Astoria Movers, Based Next Door in Long Island City
Astoria is a neighborhood of houses and small walk-ups. Nearly two thirds of its apartments have no elevator, and thousands of homes are two-family houses. Our office and our storage are a short drive south, in Long Island City.
Both addresses are all we need to start. On the call back we ask about the floor and whether there is an elevator.
We are Astoria movers based in Long Island City, a short drive south of Ditmars Boulevard. Many of the Astoria moves we run stay in Queens: from one Astoria block to another, or a few stops down the line to LIC, Sunnyside or Jackson Heights. The rest go into Manhattan or come out of it. Astoria is not built like the LIC waterfront, so the planning is different, and this page is about what makes it different. Our NYC movers work in all five boroughs. For an Astoria quote, send both addresses.
Astoria Movers and the Three-Family Walk-Up
In the four Astoria ZIP codes (11102, 11103, 11105 and 11106), 64% of apartments are in walk-ups, by our count of the city’s PLUTO records. In Long Island City it is 10%. Astoria’s walk-ups are also low: only about 7% of its walk-up apartments are in walk-ups of five or more floors.
The building you see most on an Astoria side street is a small one. The city’s records list about 3,100 three-family buildings in those four ZIP codes and about 1,200 more with five or six apartments. That means two or three flights, a narrow stair, and a front door that opens straight onto the stoop.
For Astoria movers that is a different day from a tower. There is no elevator to book and usually no certificate to send, but every piece goes down the stairs by hand. Tell us the floor at each end and the biggest pieces, and we send the right number of people. The walk-up map puts Astoria among the largest walk-up districts in the city, and our walk-up moving guide has the practical side.
Two-Family Houses
Astoria also has about 5,400 two-family houses and 1,600 one-family houses. For Astoria movers, the top floor of a two-family house is a regular job.
These moves have their own shape. The stair inside is often shared with the other household, the front steps are steep, and the hall is where the bikes and the strollers live. Agree with the people downstairs on the day and the hour, and ask them to keep the hall and the front door clear. If the landlord lives in the house, tell them too.
A sofa that came in through the front door ten years ago may not turn the corner at the top of the stair today. Measure it before you book; our post on whether your couch will fit through the door shows where to put the tape.
The New Towers on the Waterfront
Not all of Astoria is low. On the waterfront at Halletts Point, new rental towers have opened since 2019, and elevator buildings stand along the bigger avenues. About a fifth of Astoria’s homes are in elevator rental buildings, and fewer than one in thirty is a co-op.
A tower works the way it does anywhere in the city. Management asks the movers for a certificate of insurance, books the service elevator and sets the move hours. Ours is ready within one business day after you book: ask the building to email its requirements to you and copy us, and the certificate comes back as a reply to that email. Ask for the move rules in writing while you are at it.
Parking and Loading in Astoria
Nobody can reserve the curb for a move in Astoria. NYC DOT issues no permit that sets aside curb space while a truck loads or unloads.
The N and W trains run on an elevated line above 31st Street, from Ditmars Boulevard down to Queens Plaza, and the street underneath is lined with its columns. A move on 31st Street, or on Steinway Street, 30th Avenue or Broadway where delivery trucks compete for the same curb, can mean the truck stands a little way from your door.
On the side streets the curb is mostly driveways, hydrants and parked cars, and street-cleaning days take one side for the hours on the sign. Describe your block when you book, and we plan the carry from wherever the truck can stand.
Astoria to Manhattan, and the Rest of Queens
Manhattan is the most common move out of Astoria that leaves Queens. Our Manhattan movers page covers the buildings on that side; if the Manhattan address is at or below 60th Street, the MTA congestion toll applies and is added to the quote at cost.
Staying in Queens is the other common direction. Our Queens movers page covers the borough, and Long Island City movers covers the neighborhood we work from. Heading to Brooklyn, see Brooklyn movers.
Storage a Short Drive from Astoria
Our storage facility is in Long Island City, at the same address as our office, so for an Astoria customer it is minutes away. The crews that load it are ours.
It fits the usual gap: one lease ends on the last day of the month, the next starts mid-month, and your things wait in between. A visit to them needs at least 24 hours’ notice. The details are on our storage page.
Parts of Astoria We Move
As Astoria movers we work the whole neighborhood and the blocks around it:
- Ditmars and the blocks around Astoria Park and Shore Boulevard
- Steinway and Astoria Heights
- Old Astoria and Halletts Point on the waterfront
- The blocks along 30th Avenue, Broadway and 31st Street under the el
- Next door: Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and Jackson Heights
What Astoria Movers Charge
Local moves in Astoria start at $295. The rest depends on what we can see before the day:
- The amount of furniture and boxes, and whether you want us to pack.
- The stairs: flights at each end, the front steps, and how far the truck has to stand.
- Timing. Everyone in New York wants the final days of the month, and a move in those days can cost nearly twice as much.
To pick a quieter date, see the cheapest time to move in NYC, and for how the price is put together, see how much movers cost in NYC.
Two Households, One Staircase
The honest limit on many Astoria moves is not ours to change. In a two-family house or a small walk-up, the stair and the front door belong to everyone in the building, not only to you. If the hall is full or a neighbor is moving out on the same date, the crew waits or works around it.
What we can do is plan for it: size the crew to the stairs, bring the right padding, and start when the stair is clear. What we cannot do is clear a shared hallway that is not ours to clear. A word with the neighbors the week before does more for the day than anything we bring.
Astoria Moving Questions
Do I need a COI to move in Astoria?
Only if a building asks for one, which elevator buildings and managed towers almost always do. Most two-family houses and small walk-ups do not. When one is needed, we have it ready within a business day of booking.
Can you move me out of a top-floor walk-up or a two-family house?
Yes. Those are the most common Astoria moves we run. Give us the floor and the size of the big pieces, and we size the crew to the stairs.
Is there a truck parking permit for moves in Astoria?
No. There is no permit for holding the curb during a move, so the truck uses the closest legal space, including on 31st Street under the el.
How far is your storage from Astoria?
A short drive. The facility is in Long Island City, at our office, and our own crews load it. Give us at least 24 hours’ notice to get to your things.
Do you move between Astoria and Manhattan?
All the time. If the Manhattan address is at or below 60th Street, the MTA congestion toll is added to the quote at cost.
What does a local move in Astoria cost?
It starts at $295. The final price follows the volume, any packing, the stairs at both ends and the date you pick.
Need Astoria movers? Send the two addresses
Local Astoria moves from $295, crews sized to the stairs, and storage a short drive away in our own LIC facility. Call (212) 933-9959.
or call 212-933-9959
Magical Moving & Storage, 30-10 41st Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101. Licensed and insured. USDOT 4144902, MC 1589978, NYSDOT 42311.
