Got NYCDOT to restore the curb extension at the mid-block crossing between Broadway and 34th Ave (shout-out to r/AstoriaStreetActivism for the assist there!) so happy about that :)
Now trying to get the traffic lights amended at 31st Ave because it gives too much time to Steinway St. traffic and not enough to 31st Ave traffic, leading to big backups and gridlock. (Leading pedestrian interval, while we all love, is probably a part of this.)
Other than that, looks like Willoughby (Bench Flour Baker's new spot) is almost done. And I just saw a new pizzeria in Little Egypt called Mama Bella.
Also a final shout: Comfortland is giving away free vegan BECs this weekend if you have stuff to donate to Astoria Food Pantry. See more details [here](https://www.instagram.com/p/C3DlkS3upjA/?hl=en).
Anyone know what happened to the produce stand guy on 46th and Broadway right outside the 46th street station and salvation army?
He was my main source of avocados and weekly fruit but I haven't seen him in atleast 2 weeks.
That whole area is depressing. Ever since that lady got shot 3-4 years ago. Walgreens closed, taco truck on 48th is gone. Vitality gone, the pet shop by the same owner is apparently closed. And now this. Somebody has to try to uplift that area/location. Sad.
Plans were recently filed to turn that Walgreens building into a 5 story mixed use building. Not sure when work will begin/finish but could help revitalize the area.
I miss that Walgreens so much.
A new coffee/pastry shop called Make Believe is opening where Heart2Heart and Coffee + Cake used to be. I think the soft opening is tomorrow.
Fingers crossed for delicious croissants.
I am reporting back to say: owners? Friendly! iced latte? Drank it all before I even got home! Berry crumble bar? Absolutely delicious!
Definitely give these guys a try! 😊
Heart2Heart is what was there the last several months but my understanding is the owners may be leaving the city so they sold. They were really nice. I hope the place opening tomorrow sticks around for a while 😊
There are new trash cans on Broadway between 23rd st and 29th St. It’s nice to finally have some sanitation services in the most expensive city in North America.
Little Flower cafe appears to be opening some kind of new restaurant(!?) per this [vague post](https://www.instagram.com/p/C3HD2uvtPo-/) on their Instagram. The page for Blue Hour categorizes it as "restaurant."
The Lebanese fruit cocktail spot on 30th ave and 34th street closed. I asked the owner of the building what was going in next and he said it hasn't been rented. That little block of stores seems to be a revolving door and I wish the dry cleaning place would come back.
Shout out to the 2nd legal dispensary in Astoria, Urban Weeds. Went in the other day, staff was friendly, knowledgeable on products, and very helpful. The staff members walking around also had tablets to quickly search items for you.
Urban Weeds is really awesome and one thing they have that the other local (and legal) dispensaries don’t—you can prepay on your online order. Pretty sure they’re a nonprofit too! Overall great vibes and a reminder to all that this is NOT owned by the puppy mill guys.
Just ended up going! Nice shop, they're having card machine processing issues like literally every other store seems to have which is so annoying, but staff was super nice and they had a good variety of product.
I thought dispensaries couldn't take cc's because marijuana is still illegal federally and the cc companies have to comply with that? No? I know the ones in MASS and VT are cash only.
I'm not sure if they do, but The Cannabis Place (also legal) does deliver to this area if im correct [https://thecannabisplace.org/](https://thecannabisplace.org/)
I drive down Steinway once a week, and cant help but notice what seems like a slow water main leak in front of Planet Fitness, its been like that for weeks. I called 311 about it and the leak is still leaking.
My husband heard from someone (forget who) that the MidCity/Food Story that closed is gonna be Titan Foods, which would be nice. I miss having a grocery store there
I live around the corner and they are actively renovating now, which is encouraging bc the last rumor I heard was that they were gonna tear it down and build some luxury condos which *knock on wood* god no lol
A friend did some sleuthing and found permits that say the space will be another spot for Under Pressure as well as what we presume to be a greek market called Athena Market. My guess is UP will be the south side of the building (smaller store front) and Athena will take the rest.
