Everything about Astoria Queens totally explained
Astoria is a
neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the
borough of
Queens in
New York City. Located in
Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the
East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods:
Long Island City,
Sunnyside (bordering at
Northern Boulevard), and
Woodside (bordering at 50th Street).
Origin of the name
Originally, Astoria was known as Hallet's Cove, but was renamed after
John Jacob Astor, who never set foot in the neighborhood, in order to persuade him to invest $2,000 in the neighborhood. His share only amounted $500 to the neighborhood, but the name stayed. A bitter battle over naming the village was finally won by supporters and friends of Astor who had become the wealthiest man in America by 1840 with a net worth of over $40 million. Astor did live in "Astoria" (his summer home), built in
Manhattan on what is now East 87th Street near
York Avenue, from which he could see across the river the new Long Island village named in his honor.
History
Beginning in the early 19th century, affluent New Yorkers constructed large residences around 12th and 14th streets, an area that later became known as Astoria Village (now Old Astoria). Hallet's Cove, founded in 1839 by fur merchant Steven Halsey, was a noted recreational destination and resort for Manhattan's wealthy.
During the second half of the 1800s, economic and commercial growth brought about increased immigration from German settlers, mostly furniture and cabinet makers. One such settler was
Henry Steinway, patriarch of the Steinway family who founded the Steinway Piano Company in 1853. Afterwards, the Steinways built a sawmill and foundry, as well as a streetcar line. The family eventually established
Steinway Village for their workers, a community that provided school instruction in German as well as English.
In 1870, Astoria and several other surrounding villages, including Steinway, were incorporated into
Long Island City. Long Island City remained an independent municipality until it was incorported into New York City in 1898. The area's farms were turned into housing tracts and street grids to accommodate the growing number of residents. Banners displayed on lamp posts along 30th Avenue refer to it as "the Heart of Astoria".
Astoria is served by the R and V lines that run through the stop Steinway Street and 46 Street as well as the
N and
W subway lines – formerly called the
BMT – which run along an
elevated track above 31st Street. Subway stops are located at several east-west avenues, with the terminus at
Ditmars Boulevard, which extends roughly eastward from
Astoria Park to the
Marine Air Terminal at
LaGuardia Airport. The next major avenue south of Ditmars with a subway stop is
Astoria Boulevard, which flanks the
Grand Central Parkway and the
Triborough Bridge. Below that's the 30th Avenue stop, then Broadway.
Farthest south is 36th Avenue or
Dutch Kills, a low-density commercial area that features traditional
Bengali restaurants and shops. The primary streets running north-south are Vernon Boulevard along the East River; 21st Street, a major traffic artery with a mix of residential, commercial and industrial areas; 31st Street; and Steinway Street (named for
Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, founder of the
Steinway & Sons piano factory), a major commercial street with many retail stores, and a very prominent
Middle Eastern section between Astoria Boulevard and 28th Avenue referred to as "Little Egypt".
Places of interest
Astoria in popular culture
The neighborhood has often been featured in television and film, either as Astoria or as a setting for another location in New York City. In the 1970s
television sitcom All in the Family,
Archie Bunker and his family lived at the fictional address 704 Hauser Street in Astoria.
The 1991 movie "Queens Logic" was filmed all around Astoria and actually features a great Astoria landmark- The Hell Gate Bridge. Also one of the screenwriters Tony Spiridakis has roots in Astoria.
The block of 37th Street between Ditmars Boulevard and 23rd Avenue is sometimes referred to as
"the Seinfeld Street." In the
Seinfeld television show, this street is occasionally seen in external
establishing shots as the block where
George Costanza's parents live.
The television series
Cosby, starring
Bill Cosby,
Phylicia Rashad and
Madeleine Kahn (not to be confused with the earlier series
The Cosby Show) was set in Astoria and was filmed there, at the
Kaufman Astoria Studios on 35th Avenue.
Two notable
Robert De Niro films were filmed on location in Astoria –
Goodfellas and
A Bronx Tale. While the latter was set in
the Bronx, most of the exterior scenes were filmed in Astoria as well as the nearby neighborhood of
Woodside. The high school featured in the film is
William Cullen Bryant High School on 31st Avenue, and the church used in the film is St. Joseph's on 30th Avenue. Other films shot in Astoria include
Five Corners (1987), starring
Jodie Foster, and the 1950s noted civil defense instructional film
Duck and Cover.
Serpico (1973) with Al Pacino had several scenes filmed in Astoria. The elevated train stop at Ditmars Boulevard was the location for a chase scene and Serpico has a clandestine meeting in astoria park under the Hellgate bridge.
King Kong (1976) had a scene in Astoria on 23rd Road near the El (elevated train).
