Monday, September 3, 2018

A nice, relaxing Labor Day walk in Astoria


"I take an evening walk along 30th Avenue in Astoria, Queens, NYC from Steinway Street to 31st Street during Labor Day Weekend. This major street is home to many businesses, restaurants, cafes, and a popular night life."

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

The horror! That neighborhood has seen better days. It's another Queens cesspool now. I am shocked.

Anonymous said...

Plenty of trash, noise and sidwalks blocked by tables.
What really is amazing how all the trees are gone !
Who would want to eat dinner on a dirty noisey sidewalk ?

Anonymous said...

Used to be a good place to shop for the things you need, now (like Broadway - soon Ditmars) a noisy crowded place with clueless hipsters fresh off the boat thinking this is THE New York experience.

Having not been there in over a decade, as there is nothing of value remaining, but a friend walked by it in mid-August on a sweltering evening with people sitting in the heat blocking noisy sidewalks and storefronts removed in a fruitless effort to air-condition the sidewalks. She shook her head and said its dead and said it was a chaotic nightmare. No order, no oversight, just a batch of surly Greeks busy harvesting money like in the Old World - all clones from a ramshackle backward place that (surprise) seems to be the underlying vibe here.

The community is fed up. God forbid you complain about the noise, litter, traffic, anything. You will be ignored, or told by a surly rep of what passes for local government that you should move. Transient is the word here. Take the money and run is the community vibe. A honky-tonk college town is the culture. Get rid of the long term tenants and put 4 kids in, or better, Air-BNB. No wonder the community board never gets complaints.

It seems that there is a merry-go-round of restaurant gimmicks whose only purpose is to launder money (?) and make their owners cash to take back to the old country - someone did a review once of Greek restaurants and noticed an interesting thing - all the plates, silver etc was the same from place to place. Hmmmmmmm.

You want outdoor dining? Go to Manhattan.

georgetheatheist said...

3:14 - Rudy's Hobby Shop. A real old timer. Old school Astoria. How long will he last? Went in there about 6 months ago and bought a model airplane.

Anonymous said...

Looks cleran, peaceful and nice. When those al fresco tables are full earlier in the evening the atmosphere must be electric and vibrant.
More trees & flowers would be an enhancement.

Anonymous said...

Hate Astoria. All of the young drivers use the streets as a speedway with music blasting from their car sound systems. Constantly! Lexus, Mercedes, Infinti. My car is better than yours...

Zoë said...

The horror!
Oh you sure got that right ! Anyone see the movie "Hostel II" with the 3 women go to party in a Slovac villiage ?
I dont like Astoria, far too many Europeans and Sputnic looking creeps walking around. Unlike the Sputnics in Ridgwood who pretty much keep to themselves these people are dark and seem to own most the buildings & businesses, these ballsy creepy looking bastards give you the eyeballs and wanna look up your skirt. Oh, lets not forget the shitty little weak ass $8-$12 drinks too.

Astoria WAS a good value in the early 2000s. It's a different story now.
Bunch of greedy ass landlords driving everything in sight to Manhattan prices! The subway line to Astoria is one of the worst in the city. I don't care what anyone says, it is terrible. The delays are daily, not to mention the super-packed trains stunk of underarm so bad you wanna pass out. This combined with the soaring rents, there are no good groceries here (no Trader Joe's, no Whole foods etc.) The restaurants and cafes are not only below average absolute worst bang for your buck you'll find in NYC.
The population is way too diverse, noise going 24/7 there is just no point.
Rizzo's pizza is perhaps the only product of Astoria I like, My friend Joannes dad owns it and does things the same (as in no stinking changes).

For the bang for you buck go to Corona where the waiters will keep filling your craft of fresh good Sangria for $6 and not rush you off the table.
Friendly staffs, reasonably clean dining areas and amazing different food, you can smoke & drink outside and nobody gives a shit. I would recommend Corona to everyone who asks about a fun night out that wont break the bank.
I try to keep my posts unbiased and not racist but you know what? Efff Astoria because you cant polish a turd and it is.
And thats the truth!

Zoë

Astoria 2018:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostel:_Part_II

Rob in Manhattan said...

That looks delightful.

I've been going to Astoria on business since March 1990. back then a lot of the old, Archie Bunker places were still there and frankly, they looked like crap. Dirty-dilapidated and just waiting for their lease to run out or owner to die.

What bars and restaurants existed were mostly populated by old men boozing away what was left of their lives.

That area and Ditmars blvd have undergone renewal without being destroyed and rebuilt. I hope they can stay that way.

Rob in Manhattan.

Anonymous said...

