✨ Business Spotlight: 🍺 Shannonigans: The Bar Astoria Didn't Know It Was Missing

🚧 Your Neighbors Just Said No to the Bike Lane: 31st Street Protest

🎉 Steinway Is a Block Party Today: NYC Eid Festival 1pm-6pm

🍕 Fresh Eats: JAX Pizza Opens, Greek Eatery Coming, Astoria BBQ Is Here

💰 That 'Affordable' Astoria Apartment Requires a $99K Income

Today -- Saturday, May 30

Answer the Call Fundraiser | Tonight at Shannonigans, 19-19 Ditmars Blvd. Open bar, 50/50 raffles, MLB giveaways including Subway Series tickets. Half the proceeds go to families of fallen firefighters and NYPD. Call (718) 535-0910 for details.

NYC Eid Festival | 1pm-6pm | Steinway St from 25th to 28th Ave, Astoria. Halal food, modest fashion, live performances, Muslim-owned businesses. Hosted by Malikah. Donation-based entry. Tickets

LIC Springs! 2026 | Noon-5pm | Vernon Blvd between 46th & 50th Ave, LIC. Free street festival: live music, art, fitness, pop-ups. Info

Astoria Film Festival -- Final Day | All day | Zukor Theater, 35th Ave & 35th St, Kaufman Studios. Main festival wraps today. Tickets

Sunday, May 31

Hell Gate: New York's Forgotten Islands Walking Tour | Astoria waterfront. History tour of the islands and straits visible from Astoria Park. Details

Bachelorettes Handbag Comedy Competition | 8:30pm | QED Astoria, 27-16 23rd Ave. Stand-up, improv, talent show. Tickets

Monday, June 1

College Point Restaurant Week -- through June 15. 21 local restaurants offering 20% discounts on cuisines from Greece, Colombia, China, Italy, Mexico and more.

Coming Up / Mark Your Calendar

Astoria Park Carnival -- June 3-7 | Astoria Park, Hoyt Ave N & 19th St. Ferris wheel, roller coasters, bumper cars, games. Free admission. Details

Governors Ball -- June 5-7 | Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Lorde, A$AP Rocky, Stray Kids headline. Tickets

You hear the music before you even reach the door. You step inside and someone at the bar looks up, makes eye contact, and just sort of waves you over. Not because they know you. Just because that's how it goes here. By the time you sit down, you're already in a conversation. By the time you leave, you're already planning when you're coming back. That's the thing about Shannonigans. It doesn't take long to feel like a regular.

Shannon moved to Astoria as a single mother from Brooklyn with no bartending experience and a need to make something work. Her first shift was at a neighborhood spot called The Hellgate, where the owner took a chance on her, and she never really looked back. She spent a decade at Rocky McBride's, building a following and learning the rhythm of this neighborhood from behind the bar. Then the owner decided to sell, called Shannon directly, and told her flat out: he thought she was the right person to take it somewhere. She bought it with two kids, a full-time job, and apparently a very high tolerance for terrifying decisions. She told everyone the next day. What she was taking over, it turns out, is one of the oldest bars in Astoria, established in 1941. Shannon turned it into a woman owned sports bar. The name was never a question. Years earlier, regulars had started calling her "Shannonigans" while she worked. She'd told them back then: if I ever open a bar, that's what it's called. A friend who'd since moved away messaged her when it happened. You did it. 

That was 2022. Since then she's fixed the place up, brought in live bands, built out a games corner with cornhole, beer pong, a bowling machine, and dartboards. She runs private parties, kids' days, and neighborhood fundraisers. And this spring she finally opened a full barbecue menu on weekends, which has been pulling in a whole new wave of people. The backyard doesn't hurt either. The vibe Shannon keeps coming back to when she describes the place is Cheers, and honestly, from everything she says, that's not a stretch. People walk in once and don't want to leave. Neighborhood locals come during the day. The nights get lively. Both feel right.

The event to have on your radar right now: on May 30th, Shannonigans is hosting an "Answer the Call" fundraiser for families of fallen firefighters and NYPD. It's a cause close to Shannon's heart through a friend who served and lost someone. The night includes an open bar, 50/50 raffles, and MLB giveaways including Subway Series tickets. Half the proceeds go directly to the families. It's the kind of event that fills a room with the right people.

