Greater Astoria Historical Society

National Nonprofit Day
2024-08-17 12:30 - 16:30 UTC
National Nonprofit Day:
GAHS Table @ 31st Ave. Open Street!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2024
12:30-4:30 pm

There is a national day for just about everything. So, sandwiched between National Tell-a-Joke Day & National Fajita Day is an observance that merits being a forerunner of all days. August 17th is National Nonprofit Day!
To mark the occasion, Greater Astoria Historical Society Board Members will be at the 31st Ave. Open Street. Stop by and say hi, or maybe get to know us better. We will have general information, as well as books and other merchandise for sale.

GAHS Holiday Party 2023 !
2023-12-13 19:00 - 21:00
It’s that time of year, our holiday bash is here! Guess who is joining us for this special Celebration?
Jimmy Fink!
… formerly of WPLJ radio and Fink Bread of Long Island City!
Jimmy discusses his radio career (with photos and rock memorabilia) as well as the stars and celebrities he interviewed – from Paul McCartney to David Bowie to Billy Joel and many others!
As a bonus, he will also talk about his family’s business, the legendary Fink Bread, of Long Island City, which fed our city from schools to catering famous restaurants of years past.

JIMMY LOOKS FORWARD TO YOUR QUESTIONS AND CHATTING WITH YOU ON ZOOM – see link below ! !
Added treat! Two legends for the Holiday!
Music by Natalia “Saw Lady” Paruz ——- A Reading of ‘A Visit from St. Nick’

So get your party hats on and RSVP, this is a free event!
REGISTER HERE!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/769321339837?aff=oddtdtcreator

No, YOU Tell It! “Fly By”
2023-09-28 20:00 - 21:00
No, YOU Tell It! “Fly By”
True-Life Tales with a Twist

No, YOU Tell It! (noyoutellit.com) storytellers work together to develop true tales on the page, then swap stories to embody their partner’s culture, identity, and life experience on stage. For this special Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event, four curated storytellers are trading tales inspired by Queens history from the archives of The Greater Astoria Historical Society.
Plus, story trivia for the chance to win fun literary prizes!
Storytellers:
Robin Gelfenbien
Ben Katzner
Briana McDonald
Lowell Stephens
Featuring illustrations by Annie Shi. Follow @noyoutellit to learn about the storytellers, Queens
history, and more.
***
THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2023 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT.
The Greater Astoria Historical Society is the place to learn and celebrate Long Island City and its neighborhoods. Learn more at astorialic.org/.
This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall. This project is made possible (in part) with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.

Join us on Thursday, Sept 28th 7PM – 9PM
Grove 34, 31-83 34th St, Queens, NY 11106
Click Here To Get Your Tickets

The Beat of New York: A Visual History of New York City
2023-09-14 19:00 - 21:30
The Beat of New York: A Visual History of New York City
By: Richard Panchyyk

It’s everywhere you go! From the subways to the streets, from parks to bars, from churches to concert halls. Music in all its glorious forms, sometimes sublime and sometimes spectacular, is a vital part of city life and has been for centuries.
Whether a pair of dueling drummers on 42nd Street or break-dancers in Washington Square Park, a mural in the Village or a memorial to John Lennon—New Yorkers celebrate their musical heritage every day in so many ways.
Come along on this visual journey through time and catch a glimpse
at some of the people and places who have contributed to the Beat of New York
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
Reserve your seat for a very interesting evening!

Riverside Park
2023-08-23 19:00 - 20:30
FORGOTTEN NEW YORK PRESENTS …
SECRETS of RIVERSIDE DRIVE !
Host: Webmaster Kevin Walsh
Greater Astoria Historical Society – Board Member.

Featuring items from the Collections of …
Forgotten NY and the Greater Astoria Historical Society Collection!
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2023
Reserve your seat for a very interesting evening!
COPY AND PASTE THIS LINK
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/long-island-city-in-1776-tickets-671523513907?aff=oddtdtcreator

The Revolution comes to Queens
2023-07-12 19:00 - 20:30
LONG ISLAND CITY IN 1776 …
THE REVOLUTION COMES TO QUEENS !
…with Author Richard Melnick
Greater Astoria Historical Society – Board Member Emeritus.

Featuring items from the Greater Astoria Historical Society collection!
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2023
Reserve your seat for a very interesting evening!
COPY AND PASTE THIS LINK
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/long-island-city-in-1776-tickets-671523513907?aff=oddtdtcreator

Secrets of Queens Parks - featuring Astoria Park and Forest Park
2023-05-24 19:00 - 21:00
Secrets of Queens Parks – featuring Astoria Park and Forest Park
Forgotten NY continues its series on the Secrets of the Parks, where Kevin Walsh explores many overlooked places and facts.

Join us on Wednesday, May 24th 7PM – 9PM
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

No, YOU Tell It!
2023-05-18 19:00 - 21:00
No, YOU Tell It!
No, YOU Tell It! (noyoutellit.com) storytellers work together to develop true tales on the page, then swap stories to embody their partner’s culture, identity, and life experience on stage.

Don’t forget to SAVE THE DATE for our next show on 5/18: No, YOU Tell It! “Here & Gone” in partnership with The Greater Astoria Historical Society.
For this special QUEENS show, our four storytellers are working with the NYTI team to create modern-day true tales inspired by the rich and, at times, unknown history of the borough.
Want to tell your “Queens & Me” story? Join our own Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons for a personal writing workshop at Sunnyside Arts on 4/21. Open to writers of all levels! More info and register here.
No, YOU Tell It! “Here & Gone”
Four storytellers step into each other’s true-life tales inspired by the rich and, at times, unknown history of Queens.

