Opticians in Astoria are many, but I always went to the Greek ones, specifically Odessy Opticals. Its so funny reading reviews about how noisy Greek women run the store. Uh, hello, there's no such thing as Greek Woman not being a nagging female dog.
The states cheap, and Manhattan is expensive, and yeah the other 4 boroughs are cheap. But gas or cigarettes and you need to drive out to Nassau to get a decent price. My dad used to stop at gas stations on our way back to buy a pack for 4-5 bucks before we entered the city where it was like 8-9.