LONG ISLAND CITY, NY

Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Hazen Street, 49th Street, and New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek—which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brooklyn—to the south.

Incorporated as a city in 1870, Long Island City was originally the seat of government of the Town of Newtown, before becoming part of the City of Greater New York in 1898. In the early 21st century, Long Island City became known for its rapid and ongoing residential growth and gentrification, its waterfront parks, and its thriving arts community. The area has a high concentration of art galleries, art institutions, and studio space.

Long Island City is the eastern terminus of the Queensboro Bridge, the only non-tolled automotive route connecting Queens and Manhattan. Northwest of the bridge are the Queensbridge Houses, a development of the New York City Housing Authority and the largest public housing complex in the Western Hemisphere.

Long Island City is part of Queens Community District 1 to the north and Queens Community District 2 to the south. It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 108th Precinct. Politically, Long Island City is represented by the New York City Council's 26th District.

History

As independent city

Long Island City, a city of its own, was created on May 4, 1870, from the merger of the Village of Astoria and the hamlets of Ravenswood, Hunters Point, Blissville, Sunnyside, Dutch Kills, Steinway, Bowery Bay and Middleton in the Town of Newtown. At the time of its incorporation, Long Island City had between 12,000 and 15,000 residents. Its charter provided for an elected mayor and a ten-member Board of Alderman with two representing each of the city's five wards. City ordinances could be passed by a majority vote of the Board of Aldermen and the mayor's signature.

Long Island City held its first election on July 5, 1870. Residents elected A.D. Ditmars the first mayor; Ditmars ran as both a Democrat and a Republican. The first elected Board of Aldermen was H. Rudolph and Patrick Lonirgan (Ward 1); Francis McNena and William E. Bragaw (Ward 2); George Hunter and Mr. Williams (Third Ward); James R. Bennett and John Wegart (Ward Four); and E.M. Hartshort and William Carlin (Fifth Ward). The mayor and the aldermen were inaugurated on July 18, 1870.

In the 1880s, Mayor De Bevoise nearly bankrupted the Long Island City government by embezzlement, of which he was convicted. Many dissatisfied residents of Astoria circulated a petition to ask the New York State Legislature to allow it to secede from Long Island City and reincorporate as the Village of Astoria, as it existed prior to the incorporation of Long Island City, in 1884. The petition was ultimately dropped by the citizens.

Long Island City continued to exist as an incorporated city until 1898, when Queens was annexed to New York City. The last mayor of Long Island City was an Irish-American named Patrick Jerome "Battle-Axe" Gleason.

The Common Council of Long Island City in 1873 adopted the coat of arms as "emblematical of the varied interest represented by Long Island City." It was designed by George H. Williams, of Ravenswood. The overall composition was inspired by New York City's coat of arms. The shield is rich in historic allusion, including Native American, Dutch, and English symbols. In 1898, Long Island City became part of New York City.

Mayors of Long Island City, 1870–1897

After incorporation into New York City

The city surrendered its independence in 1898 to become part of the City of Greater New York. However, Long Island City survives as ZIP Code 11101 and ZIP Code prefix 111 (with its own main post office) and was formerly a sectional center facility (SCF). The Greater Astoria Historical Society, a nonprofit cultural and historical organization documenting the Long Island City area's history, has operated since 1985.{

Through the 1930s, three subway tunnels, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and the Queensboro Bridge were built to connect the neighborhood to Manhattan. By the 1970s, the factories in Long Island City were being abandoned.

In the 1990s, Queens West on the west side of Long Island City was developed to revitalize along the East River, with plans to bring in as many as 16,000 new residents in a total of 19 new buildings.

