Astoria Characters: The Warrior of the Waterways

Clare Doyle, candy-apple red hair flitting about in the breeze, is standing on Shore Road in Astoria Park watching the water wave to her. It’s a gray day; it’s not supposed to rain, but the sky is spitting at the forecast, sending down spritzing mists like a perfume atomizer. Clare is the vice president of Green Shores NYC. Clare, the vice president of Green Shores NYC, spends every Saturday and Sunday in Queens parks, sometimes visiting up to a half a dozen per weekend. In fact, this has been…

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Astoria Characters: The Thanks-Giving Guy

When Lou Romano Trujillo looks out over the tables at Chick-N-Soup, all he can think of is his good fortune. “I’m a lucky guy,” he says, “because of the people – family and friends – who helped me open it.” Chick-N-Soup is at 30-12 Astoria Blvd. He mentions his mother (“an extraordinary woman who raised me by herself”), his landlord (who encouraged him to take on the renovation and gave him a really good deal on the rent), his uncle the electrician and his uncle the carpenter (who…

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Astoria Characters: The Print Promoter

The first thing you notice about K.Y. Chow is his apron. It’s green, the color of a forest in deep shade. He points to the large red and white medallion in the center of its top. K.Y. is from Hong Kong. “It’s Chinese calligraphy,” he says, standing in front of a wall of awards in the lobby at Grand Meridian Printing in Long Island City. “It means ‘best of the best.’” K.Y., a tall, pen-thin man who is angular and animated, wears it when he’s in the office, and since he’s on site…

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Astoria Characters: The Acting Cafe Owner

After she takes a tray of pineapple coconut muffins out of the oven, Sonnie Brown concentrates on the frosting for her chocolate peanut butter layer cake. She stands smiling over the small stainless steel mixing bowl at her coffee/cake/conversation café Sonbobs, swiftly stirring, stirring, stirring. Sonbobs is at 34-15 28th Ave. When the icing is creamy and thick, she paints it onto the cake with a spatula, crowning the confection with miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups. The decorative design…

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