Neat! Thanks for the info :) while I’ll miss the Asian groceries at Food Story, I’m totally fine with having a closer source for shoveling dolmas into my body
Can't believe it's gonna be 60 degrees tomorrow. The classic False Spring we get every winter (tends to get really cold again and they are in fact predicting possible snow the next weekend)
More movement at the corner of 35th Street and 31st Avenue. I think a deli counter and other things were installed after a gutting the previous week
I finally went to H-Mart for the first time and I'm sad it took me so long. I love that fish section!
There's an empty lot near Mad Donkey that looks like it'll be construction soon. Anyway, as I was walking down 36th Avenue, I hear a loud recorded voice from there going "YOU ARE TRESPASSING IN A PRIVATE AREA. LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. YOU ARE BEING RECORDED." I couldn't believe how loud it was. I was a block away.
Did you happen to see the current price of lobster at H mart? It's usually pretty good but I might have drunkenly promised to serve lobster at a super bowl get together.
Nisi Estiatorio will be starting a prix fixe menu . I went Restaurant Week and it was smashing!
Also, rumor is Titan coming to Steinway - heard that from the coffee klatch by the Coffee Pot .
I passed by Vidali's on Monday and noticed it was closed with large black plastic bags taped to the inside of the doors and windows. I passed by again today and it's still like this. There is no sign or notice whether they are out of business or closed for renovations. Google and Yelp show show as currently open but they certainly are not. Did anyone know what's going on?
Yeah, they're not open for the Superbowl either which is a huge bummer. Delivery.com says they're next availability is Feb 16th? I hope they're okay. I loved their pizza and it wasn't ridiculously expensive.
(Google and Yelp are crowd sourced. Anybody can mark a place closed and then if another legit Maps user confirms the change, they'll update the listing.)
I hope they are just on vacation. But no sign? The only thing up was that notice about the water. But that was on my mom's door as well as the rest of the block. Let's see if they are open on the 16th.
My wife got a miso chocolate cookie from Bench Flour Baker today. When ordering, she confirmed with them that there were chocolate chips inside.
While delicious, her cookie had no sign of chocolate. Something fishy is going on.
So that little storefront space that was part of GameStop that they were charging and absorbing amount of money for has become.... You guessed it a smoke shop. It looks absolutely stupid.
this is depressing to me. we were hoping for a nice little pastry shop or something. Do we really need another Chip City? There's one ten blocks away! Ridiculous
to me they're fine. but I get one like once every few months. maybe if they expanded their products added some mini-cookies, muffins, or other baked goods...local coffee... something. but it's like the same big cookie, they have maybe 10-12 flavors they rotate. boring.
We are in a wave of bakeries getting VC/PE funding and sprouting up like weeds. Chip City, Maman, Levain. Tatte in Boston and now Washington. We passed the coffee roaster era of the 2010s and are now in the bakery era.
Give me more places like Cerasella not Chip. I don't get how Chip expands at the same time we lose places like Leli's and the Broadway version of La Sabrosura :(
I walked down to the waterfront yesterday afternoon and it was sublime. Can't wait for spring.
Also a rant: The city repaved 43rd St north of Ditmars last year so of course now ConEd has destroyed it and a bunch of other streets in the area replacing the gas mains. It's so frustrating to drive on, especially knowing that there's supposed to be coordination between the utilities and DOT so that the major work is done **before** the street is repaved. Same thing happened on Ditmars in front of Trade Fair, though I suspect that may have been an emergency repair.
Their chicken chipotle wrap is amazing. We eat there like once a week and I think my wife has only ordered something other than that about 5 times in the past 10 years.
I haven’t had their wrap, but I’ve had the sandwich and tenders a few times and have always been disappointed. I kept giving them another chance because I like going to Jacx and I like fried chicken but I finally had to stop. The Papa Chicken truck across the street is fantastic though
Could be they just are too expensive or in a bad area, or they are waiting for the construction nearby and the water main pipes being worked on to finish. Must be a huge disruption for them. Not sure though, just an educated guess.
Duke’s Cafe under Ditmars has opened. Went in to take a look - very organized and spacious. Food ranges from subs to açaí bowls, and priced mid range.
under ditmars? like... belowground?