In 2001, the neighborhood was rezoned from an industrial neighborhood to a residential neighborhood, and the area underwent gentrification, with developments such as Hunter's Point South being built in the area. Since then, there has been substantial commercial and residential growth in Long Island City, with 41 new residential apartment buildings being built just between 2010 and 2017. A resident of nearby Woodside proposed establishing a Japantown in Long Island City in 2006, though this did not occur. By the mid-2010s, Long Island City was one of New York City's fastest-growing neighborhoods,

Historic landmarks

In addition to the Hunters Point Historic District and Queensboro Bridge, the 45th Road – Court House Square Station (Dual System IRT), Long Island City Courthouse Complex, and United States Post Office are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. New York City designated landmarks include the Pepsi-Cola sign along the East River; the Fire Engine Company 258, Hook and Ladder Company 115 firehouse; the Long Island City Courthouse; the New York Architectural Terra Cotta Company building; and the Chase Manhattan Bank Building.

Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of the combined Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Long Island City neighborhood was 20,030, a decrease of 1,074 (5.1%) from the 21,104 counted in 2000. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 14.7% (2,946) White, 25.9% (5,183) African American, 0.3% (62) Native American, 15.5% (3,096) Asian, 0.0% (6) Pacific Islander, 1.2% (248) from other races, and 1.9% (385) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 40.5% (8,104) of the population.

Long Island City is split between Queens Community Board 1 to the north of Queens Plaza and Queens Community Board 2 south of Queens Plaza. The entirety of Queens Community Board 1, which comprises northern Long Island City and Astoria, had 199,969 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 83.4 years. The entirety of Queens Community Board 2, which comprises southern Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside, had 135,972 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.4 years. Both figures are higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. In both community boards, most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth.

As of 2017, the median household income was $66,382 in Community Board 1 and $67,359 in Community Board 2. In 2018, an estimated 18% of Community Board 1 and 20% of Community Board 2 residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. The unemployment rate was 8% in Community Board 1 and 5% in Community Board 2, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 47% in Community Board 1 and 51% in Community Board 2, slightly lower than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , northern LIC is considered to be gentrifying, while southern LIC is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

According to the 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning, the southern portion of Long Island City south of the Queensboro Bridge had an approximate average equal population of White and Asian residents with each their populations being between 10,000 and 19,999 residents, while the Hispanic and Black populations each were under 5,000 residents. North of the Queensboro Bridge in northern Long Island City had between 10,000 and 19,999 Hispanic residents while the White, Black, and Asian populations were each between 5,000 and 9,999 residents.

According to a New York Times article from October 18, 2021, the Asian population of Long Island City has grown fivefold since 2010 nearing 11,000 residents making up 34% of the neighborhood's population. The new Asian residents are mainly Chinese, Bengalis, Koreans, and Japanese, and the neighborhood had at least 15 Asian-owned businesses in the neighborhood. Unlike the largely working-class Asian immigrant populations in southern Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, the growing Asian population in Long Island City tends to be second- or third-generation Americans and are largely middle or upper class. Exceptionally however, the growing Asian population in NYCHA's Queensbridge Houses section of Long Island City at 11% are mostly from immigrant working-class backgrounds and largely have limited English skills, which has presented issues when residents are unable to find interpreters to communicate with NYCHA. New York City Council member Julie Won, who represents the neighborhood, has spoken about the need for outreach to the area's Asian residents and businesses.

Commerce and economy

Developments and buildings

Long Island City was once home to many factories and bakeries, some of which are finding new uses. The former Silvercup bakery is now home to Silvercup Studios, which has produced notable works such as NBC's 30 Rock and HBO's Sex and the City. The Silvercup sign is visible from the IRT Flushing Line and BMT Astoria Line trains going into and out of Queensboro Plaza (). The former Sunshine Bakery is now one of the buildings which houses LaGuardia Community College. Other buildings on the campus originally served as the location of the Ford Instrument Company, which was at one time a major producer of precision machines and devices. Artist Isamu Noguchi converted a photo-engraving plant into a workshop; the site is now the Noguchi Museum, a space dedicated to his work.

The Standard Motor Products headquarters, a manufacturing site producing items like distributor caps, was once located in the industrial neighborhood of Long Island City until purchased by Acuman Partners in 2008 for $40 million. The Standard Motor Products Building was put on the market by Acuman in 2014 and acquired by RXR Realty, LLC for $110 million. The former factory built in 1919 now houses the Jim Henson Company, Society Awards, and a commercial rooftop farm run by Brooklyn Grange.

