April 25, 2025 By Shane O’Brien The 15th-annual Queens Cup cocktail-making competition will return to the Bonnie in Astoria next month, bringing nine Queens bars together for an evening of craft cocktails inspired by some of the most popular video games of all time. Queens Cup Arcade: Ready Round 15 will take place at the… Read more »
April 24, 2025 By Shane O’Brien More than 500 barbecue lovers packed Pig Beach BBQ in Astoria on Wednesday, April 23, for the 13th-annual Brisket King NYC, where over 20 chefs from across the Tri-State area served up creative interpretations of the classic Texas barbecue dish. Held at 35-37 36th St., the competition saw chefs… Read more »
April 24, 2025 By Shane O’Brien A spirited charity head-shave at Rivercrest, a popular bar on Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, raised nearly $12,000 for childhood cancer research earlier this month. The April 3 event marked Rivercrest’s first time participating in the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s annual head-shaving fundraiser, joining other bars in the Stout NYC Hospitality… Read more »
April 22, 2025 By Shane O’Brien Several online fundraisers have raised more than $90,000 for Astoria residents displaced by a four-alarm fire that ripped through two buildings on 31st Avenue on Easter Sunday. The blaze ignited inside a three-story mixed-use building at 21-33 31st Ave. shortly before 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 20, before spreading… Read more »
April 21, 2025 By Shane O’Brien The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) unveiled a new student-designed billboard in Astoria Monday morning, encouraging motorists to slow down near work zones on city streets and highways as part of National Work Zone Awareness Week. The poster, unveiled at the intersection of 31st Street and Ditmars… Read more »
April 18, 2025 By Shane O’Brien More than 2,000 people have signed an online petition calling for protected bike lanes and “safety improvements” under the elevated subway tracks on 31st Street in Astoria—just one week after a group opposing the project produced a similar-sized petition. The 31st Ave. Open Street Collective, which launched the dueling… Read more »
April 17, 2025 By Shane O’Brien Over 100 New Yorkers flocked to Ditmars Boulevard Wednesday evening as Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony visited local cannabis dispensary Terp Bros as part of the New York launch of his cannabis brand “STAYME7O.” Anthony, a 10-time NBA All-Star widely regarded as one of the best players to have never… Read more »
April 16, 2025 By Shane O’Brien State Senator Jessica Ramos presented a $2.5 million check to Costa Constantinides, CEO of the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens (VBGCQ), to support the construction of a new aquatic center as part of the organization’s ambitious $293 million redevelopment project in Astoria. The funding will go toward… Read more »
April 15, 2025 By Shane O’Brien Vernon Boulevard was a cacophony of horns, bells, and whistles Saturday morning as a group of Astoria residents staged a six-hour “honk to reopen Rainey Park Protest.” The park, located at 34-24 Vernon Blvd., has been shuttered since September 2023 for extensive $8.5 million renovations, including improvements to the park’s… Read more »
April 14, 2025 By Shane O’Brien Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar joined a number of Astoria residents and business owners Sunday for a rally against a proposed protected bike lane under the elevated N/W subway tracks on 31st Street. More than 2,500 people have signed a petition against the bike lane, which would install eight-foot-wide bike… Read more »