👁️Lash Out Bar — Your New Favorite Lash Bar Has Been on Broadway This Whole Time

🌡️ Heat Emergency — Cooling Centers Are Open Now

🚆 LIRR Strike Over — Trains Are Back

🗑️ June 1 Trash Bin Deadline — What Astoria Homeowners Need to Know

🚨⚽ Queens Is the World Cup's Living Room

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20

🏫 Middle & High School Application Workshop

Navigating NYC's school application process? This workshop covers what families need to know for the fall cycle. Details & RSVP

THURSDAY, MAY 21

💃 Dancing with the Queens Stars — Fundraiser for Queens Boro Dance Festival

6–9 pm at MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Ave., Long Island City. An evening of dancing and community benefiting the Queens Boro Dance Festival. More info

ALL WEEK

🏛️ Socrates Sculpture Park — Chakaia Booker 'Begin Again' Exhibition

FREE, open Wed–Sun, 9am–sunset. The 40th anniversary season is underway with monumental works Serendipity and Gridlock at the Astoria waterfront. Learn more

SATURDAY, MAY 30

🇧🇷 Carna Moove 2026 — Live Brazilian Music at Bohemian Hall

Noon–11pm at Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden, 29-19 24th Ave. Live Brazilian music, DJs, and a full-day outdoor celebration. Tickets & info

SUNDAY, MAY 31

🎨 Paint Outside the Box — Abstract Painting Workshop at Bohemian Hall

3–5 pm at Bohemian Hall, 29-19 24th Ave. Guided abstract painting with Alice Lipping Art Studio. All skill levels welcome. Tickets & info

June 3–7: Astoria Park Carnival — Free admission, rides under RFK Bridge (Hoyt Ave N & 19th St). 4–11pm weekdays, noon–midnight Sat/Sun. More info

June 4: Socrates Sculpture Park 40th Anniversary Gala at Spacetime CC — sunset dinner, dancing & cocktails. More info

June 8: FREE Met Opera Outdoor Recital at Socrates Sculpture Park — 7–8pm. Rising Met stars perform at the waterfront. Free & open to all. More info

Walk into Lash Out Bar on 38th Street and Broadway and you immediately understand why people were driving in from New Jersey to get here. It's calm. It's focused. The kind of place where you sit down, get taken care of, and leave looking noticeably better than when you walked in. No chaos, no rushed appointments, no rotating cast of strangers doing your face. Just a tight team that's been showing up to the same spot since 2019.

Mirella, the owner, has lived in Astoria since the early 90s. She already had a location out on Long Island when she noticed something: the waitlist for lash extensions kept growing. Weeks out. She looked at her own neighborhood and saw the opening. Instead of chasing Manhattan, she planted herself right here. There was an opportunity to bring a high-demand service to people she actually knew, in a community she genuinely loves. She turned down offers to move the business to the city. Astoria, she says, was never a backup plan.

What they do best is lash extensions. Full stop. It's a meticulous service. Each appointment takes real time, real skill, and real patience. That's why the clientele sticks around. Many of the clients walking in today have been coming since the doors first opened, and a lot of the staff has too. That kind of consistency doesn't happen by accident. Brows round out the menu, and both services are done by a team that clearly takes the craft seriously.

Here's the part worth paying attention to: discounts up to 50% off get posted regularly to their Instagram stories. Mirella is upfront about it. The economy is harder right now, and lash extensions are a luxury service. She knows that. So instead of watching her regulars drift away, she keeps deals moving. And if you screenshot something from three months ago and bring it in, they'll honor it. No fine print, no expiration date negotiation. You saw it, you get it.

The next chapter is already in motion. This month, Lash Out Bar is adding a new dimension to what they offer. A licensed massage therapist (LMT)  who's also an Astoria local is coming on board to offer therapeutic massage, sports massage, prenatal massage, and facial massage for stress relief. It takes the bar from a lash studio to something closer to a full wellness stop. One address, a few different reasons to book.

If you want to stay on top of what's happening, their Instagram is the place to do it. That's where the deals live, where the before-and-afters get posted, and where you'll catch the specials before they're gone. Find them on Instagram or check out and book on their website. You can also reach them directly at 718-415-8602.

