✨ Business Spotlight: 🧘 From Wall Street to the Mat — The Story of YUG Wellness

🏆 Knicks Parade Is TODAY — The Canyon of Heroes Is Ready

🕍 Astoria’s Synagogue Just Turned 100

🌿 Juneteenth Is Tomorrow — Your Western Queens Weekend Guide

🏗️ One LIC’s $2B Neighborhood Plan Has a Timeline

The light comes through the windows in the morning in a way that makes you forget you're in Queens. In one area, Reformers, yoga mats, and a space big enough to hold 30 people moving through a candlelit flow at the end of a long day. In the loft above it, blankets, pillows, and small groups of maybe 10-15 people doing sound prenatal classes, cacao ceremonies, and women's circles. This is YUG Wellness. And the story behind it is one of the wildest you'll hear from a business owner in this neighborhood.

Erika Ferrentino spent 18 years in investment banking at Morgan Stanley. Single mom, two small children, still classified as essential during the pandemic. She was doing office shifts, Zoom calls, teaching her youngest to read, and logging into her kids' virtual classrooms all at once. And then her body shut down. Twice, her vision went completely black. Doctors sent her through cardiologists, endocrinologists, the full circuit. Everything came back clean. The final stop was a psychiatrist who offered medication. Erika doesn't even take Tylenol. So when another doctor said, "Well, you could try yoga," she figured she had nothing to lose. She'd done sports her entire life, CrossFit, every high-impact thing you can think of, but never yoga. That first private session changed everything. Not the poses. The breathing. She realized she'd been holding her breath through most of her life. Once she understood that, the OCD symptoms that had been escalating through the pandemic started to loosen. She ordered every book on yoga and meditation she could find on Amazon, enrolled in a 200-hour teacher training in Astoria, and by summer, she knew she wasn't going back to banking.

Then came the part nobody plans for. Erika partnered with the owner of the studio where she trained, put $100,000 into a shared account to open a location in Manhattan, and left for the summer to be with her family. When she came back, the money was gone. All of it. Spent on personal expenses, cryptocurrency, payments to previous investors he'd taken money from years earlier. It was, by her account, a Ponzi scheme. Lawyers told her litigation would cost more than she'd recover. So she settled, got two months of payments, and then nothing. She courageously took a quarter-million-dollar loan against her house and opened YUG Wellness in Astoria on her own. The Soundworks building was the first space she walked into. She knew immediately.

The studio opened in February 2022 and has been evolving with what people actually need ever since. In the early post-pandemic months, everyone wanted yin yoga. Slow, grounding, floor-based, three to five minutes per pose. Now the demand has shifted toward strength and fitness. So Erika added yoga sculpt, classes with weights, mat Pilates, barre, and last May, a six-reformer Pilates studio. There's also aerial yoga, prenatal classes, and monthly sound healings. The main yoga space is nearly 1,000 square feet. Erika caps classes at 30 to keep it comfortable. Upstairs, the meditation loft hosts everything from tea ceremonies to women's circles.

The name comes from the Sanskrit word "yug," the root of "yoga," meaning the union of mind, body, and spirit. Erika didn't want just a yoga studio. She wanted a place people could go to feel better, whatever that looks like for them on any given day. Seniors 62 and older get $10 classes. She's offered yoga in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. She runs a "Karmi" program where young people trade front desk shifts for free classes. Her prices, she says, are lower than any studio she's found in the country or even in Europe, and she's looked.

But the community work extends well beyond the mat. YUG runs ongoing collection drives for the Astoria Food Pantry, collecting coats, winter gear, baby supplies, and more, with a donation box outside the studio doors that's accessible even when the studio is closed. Donation-based classes like "Flow to Feed" and "Moving for a Cause" have raised money for organizations including Connected Chef, a Queens nonprofit that has provided groceries and food boxes to immigrant families since the pandemic. YUG also hosted Paws & Flow, a puppy yoga event in partnership with Hope for Cleo Rescue, where proceeds supported adoptable animals. Their clothing swap events invite neighbors to spring clean sustainably, stretch their fascia, and swap gently used clothes, with extras donated to St. Mary's. Free outdoor yoga classes run regularly at a local Brazilian café, bringing movement into the neighborhood at no cost. And through a partnership with Veterans Rebuilding Life, a nonprofit that shares the Soundworks building, YUG offered a 12-week yoga series for veterans and their families, taught by trauma-informed instructors. For Erika, none of this is separate from the business. It's the whole point.

