Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How does Bushwick have much better transportation?
Astoria has the N, Q, M, V trains.
Not to mention the grand central Pkwy cutting across the neighborhood.
The M train goes to Forest Hills NOT Astoria, the V train is long gone. The Q train runs to Astoria but only when it feels like it.
I hate when people use the term Working Class as if a working class person wouldn't be middle class. I grew up in Astoria. It was a working class town with great families and a great environment. It was also not excessively expensive. I don't see multimillionaires there now, but I do see hipsters. The mom and pop stores replaced by starbucks. Keyfood which was once a gritty quick buy supermarket now looks like whole foods. Its not what I used to know and not someplace I'd want to live now. Which is a shame because it was awesome.
working class ain't middle class. Politicians have confused people by telling everybody (except the 1%) that they are "middle class". That way when Politicians say "we are helping the middle class", everyone is happy...
I hate when people use the term Working Class as if a working class person wouldn't be middle class. I grew up in Astoria. It was a working class town with great families and a great environment. It was also not excessively expensive. I don't see multimillionaires there now, but I do see hipsters. The mom and pop stores replaced by starbucks. Keyfood which was once a gritty quick buy supermarket now looks like whole foods. Its not what I used to know and not someplace I'd want to live now. Which is a shame because it was awesome.
Class distinctions can vary by whom or who is doing the defining, but generally middle class refers to persons who are college educated professionals, that is their education level is part of the class distinction. Working class roughly is defined by those that do just that, work for a living and may have nothing more than a high school education and or a diploma from a technical school. However depending upon what exactly they do for a living their income can equal or rise above those in the "middle class".
Much of this all comes from the English/European part of American heritage where there was historically a distinction between those employed in trades or service who actually did or produced something directly for their wages, versus the professional classes who are compensated for their education.
Even though it is gentrifying (fairly quickly) around Broadway and 31st and I moved away since I could see major rent increases on the horizon but I'm dubious of this story. The pictures in the Daily News piece had smiling realtors standing in front of brand new glassy condos... hmm... Similar to what the NY Times real estate section does with other areas they prime for a "surge" of sales. When I lived there 2 years ago Astoria/ Ditmars still had plenty of middle class individuals and a healthy mix of different classes.
On the other hand, Astoria did loose 100,000 residents in the past 10 years; many of whom were long time residents so it seems there's a lot of things going on than it no longer being an middle class enclave.
BTW, aren't many Queens neighborhoods middle class enclaves compared to other NYC neighborhoods? It is the most affordable borough beside the Bronx and SI
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
