i goofed off work after lunch on a beautiful day and took the camera to hyper multi-ethnic astoria, queens. part one is a stroll up steinway street and part two is ditmars to the east river. astoria is in the very nw corner of long island/queens. here's a map w/ the streets i walked for some more orientation:

 

clik here if you want to know more info on astoria, which dates back back to the colonial 1650's:

http://queens.about.com/od/neighborhoods/p/astoria.htm

an interesting "forgotten ny" tour of astoria:

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/streetnecrology/astorianecro/astoria.html

 

just out the subway

 

not resting on their laurels, new stuff

 

this must be a fun block? a crazy bakery and bar with a car sticking out

 

wanna buy a scarface, m&m's(?), mickey or pleather jacket?

 

as you can see lower steinway is a busy shopping street

 

i even like the parking lots

 

i got yelled at for taking this one in dr. jay's so you will/must/best enjoy it !! -- ^#*&@ flash!!!

 

nice old apt

 

 

 

presenting your typical ny deli

 

i'll never understand the wacky hotdog-papaya drink combo, but it's mighty tasty

 

 

gotta keep your eyes open when you cross the cross streets!

 

treasures!

 

 

now that's a paint store

 

she's my kinda girl

 

yum yum

 

 

upper steinway street is "little egypt" really it's pan-arabic

 

i can hookah you up out here (i dk how they get away with it given the no-smoke law)

 

let's hear it for some arabic-irish unity

 

endless steinway

 

this time raise another toast to egyptian-leb-saudi unity

 

you checking this thread out yet c-dawg?

 

mashaa allah provides for the people

 

 

arab-hispanic togetherness

 

mombar is an awesome restaurant, the owner hand crafted everything

plates and all, i ate there a few yrs ago

 

 

hookah shop

 

an arabic grocery

 

something tells me this alley does not lead to a souk

 

 

 

a mosque

 

a rich sheik maybe? heh

 

i loved this cool old stainless steel fronted shop

 

some hispanic-italian neighborliness

 

nice fronts

 

bangladeshi organization

 

 

usa-mex are friends

 

 

warehouse conversion

 

finally a break, a nice park

 

rows across from the park

 

old guys and dominos are inseperable

 

heading east on ditmars now

 

 

 

the acropolis is pretty cool apt building complex

 

it's a biggie, goes down the block

 

ditmars is very much one of the greek drags in astoria, banks, shops, etc.

 

i never heard of him

 

brazilian-greek???

 

coming to the end of pt 1

 

this is the northern "el" stub station of the astoria n and r subway on 31st and ditmars

 

well i hope you enjoyed the stroll

as you can see astoria is yet another of america's great ethnic neighborhoods!

 

***stay tuned for pt 2 when astoria goes straight to hell -- for real! ***

 

  Cool pictures!  That is what a city looks like!  oh wait..that wasn't Over-the-rhine was it?  lol  NYC rules..Cleveland rules!  If you ever get a chance, do a photo op of Woodside, Queens....give a special shout out to 54th and Roosevelt...my girl lives there...

Heh I was there last week.

thanks -- i will most certainly do woodside when i do a thread on the whole roosevelt drag, which as you know, puts the rest of queens to shame as far as ethnicity! i love hangin out in woodside, the whole irish-thai-korean thing is wild.

  lol...and don't forget the latinos as well.....right across from 54th is a very good authentic pizza place....ecuadorian I think!?!  That whole sub "7 line" area there is very diverse...and her being peruvian/spanish and me being Irish..I love the mix of great food around there..and GREAT Irish pubs!  And she wants to move to Cleveland!?!?!  are you kidding me!?!?!

Interesting photos as always.

 

BTW, what is that red post/box in front on Mano's?

^a police or fire call-in box. not used anymore of course.

Neato!

Awesome!  Queens gets no respect, it seems.  But it is full of vibrant urban neighborhoods.  Mostly because its the new port of entry.

^a police or fire call-in box. not used anymore of course.

 

I figured as much, but sometimes when I assume, I miss something.

 

No crooknecks in this post, I noticed. ;)

looks flavorful!

This is the type of 'urban grit' that I love.  You just dont see anything like this anymore...unfortunately :|

little egypt? i never knew.

 

well thanks for showing me around an area i'll probably never get to

Fantastic pics!

It looks very diversified :) (not just culturally)

Awesome snaps, mrnyc. What's rent like 'round these parts?

Awesome snaps, mrnyc. What's rent like 'round these parts?

One arm and one leg per month :]