There's more ahead, too. Erika's thinking about a retreat house, possibly upstate, possibly abroad. Europe is the longer-term dream. For now, the focus is growing what's already here and making sure people know YUG Wellness is more than yoga. If you've been sleeping on this place because you thought it was only mats and meditation, it's time to look again.

Check out classes and book through the Mindbody app under YUG Wellness, visit their website at https://yugwellness.com/classes, or follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/yugwellness/?hl=en.

YUG Wellness is what happens when someone loses everything and builds something better out of it. That kind of place doesn't come along often, and it's right here in the neighborhood.

Today’s the day. After a historic run that ended with the New York Knicks claiming their first NBA championship, the city is throwing one hell of a parade — and you’ve got a front-row seat to history. The celebration kicks off at Battery Park at 10am, winds up the Canyon of Heroes through Lower Manhattan, and ends at City Hall around noon.

If you’re heading down, the fastest route from Astoria is the N or W train to Canal Street or Chambers Street. Expect major delays on all lines heading into downtown — give yourself extra time and pack snacks. The NYPD will have the area locked down early, so plan to arrive before 9:30am if you want a good spot on Broadway.

For fans staying closer to home: several Astoria bars are opening early for watch parties. It’s the kind of day where the neighborhood will feel electric — look out for impromptu celebrations along Steinway Street and 31st Avenue all day. This is a once-in-a-generation moment for New York basketball. Enjoy it.

👉 Parade route, timing, and transit info →

Astoria Center of Israel, the century-old congregation at 27-35 Crescent Street, marked its 100th anniversary this past Saturday with a celebration equal parts history and hope. Founded in 1926 by immigrant families who made Astoria their home, ACI has spent a century living up to its motto: “Judaism with Open Arms.”

The milestone event brought together longtime members, community leaders, and new faces. State Senator Kristen Gonzalez joined Rabbi Joshua Rabin for the ceremony, which included musical performances, a community dinner, and a look back at how the congregation has served not just Jewish Astorians but the wider neighborhood — through meals, events, and an open-door approach that’s increasingly rare.

In a neighborhood that’s changed enormously over the past century, ACI has remained an anchor. Here’s to another 100. L’chaim.

👉 Read the full centennial story at Queens Gazette →

Juneteenth — the federal holiday marking June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Texas finally received word of their freedom — falls this Thursday, and the borough has a full slate of events to mark it. Whether you’re looking for music, dance, community gathering, or just want to spend the day with intention, there’s something happening near you.

In Flushing, Queens Theatre hosts “Freedom in Practice” at 6pm, a concert celebrating Black arts and expression. Flushing Town Hall lights up at 7pm with vocalist A.D. Dolphin. Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans has a large outdoor community celebration at noon. Then Friday, Astoria Has Pride takes over Socrates Sculpture Park starting at noon — a Pride + Juneteenth mashup that’s become one of the neighborhood’s most loved summer events. Saturday, Socrates hosts its Summer Solstice celebration, noon to 6pm, free and open to all.

The long weekend runs Thursday through Sunday — a rare stretch of summer days with back-to-back reasons to be outside with your neighbors. Make the most of it.

👉 Full Queens events guide for June 19–25 →

Long Island City’s most ambitious transformation in decades is moving from concept to concrete. The OneLIC plan — a $2 billion city-backed initiative to build 14,700 homes (including thousands of deeply affordable units), new parks, and revamped infrastructure across western Queens — is now entering its design phase, with the city set to select a master design consultant this summer.

Council Member Julie Won's office confirmed that design consultant selection is targeted for mid-2026, with community input sessions to follow. The plan covers a large swath of LIC, with impacts rippling into Astoria and Sunnyside. At the core: a rezoning requiring at least 25 percent of units to be permanently affordable, with significant city investment in parks and transit connections.

If you've been following the CB1 rezoning conversations over the past year, this is the next chapter — and the one where decisions start getting locked in. Watch for community board meetings this fall, when the public comment process kicks into high gear.

👉 OneLIC overview from Council Member Julie Won's office →

👉 Recent LIC development roundup at QNS →

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

The platform highlights local news, events and community stories, providing businesses with an opportunity to reach a highly engaged local audience and showcase what they offer.

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!