Nancy Ruhling's Astoria Characters

Every morning, Zach McCurdy sketches. He draws lines for a living, and this routine, sometimes with a pad and pencil, other times on a computer tablet, helps his brain get in the right frame of mind for the day’s designs. Zach has been drawing for nearly a quarter century. “It’s therapeutic,” Zach says. He creates his cute kid-centric cartoon characters in his apartment. He doesn’t have a dedicated space – he likes to roam from room to room. There is a compact computer desk in the living…

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A comet’s tail of hair streaking in the air behind her, Audrey Dimola power-pedals to the front gate of Socrates Sculpture Park on Cherry Bomb, her single-speed Schwinn. Audrey’s the director of public programs for Socrates Park. She jumps off her burgundy “chariot of fire,” which is her constant commuter companion, and jubilantly raises her arms in a V. Because she loves her job. (She’s the park’s director of public programs.) Audrey and the park grew up together. Because she loves…

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It is Athena Levesque who opens the door. Athena She is wearing a white long-sleeved sweater. The importance of her subtle sartorial statement will become immediately clear once you see her sisters. Andrea Andrea is outfitted in a black halter top. Arianna Arianna is clad in grey. Athena, Andrea and Arianna, 5-foot-6 models who have magnetic blue eyes and long, sunshine-blond hair parted down the middle, are identical triplets. Don’t worry if you can’t tell them apart. When they were little,…

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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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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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