Walking down 36th Street the other day made me feel like i was back in Portugal, maybe even Deutschland somewhere. I had never really looked around this block that is known for its sprawling front yards. The buildings there really are cool to look at. This top one is just so random that it sticks out like a sore thumb, well its not so sore cause i think the building is really quite nice to look at-it just may be on the wrong block is all.
This bottom photo could really be in a Portuguese aldeia
This bottom photo could really be in a Portuguese aldeia
So yeah, take a look around now that the weather is getting oh so much better! There are so many really cool things in this neighborhood. Being first generation in America, its really cool for me to see that i can still get the "feel" of my family's world in my world. There's no place i'd rather be!(the sentimental-ness of this post has got to me my allergy medication kicking in, i want to be out more checking out stuff but i'm stuck indoors quite a bit...stir crazy maybe? dang flowers!)
Hi Flooz,
ReplyDeleteLots of Germans (Steinway and more) lived, worked, and built in Astoria in early 20th century. But I can't tell -- is that top photo a more recent construction?
Very cool to see the photos.
John
hiya jr
ReplyDeletefrom what i can tell, the top photo may be one of the buildings that caused a hub bub in the nabe. i've heard there were issues a little while back with building a tall structure somewhere there, so i am assuming that might have been the one. it def looks pretty new.
The building in that top photo is the one that caused the ruckus. That block (36th St south of 30th Ave) is one of the few in Astoria that's still consistently all one style, and a particularly nice block in general. So when the new building was proposed, the neighbors got pissed and tried to get it stopped, to no avail.
ReplyDeleteI walked around in the new building before they rented it out--pretty nicely done, it seemed. It is just a shame how freakish it looks on that block--especially considering there are so many already-messed-up blocks in the neighborhood that it could've been on.
Portugal? Germany? naw, those are places that value their history and their urban fabric.
ReplyDeleteThe block was OUTRAGED this went up, a fact that seems to get only a glancing mention.
This is typical of the junk thats going up throughout Queens (strange, this type of housing only seems to get praise in Astoria)
Actually, this building is known throughout the city in community forums:
"Next slide please."
(lecturer with a smirk) "Astoria" (tittering audience)
well the glancing mention is because i wasn't in on the ruckus, if i had a firsthand account of it then i'd be more prone to get into it. i'm not a big fan of all the ridiculous housing that is going on either, i just was making an aesthetic comment on the building itself-not the issue's behind it.
ReplyDeleteThere were huge banners up on that block that said something like "new buildings ruins our look" for ages. They were right, too.
ReplyDeleteI live on that block, and this building really is a shame. People were livid, but to no avail. The banners across the street were pretty funny, but ultimately ineffective.
ReplyDelete"The Zoning Book Ruins our Look" I believe the banners said.
ReplyDeleteThe politicians did show up --- and did little more than mouth platitudes.
The community board signaled no interest in getting involved.
The newspapers recorded the developers deadpan as he assured us this will provide funds for his children's college education.
Actually find this offensive, to be honest, and hope this entire entry can be removed.
ReplyDeletei'm sorry "anonymous" that you have taken offense with the exchange going on here, i know that i didn't set out to make any issues- but i don't see any reason to remove any entries here, its all opinions that people may have and i don't see anything wrong in talking about these things. I for one, am learning alot more then i knew about this part of the neighborhood and glad for it, i see this as a good thing. no offense to anyone
ReplyDelete:)
I see nothing offensive in this post/thread/series of comments. Oh, except when people like to complain (and not just here) under the name "anonymous." Whatever happened to accountability?
ReplyDeleteA while has gone by since all the posts above but Astorians probably notice all the crazy construction going on in the neb; more cement,taller buildings, more drain on resources and services and less green! Contextual downzoning is still a big issue in Astoria. It takes a lot of commitment and effort to get a zoning change. Check out the Norwood Neighborhood Association blog; the current focus is on downzoning, but NNA looks forward to addressing other concerns residents have such as: beautification, trees, safe speed limits for cars on our streets, graffiti, etc.
ReplyDeletehttp://norwoodneighborhoodassociation.blogspot.com/