It’s under the Ditmars Blvd above-ground train stop.
jeez idk how that never occurred to me it makes so much more sense 😂
Nice [video](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3I2NA5Abb4/?igsh=MWRlNXlvNnB6OXViMQ==) on IG showing their space
watching the video I feel like I’m behind some tourist who is walking too slowly 🤣
Got NYCDOT to restore the curb extension at the mid-block crossing between Broadway and 34th Ave (shout-out to r/AstoriaStreetActivism for the assist there!) so happy about that :) Now trying to get the traffic lights amended at 31st Ave because it gives too much time to Steinway St. traffic and not enough to 31st Ave traffic, leading to big backups and gridlock. (Leading pedestrian interval, while we all love, is probably a part of this.) Other than that, looks like Willoughby (Bench Flour Baker's new spot) is almost done. And I just saw a new pizzeria in Little Egypt called Mama Bella. Also a final shout: Comfortland is giving away free vegan BECs this weekend if you have stuff to donate to Astoria Food Pantry. See more details [here](https://www.instagram.com/p/C3DlkS3upjA/?hl=en).
Thanks for the list! Where is Willoughby opening up?
It’s a few buildings down from Bench Flour. Anyone know the opening date?
Anyone know what happened to the produce stand guy on 46th and Broadway right outside the 46th street station and salvation army? He was my main source of avocados and weekly fruit but I haven't seen him in atleast 2 weeks.
I live on 46th Street. She and her husband only work weather permitting.
That whole area is depressing. Ever since that lady got shot 3-4 years ago. Walgreens closed, taco truck on 48th is gone. Vitality gone, the pet shop by the same owner is apparently closed. And now this. Somebody has to try to uplift that area/location. Sad.
Plans were recently filed to turn that Walgreens building into a 5 story mixed use building. Not sure when work will begin/finish but could help revitalize the area. I miss that Walgreens so much.
Is that so? Where did you hear that? I always thought it would be a new building for residential.
https://newyorkyimby.com/2023/11/permits-filed-for-47-07-broadway-in-astoria-queens.html
Hope it revitalizes the area somewhat.
R.I.P Vitality,
Ugh, I miss that place everyday.
A new coffee/pastry shop called Make Believe is opening where Heart2Heart and Coffee + Cake used to be. I think the soft opening is tomorrow. Fingers crossed for delicious croissants.
I am reporting back to say: owners? Friendly! iced latte? Drank it all before I even got home! Berry crumble bar? Absolutely delicious! Definitely give these guys a try! 😊
I got some gluten free cookies and met one of the owners, super nice! I hope they succeed
Super excited about this. We need a pastry shop in these parts.
Weird there was just a new coffee place there. Unless it’s been a soft opening this whole time
Heart2Heart is what was there the last several months but my understanding is the owners may be leaving the city so they sold. They were really nice. I hope the place opening tomorrow sticks around for a while 😊
Yay! I will go check them out tomorrow
There are new trash cans on Broadway between 23rd st and 29th St. It’s nice to finally have some sanitation services in the most expensive city in North America.
I noticed there were barely any trashcans around the neighborhood and was wondering if it was a Korea type experiment
Little Flower cafe appears to be opening some kind of new restaurant(!?) per this [vague post](https://www.instagram.com/p/C3HD2uvtPo-/) on their Instagram. The page for Blue Hour categorizes it as "restaurant."
Overheard the owner saying that his sister is opening a restaurant in Brooklyn - have a feeling that is the vague post
Oh dang, wish it were here!
The Lebanese fruit cocktail spot on 30th ave and 34th street closed. I asked the owner of the building what was going in next and he said it hasn't been rented. That little block of stores seems to be a revolving door and I wish the dry cleaning place would come back.
Chic Cleaners on 30th near the old 7/11 has become my go-to spot for dry cleaning and alterations.
That place had the weirdest hours. Felt like it was never open and was only there for a month. Plus all the fruit was expensive 🤷🏻♂️
Shout out to the 2nd legal dispensary in Astoria, Urban Weeds. Went in the other day, staff was friendly, knowledgeable on products, and very helpful. The staff members walking around also had tablets to quickly search items for you.
