Astoria, Queens

Astoria, Queens could see across the East River the new Long Island village named in his honor. Astor, however, never actually set foot in Astoria. During the second half of the 19th century, economic and commercial growth brought increased immigration from German settlers, mostly furniture and cabinet mak- ers. One such settler was Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, patriarch of the Steinway family who founded the piano company Steinway & Sons in 1853, which today is a worldwide piano company. Later on the Steinways built a sawmill and foundry, as well as a streetcar line. The family eventually established Steinway Village for their workers, a company town that provided school instruc- tion in German as well as English.[6] Astoria and several other surrounding villages, including Steinway, were incorporated into Long Island City in Location of Astoria in New York City 1870. Long Island City remained an independent munic- ipality until it was incorporated into New York City in Astoria is a middle-class and commercial neighborhood 1898. The area’s farms were turned into housing tracts with a population of 154,000[2] in the northwestern cor- and street grids to accommodate the growing number of ner of the New York City borough of Queens. Lo- residents.[4] cated in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the Astoria also figured prominently in early American film- East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neigh- making as one of its initial centers, a heritage preserved borhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside (bordering at today by the Museum of the Moving Image and Kaufman Northern Boulevard), and Woodside (bordering at 50th Astoria Studios. Street). Astoria is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 114th Precinct.[3] Today, much of the Astoria waterfront is being redevel- oped and underutilized industrial sites in forgotten historic neighborhoods are being revived. Hallets Point is one of five former industrial sites on the waterfront being 1 History transformed, and will bring seven new mixed-use resi- dential towers, including 2,000 market-rate units and 500 affordable units, into the neighborhood.[7] The develop- The area now known as Astoria was originally called Hal- ment will also include new waterfront parks, a supermar- let’s Cove, after its first landowner William Hallet, who ket, retail shops and restaurants, and two new schools. settled there in 1659 with his wife, Elizabeth Fones. Be- These waterfront projects were designed by a New York ginning in the early 19th century, affluent New Yorkers architectural firm, in conjunction with private develop- constructed large residences around 12th and 14th streets, ers, city agencies and landscape architects.[8][9] an area that later became known as Astoria Village (now Old Astoria). Hallet’s Cove, founded in 1839 by fur mer- chant Stephen A. Halsey, was a noted recreational desti- nation and resort for Manhattan’s wealthy.[4][5] 2 Demographics The area was renamed after John Jacob Astor, then the wealthiest man in America with a net worth of over $40 Astoria was first settled by the Dutch and Germans in the million, in order to persuade him to invest just $2,000 in 17th century. Many Irish settled in the area during the the neighborhood. He only invested $500, but the name waves of Irish immigration into New York City during stayed nonetheless, as a bitter battle over naming the vil- the 19th and early 20th centuries. lage finally was won by Astor’s supporters and friends. Italians were the next significant immigrants in Asto- From Astor’s summer home in Hell Gate, Manhattan— ria, and numerous Italian restaurants, delis, bakeries, and on what is now East 87th Street near York Avenue—he pizza shops are found throughout Astoria, particularly in 1 2 3 DESCRIPTION restaurants, bakeries, tavernas and cafes, as well as several Greek Orthodox churches. While the population of Greeks in Astoria was 22,579 in 1980, it dropped to 18,127 by 1990 due to decreased immigration and lower birth rates. Greek organizations in the area include the Hellenic American Action Committee (HANAC) and the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York.