Season 6 Week 8
Where to even begin?
It feels like so much is happening, it can be hard to wrap one’s head around it all. And we come as the barer of more news: NYCDOT is presenting its street safety redesign of 31st Street, from 36th Ave to Newtown, next week! And as stewards of sister 31st, we feel obliged to fill the room with friendly faces.
If that’s you, here’s what you need to know: the Queens CB1 hearing will take place on June 17th at the Astoria World Manor (25-22 Astoria Blvd), starting at 6pm. It’s the third item on the agenda, so if you don’t want to wait all night to opine, feel free to swing by closer to 7:30pm.
The comment section will be short and no vote will be cast. But don’t let that dispel you: your voice matters. The city needs to see that we care about projects like this in order to follow through.
Wondering how else you can get involved? Share our petition, which is well over 3.3k signatures. Bring a pal. Tell your friends and neighbors to come. Or email Queens CB1 to say, ‘Hey, this is a good thing!’
Phew—alright, folks, we’re chuggin’ along. Here’s what else is going on:
Open Street Updates
You may have seen it yourself already but… as of this week, 31st Ave is now home to 70 planters, 36 granite blocks, and a whole lotta flexposts. We have arrived.
The painting crews also returned—to add the bike lane stencils, yellow hyphens, and other missing bits and bobs.
And the last of the truffle paint went in to properly demarcate every pedestrian space. So now it’s time to call up your crew and sit on some blocks. (That’s what all of the cool kids are doing!)
News Clips
Do cars next. (NYT)
Can we get these in Queens? (NYCDOT)
We’re getting excited about our Community Cookout series next week :) (Astoria Post)
Weekend Plans
SATURDAY
Art Swap!: 12:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Indivisible Western Queens Tabling: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Astoria Food Pantry Tabling: 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
31OS Market: 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Live Piano Improv by Aeyla: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
STARS Rehabilitation Astoria Tabling: 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
NYC Trivia League: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
SUNDAY
Children’s Book Sale for Gaza: 12:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Jinjoo Yoo Trio: 12:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Goods for Gaza: 12:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Astoria Cat Rescue: 12:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Shut It Down for Palestine Tabling: 1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Zumba with Jessica: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
For information on each event, peek our events page, which stays more updated than this newsletter.
Upcoming Markets - June
If you’re interested in selling on the Open Street, read our FAQs first here and join our Markets WhatsApp group to get the latest news as markets are being planned.
6/22 - 31OS Market
6/28 - Strolling Saturdays: An Open Streets Marketplace by Rover Coffee
Join Your Neighbors!
Sign up for a setup, breakdown or tabling shift this weekend and join the 31OS crew!
All are welcome and no prior experience is required. The most help is needed 12pm-1pm and 7pm-8pm but shifts are available all day for anyone interested in keeping an eye on things, meeting neighbors, and talking with members of the community who may have questions.
All are welcome!
Saturday 6/14
Sunday 6/15
For more info on the types of shifts, or to see what are available for signups check out our Volunteer page.
If you want to help, but can’t make it to the street in person, there are lots of other tasks and projects we’re working on throughout the week. Fill out our Volunteer Interest Form to share what you like to do and we’ll reach out if we have something!
Stay Connected via WhatsApp
Want to stay in touch with 31OS and your neighbors even when the Open Street isn’t active? Use our invite link to join our WhatsApp Community today!
Share Your Feedback
We strive to make the Open Street a pleasant experience for all, so if you have any feedback that you’d like to share with the volunteers we’d love to hear it! Our Feedback form is available 24/7 for members of the community to send their thoughts directly to our team.
Support the Open Street
It takes a lot to run the 31st Ave Open Street, such as renting storage space, paying for insurance, or buying supplies like extra chairs, sidewalk chalk, and trash bags to keep our street clean. We list a few of the materials that we are in frequent need of on our donation page. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, we also take tax-deductible donations via Givebutter for those who would like to contribute financially.
We also just launched a campaign to fundraise for this summer’s Community Cookout series.
Every bit helps and we appreciate your support in making 31st Ave a better place for all! Thank you!