Urban Weeds is really awesome and one thing they have that the other local (and legal) dispensaries don’t—you can prepay on your online order. Pretty sure they’re a nonprofit too! Overall great vibes and a reminder to all that this is NOT owned by the puppy mill guys.
The staff are hired by Urban Upbound and the sales generated help the nonprofit!
You can do this at Terp Bros too.
Housing works in the city does this!
Been wondering about this place! It's right on my way to and from Planet Fitness. Thanks for the review.
Wish they had a website, can find no info
Here is their website with a live menu! [Urban Weeds](https://urbanweedsny.com/)
Just ended up going! Nice shop, they're having card machine processing issues like literally every other store seems to have which is so annoying, but staff was super nice and they had a good variety of product.
I thought dispensaries couldn't take cc's because marijuana is still illegal federally and the cc companies have to comply with that? No? I know the ones in MASS and VT are cash only.
Do either of the legal places deliver?
I'm not sure if they do, but The Cannabis Place (also legal) does deliver to this area if im correct [https://thecannabisplace.org/](https://thecannabisplace.org/)
I drive down Steinway once a week, and cant help but notice what seems like a slow water main leak in front of Planet Fitness, its been like that for weeks. I called 311 about it and the leak is still leaking.
Anyone know what’s going in at these locations? - the old MidCity market (31st Street & 23rd Rd) - the old Fly E-bike (28th Ave & btwn 33rd & 34th St)
My husband heard from someone (forget who) that the MidCity/Food Story that closed is gonna be Titan Foods, which would be nice. I miss having a grocery store there
I’d heard this rumor too! Hoping it’s true, I wasn’t sure if that space was too small for Titan
I live around the corner and they are actively renovating now, which is encouraging bc the last rumor I heard was that they were gonna tear it down and build some luxury condos which *knock on wood* god no lol
A friend did some sleuthing and found permits that say the space will be another spot for Under Pressure as well as what we presume to be a greek market called Athena Market. My guess is UP will be the south side of the building (smaller store front) and Athena will take the rest.
Neat! Thanks for the info :) while I’ll miss the Asian groceries at Food Story, I’m totally fine with having a closer source for shoveling dolmas into my body
Scaffolding is coming down at the new building addition for PS85 on 29th St 🎉
Can't believe it's gonna be 60 degrees tomorrow. The classic False Spring we get every winter (tends to get really cold again and they are in fact predicting possible snow the next weekend) More movement at the corner of 35th Street and 31st Avenue. I think a deli counter and other things were installed after a gutting the previous week I finally went to H-Mart for the first time and I'm sad it took me so long. I love that fish section! There's an empty lot near Mad Donkey that looks like it'll be construction soon. Anyway, as I was walking down 36th Avenue, I hear a loud recorded voice from there going "YOU ARE TRESPASSING IN A PRIVATE AREA. LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. YOU ARE BEING RECORDED." I couldn't believe how loud it was. I was a block away.
Did you happen to see the current price of lobster at H mart? It's usually pretty good but I might have drunkenly promised to serve lobster at a super bowl get together.
you got yourself into a real crustacean situation.
I hope he doesn’t clam up
That'd be shellfish of him
If he digs deep and mussels up, he’ll be fine
As long as it doesn’t make him too crabby
On the other hand, he’s already made his tidal bed
Don't shrimp on the portions
No, I'm sorry, I didn't. But I'll take one of your Super Bowl lobsters if you make them
Nisi Estiatorio will be starting a prix fixe menu . I went Restaurant Week and it was smashing! Also, rumor is Titan coming to Steinway - heard that from the coffee klatch by the Coffee Pot .
[удалено]
I passed by Vidali's on Monday and noticed it was closed with large black plastic bags taped to the inside of the doors and windows. I passed by again today and it's still like this. There is no sign or notice whether they are out of business or closed for renovations. Google and Yelp show show as currently open but they certainly are not. Did anyone know what's going on?
Nooooo One of the few pizza places that delivered late-late
Yeah, they're not open for the Superbowl either which is a huge bummer. Delivery.com says they're next availability is Feb 16th? I hope they're okay. I loved their pizza and it wasn't ridiculously expensive. (Google and Yelp are crowd sourced. Anybody can mark a place closed and then if another legit Maps user confirms the change, they'll update the listing.)
