For foodies, long forgotten Queens now the place to go

A man walks by Taverna Kyclades, a Greek restaurant in Astoria in the Queens borough of New York. [Photo/Agencies]

Before this influx of chefs and entrepreneurs, the best known restaurants in Queens were either Italian or Greek - two communities that still have a strong presence in the borough.

At Taverna Kyclades, a well-known Greek place that has been a staple for decades, owner Ardian Skenderi says he has no problem with the movement. "There is no competition," he says.

"Everyone knows each other. Everyone supports each other. We all do, like, a little bit of a different thing," says O'Connor.

"Taverna Kyclades is an institution and nothing can touch Kyclades," says Roberts.

Others worry about the deep transformation that Queens is undergoing - similar to what happened in Brooklyn - with the food frenzy just the tip of the iceberg.

In the northwest part of Queens, which includes Astoria, average housing prices have shot up 58 percent in five years, according to the real estate firm Douglas Elliman.

Dan, who belongs to a group called the Queens Anti-Gentrification Project and declined to give his last name, believes it is possible to prevent the borough being overhauled by developers.

The group managed to defeat a planned real estate project in the Sunnyside area after mobilizing people and lawmakers.

But it comes down to how much people care about preserving things, he says, adding: "I don't think there's a lot of resistance to development in Astoria."

Some want to think Queens will retain its fabulously mixed flavor in terms of its cultures and people.

Solomon says: "I hope it stays this way. It will be a lot of fun."