[nygirl1]

Astoria is a working-middle class neighborhood in north western Queens on the banks of the East River. The area was first settled in the 1650’s by William Hallet and his wife and used for planting. Dutch farmers also leased land in the area. The land became known locally as Hallet’s Cove and was largely undeveloped until the early 19th century when wealthy New Yorkers began building suburban villas. Hallet’s Cove was soon founded by a wealthy fur merchant in the 1830’s. The town gradually grew but remained quaint, small and was noted for recreational use. The name Hallet’s Cove changed when the community in an attempted to persuade John Jacob Astor to invest money renamed it in his honor. Astor was one of the wealthiest men in the world and while he did invest in the village it was never as much as residents had hoped for. Astor lives right across from Astoria in what is today’s Upper East Side and from his home was able to see the village, named after him but never set foot in it. As the 1800’s moved in the it’s later half, Astoria saw an economic growth which attracted German immigrants. Astoria became a company town toward the end of the Century when a German settler founded Steinway & Sons Piano Company and built their factory in town. In 1870 Astoria was incorporated as the northern neighborhood in Long Island City. In 1898, Astoria and the rest of Queens County was annexed into New York City. Farms outside of the built up town were turned into residential tracts and a street grid was formed and expanded. By the turn of the 20th century the neighborhood was largely German and Irish. Italians and Jews began moving into Astoria by the 1920’s and 1930’s but it was the Greeks that came in the 1960’s who left the largest stamp on the neighborhood. For the second half of the 20th century Astoria was the center of Greek life in New York and as other nationalities had, it was their claim on the world’s city. For a period of time Astoria was home to the largest Greek population outside of Greece. Their numbers have dropped as birth rates have lowered and Greek immigration to America has slowed significantly. Many have also relocated to various other parts of the city and out to Long Island. Today Astoria is a pretty diverse neighborhood with large groups of Middle easterner’s, some from the northern African countries of Morocco and Tunisia. Brazilians have also laid their claims to Astoria recently and many Bosnians and Bulgarians also call the neighborhood home. Today Astoria is a vibrant middle class community with tons of Greek Taverna’s and Café’s and Greek businesses. While a good portion of the Greek population has relocated many of their businesses remain. If it weren’t for its growing diversity, this would be New York City’s “Little Athens”.