High-rise housing is being built on a former Pepsi-Cola site on the East River. From June 2002 to September 2004, the former Swingline Staplers plant was the temporary headquarters of the Museum of Modern Art. Other former factories in Long Island City include Fisher Electronics, Marantz and Chiclets Gum. Long Island City's turn-of-the-century district of residential towers, called Queens West, is located along the East River, just north of the LIRR's Long Island City Station. Redevelopment in Queens West reflects the intent to have the area as a major residential area in New York City, with its high-rise residences very close to public transportation, making it convenient for commuters to travel to Manhattan by ferry or subway. The first tower, the 42-floor Citylights, opened in 1998 with an elementary school at the base. Others have been completed since then and more are being planned or under construction.

Long Island City contains several of the tallest buildings in Queens. The One Court Square, formerly the Citicorp Building, was built in 1990 on Courthouse Square; it is the second tallest building in Queens and the third-tallest on Long Island, and was Queens' tallest building until 2019. The tallest building in both Queens and Long Island, the Skyline Tower one block away, was architecturally topped-out in October 2019. Yet another skyscraper, the Queens Plaza Park, is under construction at Queens Plaza and will become the tallest skyscraper in Queens and Long Island when complete.

The Queensbridge Houses, a public-housing complex, comprises over 3,000 units, making it the largest such complex in North America.

Companies

Eagle Electric, now known as Cooper Wiring Devices, was one of the last major factories in the area, before it moved to China; Plant No. 7, which was the largest of their factories and housed their corporate offices, is being converted to residential luxury lofts.

Long Island City is currently home to the largest fortune cookie factory in the United States, owned by Wonton Foods and producing four million fortune cookies a day. Lucky numbers included on fortunes in the company's cookies led to 110 people across the United States winning $100,000 each in a May 2005 drawing for Powerball.

The Brooks Brothers tie manufacturing factory, which employs 122 people and produces more than 1.5 million ties per year, has operated in Long Island City since 1999.

Long Island City is the new home of independent film studio Troma.

In spring 2010, JetBlue Airways announced it was moving its headquarters from Forest Hills to Long Island City, also incorporating the jobs from its Darien, Connecticut, office. The airline, which operates its largest hub at JFK Airport, also operates from LaGuardia Airport, and made the Brewster Building in Queens Plaza its home. The airline moved there around mid-2012.

In November 2018, news media claimed that Amazon.com was in final talks with the government of New York State to construct one of two campuses for its proposed Amazon HQ2 at Queens West in Long Island City. The other campus would be located at National Landing in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. Both campuses would have 25,000 workers. The selection was confirmed by Amazon on November 13, 2018. On February 14, 2019, Amazon announced it was pulling out, citing unexpected opposition from local lawmakers and unions.

Subsections

In 1870, the villages of Astoria, Ravenswood, Hunters Point, Dutch Kills, Middletown, Sunnyside, Blissville, and Bowery Bay were incorporated into Long Island City.

Dutch Kills

Dutch Kills was a hamlet, named for its navigable tributary of Newtown Creek, that occupied what today is Queens Plaza. Dutch Kills was an important road hub during the American Revolutionary War, and the site of a British Army garrison from 1776 to 1783. The area supported farms during the 19th century. The tributary of the same name connected to Sunswick Creek at its north end, which facilitated commerce in the region. The canalization of Newtown Creek and the Kills at the end of the 19th century intensified industrial development of the area, which prospered until the middle of the 20th century. The neighborhood is currently undergoing a massive rezoning of mixed residential and commercial properties.