Lash Out Bar is exactly the kind of place Astoria does well: locally owned, neighborhood-loyal, and genuinely good at what it does. If you haven't been in yet, now's a solid time to fix that.

New York City activated its Heat Emergency Plan on Tuesday ahead of forecasted temperatures expected to push heat index values as high as 96 degrees across all five boroughs. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory from 11am Tuesday through 8pm Wednesday — and given that Queens can get brutally hot during heat events, this one is not to be dismissed. City agencies expanded emergency operations and opened cooling centers borough-wide.

Mayor Mamdani directed expanded outreach to vulnerable residents including older adults, people with chronic health conditions, and those experiencing homelessness. Commissioner Christina Farrell put it plainly: 'Because it's arriving early in the season, New Yorkers may not be thinking about heat safety yet.' Health Commissioner Alister Martin added that fans alone aren't enough — if you can, stay in air conditioning and limit outdoor activity between 1pm and 5pm when temperatures peak.

To find a cooling center near you in Astoria and western Queens, visit finder.nyc.gov/coolingcenters or call 311. There's also an Air Quality Alert in effect — ozone levels are hitting unhealthy levels for sensitive groups, so if you have asthma or allergies, take it easy outside today. Check on your neighbors, keep the water flowing, and stay cool out there.

👉 Read more: Patch NYC

👉 Read more: ABC7 New York

After three days of transit chaos that left roughly 250,000 daily commuters scrambling for alternatives, the Long Island Rail Road strike is over. A tentative deal between the MTA and the five striking unions was announced Monday evening, and limited LIRR service resumed Tuesday at noon. The first train out of Penn Station departed at 12:03pm on the Ronkonkoma branch, with full service across all branches resuming by 4pm.

The deal still needs to be ratified by rank-and-file union members — if rejected, the strike could technically resume. But for now, the commute is back. The MTA has pledged to issue prorated refunds to May monthly ticket holders for each business day that service was suspended, pending board approval. Keep an eye on mta.info for details on how to claim a refund.

For Astoria neighbors who made it through the week relying on the N, W, or their own two feet — good on you. Those were not easy days in the transit landscape of western Queens. Here's hoping this tentative deal becomes a final one and we don't have to go through this again.

👉 Read more: ABC7 New York

👉 Read more: MTA

Here's a reminder that will save you a $50 ticket: starting June 1, 2026, all residential buildings with one to nine units in New York City must use an official NYC Bin when putting out trash. The era of the black plastic bag is finally ending for small homeowners and landlords too. The city is offering three bin sizes — 25-gallon, 35-gallon, and 45-gallon — and it's on property owners to ensure they have enough bins to hold all their trash.

The official NYC Bin is available at multiple Home Depot locations across Queens, including one right in the neighborhood at 124-03 31st Ave. You can also order for delivery or pickup at homedepot.com/NYCBins. Non-compliance after June 1 means a $50 fine for a first offense, $100 for a second, and $200 for a third and beyond. The city has been serious about enforcement since this program launched in 2024.

This push is part of the broader effort to eliminate the iconic-but-notorious piles of black trash bags — and the rats — that have long defined New York sidewalks. If your block has already converted, you know how much better it looks. If not, now's the time to make the switch.

👉 Read more: Patch NYC

The FIFA World Cup kicks off June 11, with eight matches — including the Final — coming to MetLife Stadium in nearby East Rutherford. And while the games are technically in New Jersey, the cultural center of gravity for this tournament will be right here in Queens. New York City is launching a Neighborhood Passport initiative designed to send the flood of international visitors directly into immigrant neighborhoods, with Queens front and center.

Think about it: Brazilian fans making their pilgrimage to Point Brazil on Astoria Avenue. Greek supporters watching at a Ditmars taverna. Mexican, Colombian, Moroccan, and Argentine communities all concentrated within a few spectacular square miles. The city is planning free outdoor screenings, fan zones in parks and public spaces, and a tourism spotlight on neighborhoods that rarely get this kind of international attention.

Details on specific fan zones and Astoria-area events are still being finalized as June 11 approaches, but mark your calendars: June 11 through July 19, the borough of immigrants becomes the borough of the entire world. We'll be covering World Cup happenings in Astoria throughout the tournament — stay tuned.

👉 Read more: Travel and Tour World

👉 Read more: FIFA World Cup NY/NJ

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!