26 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 15, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
surviving & thriving in Queens
Photos by Angela Matua/THE COURIER
Astoria businesses suff er ‘slow
death’ due to MTA station closure
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua
Konstantinos Platis has been running
Tastee Corner, a 24-hour diner in Astoria,
for 22 years.
Th e business has allowed the Greek
immigrant to send three kids to college,
but for the fi rst time in more than two
decades, Platis said he is struggling to
survive.
Th e reason for this struggle is the closure
of the 30th Avenue N/W train stop,
which is located right outside of his shop
at 30-20 30th Ave. His location next to the
train used to be one of the main reasons
for his diner’s success; now, the location is
a source of worry and grief.
“Aft er 22 years in business, it’s the very
fi rst time that I cannot make it,” he said.
“I don’t know if I will last until the end of
the project. I depend very much on the
traffi c — on the community to see my
space, the people that are passing by to
buy coff ee, to buy donuts, to buy things
and take them to Manhattan. Prices are
cheaper here.”
Th e MTA announced in January 2016
that they would shut down 30 stations
around the city to work on renovations
that include improved mezzanines and
platforms and other amenities like USB
ports, digital screens and countdown
clocks.
Th e 30th Avenue station offi cially shut
down in October 2017, and work on the
$150 million project is scheduled to be
completed in June.
But Platis and other business owners
Th e Courier spoke to said the agency did
not give enough notice, resulting in a signifi
cant drop in business, staff layoff s and
other issues with no solutions.
“We were in the meeting last week and
they all tell us that ‘We have a plan,’”
Platis said. “Th at plan is to spend $150
million for this project. I said, ‘You had a
plan. Why didn’t you give us some time to
make our plans of how to survive?’”
Aft er pleas from local businesses,
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas helped
to set up a meeting between agency offi -
cials and shop owners on Feb. 1 at Katch
Astoria, a gastropub at 31-19 Newtown
Ave. that is also struggling.
“It is important for quasi-governmental
entities, like the MTA, to be responsive to
small businesses,” Simotas said. “Th is is
especially true in Astoria where locally
owned restaurants and all kinds of small
businesses are the lifeblood of our community.
Th e meeting should have opened
MTA’s eyes to the devastating impact of
full station closures, and prompted it to
reconsider any future plans for our neighborhood.”
Roseann McSorley, the co-owner of
Katch Astoria, walked up and down 30th
Avenue before the meeting to hand out
fl yers and invite shop owners to attend.
Th ough the bar is not located directly
along 30th Avenue, McSorley was troubled
by what she was hearing from her
neighbors.
“Th e eff ect of this is these businesses
rely on foot traffi c and they rely on parking
capabilities on the street, and both of
those things have been taken away from
them,” she said. “Th e MTA has taken up
not only the subway space but the parking
on the street. Fences protrude at least
three feet out. Th ey basically removed
their livelihood because there is no foot
traffi c.”
Since the shutdown, Katch Astoria has
had a revenue decrease of about 20 to
30 percent. McSorley has also had to lay
off kitchen staff and suspects that “other
shops will have to do the same.”
Th ough McSorley said she is grateful to
the MTA for visiting Astoria and listening
to business owners, she said the agency
off ered no solutions.
Businesses have asked the MTA to
increase the construction staff to fi nish
the work sooner.
Th ey also requested a shuttle bus to
try to recreate some of the foot traffi c.
Th e MTA pointed out that the Q102 bus
stops along 30th Avenue, but shop own-
Business owners along 30th Avenue say they’ve been struggling since the MTA shut down the N/W station in October 2017.