Blissville

Blissville, which has the ZIP Code 11101, is a neighborhood within Long Island City, located at and bordered by Calvary Cemetery to the east; the Long Island Expressway to the north; Newtown Creek to the south; and Dutch Kills, a tributary of Newtown Creek, to the west. Blissville was named after Neziah Bliss, who owned most of the land in the 1830s and 1840s. Bliss built the first version of what was known for many years as the Blissville Bridge, a drawbridge over Newtown Creek, connecting Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Blissville; it was replaced in the 20th century by the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, also called the J. J. Byrne Memorial Bridge, located slightly upstream. Blissville existed as a small village until 1870 when it was incorporated into Long Island City. Historically an industrial neighborhood, it has Triangle 54, a small park with a monument at 54th Avenue and 48th Street.

Hunters Point

Hunters Point is located on the south side of Long Island City, along Newtown Creek. The area took the name Hunters Point in 1825, named after British sea captain George Hunter whose family operated the site as a 210-acre farm.

It contains the Hunters Point Historic District, a national historic district that includes 19 contributing buildings along 45th Avenue between 21st and 23rd Streets. They are a set of townhouses built in the late 19th century. The historic district was created by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1968, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

The modern Queens West and Hunter's Point South developments are located on the waterfront.

Arts and culture

Long Island City is home to a large and dynamic artistic community.

Police and crime

Woodside, Sunnyside, and Long Island City are patrolled by the 108th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 5-47 50th Avenue. The 108th Precinct ranked 25th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 19 per 100,000 people, Sunnyside and Woodside's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 163 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.

The 108th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 88.2% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 2 murders, 12 rapes, 90 robberies, 108 felony assaults, 109 burglaries, 490 grand larcenies, and 114 grand larcenies auto in 2018.

Fire safety

Long Island City is served by the following New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations:

Formerly, Engine Company 261/Ladder Company 116 was located at 37-20 29th Street, until it was closed in 2003 as a cost-saving measure.

Health

, preterm births are more common in southern Long Island City than in other places citywide, but are less common in northern Long Island City; births to teenage mothers are less common than citywide in both areas. In northern Long Island City, there were 84 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 15.1 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). In southern Long Island City, there were 90 preterm births per 1,000 live births, and 14.9 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births. Long Island City has a high population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 12% in Community Board 1 and 16% in Community Board 2, compared to the citywide rate of 12%.

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, is in northern Long Island City and in southern Long Island City. Nineteen percent of Community Board 1 residents and fourteen percent of Community Board 2 residents are smokers, compared to the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Community Board 1, 19% of residents are obese, 11% are diabetic, and 29% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In Community Board 2, 20% of residents are obese, 9% are diabetic, and 23% have high blood pressure. In addition, 22% of children in northern Long Island City and 19% of children in southern Long Island City are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.

Eighty-nine percent of Community Board 1 residents and ninety-two percent of Community Board 2 residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 79% of residents in both areas described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", slightly higher than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket, there are 17 bodegas in southern Long Island City and 10 in northern Long Island City.

The nearest large hospitals in the area are the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Elmhurst and the Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens in Astoria.

Post office and ZIP Code

Long Island City is covered by ZIP Code 11101. The United States Post Office operates the Long Island City Station at 46-02 21st Street.

Education

Long Island City generally has a slightly higher ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . In Community Board 1, half of residents (50%) have a college education or higher, while 16% have less than a high school education and 33% are high school graduates or have some college education. In Community Board 2, 45% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 19% have less than a high school education and 35% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 39% of Queens residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Community Board 1 students excelling in math rose from 43 percent in 2000 to 65 percent in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 47% to 49% during the same time period. Similarly, the percentage of Community Board 2 students excelling in math rose from 40% in to 65%, and reading achievement rose from 45% to 49%, during the same time period.

Long Island City's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is about equal to the rest of New York City. Nineteen percent of elementary school students in Community Board 1 and eleven percent in Community Board 2 missed twenty or more days per school year, less than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 78% of high school students in Community Board 1 and 86% of high school students in Community Board 2 graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

The New York City Department of Education operates a facility in Long Island City housing the Office of School Support Services and several related departments.

Schools

K-12

Long Island City is served by the New York City Department of Education. Long Island City is zoned to:

Additionally, Long Island City is home to:

High schools offering specializations

Long Island City is home to numerous high schools, some of which offer specializations, as indicated below. These specialized schools are not to be confused with the elite specialized high schools. Rather, these schools offer programs that are included at specialized high schools.

