When my roommate and I were looking for our first New York City apartment three years ago, we visited a slew of disappointing neighborhoods: unsafe, unclean, too far from Manhattan, nothing in the way of cafes and restaurants ... the list went on. But then we got off the N/Q in Astoria. We walked down 30th Avenue and saw the thriving bars and restaurants, fresh produce market, happy community and locally owned bakeries. And we said, “We want to live here.” I’ve been living in Astoria ever since, and I’ve grown to really feel like I’m part of the western Queens community. I’ve performed in a short play at the Secret Theatre, gone to readings at the Astoria Bookshop, and celebrated the Fourth of KATRINA MEDOFF editor-in-chief July on Astoria Park’s great lawn. I’ve made amazing friends in this neighborhood, and I recognize local business owners when we walk past each other on the street. The western Queens community is really something special. As the new editorin chief of BORO, I want to celebrate the people and organizations that give Astoria, Long Island City and Sunnyside their character and help them thrive. In this issue, you can get inspired by the looks of Astoria fashionistas (page 6) and a local resident with a penchant for DIY interior design (page 50). You can read about one of my neighbors, Frank Zagottis, whose Backyard Film Fest is celebrating its 10th year (page 17), as well as other outdoor movies to enjoy this month (page 21). And we hope our frozen treats roundup (page 41) and western Queens summer bucket list (page 10) will help you make the most of the remaining weeks of summer. Got any tips, news or stories you’d like to share with BORO? Send them to kmedoff@qns.com. I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Wishing you all a wonderful end of summer, Katrina Medoff 6 PRINTS CHARMING Summer street style in Astoria 10 TOP 10 What to do before the summer ends 17 HOME VIDEOS The Newtown Road Backyard Film Fest 21 FILM FRENZY Where to watch outdoor movies in western Queens 32 SURF’S UP AT TONE “Surf” inside with a unique fitness class 34 SPEAKEASY STAPLE Astoria cocktail lounge looks like a hardware store 38 WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW Astoria resident starts Writing Camp for Adults 41 TREATS WORTH MELTING FOR Cool off with these frozen treats 50 PIANOS, PILLOWS AND PIAF Apartment combines DIY décor and travel treasures 26 MAP IT DIRECTORY Your go-to guide for the best shops, food, art, nightlife and more in western Queens 28 MAP IT: WESTERN QUEENS editoR-IN-CHIEF Katrina Medoff // art director Jonathan Rodriguez // graphic designerS Stephen Reina, Nirmal Singh writers Hayley Bridgewater, Sean Curry, Ruthie Darling, Angela Matua, Katrina Medoff photographers Ethan B. Van Buskirk, Ruthie Darling, Bridget Kenny SALES REPRESENTATI VE Graziella Zerilli // Published by Joshua and Victoria Schneps 4 | BOROMAG.COM | AUGUST 2016 FEATURES DEPARTMENTS PIANOS, PILLOWS AND PIAF 50 CONTENTS 12 AUGUST 2016 EVENTS 25 BORO DEALS & DISCOUNTS Exclusive savings, discounts and freebies for the month of August in Astoria, LIC and Sunnyside All materials Copyright © 2015 BORO / All rights reserved. Opinions and claims made by advertisers are advertisers’ claims only. BORO Magazine accepts no responsibility for any claims made by advertisers. BORO Magazine reserves the right to publish any images without providing photo/image credit. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.
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