Astoria Characters: The Classic-Car Dealer

There are 170 classic cars in Peter Kumar’s warehouse, but the one that means the most to him is the toy parked prominently on his desk. Peter is the owner of Gullwing Motor Cars. It’s a silver Mercedes Gullwing; he bought it when he was starting out 33 years ago. It’s been in numerous accidents, which is why it’s splattered with maroon paint and held together with Scotch tape. Gullwing Motor Cars is at 24-30 46th St. “I fell in love with a 1955 Mercedes Gullwing,” he says. “It was…

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Astoria Characters: The Astoria Warrior

From shaved head to bare toes, Anthony Antoine is in full warrior mode. Anthony is the founder of the Astoria Warrior brand. There can be no doubt of this because his red hoodie, camouflage baseball cap and summer slippers all shout Astoria Warrior in your face with big, bold letters. Although it’s a new brand, Anthony’s been prepping for it his entire life. Anthony, whose parents and grandparents are from Trinidad, was born in Astoria 43 years ago and brought up in The Acropolis apartment…

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Astoria Characters: The Actor at the Funeral Home

Seventeen. That’s how many pounds Sean Church gained to play Eddie, the lead in Sam Shepard’s play . You can meet Sean at O’Shea-Hoey Funeral Home. “Eddie is supposed to be overbearing, but my female lead was only a half inch shorter than I, so the way I conveyed this was to put on weight,” says Sean, a toned young man who weighs in at 160. It took a month of gorging on chicken wings and cheese omelets and lifting weights to pack on the pumped-up pounds. And nearly three months…

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Astoria Characters: The Cabaret Singer

Cancer and cabaret. Those are the two Cs that have defined Becca C. Kidwell’s life in the last year. To allay alarm, she wants you to know that the cancer’s gone. The cabaret, she says, is here to stay. Becca beat cancer — twice. Becca, who has cropped hair the color of caramelized carrots, zips off her charcoal-grey hoodie to reveal a low-cut, high-voltage red-hot cocktail dress. Rhinestone drop earrings studded with purple stones and black patent-leather Doc Martens that shine like stars…

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Astoria Characters: The 92-Year-Old Vet Fighting for His Wife

These days, Eddie Indellicati is playing a lot of solitaire. He sits at his computer in the living room of his apartment and silently moves the cards from one pile to another, trying to take his mind off his wife, Li Hong. Eddie is a WWII and Korean War veteran. Lili, as he affectionately calls her, is trapped in Shanghai, China, which is where she is from. It’s a long, complicated story, which he will get into, but for now, all you need to know is: She is there. He is here. Eddie, 92, has lived…

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