Founding
neighborhood in Queens, New York City, United States
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River to the west and north and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast, and Woodside and East Elmhurst to the east. As of 2024, Astoria has an estimated population of 198,608.
The Astoria area was originally inhabited by Native Americans known to Europeans as the Mespat or Maspeth tribe. European settlement began in the seventeenth century, notably by Englishman William Hallett and his wife Elizabeth Fones, leading to its original name of Hallett’s Cove. Stephen Halsey, known as the father of Astoria, expanded and improved the settlement in the 1830s. The village was incorporated in 1839 and named after fur tycoon John Jacob Astor.
During the second half of the 19th century, economic and commercial growth brought increased immigration. Astoria and several other surrounding villages were incorporated into Long Island City in 1870, which in turn was incorporated into the City of Greater New York in 1898. Commercial activity continued through the 20th century, with the area being a center for filmmaking and industry. Astoria is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Queens.
Astoria is colloquially referred to by several nicknames: "Actoria," highlighting the neighborhood's significant population of actors, drawn by its proximity to the Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silvercup Studios, and the Theater District; "The People's Republic of Astoria", referencing the neighborhood's reputation as a progressive political hub that by 2023 had become the only district in the United States to elect Democratic Socialists of America representatives at municipal, state, and federal levels; and "The Big Apple's Fruit Basket," due to the thousands of fruit trees, particularly fig trees, cultivated in local yards.
Astoria is located in Queens Community District 1, and is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 114th Precinct. Politically, Astoria is represented by the New York City Council's 22nd, 25th, and 26th districts.
The area now known as Astoria was originally called Hallett's Cove (also spelled Hallet's Cove), after its first landowner, William Hallett (or Hallet), who settled there in 1652 with his wife, Elizabeth Fones. Hallett's acreage, granted by New Amsterdam director general Peter Stuyvesant, extended from the East River to about 29th Street; the northern boundary was a brook south of today's 25th Avenue and the southern boundary was Sunswick Creek. Following a widespread Native American attack in 1655, Stuyvesant ordered settlers in isolated areas to move to local villages for protection. The Halletts moved to Flushing and remained there for some years.
In 1664, New Amsterdam fell to the English and was renamed New York. In the same year, Hallett extended his original holdings by purchasing a large tract of land from local Native Americans, extending his holdings to include present day Steinway. Sometime thereafter, he applied to the British to recertify his right to the property, known as the Hell Gate Neck tract. This recertification, which became official in 1668, provided the basis for the Hallett family to clear land, farm, and reside on a number of homesteads over the succeeding century. The Halletts were prominent local landholders until the early 1800s.
Throughout the 1700s the Hallett's Cove settlement remained a rural outpost to New York, which was located on the southern tip of the island of Manhattan. Like the rest of New York, Hallett's Cove was occupied by the English for most of the Revolutionary War. In 1782, regular ferry service to New York began; the eastern terminus was at the site later occupied by the Sohmer Piano Factory at Vernon Boulevard and 31st Avenue.
In 1814, the area of Hallett's Point became the site of Fort Stevens, a defensive work to protect Hell Gate from a potential British attack during the War of 1812. The coastal fort also had an adjacent inland defensive position, Castle Bogardus, to protect from a land attack. Together these structures were the first permanent buildings in what would become Astoria. After the war the fort was abandoned, but by 1836 a small village of 20 to 30 dwellings was built, known as Hallett's Cove.
Beginning in the early 19th century, affluent New Yorkers constructed large residences along the Hallett's Cove shoreline, in the vicinity of 12th and 14th Streets, an area that later became known as Astoria Village (now Old Astoria). These summer homes and retreats for the wealthy coexisted with the beginnings of commercial activity further inland, including a stone quarry, a nursery, and turpentine distilleries. In 1835, a wealthy fur merchant named Stephen Halsey, then living in Flushing, moved to the Hallets Point area with the intention of expanding the rural settlement into a new and thriving village. In the following years he bought land, laid out streets, purchased the ferry service and moved it to Hallett's Cove, and created a new road, or turnpike, to connect with Flushing, along the route of today's Astoria Boulevard.
In 1839, Halsey applied to the New York state legislature to incorporate the village. Halsey had personal and business connections to noted fur merchant John Jacob Astor. He hoped to secure a donation of $2000 to found a Episcopal Female Seminary in the new village: in exchange, Halsey would name the village Astoria. Astor invested only $500, but the name stayed nonetheless. From Astor's summer home in Yorkville, Manhattan—on what is now East 87th Street near York Avenue—he could see across the East River to the new village named in his honor.
Following its official founding in 1839, Astoria continued to grow slowly until after the Civil War. German immigrants, particularly furniture and cabinet makers, became numerous beginning in the 1860s. In 1870, Steinway & Sons piano makers, already well established on the east side of Manhattan, built a piano factory and worker housing in the northernmost portion of Astoria. The Steinway company town provided a range of services including bilingual schools for workers’ children; it also included a sawmill and foundry, as well as a streetcar line. Part of the motivation for locating the Steinway factory in Queens was to keep the workers isolated from the ferment of labor organizing and radicalism occurring in other parts of New York, notably the Lower East Side.
