Foodscape: Long Island City/Astoria

by NYC Food Policy Editor

Long Island City/Astoria Foodscape

Queens Community District 1

About Foodscapes

Access to affordable and nutritious food is one of the cornerstones of good health. Without this, individuals—and communities—are at a higher risk of food insecurity and serious chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. To improve the health of New Yorkers, we must recognize that each neighborhood has a distinct food environment.

Purpose

These Foodscape reports provide a community-level snapshot of a community’s food environment, including data on healthy and unhealthy food consumption, food access, and diet-related diseases. Additionally, the reports detail a comprehensive guide of the many food-related resources available to residents within their neighborhoods to support them in eating healthier. The Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center has compiled this information from various sources, presenting it in a user-friendly format to help NYC residents and communities better understand their local foodscapes.

The NYC Foodscape Reports were published in 2020 and are continually updated every six months. Data in the Foodscape Reports is collected from multiple primary sources to ensure the most up-to-date statistics for each indicator. Learn more about organizations and resources highlighted in the Foodscape Reports by visiting the Center’s Neighborhood Food Resource Guides as well as the Food Policy and Practice Database. Together, these three resources provide a comprehensive food-related guide to each New York City neighborhood. 

Zip codes include: 11101, 11102, 11103, 11105, 11106, 11109

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

DEMOGRAPHICS:

  • Total Population: 196,803 (2.34% of NYC population) (1)
  • Population by Race and Ethnicity of Long Island City/Astoria and New York City (2)
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 26.9% Latino | NYC: 29.2% Latino
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 8.4% Black | NYC: 21.7% Black
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 46.4% White | NYC: 31.8% White
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 15.4% Asian/Pacific Islander | NYC: 14.1% Asian
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 2.6% Other | NYC: 2% Other
  • Long Island City/Astoria Population by Age: (3)
    • 0-17 years: 16%
    • 18-24 years: 8%
    • 25-44 years: 38%
    • 45-64 years: 23%
    • 65+ years: 15%
  • Life Expectancy
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 83.6 years (2) | NYC: 82.1 years (2)
  • Born Outside the US: 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 39.1% (2) | NYC: 36.8% (2)

NEIGHBORHOOD ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD:

  • Supermarket to Bodega Ratio: One (1) supermarket in Long Island City/Astoria to 10 bodegas (2)
  • Meal Gap (# of meals needed per year for food security): 4,755,505 (2)
  • Food Insecurity
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 13.4% of residents (2)| NYC: 15.4% of residents (2)
  • Residences that Lack a Kitchen: 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 0.5% of housing units (2)| NYC: 0.8% (2)
  • Households Receiving SNAP Benefits: 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 13.6% of households (2)| NYC: 22.4% of households (2)

HEALTH BEHAVIORS:

  • No Fruits and Vegetables Yesterday: 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 11% of adults (2) | NYC: 12.9% of adults (2)
  • One or More 12-ounce Sugary Drinks Per Day (percent of adults): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 24% (2) | NYC: 23% (2)
  • No Physical Activity in the Last 30 Days:
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 27% of adults (2) | NYC: 27.1% of adults (2)

HEALTH AND DISEASE STATUS:

  • Adults Reporting Their Own Health as “Excellent,” “Very Good” or “Good” (percent of adults): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 79% (2) | NYC: 77.8% (2)
  • Obesity (percent of adults): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 19% (2) | NYC: 24.6% (2)
  •  Childhood Obesity (percent of public school children in grades K through 8): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 22% (3) | NYC: 21% (3)
  • Diabetes (percent of adults): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 11% (2) | NYC: 11.9% (2)
  • Hypertension (percent of adults): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 24% (3) | NYC: 27% (3)
  • Smokers
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 19% (2) | NYC: 13.9% (2)
  • Binge Drinking
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 25% (2) | NYC: 17.4% (2)

ECONOMIC AND LIVING-CONDITION STRESS, CONTRIBUTORS TO FOOD INSECURITY:

  • Median Household Income
    • Long Island City/Astoria: $63,592 (2) | NYC: $63,611 (2)
  • Poverty (percent of households with incomes below poverty): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 16.7% (2) | NYC: 19.7% (2)
  • Unemployment (percent of people ages 16 and older): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 4.2% (2) | NYC: 4.5% (2)
  • Extreme Housing Burden (percent of renters): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 22.9% (2) | NYC: 29.5% (2)
  • Rent Burden
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 37.6% (5) | NYC: 44.2% (5)

EXERCISE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BURDEN

  • Air Pollution (micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 7.4 (2) | New York City-wide: 7.5 (2)
  • Bicycle Network Coverage (percent of streets with bike lanes): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 18% (3) | New York City-wide: 14% (3)
  • Pedestrian Injury Hospitalizations (per 100,000 people): 
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 14 (3) | New York City-wide: 23 (3)
  • Percent of Land Used for Public Parks, Open Space, and Recreation:
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 6.4% (2) | New York City-wide: 24.7% (2)
  •  Canopy Coverage (percent of ground covered by tree crown/canopy)
    • Long Island City/Astoria: 13.76% (6) | Queens: 18.9% (6) | New York City-wide: 22.04% (6)

To view information on Long Island City/Astoria Community Gardens, Greenthumb Gardens, School Gardens, Farmers’ Markets, Snap Enrollment Sites, Food Pantries, Retail Food Stores, Parks, and more please visit the link below:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230606102622/https://www.nycfoodpolicy.org/foodscape-long-island-city-astoria/

REFERENCES:

  1. “2020 Data for NYC, Boros, CDs, Council Districts, NTAs, & Tracts.” NYC Planning. 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/planning-level/nyc-population/2020-census.page.
  2. “Data2Go: Astoria & Long Island City.” data2go.Nyc, Measure of America of the Social Science Research Council and Helmsley Charitable Trust, https://data2go.nyc/cd/?id=401*36047015900*ahdi_puma!undefined!ns*!buttonHolder~other_pop_cd_506~ahdi_puma_1~working_poor_cd_421~life_expectancy_puma_562~sch_enrol_cd_112~high_cost_h_cd_216~unemployment_cd_408~age_pyramid_male_85_plus_cd_20~ex_high_cost_h_cd_historical_402~poverty_ceo_cd_417~bodega_supermarket_cd_148~median_household_income_puma_397~fruits_veggies_cd_164~median_personal_earnings_puma_400!*air_qual_cd~ahdi_puma*family_homeless_cd_245#14/40.7734/-73.9108
  3. Hinterland, K, et al. “Community Health Profiles 2018, Queens Community District 1: Long Island City and Astoria.” Community Health Profiles 2018, Queens Community District 1: Long Island City and Astoria, 2018, pp.1-20.
  4. “Green Thumb Garden Map.” NYC Parks, https://greenthumb.nycgovparks.org/gardensearch.php.
  5. “NYC Community District Profiles” NYC Planning https://communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov/bronx/2#indicators.
  6. Treglia ML, Acosta-Morel M, Crabtree D, Galbo K, Lin-Moges T, Van Slooten A, Maxwell EN. The State of the Urban Forest in New York City. The Nature Conservancy. 2021. doi:10.5281/zenodo.5532876

Article Image: “New York City (NYC) Neighborhood Maps – By Borough – Queens.” NYCdata, Baruch College Zicklin School of Business, https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/population-geography/maps-boroughs.htm.

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