Nancy Ruhling's Astoria Characters

A mommy, baby strapped to her stomach, is peering through a front window of SHASTYE Gallery and Play Space. SHASTYE Art Gallery and Play Space, 26-16 23rd Ave. The shop is so new that there’s no sign outside, and she’s trying to figure out what it is all about. The only thing she knows is that she feels drawn to the clean, white space. She starts snapping shots with her cell, hoping that they provide some answers. Shasta’s an artist. What the photos cannot tell her, Shasta Molnar,…

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Plunk, plunk, plunk; plink-plink-plink-plink. Someone is playing, let’s make that pounding, a toy piano. Thia Reggio, pastor of the Astoria First Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) takes no note of it. She’s had a lot of practice screening out its astringent strains. Thia’s the pastor of Astoria First Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is, after all, New York City: Even churches as old as Astoria First, which started holding services nearly 170 years ago, have to have roommates to make…

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There’s a baby grand in the living room, but when Phyllis Chen sits down to play, it’s at the child-size cherry-red toy piano. Phyllis, who plays a baby grand and a toy piano. Her knees almost touch her hands, which fly across the kiddie keys, creating cascades of catchy, chiming melodies. “Toy pianos don’t have strings, they have metal rods,” she says, explaining the bell-like sounds that are floating through the air. “They’re percussive.” Phyllis…

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It’s breakfast time, and John Sung Park is at the front door with a big grin on his face. He’s been up since 4, and he still has a lifetime to go before he closes his juice bar, Paris Health New Direction, at 7 p.m. John’s from Seoul, South Korea. Early rising aside, Paris — and John — have always been ahead of the times. Paris, which started out as a doughnut shop nearly three decades ago, swapped the sweets for healthy treats 14 years ago. “Nobody else was doing…

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The guy behind the desk gets up to answer the phone. In the blink of an eye, he’s back. Richard, left, and Manny are identical twins. But wait a second. He’s wearing a black shirt. When he left, it was blue. How did he do that? The unintended joke’s on you: He’s not one but two. Manny Varela Jr., the black shirt, and Richard Varela, the blue shirt, are identical twins. Manny’s the older — by 5 minutes. Manny is quick to point out, unprompted, that he’s…

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