The Accidental Husband (2008), Directed by Griffin Dunne; with Uma Thurman, Colin Firth and Jeffrey Dean Morgan was filmed in Astoria on 33rd Street and 23rd Avenue.
Astoria was the setting for the book,
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, later made into a film starring
Robert Downey Jr. and
Rosario Dawson, about the filmmaker's experiences growing up in the neighborhood during the 1980s. The 2006 movie was filmed at various locations around Astoria.
Astoria was the setting for the novel
Autobiography|Masquerade (External Link
), also released in 2006. It was written to honor the memory of Antonio "Nino" Pellegrino, an Astoria native who appeared briefly in
A Bronx Tale.
Astoria is also the final resting place of New York City
mobster Frank Costello as well as
ragtime composer and musician
Scott Joplin. Both Costello and Joplin are interred at St. Michael's Cemetery. The church hosts annual public events and concerts to celebrate Joplin's musical legacy, including a Joplin retrospective.
The Greek television program
Stous 31 Dromous ("On 31st Street") has been filming in Astoria since 2007.
The video game "
Grand Theft Auto IV" – which takes place in a mock New York City named
Liberty City – has a neighborhood named Steinway. The game features a Bohemian Hall-inspired "Steinway Beer Garden", but as an Irish-and-Russian themed bar instead of Czech. (A mock TV commercial for the Steinway Beer Garden viewable at the Rockstar website includes the voice-over remarking that the Garden is "ethnically confused".) Steinway Park is modeled after Astoria Park, with its famous outdoor pool (including the diving platforms) and scenic water's-edge pathway. Numerous signs and awnings of real local Astoria businesses appear in the game, although the names have been altered (for example "ASTORIA Medical Dental" becomes "ROSARIA Medical Dental").
Education
Schools
New York City Department of Education operates Astoria's public schools. A complete listing searchable by
ZIP code can be found on the
Department's official website.
Astoria also has several private schools, many of which offer
parochial education:
El-Ber Islamic School (25-42 49th Street)
Immaculate Conception School (21-63 29th Street)
Les Enfants Montessori School (29-21 Newton Avenue)
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School (23-15 Newtown Avenue)
Queens Lutheran School (31-20 37th Street)
St. Catherine and St. George School (22-30 33rd Street)
St. Demetrios Astoria School (30-03 30th Drive)
St. Francis of Assisi School (21-18 46 Street)
St. John's Preparatory School (21-21 Crescent Street)
Libraries
Queens Borough Public Library operates four branches within Astoria's ZIP codes:
Astoria (14-01 Astoria Boulevard)
Broadway (40-20 Broadway)
Ravenswood (35-32 21st Street)
Steinway (21-45 31st Street)
Notable people from Astoria
Born and raised in Astoria
JoAnn Falletta, orchestra conductor, Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and Artistic Advisor to the Honolulu Symphony
Whitey Ford, star pitcher of the New York Yankees.
George Maharis, actor and comedian best known for his work on Route 66.
John H. Meier, financier and former business associate of Howard Hughes, also involved with Watergate.
Christopher Walken, Oscar-winning actor.
Born in Astoria
Alvey A. Adee (1842-1924), United States State Department official and chief U.S. diplomat during the Spanish-American War.
Tony Bennett (1926-), Grammy winning singer.
John Frusciante, Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist
George Gibbs (1815-1873), geologist who contributed to the study of the languages of the indigenous peoples of Washington Territory, was born in Astoria.
Jack Kelly (1927-1992), actor
Eddie Bracken (1915-2002), actor
Nick Kenny (1895-1975), poet and newspaper columnist
Patrick McGoohan (1928-), actor.
Ethel Merman (1908-1984), legendary Broadway actress and singer.
Melanie Safka (1947-), Singer-songwriter.
David Schwimmer (1966-), actor
Other past and present residents
Ted Alexandro, comedian.
Dan Allen, comedian
Albert R. Broccoli, producer of the James Bond films (childhood)
Adrien Brody, Oscar winning actor (childhood)
Maria Callas, opera singer (childhood)
Chester Carlson invented xerography at his Astoria laboratory in 1938
Christian Finnegan, comedian
John Gallagher Jr., Tony-Award-winning actor (former resident)
Anthony Giacchino (1970-), filmmaker, producer and composer. Composed the original music for Speed Racer, the motion picture.
Cyndi Lauper, Grammy winning singer (childhood)
Sam Lipsyte, writer (current resident)
Dito Montiel, author and filmmaker who wrote and directed the film A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, based on his memoir of the same name, about growing up in Astoria
William Steinway, son of the founder and owner of Steinway & Sons, influential in building much of Astoria.Further Information
Get more info on 'Astoria Queens'.
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