And Shannon herself? She just had a baby three months ago, which she will tell you was not exactly in the plan, but which she has clearly decided is not slowing her down either. The renovations are ongoing. The social media presence is growing. She's working on getting more of the bar's history and events up online so the neighborhood knows what's actually happening over there.

Follow Shannonigans on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/shannonigansastoria/ to keep up with upcoming events, live music nights, and what's coming off the grill. You can also give them a call at (718) 535-0910 or just show up at 19-19 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY 11105.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Shannon. Astoria is lucky to have a bar owner so dedicated and awesome.

Wednesday evening, more than 100 Astoria residents gathered to protest the DOT's plan to install protected bike lanes along a 2.5-mile stretch of 31st Street from Northern Boulevard to 20th Avenue -- a corridor under the N/W elevated tracks that DOT identifies as one of the most dangerous in Queens, with three deaths and 500+ injuries from 2021-2025. But to many residents, the redesign feels like something being done to their block, not for it.

Safety concerns dominated. Gloria Moloney: 'Fire trucks can't get through.' Angela Maldanado cited her daycare right on 31st and nearby PS 85. The Uniformed Firefighters Association claims the lanes would push trucks '19 feet off the curb.' DOT disputes this -- the design creates 11 feet of emergency curb access and FDNY reviewed and signed off. Construction restarted in May after a judge had halted the project last December for procedural violations.

This is the most contested street safety fight in Queens right now. Two competing Change.org petitions have thousands of signatures on each side. If you have an opinion -- and you live on or near 31st Street, you probably do -- the DOT's engagement process is still open.

Read more: QNS  |  PIX11

Head to Steinway Street this afternoon. Malikah's NYC Eid Festival runs from 1pm to 6pm between 25th and 28th Avenues -- halal food, modest fashion vendors, Muslim-owned businesses, live performances, and the kind of community energy that Steinway Street was built for. Tickets are donation-based on Eventbrite and support Malikah's mutual aid and safety programming for women and girls in NYC. Everyone is welcome.

This is the kind of event that reminds you why Astoria is Astoria. In a single afternoon on one stretch of Steinway, you'll hear five languages and eat food from a dozen countries. Then walk down the block to Shannonigans for the 'Answer the Call' fundraiser tonight.

Good Saturday.

Read more: Eventbrite

Three new spots worth knowing about. JAX Pizza Joint is open at 30-76 Steinway Street, from the team behind Utopia Bagels -- which should tell you everything you need to know. Classic New York pies, counter service, no fuss. A new Greek restaurant is also taking over the former taco spot on Steinway; name and opening date still TBD but expectations are high. Full spotlight when they open.

And: Astoria BBQ has arrived with a focus on halal smoked meats -- brisket, pastrami, and beef ribs priced by the half pound. Smoked brisket in Astoria. Halal. Let that sink in.

If you try any of these, send us your take. The newsletter runs on neighborhood intel.

Read more: Patch (JAX Pizza)  |  Patch (Greek Eatery)

A new 'affordable' housing development near Astoria Cove has units available -- but to qualify, you need to earn at least $99,000 a year. That's the threshold for units tied to 130% of the Area Median Income. By federal definition, this is affordable housing. By most Astorians' definition, it is not.

This is the math behind the city's affordable housing pipeline playing out in real time in western Queens. AMI calculations are based on regional averages that include wealthy suburbs, pushing qualifying income thresholds well above what many working-class neighborhood residents actually earn. The result: affordable units in Astoria that working Astorians can't access.

Mayor Mamdani's broader housing agenda signals some awareness that affordability theater isn't enough. But the math on these buildings is worth watching every time a new lottery drops.

Read more: Patch

Astoria Insider is inviting local businesses and organizations to be featured in its growing community newsletter.

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From restaurants and shops to services and community groups, all are encouraged to participate and share their story with readers across the Astoria and surrounding areas. Don’t own a business? That’s ok… Know of one that should be featured?

Those interested in being featured can reach out to learn more about available opportunities and upcoming editions. Click the button below to feature your business or send an email to [email protected] with your business details and we’ll reach out!