8 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 12, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Report shows a residential rise in Astoria real estate market
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Astoria is seeing a residential rise in
condo owners, according to data from a
new Queens market report released last
week.
New data from the Modern Spaces Q2
(second quarter) report show that the
Astoria market has tripled the number of
fi rst quarter closings on condominiums
in the neighborhood. According to the
report, the average closed price has seen
both quarterly and yearly gains.
During the fi rst quarter (Q1), the average
closed prices for one- and two- bedroom
condos were $660,518 and $943,750
respectively. In the second quarter, the
average closed prices rose to $666,432 and
$956,058. Overall there was a 13 percent
yearly increase in closed prices for Astoria
properties, with the average closed price
at $782,906.
Data also showed that the average
closed price per foot in Astoria properties
experienced an increase from Q1 to Q2.
Th e average closed price per foot for one-
and two-bedroom condos was $1,081 and
$902 in Q1, and changed to $1,036 and
$986 in Q2.
Th e highest price and price per foot
for Astoria closed condos in Q2 was
$1,347,637 at Th e Livelle and $1,178 at
Verona Condominium, according to the
report.
Th e average days on the market for
one bedroom apartments in Astoria is
251. Two- and three- bedrooms spend
an average of 166 and 124 days on the
market respectively, and the average studio
apartment spends just 88 days on the
market.
In addition to data about Astoria, the
report also includes sale and rental data
from Long Island City and Flushing. Th e
report shows that average closed prices
in these neighborhoods have also seen
yearly and quarterly increases; a 9 percent
increase in Long Island City condos and
a 13 percent increase in Flushing condos.
Photo via Shutterstock
Queens Dems unanimously against Trump’s Supreme Court pick
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Not surprisingly, President Donald
Trump’s selection of Brett Kavanaugh as
the newest member of the United States
Supreme Court is an unpopular choice
among Queens Democrats.
In a televised broadcast on Monday
night, the president picked Kavanaugh
to fi ll the SCOTUS seat left being vacated
this month by retiring Justice Anthony
Kennedy. At the press conference
announcing his decision, Trump cited
Kavanaugh’s “impeccable credentials,
unsurpassed qualifi cations and a proven
commitment to equal justice under
the law” as some of his reasons for choosing
him.
But Democrats from Queens and other
parts of New York have called Trump’s
pick “irresponsible” and some have made
plans to protest his decision that they say
would endanger the rights of women and
the LGBTQ community.
“Brett Kavanaugh’s backwards thinking
and irresponsible decisions on a host of
issues — from a woman’s right to choose,
to gun control, to immigration, to the
environment — make clear that he would
be a dangerous addition to the Supreme
Court. His nomination must be defeated,”
said state Senator Michael Gianaris
in a statement yesterday.
State Senator Jose Peralta said that the
president is “an attempt to bring us back
in time and reverse all the progress we
have made in the last decade.” Following
the announcement, the senator said that
he would call for a special session in
Albany to codify Roe v. Wade — the 1973
Supreme Court decision that legalized
abortion nationwide — in New York.
“Here in New York, it is crucial that we
codify Roe v. Wade and protect a woman’s
right to choose as well as access to
safe and aff ordable contraception. Th is is
why I am calling for a special session in
Albany to ensure we do just that. In addition,
I want to thank Governor Andrew
Cuomo for signing an executive order to
protect abortion rights. It’s a good step,
but we need a special session to guarantee
women’s rights in New York,” Peralta
said.
Other Democrats have taken swift
action after yesterday’s SCOTUS
announcement. Today, a statement
from gubernatorial candidate Cynthia
Nixon said that she would be holding
a rally on Tuesday aft ernoon to save
Roe v. Wade in Manhattan’s Union
Square South. Nixon will rally along with
#VOTEPROCHOICE co-founder Heidi
Sieck, state Senate Democratic candidates
Jessica Ramos, Alessandra Biaggi, Rachel
May, Jasi Robinson and Julie Goldberg,
and other pro-choice activists.
Th ough he has not taken an offi -
cial stance for or against Roe v. Wade,
Kavanaugh has been criticized for his
dissent on a ruling from a Washington,
D.C., circuit court last October. Th e case
involved an undocumented teenage girl
in detention who was seeking the right to
an abortion.
“Th e government has permissible interests
in favoring fetal life, protecting the
best interests of a minor, and refraining
from facilitating abortion. Th e Supreme
Court has repeatedly held that the government
may further those interests so
long as it does not impose an undue burden
on a woman seeking an abortion,”
said Kavanaugh in his dissent on the ruling.
Th e Republicans control 51 of the senate’s
100 seats, while Democrats have
49. Kavanaugh’s bid for Supreme Court
Justice must be confi rmed by a majority
vote.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell — who refused to consider a
previous president’s Supreme Court justice
nominee in the fi nal year of that president’s
term — called for Kavanaugh’s
confi rmation process to move forward
“fairly.”
Robert Pozarycki contributed to this
report.
Photo via twitter.com/@WhiteHouse
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