Astoria and several other surrounding villages, including Steinway, Ravenswood, and Dutch Kills, were incorporated into Long Island City in 1870. Long Island City remained an independent municipality until it was incorporated into the City of Greater New York in 1898. The early twentieth century saw rapid growth in Astoria as new modes of transportation provided the stimulus to residential and commercial development: the Queensboro Bridge opened in 1909, the Astoria Line elevated subway began service in 1917, and trolley services expanded throughout Queens. The area's farms were quickly turned into housing tracts and street grids to accommodate the growing number of residents.
Astoria figured prominently in early American filmmaking. In 1920-21, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, forerunner to Paramount Pictures, constructed a large motion picture production studio on 35th Avenue. This complex would be an important center of economic activity throughout the decade, with over 100 silent features produced. Astoria's film production heritage is preserved today by the Museum of the Moving Image and continued by Kaufman Astoria Studios.
In 2015, Astoria was included in NYU Furman Center's The State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods study as New York City's 11th most gentrifying neighborhood.
Beginning with the 2020 United States census, the Federal government identifies Astoria/Queensbridge as the geographic area for which it compiles statistics, overlapping with Queens Community District 1. In 2024, there were an estimated 198,608 people in Astoria/Queensbridge, of which 14.6% identified as Asian, 4.1% identified as Black, 28.3% identified as Hispanic, and 47.3% identified as White. The household income group with the largest share (37.2%) of households was $100,001 – $250,000. In 2000, the same household income group had the largest share as well, with a slightly lower share of 29.4%. Median household income in 2024 was $93,460, about 11% more than citywide median household income ($83,970). The poverty rate in Astoria was 13.8% in 2024 compared to 18% citywide. The percentage of the foreign born population is 36.6%, compared to 44.9% in 2010. The percentage of persons with a language other than English spoken at home is 50.9%. The homeownership rate is 18.5% compared to a citywide percentage of 32.7%. The percentage of the population with a high school degree or higher is 89% and with a bachelor's degree or higher is 53.9%, as compared to New York City as a whole at 88% and 41.2%, respectively.
For census purposes, the New York City government classifies Astoria as part of three neighborhood tabulation areas: Steinway, Old Astoria, and Astoria. Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the combined population of these areas was 154,141, a decrease of 17,427 (10.2%) from the 171,568 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 2,556.2 acres (1,034.5 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 60.3 inhabitants per acre (38,600/sq mi; 14,900/km2). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 52.2% (80,533) Non-Hispanic White, 4.7% (7,204) Black, 0.2% (250) Native American, 14.3% (22,100) Asian, 0.0% (70) Pacific Islander, 1.0% (1,532) from other races, and 2.1% (3,238) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.4% (39,214) of the population. The Astoria and Old Astoria tabulation areas had greater Hispanic / Latino and Asian populations, and the Old Astoria area specifically had a greater Black population.
The entirety of Queens Community District 1, which includes Astoria and parts of Long Island City, had 199,969 residents according to NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 83.4 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 16% are between the ages of 0–17, 41% between 25 and 44, and 22% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 10% and 12% respectively.
As of 2024, the median household income in Community District 1 was $93,460. In 2018, an estimated 18% of Astoria residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. Around 8% of residents were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 47% in Astoria, slightly lower than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018, Community District 1 is considered to be gentrifying: according to the Community Health Profile, the district was low-income in 1990 and has seen above-median rent growth up to 2010.
Astoria was first settled by the Dutch, English, and Germans in the 17th century. Many Irish settled in the area during the waves of Irish immigration into New York City during the 19th and early 20th centuries. During the late nineteenth century German Americans became a significant presence. Following World War I, Italians were the next significant immigrant group in Astoria, and numerous Italian delis, bakeries, and pizza shops are still found throughout Astoria, particularly in the Ditmars Boulevard area.
Jews were also a significant ethnic and religious group. The Astoria Center of Israel, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1925 after outgrowing the former Congregation Mishkan Israel, which was built in 1904.
The 1960s saw a large increase of Greeks, and after 1974, there was an influx of Cypriots. This cultural imprint can be seen in the numerous Greek restaurants, tavernas, bakeries, and cafes, as well as several Greek Orthodox churches. In the late 1960s, a 'Greek Town' neighborhood coalesced in Astoria. From 1960s to 1980s the number of Greeks constantly increased. 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. During the 2000s, the Greek immigration dropped again. During the 2010s and 2020s economic issues in Greece caused a resurgence of Greek immigration. Greek organizations in the area include the Hellenic American Action Committee (HANAC) and the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York.
Most of the 20,000 Maltese in New York City live in Astoria, and although 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 Muslim population grew from earlier immigrants from Lebanon to also include people from Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria. In the 1990s, Steinway Street between 28th Avenue and Astoria Boulevard saw the establishment of many Arabic shops, restaurants, and cafes, which is unofficially called "Little Egypt", due to the number of Arabs residing there and the mostly Egyptian shops and lounges there.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Astoria, Queens”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.