Hola mis queridos amigos, hoy vamos a saber un poquito más sobre ASTORIA, lugar situado en el distrito de Queens de Nueva York y que cada vez está más de moda hoy en día.
Info: Speak Up magazine.
Photos: grazia.es / wikipedia.org
NEW YORK CITY: "A" IS FOR "ASTORIA"
Astoria is a neighborhood in the New York Borough of Queens. It's only 20-minute subway ride from Manhattan and this makes it popular with people who work in Manhattan but who can't afford to live there.
It's on the western shore or the western coast of Queens, which means that it touches the East River, which separates Queens from Manhattan, so there are some properties, some of them are residential, there are some factories, some parks that have great views of Manhattan and in some cases it's really spectacular, especially at night when all the lights are on from the Midtown.
Astoria is considered "suburban", even if it's actually very close to Manhattan. It is the westernmost part of the borough of Queens which is on Long Island) and is just across the East River from Manhattan's exclusive Upper East Side.
Astoria is also considered the place for people who can't afford to live in Manhattan. Here you can find single-room apartments larger than the "shoeboxes" that are available for rent in Manhattan. And seeing as Astoria is only a 20-minute subway ride from Manhattan, it's almost as good as -if not better than- living there.
A MELTING POT
Astoria is named in honour of John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant who, in the nineteenth century, became the wealthiest man in America. By using the name Astoria, developers hoped that Astor would invest in the place. In actual fact he invested very little and he never even went there, but the name stuck. In the twentieth century Astoria became associated with other immigrant groups.
GREEK INFLUENCE
In the 1950s, there was a huge economic problem in Greece and a lot of Greeks moved to the United States and settled in Astoria. So it's sort of traditionally people think Astoria, they think Greek. There's a lot of truth to that, there are all kinds of Greek restaurants. Greek night clubs and of course, Greek people.
Whenever there is an independence day, a Greek independece day or a Greek soccer team wins, people are always in the street, partying and having fun. Along with the Greeks, there's always been a large Italian population, or Italian-American population. When you walk by te street and you see grapes growing in a front yard, it usually means that it's an Italian person who's making wine.
Not surprisingly, Astoria is enjoying a boom! Properties have doubled in value in the last five years. Another thing that has attracted people to Astoria is its park, which offers a great view of Manhattan. People also like Astoria's "ethnic" feel.
Astoria has had a large Greek community since the 1950s. Needless to say, there are some wonderful Greek restaurants where the fish is delicious. In many cases there isn't even a menu: you choose the fish on display and they grill it for you. And whereas Manhattan residents live in large partment buildings, Astoria has many two-and three-story houses. They have tiny front yards that often feature statues of the Virgin Mary. For this we have to thank Astoria's Italian community.
MULTICULTURAL
Astoria's population has changed in recent years, however and there has been a tremedous influx of people from everywhere in the world. There's a Bangladeshi street where there are a row of Bangladeshi stores where you can buy all their spices and their saris and their clothes. There is a Brazilian section where you can get Brazilian food and you can buy clothes and stuff from Brazil. There is a part that they call Little Egypt, there's a Cairo Steakhouse, a couple of Egyptian restaurants and there are hookah bars, as well.
There's a great Chilean restaurant, and Japanese, Korean, a Lebanese place so there's a great mix of really just about everywhere, every continent you could ask for.
*****************************
VOCABULARY OF THE TEXT.
-SHOEBOX: caja de zapatos.
-SEEING AS: ya que.
-THREE-STORY: de tres pisos.
-TINY: diminuto.
-FACTORY: fábrica.
-TO STICK: quedar.
-TO GROW: cultivar.
-YARD: jardín.
-STEAKHOUSE: asador.
-HOOKAH BAR: bar donde se fuma narguilé o shisha (pipas de agua)
-CHILEAN: chileno.
EXERCISE
CHOOSE THE QUANTIFIER FROM THE LIST TO FILL THE GAPS.
a lot / all kinds / a bunch / all / a couple / some
a) Of the properties in Astoria, ________are residential while others are factories.
b) In the 1950s, _______ of Greeks moved to the US and settled in AStoria.
c) There are ______ of Greek places now, like restaurants and night clubs.
d) On the Bangladeshi street, you can buy ______ their spices and clothes.
e) There are ______ of Egyptian restaurants in the part known as Little Egypt.
f) There are also ________ of hookah bars in the northern part of Astoria.
HAVE A NICE DAY MY FRIENDS
SEE YOU!!!
SOLUTION TO THE EXERCISE.
a) some b) a lot c) al kinds d) all e) a couple f) a bunch.
