🎭 Business Spotlight: She Bet on Astoria: Meet the Woman Behind Premiere Performing Arts

🚲 The 31st Ave bike boulevard is growing — Phase 2 is official

🚇 The 114th Precinct lost 16 officers to the subway

💰 Mamdani closed the $12B budget gap (here's how)

TUESDAY, MAY 19

🎭 Q.E.D. Astoria — Check qedastoria.com for this week's lineup of comedy, storytelling, film screenings, and workshops. Something's always happening at 27-16 23rd Ave.

THURSDAY, MAY 21

💃 Dancing with the Queens Stars Gala — 6–9pm at MoMA PS1, Long Island City. Watch local Queens leaders compete in a dance-off trained by Queensboro Dance Festival artists. Fun, festive, and for a great cause.

SATURDAY, MAY 23

🩸 Blood Drive — 9:30am at Advance Masonic Temple, 21-14 30th Ave, Astoria. Roll up a sleeve for a neighbor.

SUNDAY, MAY 24

🍺 Czech & Slovak Heritage Festival at Bohemian Hall — Noon–9:30pm. Free and family-friendly! Pierogies, Moravian stew, potato pancakes, imported Czech and Slovak beers, and traditional music & dance performances at the oldest beer garden in NYC. 29-19 24th Ave, Astoria. (Continues Monday, May 25.)

Picture this: a kid from your neighborhood, maybe eight or nine years old, walks into a room and for the first time figures out what their body can do. Not just the steps, but the feeling of stepping into something. That's the whole point of Premiere Performing Arts, and if you haven't heard of it yet, that's exactly the kind of thing Ashley Burke would like to fix.

Ashley moved to Astoria from Michigan back in 2012, fresh out of college, maitre'd-ing at restaurants and picking up teaching work wherever she could find it. She taught 5th grade at St. Demetrios and PS 212Q in Jackson Heights, yet still taught dance and theater online through COVID after school daily, and somewhere in there had to make a choice: get her master's degree and follow the conventional path, or take a real swing at the thing she actually loved. She chose the swing. The first building fell into her lap, she signed the lease on a Friday, had the keys by Monday, and was seven and a half months pregnant the whole time. That's not a metaphor for anything. That's just what happened.

Premiere Performing Arts is a dance and theater school at 18-16 Astoria Blvd, serving kids from age two and a half all the way through 18, plus adult dance and fitness classes. The curriculum runs deep: ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, musical theater, voice. There's a competition team. There's a full spring musical every year. There's a winter showcase. The kids perform, like actually perform, not just stand on stage looking cute. They played halftime at a Brooklyn Nets game. They've danced at Citi Field. The competition team is heading to nationals at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania this June. What Ashley is building is less "local studio" and more a genuine training ground for kids who want to audition for performing arts middle schools, high schools, and eventually college programs. The triple threat pipeline, right here on Astoria Boulevard.

Here's the thing about the price of ambition in New York: performance training in Manhattan runs steep, and it usually comes with the emotional warmth of a casting notice. Premiere runs differently. Ashley still teaches 18 classes herself. When you email the studio, you're emailing Ashley. Every new student gets a free trial class, no charge, no pressure. Her read on it: if the fit is right, they'll enroll. She's confident enough in what she's built to bet on that. And so far the numbers back her up. She ended her first year with 54 students. The second year she was up to 86. This year she's finishing at 120, with a goal of 150 next season, across two locations. The second one opened because they simply ran out of room.

The next few weeks are worth putting on your calendar. The dance recital is May 31st at St. John's Prep High School. Then on June 13th, also at St. John's Prep, the theater school performs Matilda the Musical, Junior Edition. And yes, if you want to see what a room full of kids who actually know what they're doing looks like, either of those shows is a good place to start.

If you want to register for the fall, book a free trial class, or just see what's happening week to week, head to premiereartsny.com. Follow on Instagram at @premiereartsny, on Facebook at facebook.com/premiereartsny, or reach the studio at 347-242-3144 or [email protected].

Astoria already has a lot going for it. It's a good sign when someone chooses to plant something here, and even better when it grows.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the NYC Department of Transportation have announced the second phase of the 31st Avenue bike boulevard redesign in Astoria — and this time it's going further than anyone expected. Phase 2 proposes a parking-protected, two-way bike lane running from Steinway Street all the way east to 51st Street, connecting to Woodside and creating a continuous corridor from the Astoria waterfront into the heart of Queens.

The DOT has flagged 31st Avenue between Steinway and 51st as a Vision Zero Priority Area — seven pedestrians and two cyclists were seriously injured along that stretch between 2021 and 2025. The new design would add a circular traffic diverter at 31st Avenue and 43rd Street, updated signals, and new loading zones to support local businesses.

Phase 1 wrapped up earlier this spring. Phase 2 public engagement is already underway, with construction set to begin later this year. If you have thoughts, now is the time to share them with DOT.

👉 Read more: QNS

👉 Read more: NYC Mayor's Office

Here's something worth knowing about your neighborhood's police coverage: the 114th Precinct recently had 16 officers reassigned away from Astoria street patrols and sent to ride overnight subway trains instead. Deputy Inspector Seth Lynch shared the news at a meeting of the Astoria Homeowners, Tenants & Business Civic Association — the kind of thing that doesn't always make headlines but matters to anyone who lives here.

The reassignment is part of Governor Kathy Hochul's $77 million subway safety initiative, which guarantees at least two NYPD officers on every overnight train (9 PM to 5 AM, seven days a week). The tradeoff is real: those 16 officers were specifically assigned to the 114th to handle quality-of-life issues — nightlife, retail complaints, housing, and shelters.

The 114th covers Astoria, Long Island City, and parts of Sunnyside. If you've noticed any change in neighborhood presence or have feedback on this policy, the civic association meeting is a good place to raise it.

👉 Read more: Astoria Post

👉 Read more: Queens Gazette

Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a $124.7 billion executive budget for Fiscal Year 2027 that he says closes the city's projected $12 billion deficit — without dipping into reserves, raising property taxes, or cutting major services. The bulk of the gap was plugged with $7.6 billion in state aid from Governor Hochul — a significant assist that fiscal watchdogs are already calling a "state bailout."

On top of state aid, agency savings contributed $1.77 billion, pension restructuring adds $1.64 billion in FY27, and a new pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes is projected to bring in $500 million in new revenue.

The City and independent budget monitors are cautioning that some of these moves are "one-shots" that patch the gap for now but don't fix the structural problem. Whether this holds up to scrutiny from the City Council will be the story to watch through June.

👉 Read more: NYC Mayor's Office

👉 Read more: The City

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!