[11] Many Maltese also live in Astoria, around 20,000, and al- though this population has steadily been emigrating from the area, there are still many Maltese, supported by the Maltese Center of New York. Beginning in the mid-1970s, the neighborhood’s Arab Fruit market on Broadway, a major neighborhood thoroughfare population grew from earlier immigrants from Lebanon and retail area. to also include people from Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. In the 1990s, Steinway Street between 28th Avenue and Astoria Boulevard saw the es- tablishment of many Arabic shops, restaurants and cafes, which is unofficially called “Little Egypt”. Astoria’s South American and European population has seen significant growth since the early 1990s, including a large population of Brazilians, who reside in the 36th Avenue area. Albanians, Bulgarians, and Bosnians have also shown a rise in numbers. Many Spanish Americans live in Astoria, with most of them being of Galician heritage from Northwestern Spain; this community being supported by the Casa Galicia, or Galicia House. At one time, many Bangladeshi Americans settled in As- toria, but by 2001, many of the Bangladeshi American people in Astoria had moved to Metro Detroit. A survey 31st Avenue at 33rd Street in Astoria of an Astoria-area Bengali language newspaper estimated that, in an 18-month period until March 2001, 8,000 Bangladeshi people moved to the Detroit area. However, as of 2010, the Bangladeshi American community in As- toria has been increasing, as Bangladeshi immigrants are increasingly settling in Astoria.[12] Population losses in Queens were particularly high in immigrant neighborhoods such as Astoria, which suf- fered the greatest population loss in the city—it lost over 10,000 residents between the years 2000 and 2010.[13] 3 Description 36th Street between 30th Avenue and 31st Avenue in Astoria 3.1 Geography There is some debate as to what constitutes the geo- the Ditmars Boulevard area. graphic boundaries of Astoria. The neighborhood was Jews were also a significant ethnic and religious group. part of Long Island City prior to the latter’s incorpora- The Astoria Center of Israel, which is listed on the tion into the City of New York in 1898, and much of it is National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1925 af- still classified as LIC by the USPS. ter outgrowing the former Congregation Mishkan Israel, [10] The area south of Astoria was called Ravenswood, and which was built in 1904. traditionally, Broadway was considered the border be- The 1960s saw a large number of ethnic Greeks from tween the two. Today, however, many residents and busi- Greece, and immigrants from Cyprus in 1974. The nesses south of Broadway identify themselves as Asto- Greek cultural imprint can be seen in the numerous Greek rians for convenience or status, since Long Island City 3.1 Geography 3 3.1.1 Ravenswood Ravenswood is the name for the strip of land bordering the East River in Long Island City, and is part of Astoria.[16] The land was acquired in 1814 by Col. George Gibbs, a businessman from New York City who developed it. Gibbs died in 1833, and the land was divided into nine parcels by three developers. From 1848, there were several mansions built on this land, but the high class housing did not survive. The spring of 1853 brought the open- ing of a post office of its own and country store “run by Messrs. Moore & Luyster, and Mr. Samuel H. Moore of that firm received the appointment of postmaster, han- dling the mails in a corner of the store.”[17] Ravenswood, unlike Astoria, never became a village; there was no disposition at any time to become independent as there was insufficient population or commercial activity to justify such a move. Ravenswood remained an exclusive hamlet within the Town of Newtown until its absorption with the Village of Astoria and the hamlets of Hunters Point, Blissville, Sunnyside, Dutch Kills, Stein- way, Bowery Bay and Middleton in Newtown Township into Long Island City in 1870.[18] In 1870, Ravenswood, along with several other hamlets and the Village of Asto- ria, merged to form Long Island City.[17] In 1875, the first commercial buildings were erected, and the mansions were converted into offices and boarding houses. In 1879, the Long Island Terra Cotta Company was established in Ravenswood, by Rudolph Franke. By Detail of 1896 map of Long Island City, showing Astoria and 1900, Ravenswood was heavily commercial, and remains Ravenswood, from the Greater Astoria Historical Society. so to this day. However, the name has retained its res- idential character through the New York City Housing Authority project that was built in 1949 to 1951 with this name between 34th and 36th Avenues, and 12th and 24th Streets. The name also identifies the large electric power station established along the shore of the East River, just south of the Roosevelt Island Bridge. The Ravenswood No. 3 Generating Station was built by Con Edison in 1963-65 but, due to deregulation, has subsequently been owned by KeySpan, National Grid, and TransCanada. The power Night view of the Triborough Bridge and Manhattan from Asto- plant can generate approximately 2,500 megawatts of ria Park power, which is about 20 percent of New York City’s electricity demand.[19] has historically been considered an industrial area, and 3.1.2 Ditmars Ravenswood is now mostly a low-income neighborhood. Some of the thoroughfares have lent their names to unof- Ditmars is a middle class section of Astoria bounded by ficial terms for the areas they serve.

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