That area and Ditmars blvd have undergone renewal without being destroyed and rebuilt. I hope they can stay that way.

Wait till the Vallones are gone. You folks enjoy your bed of roses ... for now.

Anonymous said...

Wow the Queens Crap site has some real negative comments.As a 70 year old born and raised in Queens I see a ,vibrant community with lots of small stores and restaurants packed with people as we stroll down the clean sidewalks.Just about everyone I grew up with has left NY and are glad they did but it's good to see new people coming here and revitalizing the city.

Anonymous said...

Greeks say Arsedooria

Unknown said...

I have resided in Astoria for more than 50 years. The changes in Astoria are directly attributable to the power of the real estate lobby and the failure to enforce zoning laws. There's nothing wrong with the people. They are making the best of the situation as the neighborhood gets more and more crowded. Unfortunately, it can't go back to what it was. If you want to live in the Astoria of 50 years ago you have to move somewhere else. (I'm still trying to figure out where that is.)

Anonymous said...

Whats delightful, stepping on dogshit, piss & vomit then sitting down and paying $12 for a Anisette cookie with coffee at one of those tables ?
Add come carbon monoxide, catalytic converter dioxide & burnt diesel fumes
This is good ?

Anonymous said...

I used to have meetings at the Sheraton Laguardia East Lounge. There was more parking for folks to drive in from KI,CT,NJ, even PA. Then they cluttered it up with shops and I stopped. I dropped in recently and was surprised the lobby is back, but smaller.

Queens Crapper said...

Peeps, I am a critic of everything, but I posted it simply to show a nice stroll through a neighborhood that is relatively safe and where there are minimal empty storefronts. I don't get the anger expressed here at all.

Anonymous said...

Afetr all it's Queens Crap,we just want the crap.haha

Anonymous said...

Queens Crapper said...
Peeps, I am a critic of everything, but I posted it simply to show a nice stroll through a neighborhood that is relatively safe and where there are minimal empty storefronts. I don't get the anger expressed here at all.

I did some construction work in Astoria for a Greek a while back and got paid in crisp $100 bills. The problem? They were 'minted' in the 1980s but 'printed' in the 2000s as they felt not right. I park my truck in Astoria and the landlord is a Greek - who gives me a little mud as a spot for old Bessie. I paid him the bills over the course of several months. He accepted without batting an eye. Now I understand all those funny banks in Astoria. Their vaults must be filled with funny $100 bills.

Look at this way, Crappy, there are other neighborhoods 'safe' and has minimal empty store fronts too. If you catch my drift.

Unknown said...

I think we have all lost our wonder about how incredibly safe our Astoria neighborhood is today. In that sense it is much better that 40 years ago.

Queens Crapper said...

I have no idea what you're talking about with regard to a rash of counterfeit bills floating around Astoria. The video was made hours before it was posted and I thought a timely posting would be enjoyed. Oh well.

Anonymous said...

Crappy: I think people are mad because they are old enough too remember the old Astoria, this post showing the "New Astoria" upset them.
The video is at night, the streets look dead, empty tables, no trees. Its depressing and looks apocalyptic. The few people you do see in the video dont even look like they are from this country.
Its just one of these things that would have gotten a totally different reaction in a different place and time, this hit a lot of already agitated nerves.

Anonymous said...

Go over to Steinway, you wills see plenty of empty storefronts there...11 at my last count.

Anonymous said...

"Sputnic looking creeps...that wanna look up your skirt." Despite the spelling errors, that is really funny.

Anonymous said...

Crapper is right, what are you people complaining about. This is a vibrant community with great places to shop and eat. If you want white picket fences and stores that close at 6pm, do a stroll down Millbrook, NY!

Anonymous said...

"I have no idea what you're talking about with regard to a rash of counterfeit bills"
I think he means new old stick (NOS) fresh old style 20s bills from 2 decades ago, these Greeks must be using money grandma RIP stuffed in a mattress.
Must be a huge stash of these 20s someplace

Joe Moretti said...

I am all for complaining about something totally legit, but watching this video on Labor Day weekend (the best time to actually enjoy NYC when the crowds are gone), I saw clean sidewalks/streets (for NYC), no crowds, nice establishments, no crazies or homeless running all over. So I don't know what many of you are even talking about. New Yorkers just love to bitch for the sake of bitching.

Anonymous said...

'Vibrant' is always a code word and not a positive one at that.

