🏫 Two New Schools Are Coming to Western Queens — One Right Here in Astoria

🎨 Socrates Sculpture Park Turns 40 — and Chakaia Booker Is Coming Home

🏠 75 Apartments Just Opened at Astoria Cove — Deadline Is June 2

🍽 New in the Neighborhood: Tapas, Halal Seafood, and Bengali-American Coffee

Wednesday · May 13 🎲

•       Gamestoria Weekly D&D Night — 7–10:30 pm @ Gamestoria, 34-10 31st Ave, Astoria. Drop-in Dungeons & Dragons every Wednesday, all levels welcome.

•       Q.E.D. Astoria — Shows tonight and every night. NYC's #1-ranked comedy club (Time Out). Check the full calendar.

Friday · May 15 🎬

•       Frank Sinatra School of the Arts — 19th Annual Student Film Festival — 6 pm underclassmen showcase & 8 pm senior films @ Tony Bennett Concert Hall, 35-12 35th Ave. Free.

Saturday · May 16 🛣

•       31st Avenue Open Street — Car-free Saturdays & Sundays through Dec 14. Maker markets, live music, local vendors, food trucks.

•       Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden, 29-06 24th Ave — NYC's oldest beer garden is open for the season.

Sunday · May 17 🌱🎪

•       48th Annual Astoria Spring Festival, 11 am–6 pm on 31st St between Ditmars Blvd and 21st Ave — local vendors, makers, food, kids' rides, live music. Free.

•       Socrates Sculpture Park — Plant Terrarium Workshop — 11 am–1 pm @ Socrates, 32-01 Vernon Blvd. Field Guide x Noguchi: build a terrarium, explore sculpture and nature.

•       31st Avenue Open Street — Car-free Sunday. All the usual good stuff.

⭐ Coming Up / Mark Your Calendar

•       May 23–24 · Bohemian Hall Czech & Slovak Festival, noon–9:30 pm — Authentic food, traditional music & dance, raffles, and cultural programming.

•       Thu, May 28 · Astoria Film Festival Opening Night @ Heart of Gold, 7–11 pm — Kicks off a 3-day festival at Kaufman Astoria Studios, May 28–31.

•       Thu, Jun 4 · Socrates 40th Anniversary Gala @ Spacetime CC, LIC — 40 years of public art on the waterfront. Honoring Chakaia Booker.

•       Thu, Jun 4 – Mon, Jun 9 · Astoria Park Carnival — Five-day run under the RFK Bridge at Astoria Park. Free entry; ride tickets $1.50 each.

The city announced five new public schools opening this fall across Queens and the Bronx, and two of them are landing right in our backyard — one specifically designed for Astoria students with disabilities.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels made the announcement on May 5. For western Queens, the big headlines are: Queens Academy for Innovative Learning, a new District 75 school in Astoria serving grades 6–12 for students with disabilities; and the Academy of Cultural Excellence, a Pre-K through 5th grade school opening in Long Island City under District 30. Queens Academy for Innovative Learning is built around technology integration, STEM exploration, and work-based learning — giving older students with disabilities a pathway that combines academic rigor with real-world readiness. Founding principal Jenna Oshaughnessy said she "can't wait until September to open the doors."

The Academy of Cultural Excellence in LIC is going in a different direction: culturally responsive, project-based learning for younger kids, with dance, music, visual arts, and culinary arts woven into the core curriculum. Neither school is zoned, meaning families anywhere in the city can apply through MySchools. If you have a student who could benefit from either program, the time to look is now.

👉 Full story on ABC7 New York

👉 More details at Chalkbeat

One of Astoria's most beloved outdoor spaces is celebrating a milestone — and it's doing it in style.

Socrates Sculpture Park, the waterfront park on Vernon Boulevard that started in 1986 as an abandoned landfill and became one of the most dynamic public art spaces in New York City, is marking its 40th anniversary with a season titled "Begin Again." At the heart of this year's programming is a homecoming: sculptor Chakaia Booker, who first worked at Socrates in the 1990s building large-scale forms from repurposed rubber tires, has returned with three monumental works now installed on the waterfront. Serendipity, Gridlock, and LIKE opened last Sunday, May 11 — and they're free to visit anytime the park is open.

The 40th anniversary season also introduces a reimagined artist fellowship. For the first time in the program's 30-year history, the park invited more than 100 former fellows and exhibiting artists to nominate peers — a model it calls "Artists Choose Artists." The result is a 2026–2028 cohort of ten fellows who will build and exhibit work at the park over two years, each receiving a $10,000 production grant plus technical support. The 40th Anniversary Gala is June 4 at Spacetime CC in LIC, Mark di Suvero's waterfront studio. In the meantime, Chakaia Booker's installation is free, outdoors, and right here in Astoria. Go see it.

👉 Full season announcement on Artdaily

👉 Socrates Sculpture Park

If you're looking for a new apartment in Astoria and have the income to qualify, there's a lottery open right now — and applications close in three weeks.

NYC Housing Connect is accepting applications for 75 units at Astoria Cove Phase 1(A), a pair of new buildings at 4-34 and 4-42 26th Ave. — a 26-story and a 7-story tower on the Astoria waterfront. Units are reserved for households earning between 80% and 130% of the area median income, putting the eligible income range at roughly $77,829 to $227,500. On the rent side: studios start at $2,126/month, one-bedrooms at $2,266, and two-bedrooms at $2,696.

The building amenities are substantial — gym, spa, yoga and dance studio, rooftop terrace, golf simulator, business center, package lockers, covered parking with EV charging, and bike storage. Fair warning: at 80% AMI, the minimum income for a studio is $77,829, so this is affordable-by-regulation rather than affordably priced. But for households that fit the bracket, this is one of the more complete new developments on the water. The deadline to apply is June 2, 2026.

👉 Full details on QNS

👉 Apply at NYC Housing Connect

The western Queens dining scene has had a busy spring, and a handful of new spots have quietly settled in over the last couple of months. Here's a quick rundown of what's worth checking out.

Sangria Tapas Bar & Restaurant moved into the space that used to be Shady Lady, bringing a full tapas menu — pulpo a la plancha, empanadas de carne, patatas bravas — alongside sangria pitchers and signature cocktails. Happy hour is a draw. Morjan Seafood, a new halal seafood spot, is making waves with a menu built around fresh branzini, clams, and calamari that you can order fried, grilled, or oven-baked — the kind of seafood-forward, accommodating setup the neighborhood has been short on. First Cup Cafe is a Bengali-American newcomer blending traditional and modern: kunafa cheesecake and pain au chocolat sit alongside samosa chaat and lox toast. Worth a visit for coffee and a bite.

And over in Long Island City, Jax Pizza Joint has opened with a commitment to classic NY-style slices and zero seed oils — their Jax Special, a vodka sauce slice with shaved Parmesan, has already built a following. Four different angles on eating in western Queens, all worth your time.

👉 Guide to new Astoria and LIC restaurants on QNS

👉 Jax Pizza Joint on 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!