"The Softer Boro" a Queens Travel Page by chodearm

Queens sometimes gets forgotten in the landmass that makes up NYC. Its sits to the east of Manhatten and to the south it holds Brooklyn in a headlock against the East River. To the eastern most stretches of Queens begins Long Island, which before being incorporated into the city of New York was Long Islands third county. Queens makes up the highest concentration of ethnic variety within one town more than anywhere else in the world. The 7 train that heads due east through the boro is one of the most ethnic diverse lines in the city as it severs all different communities from India to Greece.
I escaped the high rents of Manhatten and took refuge in Astoria Queens in 1998 and remained there until I headed to the Far East land of Asia. I landed a sprawling three bedroom apartment with some friends an was instantly in awe. How did I put up with those cramped spaces of Manhatten? While there I constantly had my eyes paging through the local papers just getting local. Through these discoveries were abundant. I was always asked where I would find out such obscure info about the neighborhood. I was the travelagent/real estate agent within my group of cronies. This here is what I learned. It will keep growing as things come back into my mind and as time allows.

So I lived on 28th street just in the shadows of the TriBoro Bridge. I was a two minute walk from the NW Astoria Blvd. Station. Heres my doorway, the whole block buildings were styled in the same fashion they just sported different enterances. Though the neighborhood had many Greek roots my immediate area surrounding the Bohemian Hall Beer Garden was very much Czech. The landlord was Czech and our only exchanges were grunts to each other in complete understanding. My brother still lives here today and still holds the rent reasonably low due to his time there.

Queens never seems to change, but yet it sits at the forefront of a neighborhood with so much potential.