Central Astoria Local Development Coalition lending helping hand to businesses, residents
For upwards of three decades, the Central Astoria Local Development Coalition has been dedicated to preserving the community and offering a broad range of services for small businesses, tenants and seniors, as well as cultural programs, including the popular Waterfront Concert Series, which has brought musical acts to Astoria Park since the 1990s.
However, it’s been a transformative last few years for Astoria, with new shops and development popping up as the neighborhood has emerged as one of Queens’ most desired places to live, a shift demonstrated in the coalition’s work.
Executive Director Marie Torniali says they have increasingly tacked issues of tenant harassment, once a relative non-issue that has increased in frequency throughout the gentrifying community.
“It’s a problem,” she said. “This neighborhood has seen a lot of changes.”
The organization works with tenants, seniors and immigrants to help them secure housing, giving them information, and helping them file for benefits and assistance programs including SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), among other services.
“Anything that will help people with limited income stay in their homes,” said Torniali.
