b'New York City is renowned as a melting pot ofcultures and traditions, and this is nowhere better illustrated than in Astoria. The diversity oftheareas residents is visible at every turn, with over100 nationalities recorded to be living there in 2015, and more still arriving.Among the current demographic is a prevalent Greek and Cypriot population, which has called Astoria home for generations since the 1960s and 70s. The Aegean influences are sprinkled throughout the neighborhood: spied in the statues ofthe Virgin Mary in front gardens and blue-and-white flags in the windows; smelled in the wafts ofskewered souvlaki; heard in the heated but friendly exchanges between gentlemen seated in plastic chairs on the sidewalks.Continued on page 4539 People and their places'