Perhaps Crappy needs to live next to place where Croatians get into a big fight when blood is shed and the police are called, then threaten you with harm if you complain and your call your politician who tells you to file a complaint with 311 (that is unless its a strip club next to a development project that a donor built then its front page in the Gazette and enough politicos show up to pass legislation), or the busboys toss around empty kegs at 2 AM in the courtyard your building shares with a gin mill, or perhaps the inevitable vomit or piss under the stoop. Lets not talk about that noisy party at 5 AM on a block of immigrants and AirBNB that collectively never call the cops.

Construction projects that end up on your property and no one cares, ten story buildings on landfill next to an auto body shop and 10 blocks from anywhere. Trivia night and 3 hour lines of kids waiting to be shoehorned in the flavor of the moment. You always know when you left Manhattan and entered Astoria when the trains go at half speed.

And yea, 40 years ago you had a good strong community where everyone worked together, shopping strips with good merchandise, even medical care on par with anywhere in the city. You were treated with respect. No more.

Ghetto merchandise in the stores, crowded doctors offices with torn awnings that blast NY1 to entertain you in an overbooked waiting room, and riots during the World Cup.

Everyone in it for themselves be it 3 point turns in an SUV, a maniac bike rider meandering, a tractor trailer that decides to make a turn off Steinway for Broadway, or a taco truck permanently parked next to a fire hydrant. Love those honks the moment the light turns green.

Its taken a big step down from when I was a kid. At night, real Astorians avoid places like 30th Ave like the plague. Its the closest thing to a white ghetto.

Anonymous said...

these Greeks must be using money grandma RIP stuffed in a mattress.
Must be a huge stash of these 20s someplace

ha understatement. real estate and restaurants all cash.

90% of the hot bills in nyc are in cash only astoria with a no-name bank on every block that never has customers. pretty good at printing that stuff but who checks?

.

Anonymous said...

> You always know when you left Manhattan and entered Astoria when the trains go at half speed.

Don't you worry, "positive train control" will be coming to Manhattan soon. It won't be long before every subway car in the City is moving that slowly. It's not a good idea, but it's the law.

Anonymous said...

All the Greek HABA hubbas are working for Iran via Qatar so Putin can build a Caspian Canal connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea to compete with the German Europa Canal. In 1969 Minos Zombanakis invented the corrupt LIBOR cabal so he could loan Khodadad Farmanfarmaian and the Shah of Iran $80 million. Patriarch Demetreus served as pastor of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Tehran, Iran, from 1945 to 1950. Obama buddy Giannoulias’ family real estate portfolio was financed by a French bank known for its investments in Iran’s energy sector and connections to Iran’s Central Bank. They also loaned $22.75 million to Nadhmi Auchi whose bank financed the delivery of chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein, which may have been used to gas the Kurdish city of Halabja in 1988.

Anonymous said...

Must be kidding me. Peaceful stroll? In a Queens neighborhood in the year 2018? Astoria is not Riverdale, its not City Island, and its certainly not Nassau, Staten Island, or the Queens neighborhoods bordering Nassau. Astoria used to be a nice working class Greek enclave that welcomed immigrants of all stripes, now its mostly hipsters and others who cannot afford Manhattan live in there and nearby LIC. Its also become so expensive that many of the hipsters who invaded that area have moved because its no longer affordable. The place SUCKS. People who lived there years ago when it was mostly Greek knew each other, were nice people, now its full of strangers. Its a former blue collar neighborhood converted into an overpriced hipster shithole. And there are other hipster shitholes popping up in Queens, particularly around the 7 train line between Jackson Heights and Corona. And some parts of Richmond Hill on the J line also turning into gentrified hipster zones. No Thank you to that shit.

Anonymous said...

Astoria was not Greek (except in Vallonia) but Italian, Irish, Bohemian, and German. Those people died off or moved and the Italian hillbillies and Greek money grabbers were left, a toxic mix if there ever was, whose their interest was to grab the money, and slash and burn and as the spread, caused their wholesale forced removals from any institution this dump of a borough.

The Italians just exchanged pictures of mom in front of Safeway in 1960, their short pants and big hair days in the 80s, and picture after picture of the Hell Gate Bridge photoshopped. They also churn out B-bin movies of their wanna-be tough guys days back in the 80s - face it guys, we leave our respect for the real thing from S I and Howard Beach would not even have you guys wash their cars or cater their kids bar mitzvahs. Breaking into the Astoria Pool at night is chicken-shit.

TommyR said...

Lotsa jealousy in these comments! Economically thriving, good mix of building stock, only problem like everywhere prices continue to rise and glass boxes keep getting shat out here and there. My what pretty green eyes all a ya have.

Anonymous said...

"Jealousy and thriving"? Throw in vibrant and diverse!

Then cover the whole thing with 'horse shit.'

Gin mills and cash machines a community not make.