Rain, rain go away. - Forecasts show clear skies, just in time for the weekend. And folks, we’re still dizzy from the immense turnout to the first-ever Astoria Farmers’ Market on Sunday. (A mayoral candidate even showed up!) Catch the AFM team back on the block the second Sunday in June.

And now we’re back.

Shout-out to everyone who made our (rain delayed) launch weekend so special! We’re excited to be back at it this weekend, with a full slate of programming planned. And yes, the farmers’ market is here.

Okay, let’s try that again.

Thunderstorms and high winds in the forecast doomed our launch. But hey, it happens! (It was April, anyway.) But we’re ready to hit replay this weekend—and we’ve got lots planned.

Starting Saturday, the two blocks of 31st Ave from 33rd to 35th Street will close to traffic and parking from 12pm to 8pm every weekend until December. Our all-volunteer crew is so excited to welcome everyone back, with tons planned these next few weeks. We’re starting off our sixth season strong!

To mark the occasion, we’re returning to our old newsletter format for the foreseeable future: topline updates, relevant articles, and then upcoming weekend schedule. Every Friday, delivered to your inbox. Just to keep things nice and tight as we get the OS going.

The city has studied the conditions on 31st Street extensively over the past 5 years, and have finally announced a plan that will fix many of these problems - but now, a small group of private business owners are fighting AGAINST these life-saving improvements, stoking irrational fears based on misinformation and sometimes outright falsehoods. And now, the future of the project seems unclear: even though the arguments against this street safety project are largely irrational, they’ve succeeded in making enough noise that the city may reverse course and allow 31st Street to remain unsafe for everyone, in order to appease a few businesses owners who would rather place their own convenience first.

Sign the petition in support of a safe 31st Street and tell the DOT: street design decisions must be based on empirical evidence and safety, and Astoria residents want this safety redesign to proceed unimpeded! 

Start spreading the news: the 31st Ave Open Street is back for its sixth season on Saturday April 26th!