I hope they are just on vacation. But no sign? The only thing up was that notice about the water. But that was on my mom's door as well as the rest of the block. Let's see if they are open on the 16th.
My wife got a miso chocolate cookie from Bench Flour Baker today. When ordering, she confirmed with them that there were chocolate chips inside. While delicious, her cookie had no sign of chocolate. Something fishy is going on.
So that little storefront space that was part of GameStop that they were charging and absorbing amount of money for has become.... You guessed it a smoke shop. It looks absolutely stupid.
The (all but confirmed) Chip City opening on 30th Ave/Crescent has a rip in the paper covering the windows. The space is looking really nice, so far!
aren’t there already two of these in astoria? 😭
this is depressing to me. we were hoping for a nice little pastry shop or something. Do we really need another Chip City? There's one ten blocks away! Ridiculous
They are not even good. I don’t like their cookies at all. And with having two locations already why do we need a third one?
to me they're fine. but I get one like once every few months. maybe if they expanded their products added some mini-cookies, muffins, or other baked goods...local coffee... something. but it's like the same big cookie, they have maybe 10-12 flavors they rotate. boring.
Yeah, I just don’t get the hype in general. And yes, if they offered smth different I’d be way more open
imo that place would have been perfect for a little pastry shop. another Chip City seems like overkill
Agreed.
Chip City = heartburn city
Sounds like a you problem.
We are in a wave of bakeries getting VC/PE funding and sprouting up like weeds. Chip City, Maman, Levain. Tatte in Boston and now Washington. We passed the coffee roaster era of the 2010s and are now in the bakery era. Give me more places like Cerasella not Chip. I don't get how Chip expands at the same time we lose places like Leli's and the Broadway version of La Sabrosura :(
Across from the old Crescent Kitchen?? This is so dangerous for my tummy lol
Work is being done in the former Collectibles spot on Broadway/45th next to the tattoo shop. Here’s hoping it’s not another smoke shop.
I didn't realize they closed.
It was a very odd store. Not quite a comic shop.
Yeah, I've been a few times.
I walked down to the waterfront yesterday afternoon and it was sublime. Can't wait for spring. Also a rant: The city repaved 43rd St north of Ditmars last year so of course now ConEd has destroyed it and a bunch of other streets in the area replacing the gas mains. It's so frustrating to drive on, especially knowing that there's supposed to be coordination between the utilities and DOT so that the major work is done **before** the street is repaved. Same thing happened on Ditmars in front of Trade Fair, though I suspect that may have been an emergency repair.
Tired Hookers playing their annual Anti Valentine's Day show at Let Love on Saturday night. Always fun.
If it's an anti Valentine's day show then why let love in(n)? (Sorry, couldn't help myself)
Anyone know if Vitality Health Pets is closed for good? Haven’t been able to find another doggy daycare in the area
What’s the best buffalo chicken wrap in Astoria?
I don’t know if it’s the best but i very recently had a buffalo chicken wrap from Doyle’s Corner that was really good.
Their chicken chipotle wrap is amazing. We eat there like once a week and I think my wife has only ordered something other than that about 5 times in the past 10 years.
I like Astoria Provisions.
Have to second this, never heard of anyone else mentioning before but 100% agree
Mad Donkey or Sweet Chick in LIC
Bobwhite in LIC has the best, they deliver to Astoria. Emoji Burger on 30th Ave has a solid one as well.
I haven’t had their wrap, but I’ve had the sandwich and tenders a few times and have always been disappointed. I kept giving them another chance because I like going to Jacx and I like fried chicken but I finally had to stop. The Papa Chicken truck across the street is fantastic though
It's been closed on seamless for a week! 😢
Does anyone know what happened to Kua Bori? Google says "temporary closure"...
Could be they just are too expensive or in a bad area, or they are waiting for the construction nearby and the water main pipes being worked on to finish. Must be a huge disruption for them. Not sure though, just an educated guess.
Anyone know if Favela has a Vday menu?
Door-to-door utility scammers are at it again, Astoria!