Rodent Control in Astoria

Rodent Pressure in Astoria

Astoria is located at the northwestern tip of Queens, bordering the East River to the west and Long Island City to the south. The neighborhood is one of the most densely populated in Queens, with a mix of pre-war walk-up apartment buildings on the residential blocks and a dense commercial life along Steinway Street, Broadway, and Ditmars Boulevard.

Steinway Street from Astoria Boulevard to 28th Avenue is one of the main commercial corridors, with Middle Eastern restaurants, grocery stores, and food markets generating Norway rat pressure on the surrounding blocks. Broadway runs parallel to the east with additional commercial density including the Broadway Fair shopping corridor and the elevated N/W train infrastructure. The blocks between these two corridors — the residential streets of 31st through 36th Streets — are primarily pre-war walk-ups from the 1920s and 30s.

Astoria Park along the East River waterfront provides green space with the typical parkland harborage patterns. Buildings on the streets closest to the park — 19th Street, Shore Boulevard, Ditmars Boulevard — see elevated Norway rat pressure from the park margin. The Hell Gate Bridge infrastructure and the Con Edison property adjacent to the park create additional industrial edge harborage.

The N, W, and R trains run elevated through Astoria, with station structures at Astoria Boulevard, 30th Avenue, Broadway, and Ditmars Boulevard. The elevated infrastructure creates the same type of pressure corridor as the elevated lines in other boroughs.