Astoria-Ditmars Blvd — Local services in New York

Decent Subway/Metro station on the final stop on the N.and W line. Nicely renovated station and the neighborhood of this part of Astoria has some charming parts. The station just underneath has some really cool mural artwork that changes once a year or so. The vibrant and the most diverse neighborhood in the world where it has THE MOST DIVERSE LANGUAGES spoken in the world.

The Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard station (originally the Ditmars Avenue station; also Ditmars Boulevard station), is the northern terminal station on the BMT Astoria Line of the New York City Subway. Located above 31st Street between 23rd Avenue and Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, Queens, it is served by the N train at all times and the W train on weekdays.

The Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard station opened on February 1, 1917, as part of the initial segment of the IRT Astoria Line. In 2018 and 2019, this station was renovated along with six others on the Astoria Line.

This station has two tracks and an island platform. It is partially under the New York Connecting Railroad (NYCR) viaduct, which also carries the tracks of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Most of the platform is north of the viaduct.

Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast, and Woodside and East Elmhurst to the east. As of 2019, Astoria has an estimated population of 95,446.

Originally the site of a War of 1812 fortification, a village called Hallet's (or Hallett's) Cove after its first landowner William Hallet, who settled there in 1652 with his wife, Elizabeth Fones grew around the fort. Hallet's Cove was incorporated on April 12, 1839, and was later renamed for John Jacob Astor, then the wealthiest man in the United States, in order to persuade him to invest in the area. During the second half of the 19th century, economic and commercial growth brought increased immigration. Astoria and several other surrounding villages were incorporated into Long Island City in 1870, which in turn was incorporated into the City of Greater New York in 1898. Commercial activity continued through the 20th century, with the area being a center for filmmaking and industry. Astoria is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Queens.

Astoria is colloquially referred to by several nicknames: "Actoria" highlighting the neighborhood's significant population of actors, drawn by its proximity to the Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silvercup Studios, and the Theater District; "The People's Republic of Astoria," referencing the neighborhood's reputation as a progressive political hub - as of 2023, it became the only district in the United States to elect Democratic Socialists of America representatives at municipal, state, and federal levels; and "The Big Apple’s Fruit Basket" due to the thousands of fruit trees, particularly fig trees, cultivated in local yards.

Astoria is located in Queens Community District 1 and its ZIP Codes are 11101, 11102, 11103, 11105, and 11106. It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 114th Precinct. Fire protection is provided by Battalions 45 and 49 of FDNY. Politically, Astoria is represented by the New York City Council's 22nd and...

The station itself is fine, pretty average for an above-ground platform on the NYC subway. The renovations done in 2019-2020 added some nice aesthetic enhancements to the turnstile area, though the platform itself could have used a little more love.

Why the one star? As the first/last station on the N/W lines, there is what’s called a Tower at one end of the station where the operators of the signals and switch tracks decide which of the two trains in the station leave first. In my experience (lived here for several years) more so here than any other terminal the Tower does not adequately communicate to passengers which train they are sending out first.

They have no shortage of ways to do this: there are digital signs that say which train is leaving first, and they have a PA system to audibly do the same. And yet, the signs and announcements are often wrong or lacking. This results in a train full of people expecting their train to be heading on its way watch in dismay as the empty train on the opposite side suddenly close its doors and depart without a word. Out of nowhere, and for no reason other than lack of competency, hundreds of commuters have just had 10-20 minutes of their time wasted. As a victim of this on countless occasions, I’ve finally been bothered by it enough to write a review to call out the operators in the Tower for their inability to communicate basic information to the commuters they are...

Simple improvements needed. I don't understand why people have to be crammed to a single point before exiting the station. It shouldn't be that hard to attach a few more staircases to make sure trains empty at a normal pace without overcrowding the platform.

Secondly, many times you will get on a N train only to find out that after it leaves the platform it becomes a W.

N and W trains always rub behind Manhattan trains (Q) or other queens lines (7, R) for some reason. They think of Astoria as it was 20 years ago and do not care about the massive amounts of people that moved there in the...