According to the New York Times, there's a new little comedy haven slowly being established in the neighborhood of Astoria.

An unlikely ecosystem has developed in the northwest corner of Queens. Just as there are some creatures that flourish at certain warm depths of a coral reef but not a foot deeper where the water is colder, a thriving hive of comedians has affixed itself to Astoria, perfectly suited to the particular microclimate there.

Get it? Because comedians are like bottom-feeders.

“It’s cool to live in Brooklyn, but comics aren’t the cool kids,” Mr. [Grant] Gordon said, standing outside the Neptune Diner on Astoria Boulevard. “We just want somewhere cheap. I’ve never had a hip bar that I go to that has, like, indie music bands. I just do shows and go home.”

Fair enough. According the article, when asked to assemble as many stand-up comedians as he could, Dan Allen was able to get twenty-seven comedians together for a picture in just one day's notice. To be fair though, most comedians are unemployed and single, so how big an accomplishment was it really?

“My block is so quiet,” begins a joke that Moody McCarthy has added to his routine, “if there’s any yelling at night that means Ecuador scored a goal."

LOL. With a name like Gonzalo Cordova, you probably thought I was from Kansas City, Kansas, but my family is actually from Ecuador, so I know what that is like. Growing up, I was always like, "Stop scoring goals Ecuador! A six-year-old needs his sleep, ya know?!"

The New York Times linked to two comedy videos shot in Astoria. I've embedded the videos after the jump.