improvement ?
Improvement for who landlords & restaurant owners ?
Try finding parking, a good hardware store, flat fix, $2 cup of coffee or good Gyro in Astoria for under $8.
Its all yuppie shit, even looking at some of these assholes with beards, beanie hats and fake eye glasses offends me.
I friend of mine Gina recent sat at one of them "open air" joints.
The waitress had tattoos and ear rings in her lips, eyebrows and nose and didn't know what Sambuca Romana was, served us cheap stuff with no beans and a bill for $24
Improvement my ass !
You have a chicken shack, a kabob guy and decent pizza on Broadway$ & Stienway and that's all that's left. I couldn't even find chestnuts or good roasted pretzels this past Christmas---just terrible
The developers putting more and more on a square foot is the problem, not the kids.
Their rents go through the roof cause they are over leveraged -
but received wisdom thinks that's fine because they just pass it on to the community.
True enough but in doing so they slowly bleed it of vitality just as they choke it with more people.
It sounds like some UNHAPPY real estate brokers aren't making the big commissions they were expecting...hawking overpriced condos and hoping to sell some rubes from Iowa...
an ALOMST MANHATTAN address!
You brokers' trolls are sure busy
posting today.
If it were up to me I round up all the real estate brokers and agency owners and throw them all over the Bronx zoo wall to the Lions.
--They are all horde greedy devils its now become personal since my last round.
FYI It involved a agent, a 92 year old homeowner and Bukharan speculators from Queens looking to blockbust and colonize my dead end street in Manhasset.
--I don't think so !!
I moved to Astoria in 1996 from the boonies. I loved it. It had loads of inexpensive ethnic restaurants. It was safe, quiet, the apartments were cheap and good size, and you could actually own a car and park it on the street fairly easily. I was always proud to say I lived in Astoria. I had the best of everything.
By 2008, when I moved further out in Queens, it had gotten less ethnic, a lot more expensive and a LOT louder due to more and more young kids being priced out of Manhattan. Eventually, I guess the "cool bars" followed them.
Now, I actually don't like going there. So many older, decent, small-scale buildings getting destroyed and being replaced with hideous things that are way too large for the neighborhood and so obviously poorly constructed that they won't even last for 30 years. So short sighted. If development isn't reined in and building codes aren't tightened, Astoria WILL BE a slum not too many years from now.
An Astoria Cultural Icon
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2025060/Veteran-crooner-Tony-Bennett-recalls-wild-days.html
When your cultural heroes are found in Queens Logic and the work of Dino Montell it tells you a lot about the community and the ilk it elects over and over and over again....
Culture....in Astoria?
LOL!
Purely second rate compared to "the golden isle" of Manhattan....for sure.
That's like saying the best of culture can be found in the whore-de-culture ambiance of Deadwood's saloons!
Steinway/Broadway's Euro-trash cafes, hipster bars and some 3rd world spots.
That's what Ass-toria has to offer.
EUROTRASH
Those folks are assholes because at that age, child birthing age, they should be considering all the drunks peeing up the neighborhood rather than paying $75 for a bottle of chianti for the prestige of drinking it in front of parked cars. These are the same kind of assholes that don't understand that "curb your dog" means "make your filthy animal shit in the street and btw your little bag doesn't clean up the residue that my child has to dodge with his bigwheel."
http://www.nycgovparks.org/park-features/astoria-park/astoria-performance-center
Yup, these people are SERIOUS people!
Millions of our taxes for a theater that has a three story diving board between the stage the public AND a chain link fence between the stage and a pool filled with kids from Astoria Houses!
Wait till the locals discover they have dropped a concert venue in the middle of Astoria Park!
"O Mother of Mercy will the noises every stop?"
New York has always drawn people from elsewhere, and they've always changed the neighborhoods they've moved into. Really, stasis is not something any amount of complaining, however legitimate, will ever achieve here.
While asshole could be a strong word, I think we are seeing people demanding that areas become more like how they envisioned but preaching about keeping the 'identity' of that area alive. We see condos popping up left and right in LIC and we will soon see even more in Astoria.
A neighborhood doesn't need to be flashy to call it home. Improvements are always welcomed but at the current cost just don't pan out for the average joe. I grew up in Astoria and would like to stay here as long as possible, please don't take up space in a place you don't approve of on your coolness scale. Wburg makes me nauseous to be in, Astoria residents ask nicely that you refrain from doing the same here.
I moved to Astoria in 1994. Rent: $555 for 2 bedroom apt. Greek landlord who was grateful for reliable tenant. Unpretentious nabe, heaven on earth. Let's speed ahead to 2005. Asshole landlord sees $$ from yuppies, raises rent to $1400, tells me I don't like it, f...k off. 2009 - I buy home in Forest Hills. Do not regret it. Steinway/30th Avenue/Broadway is ghetto, Austin St. is classy. Left just in time!!
Anonymous said...
I see the Crapper has sunk to a new low--calling people names for liking the neighborhood where they live. Maybe the Crapper can explain exactly what is wrong with people being happy that their neghborhood has improved in recent years. Most people in Queens would welcome some new restaurants and bars in their neighborhood--provided that they are good places with good food and drinks.
_________________________
LM@O ! so WHERE ARE THESE IMPROVEMENTS ?
schools are still failing, operating on triple sessions,
crime stats worse due to better "bait" and their drug dealers-
apartments only for them as they can afford them-
rents remain off the wall due to them coming and going
and THE BEST IS that when they have ther kids,the ghetto ain't good enough for them anymore,so they go only to be immediately replaced with another bunch of yuptards that truly believe THEY DID US A FAVOUR by moving HERE.
tell me something,how do these bs cafes,clubs and bars IMPROVE the area as all NORMAL types of businesses have been forced out ?
HOW MANY sidewalk cafes does astoria NEED ?
how do the owners get away with blocking 2/3rds of a sidewalk in an already overcrowded area ?
name calling ?
ooooooooh the humanity.
this IS ny.
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