Higher education

Numerous institutions of higher education have (or have had) a presence in Long Island City.

Libraries

The Queens Public Library operates two branches in Long Island City. The Hunters Point Community Library is located at 47-40 Center Boulevard on the bank of the East River. Designed by Steven Holl Architects in 2010 and opened on September 24, 2019, the library has a floor area of and is tall, measuring along the New York City waterfront. Features include an art installation by Julianne Swartz, designer furniture by Eames and Jean Prouvé, and a reading garden surrounded by ginkgo trees and designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh. The branch cost $40 million to construct because the site had to undergo pollution remediation, since it was previously used by a factory that processed asphalt and other bituminous products. The Hunters Point Library includes over 50,000 books with Spanish and Chinese language collections, as well as an environmental education center, a section for young children, and a teenagers' space equipped with a video game area. Though the building is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, its stepped terraces and single elevator have been criticized for being inaccessible to the disabled. The fourth floor where the cyber center is has a curved wooden element in the design of the interior atrium.

The Long Island City branch is located at 37-44 21st Street.

A third branch, the Court Square branch, opened in 1989 and was located on the ground floor of One Court Square. One Court Square's former owner, Citigroup, leased the space to the library for $1 per month. After the tower's new owner Savanna failed to renew the Court Square branch's lease, the location was closed in February 2020, and the branch would either move to a new location or be closed permanently. , the Court Square branch had closed and a mobile branch had opened nearby.

Parks and recreation

There are several waterfront parks in Long Island City. These include or have included:

Other parks include:

Transportation

Public transportation

The following New York City Subway stations serve Long Island City:

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Long Island City:

The Long Island City and Hunterspoint Avenue stations of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) are also located within Long Island City. The US$11.1 billion East Side Access project, which will bring LIRR trains to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, is under construction and is scheduled to open in 2022; this project will create a new train tunnel beneath the East River, connecting Long Island City and Queens with the East Side of Manhattan.

During the summer, the New York Water Taxi Company used to operate Water Taxi Beach, a public beach artificially created on a wharf along the East River, accessible at the corner of Second Street and Borden Avenue. It was discontinued in 2011 due to new construction on the site of the old landing.

In June 2011, NY Waterway started service to points along the East River. On May 1, 2017, that route became part of the NYC Ferry's East River route, which runs between Pier 11/Wall Street in Manhattan's Financial District and the East 34th Street Ferry Landing in Murray Hill, Manhattan, with five intermediate stops in Brooklyn and Queens. One NYC Ferry stop for the East River route is located at Hunters Point South, while another NYC Ferry stop for a route to Astoria is located at Gantry Plaza State Park.

There are plans to build the Brooklyn–Queens Connector (BQX), a light rail system that would run along the waterfront from Red Hook in Brooklyn through Long Island City to Astoria. However, the system is projected to cost $2.7 billion, and the projected opening has been delayed until at least 2029.

Road

Cars enter from Brooklyn by the Pulaski Bridge from Brooklyn; from Manhattan by the Queensboro Bridge and the Queens–Midtown Tunnel; and from Roosevelt Island by the Roosevelt Island Bridge. Major thoroughfares include 21st Street, which is mostly industrial and commercial; I-495 (Long Island Expressway); the westernmost portion of Northern Boulevard (New York State Route 25A), which becomes Jackson Avenue (the former name of Northern Boulevard) south of Queens Plaza; and Queens Boulevard, which leads westward to the bridge and eastward follows New York State Route 25 through Long Island; and Vernon Boulevard.

Notable people

Seven Major League Baseball players were born in Long Island City (LIC), and two have died there:

The NBA's Metta World Peace and filmmaker Julie Dash both grew up in the Queensbridge Houses, as did hip-hop producer Marley Marl, and rappers MC Shan, Mobb Deep, Nas, and Roxanne Shante.

Other notable residents of Long Island City include: