FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com october 30, 2014 • The Queens Courier 3 Instagram account focuses on trash problem in Astoria BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 One Astoria resident is getting a snapshot of what some have called an ongoing problem in the neighborhood. What started first as a joke in July after the Astorian, who wishes to remain anonymous, noticed she had too many photos LIC, JACKSON HEIGHTS HIGHLIGHTED IN NEW ‘SEE YOUR CITY’ CAMPAIGN BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected]/@aaltamirano28 Two western Queens neighborhoods are part of a new campaign encouraging New Yorkers to stretch their legs and explore their own backyards. NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for New York City, has launched a new promotional campaign called “See Your City” to motivate residents to explore the diverse neighborhoods found in all five boroughs. The three-month promotional campaign will showcase Sponsored by Providing comprehensive end-of-life care in the home, nursing home, and in-patient setting throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Nassau County. For referrals or information call 718.472.1999 or visit www.hospiceny.com 10 neighborhoods throughout the city including Jackson Heights and Long Island City. “For visitors, a trip to New York City is a vacation for a lifetime. For a lucky 8 million, it’s just a subway ride away,” said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company. “We want to give New Yorkers a new perspective on the five boroughs. Start thinking of the more than 250 New York City neighborhoods as 250 opportunities to travel.” Content featuring itinerary suggestions and video postcards will be included on NYC & Company’s website and five of the 10 neighborhoods, including Long Island City, will be promoted through custom illustrations inspired by vintage travel posters. The LIC poster features an art piece at Socrates Sculpture Park overlooking the Manhattan skyline and the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. “With See Your City, we were challenged with the task of selling New York City to New Yorkers, and our goal was to create inspiration to convince New Yorkers to explore their own backyards,” said Emily Lessard, NYC & Company creative director. The See Your City campaign will be promoted through bus shelters throughout the city, posts on NYC & Company’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, commercials running in city taxicabs, and through American Express’ digital channels. Since Oct. 15, social media ambassadors have been promoting the program on Instagram through sharing images with the official hashtag #seeyourcity. For more info and to check out the featured neighborhoods, visit www.nycgo.com/seeyourcity. of trash on her phone has now become an Instagram account with 111 followers featuring “interesting trash” found on the streets of Astoria. “Once you start looking for trash in this neighborhood you find a lot,” she said. “It’s not meant to be down on Astoria, it’s just a fun way to show there is a problem.” The Instagram account called “astoriatrash” includes photos taken by the Astoria local and also submissions from neighbors and other residents, making it what she calls “a community effort.” Calling herself the “Gossip Girl of trash,” she fills each post on the account with fun captions and hashtags. She said she also likes to try to make some posts holiday themed. She added that she has become more selective with the photos she posts, trying to find “interesting” or “beautiful” trash. Councilman Costa Constantinides, who since taking office in January has made keeping Astoria clean a top priority, said he is happy to see a community member spreading awareness of the issue in the neighborhood. The councilman has allocated over $170,000 in discretionary funding to bring The Doe Fund to Astoria, allocated $30,000 for graffiti removal along business thoroughfares and participated in numerous park clean-ups across Astoria. “I applaud Astoria residents who care about their community and about how our neighborhood looks. As part of our ongoing public awareness campaign to Keep Astoria Clean, we have encouraged participation from residents,” Constantinides said. “It is heartening to see community members like @astoriatrash play a role in spreading this awareness. I hope more people will be encouraged to help Keep Astoria Clean.” The Astoria local behind the account, who also started a Twitter account to drive attention to the Instagram, said that some of the problems include a scarcity of trash cans in the neighborhood and a lot of people just throwing trash on the ground. Although it would be bittersweet to no longer have trash to include on the Instagram, she hopes the trash problem will be solved. “As long as there is trash in Astoria, I’ll keep posting,” she said. “But I hope the trash problem is fixed in the community.” For photos, visit instagram. com/astoriatrash or @astoriatrash on Twitter. To send photos and tips email [email protected]. Photo courtesy of Astoria Trash
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