AJ Riccio and Joaquim Rabinovitch
were married in Astoria last September
(you may recognize them from
their stunning wedding photo the on
the cover of our February issue) and
have lived together in their apartment
on 45th Street for five years
and counting. Over the years, they’ve decorated
the old apartment with vintage thrift
pieces and original art.
MARCH 2018 I BOROMAG.COM 45
Rabinovitch, who works for the Department
of Transportation, was born in Paris
but has lived in Queens most of his life. He
convinced Connecticut native and former
Brooklynite Riccio to join him.
“She totally didn’t like it at first,” Rabinovitch
said.
“I didn’t!” Riccio agreed. “I was like ugh, I
have to go to Queens. Then I explored and
I was like, this place is really great. It’s amazing
and it’s such a tight-knit community that
I just instantly changed my mind.”
As an artist, Riccio cherishes the creative
environment in Astoria, and it shows in her
design taste. “In Brooklyn you kind of have
to prove yourself, like, ‘OK, why do you think
you could be an artist here?’ But here it’s
like, ‘Oh you’re an artist? That’s cool. Let’s do
something together!’” Riccio said. And she’s
taken advantage of the collaborative community
in the past — like designing business
cards for Queens Comfort (commissioned
by owner Donnie D’Alessio).
But the couple’s artistic involvement in
the community doesn’t stop there. Their local
wedding in itself was a work of art.
“In a nutshell, it was an art gallery wedding,”
Riccio said. “We gathered all of our
artist family members’ paintings and we
hung them in a venue in Ditmars T Studio.”
Since they were paying for the wedding
themselves, the couple had to get creative
BY ESTELLE PYPER
@ESTIE_PYPER
@ESTIEPYPER
Photo: Estelle Pyper/BORO