About the event
No, YOU Tell It! (noyoutellit.com) storytellers work together to develop true tales on the page, then swap stories to embody their partner’s culture, identity, and life experience on stage.
Get your tickets early for this special team-up show with the Greater Astoria Historical Society!
7:00 – 7:30: *Reception featuring Queens “Here & Gone” artwork by Yelena Tylkina
7:30 – 9:00: Switched-up Storytelling
Storytellers:
Rosalie Chandler
Lakshmi Gandhi
Olena Jennings
Dan
Follow @noyoutellit on Insta to learn more about the artist, storytellers, and Queens “Here & Gone” history.
*Drinks and snacks available for purchase.
This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall.

Join us on Thursday, May 18th 7PM – 9PM at Grove 34, 31-83 34th St, Queens, NY 11106
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS FOR THE VENUE

The Long Island City Police Department
2023-05-16 19:00 - 21:00
The Long Island City Police Department
There are 8 million stories in the Naked City, but you have never heard the stories of the independent Long Island City Police Department.

Robert L. Bryan is a lifelong Queens resident and a twenty-year veteran of the New York City Police Department, having retired at the rank of captain. He is also an adjunct professor at a New York area college. Mr. Bryan’s interest in law enforcement prompted him to write the Police of New York City series, which currently consists of ten books.
In the series, Mr. Bryan looks at some of the lesser known and obsolete aspects of policing in the city. His interest in Queens inspired as one of the books in the series – The Long Island City Police Department. Many people don’t realize there was a time when Long Island City was an independent city, and fewer know that the city had its own municipal police force. This book is the story of this little-known police department.
Join us on Tuesday, May 16th 7pm – 9PM
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

April is National Poetry Month
2023-04-27 18:30 - 21:00
April is National Poetry Month
Join our annual “April is National Poetry Month” celebration featuring published poets, emerging poets, and an open mic.

Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and—of course—poets, marking poetry’s important place in our lives.
Join Greater Astoria Historical Society for its 7th Annual “April is National Poetry Month” event, hosted by Board Member and poet, DeeAnne Gorman. Joining us again will be Queens Poet Laureate, Maria Lisella, and we will feature the students of the Academy for Careers in TV and Film in Long Island City, with their teacher, poet Jared Beloff. Maria Lisella, Queens born and bred, is the sixth Queens Poet Laureate and its first Italian American. She authored the collection, Thieves in the Family (NYQ Books) and two chapbooks, Amore on Hope Street (Finishing Line Press) and Two Naked Feet (Poets Wear Prada). She is Poetry Editor for VIA: Voices in Italian Americana (Bordighera Press), co-curates the Italian American Writers Association reading series (now in its 31st year), and is a charter member of the online poetry circle, brevitas.
Cited for Honorable Mention for the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award several times, Maria has led writing workshops for the Queens Public Library, SAGE with the Teachers and Writers Collaborative, Heights & Hills Brooklyn Older Adults Program, The Noguchi Museum, Greater Astoria Historical Society, and the Writers Guild Initiative with the Body Politic. She is also an award-winning travel and culture writer whose work appears in “Never Stop Traveling”, the bilingual “La Voce di New York”, USA Today and The Jerusalem Post.
https://marialisella.contently.com. | https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/maria_lisella | Twitter: @MariaLisella
Jared Beloff is the author of Who Will Cradle Your Head (ELJ Editions, 2023), editor of the Marvel inspired poetry anthology, Marvelous Verses (Daily Drunk, 2021) and has been a peer-reviewer for Whale Road Review since 2021. His work can be found at Night Heron Barks, Barren Magazine, River Mouth Review, The Shore, Contrary and elsewhere. He is an English teacher at Academy for Careers in TV and Film in Long Island City, Queens, and lives in Forest Hills with his wife and two daughters.
www.jaredbeloff.com | https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/jared_beloff | Twitter: @Read_Instead
Join us on Thursday, April 27th 6:30pm – 9PM
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Staten Island 7PM 4/11
2023-04-11 19:00 - 20:30
IMAGES OF AMERICA
STATEN ISLAND PARKS
WITH KEVIN WALSH

CLOVE BROOK
CLOVE LAKES PARK

Many people know very little about Staten Island and even less about its parks.
Travel with Forgotten NY to learn about its secrets!
Blogger and award winning Author Kevin Walsh of the Legendary Blog ‘Forgotten New York’ invites your to a virtual walk him him to examine the Parks and Historic Buildings in New York’s most outer borough …
STATEN ISLAND!
TUESDAY, APRIL 11 2023 / 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
$5.00
TAP HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE EVENT!

Famous People of Queens
2023-03-25 19:00 - 20:30
IMAGES OF AMERICA
FAMOUS PEPLE OF QUEENS
WITH ROB MACKAY

From the IMAGES OF AMERICA Series
ARCADIA PUBLISHING

Famous People of Queens showcases a diverse group of characters and historical eras: actors, athletes, business people, politicians, religious leaders, scientists, singers, war heroes, writers, and famous people who weren’t born in Queens but lived in the borough for a long time.
Author Rob MacKay is a longtime, award-winning community journalist who has worked for the Queens Economic Development Corporation.
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2023 / 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
TAP HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE EVENT!
