Nearby Neighborhoods

Similarly-priced neighborhoods

Description

Long Island City is an up-and-coming neighborhood (unlike most, LIC deserves that label) in the westernmost region of Queens, which is in the process of evolving from an industrial wasteland to a cultural and creative hub.

Despite a longstanding reputation for grittiness, the community has more recently become known for its thriving arts community and growing collection of hip restaurants and cafes, often operated as satellite establishments by hot Manhattan restaurateurs.

Despite the area’s growing reputation as a hotspot, Long Island City has remained affordable (all things NYC real estate being relative) to young artists, who are taking advantage of its sweeping Manhattan views and easy commute to downtown. It’s only one subway stop from Grand Central on the 7 train.

The area has also become defined, in recent years, by a growing theater and comedy scene; performance spaces such as The Creek and the Cave, and The Laughing Devil Comedy Club have attracted the likes of star comedians Louis C.K. and Colin Quinn. The waterfront areas now boast plenty to do as well; Gantry Plaza State Park now has four piers, garden, a mist fountain, several playgrounds and ball courts, and is still expanding.

The early 17th century saw Dutch colonization in the then rural area, and in 1898 Long Island City surrendered its independence and officially became a part of the City of Greater New York. With the beginning of regular ferry service to Manhattan in the mid-1800s, the creation of the Long Island Railroad in 1861, and the opening of multiple subway tunnels, the Queensboro Bridge, and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, Long Island City experienced rapid industrial growth. But beginning in the 1970s, the decline of US manufacturing coincided with the stirrings of an emerging arts culture in the area, as marked by the opening of P.S.1 Contemporary Arts Center in a former public school. In 2001, P.S.1 became an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art, and it now defines itself as an exhibition space for some of the most experimental art in the world. In addition, the museum is known for its annual summertime dance parties, with revelers numbering in the thousands.

Long Island City is easily accessible to Manhattan by bus, ferry, car, and both the elevated and underground trains. The commute is about 15 minutes.

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