{"id":4772,"date":"2015-10-29T20:36:43","date_gmt":"2015-10-30T00:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsbj.com\/sorabji\/?p=4772"},"modified":"2015-10-29T20:36:43","modified_gmt":"2015-10-30T00:36:43","slug":"new-astoria-hotel-summons-the-mystery-of-40th-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wsbj.com\/sorabji\/2015\/10\/29\/new-astoria-hotel-summons-the-mystery-of-40th-street.html","title":{"rendered":"New Hotel Summons the Mystery of 40th Street in Astoria."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"U.S.

U.S. Furniture To Be Torn Down?<\/p><\/div>\n

Rumors afloat say\u00a0that the U.S. Furniture store on Steinway Street and 34th Avenue really did lose their lease, as the signage in the store\u00a0windows claims. The building\u00a0will soon be torn down. From its ashes will rise a 5 or 6 story hotel. A similar\u00a0fate could await American Eagle Furniture, cater\u00a0corner from U.S. Furniture.<\/p>\n

There are no hotels on Steinway Street or anywhere else in this immediate area (unless you include\u00a0the Paper Factory Hotel on 37th Avenue and 36th Street). The Steinway Street nightlife scene leaves a lot to be desired for tourists and locals alike, but the intersection’s\u00a0proximity to a subway station would seem to make it a sorta-kinda reasonable enough choice for a hotel.<\/p>\n

I don’t have an opinion on this particular real estate development, but look forward to the possibility that a restaurant as acclaimed as Mundo, (located at the aforementioned Paper Factory) will open at this new hotel.<\/p>\n

For what it’s worth: My only memory of U.S. Furniture was of\u00a0entering the place and being promptly escorted out. The salesman asked what I was looking for. I said I just wanted to look around. He opened the door and, smiling, gestured for me to leave, saying “Have a nice day.”<\/p>\n

This new hotel, should it arise, will find itself at a\u00a0curious intersection, one which intrigues\u00a0me any\u00a0time I pass it. A street is missing from the grid and I cannot see any good reason why.<\/p>\n

There is no 40th Street in Astoria.\u00a0Maps and simple mathematics make it clear that Steinway Street falls where 39th Street would be. Streets approaching Steinway increase one by one: 36th, 37th, 38th, then Steinway. But Steinway is followed by 41st Street. What happened to 40th Street?<\/p>\n\n