By Michelle Cohen, Fri, May 10, 2019 Image via Google Earth.
A planned expansion by Target into several Queens neighborhoods has run afoul of politicians and community groups. The chain store hopes to open new stores in Astoria and Elmhurst by 2022, but activists in the borough have been fighting to stop the new additions, objecting to the fact that they’ll replace mom-and-pop stores and concerned about the effects of gentrification in their neighborhoods. Another concern is that Target’s non-union workforce will replace union jobs, The City reports.
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By Michelle Cohen, Fri, April 5, 2019 Image courtesy of Brooklyn Flea; photo credit: Scott Lynch
The city’s local flea and food markets set up shop in springtime, bringing irresistible edibles and covetable goods to a neighborhood near you. Though dates and locations vary and favorite vendors come and go, the mighty market phenomenon keeps growing. The shop-and-nosh mecca Brooklyn Flea again changes locations (hello, WTC!), a favorite night market returns in Queens, and the Manhattan classics are back to offer more of what you didn’t know you couldn’t live without. Some of the best fairs are the most fleeting, and one-offs like the annual Renegade Arts and Crafts Fair are always worth the trip. The list below rounds up the city’s top food and flea picks. Let the hunting and gathering begin!
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By Alexandra Alexa, Wed, March 13, 2019 Image via Wikipedia
The Astoria Blvd N and W station in Queens will close at 10 p.m. on Sunday, March 17 and remain shuttered for nine months as New York City Transit works on a multi-phase repair project. The elevated station will get four new elevators and other accessibility features. In order to construct the street elevators, the mezzanine level will be demolished and rebuilt with more vertical clearance to prevent strikes by trucks and other over-height vehicles on the road below.
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By Devin Gannon, Thu, February 21, 2019 Leasing has officially begun at 10 Halletts Point, the first tower of seven to rise at the Durst Organization’s development in Astoria. Designed by Dattner Architects, the rental building features two towers, at 22- and 17-stories, originating from the same base. The no-fee rentals at 10 Halletts Point start at $2,150/month for studios, $2,525/month for one-bedrooms, and $3,595/month for two-bedrooms. According to a Durst spokesperson, two studio apartments rented the same day leasing opened and “a couple of thousand” more people have expressed interest. Current concessions offered include one free month of rent on a 13-month lease, and two months free on a 26-month lease.
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By Devin Gannon, Tue, July 24, 2018 Rendering via Vass Stevens
A new food hall is coming to the Astoria–Long Island City border in Queens, the Commercial Observer reported on Tuesday. Developer Vass Stevens Group is in the process of converting a former print shop, dollar store and restaurant supply store at 34-39 31st Street into a retail space with eight 2,000-square-foot storefronts. The interiors of the single-story building have been demolished and renovations, which will add new glass storefronts and doors, are set to begin soon.
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By Hannah Frishberg, Mon, June 25, 2018 Photo by Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit via Flickr
On the heels of the 2 and 3 resuming weekend service between Brooklyn and Manhattan, the MTA has more good news: The 30th and 36th Avenue stations in Astoria will be reopening on Monday, July 2 after being shuttered for repairs the past eight months. But with this also comes some bad news–the closure of the Broadway and 39th Avenue stations on the same N, W line, which are projected to remain shuttered for seven months.
July 2 will be quite a day for Astoria straphangers
By Devin Gannon, Tue, April 3, 2018 Rendering via Target
Retail giant Target announced on Tuesday that it will bring three new Target stores to New York City, further expanding its footprint in the Big Apple. The new stores, planned for the Upper East Side, Astoria and Staten Island, will be “small format,” tailored to the needs of shoppers in urban areas (h/t NBC). In a statement, Mark Schindele, a senior vice president of Target’s properties, said: “All three of these new stores will offer the best of Target in that borough, yet curate the assortment to meet the needs and preferences of the nearby community.”
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By Dana Schulz, Wed, March 7, 2018 Less than a month after we got a first look at 10 Halletts Point, the first of seven buildings that will open at the Durst Organization’s $1.5 billion Astoria mega-development, the Dattner Architects-designed tower is making headlines on multiple fronts today. Not only did a teaser site go live for the 405-unit rental tower, with even more new renderings, but the affordable housing lottery launched for the project’s 81 below-market-rate apartments. These range from $947/month studios to $1,414/month three-bedrooms, all of which are reserved for households earning 60 percent of the area median income.
See the renderings and find out if you qualify for the affordable units
By Devin Gannon, Tue, February 20, 2018 N train at 30th Ave Station via Wikimedia
Thousands of straphangers on the Upper West Side and Astoria will have to rethink their daily commutes come spring, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans on closing some stations for up to six months for repairs and upgrades. The station makeovers fall under the MTA’s Enhanced Station Initiative, a plan to improve the reliability and customer experience inside the subway system. Planned enhancements include installing digital countdown clocks at subway entrances, glass barriers, LED lighting and adorning station walls with artwork.
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By Devin Gannon, Fri, February 16, 2018 The first of the Durst Organization’s seven-building, $1.5 billion development on the Astoria waterfront got new renderings this week, months ahead of its scheduled opening. As Curbed NY learned, the developer said leasing will launch for the two-tower 10 Halletts Points this summer. The first building to open on the Halletts Point campus, the tower will feature 405 apartments, of which up to 25 percent will be affordable.
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