A new art district designation has western Queens keeping its cool.
Community leaders and elected officials hailed the designation of the Kaufman Arts District in Astoria Friday, celebrating the creative space as a booming borough attraction surrounding the famous Kaufman Astoria Studios. The city worked for years alongside Kaufman, the Museum of the Moving Image and the Queens Council on the Arts to establish the artistic district bordered by 31st Street, 34th Street, Steinway Street and 37th Avenue.
“This corner of Queens has quickly become a vibrant community of cultural venues and arts organizations that have attracted some of our generation’s greatest artists,” said City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), who emceed the event in a dashing red ringmaster costume.
Van Bramer was first appointed to the Council’s Cultural Affairs Committee in 2010 and has since worked with various arts groups to attract more attention to the western Queens hotspot.