Long Island City

Location: Long Island City is located in Western Queens and is sitting across the East River from Midtown East. Defining its boundaries more exactly requires a short explanation: the thing is, there are two definitions. One is more "traditional" - dating from the days when Queens was not part of New York City and wasn't even called a borough - back then, the entire area comprising today's Western Queens was called Long Island City (that included Astoria, too). Nowadays, this definition is not very useful, because Astoria, which begins somewhere north of the Queensboro Bridge, is a very different neighborhood.

The definition most people use for Long Island City is the area between the Pulaski Bridge (connecting the neighborhood with its closest Brooklyn neighbor, Greenpoint) and... (take you pick):

• Queensboro Plaza (if you like to call everything to the north "Astoria" - this is often the case if you're in the real estate trade)
• Broadway (if you are a traditionalist)
• 36th Avenue (if you like to compromise)

Sub-divisions: Besides "Dutch Kills", another frequently-used moniker is "Hunters Point", the southern tip of the neighborhood.

Character: Long Island City has had a somewhat abortive history of artist gentrification. For a while (in the 1990s), it was considered the "next big thing" for artists fleeing the rising rents of increasingly gentrified Williamsburg and Greenpoint. To be sure, the arrival of P.S.1. modern art museum and the opening of the now-defunct 5 Points loft building where many artists rented workspace lent some credibility to this line of thinking.

But the anticipated large-scale artist migration never happened. Instead, the neighborhood sort of leapfrogged that stage of gentrification - and the heady 2000s brought a rash of high-rise developments along the East River. Several mid-rise (but high-profile) condos have been built as well.

Apartments & Real Estate

Although prices are lower than in Manhattan, they are higher than in neighboring Astoria. New condos are priced around $700 per s/f (2007 data).

Selected Rental Buildings

• Avalon Riverview (2-01 50th Avenue, Long Island City) [20 listings: 7 no-fee and 13 fee apts]
  A high-rise concierge building offering a gym and a garage. The apartments have high ceilings (8' 4" - 9' 8").
• Avalon Riverview North (4-75 48th Avenue, Long Island City) [34 listings: 9 no-fee and 25 fee apts]
  A modern high-rise concierge building offering a gym, a pool, a garage and laundry facilities. The apartments have high ceilings (9' 0" - 11' 0").
• East Coast [17 listings, all of them 'no-fee' apts]
  A 4-building complex. This 22-acre development was built on the site of a former Pepsi-Cola bottling plant. The complex includes rental and condominimum properties, as well a....
• Linc LIC (43–10 Crescent Street, Long Island City) [8 listings, all of them 'no-fee' apts]
  A modern high-rise concierge building offering a gym, a garage and a children's play area.
• The Maximilian (5-11 47th Avenue, Long Island City) [9 listings, all of them 'no-fee' apts]
  A concierge building offering a gym. The residences feature polished hardwood floors, rich quartz countertops and a variety of floor plans that suit every lifestyle. The Maxi....

See all Long Island City Rental Apartment Buildings (26 buildings)

Selected No-Fee Rental Listings

See all Long Island City No-Fee Rental Apartments (61 total)

Condo & Co-op Buildings

• Crescent Club (41-17 Crescent Street, Long Island City) [4 listings: 3 no-fee and 1 fee apts]
  A modern high-rise doorman condo building offering a gym and a pool. The apartments have high ceilings.
• The View (4630 Center Boulevard, Long Island City)
  A concierge elevator condo building offering a gym.
• View 59 (24-15 Queens Plaza North, Long Island City)
  A pre-war mid-rise doorman condo building offering a gym. The lobby, designed by Andrés Escobar, is defined by a wall of cascading water and a 20 ft ceiling. The apartments....

See all Long Island City Condo Apartment Buildings (23 buildings)

• 12-26 30th Road (Long Island City)
  A low-rise walk-up building.
• City Lights (4-74 48th Avenue, Long Island City)
  A mixed-use project which includes a 522-unit residential tower and a 5-floor retail/educational base.

See our list of Long Island City Co-op Apartment Buildings (4 buildings)

Additional Links

Please note that the site(s) mentioned below are not affiliated with NYBits

• 20/Feb/2013: Court Square’s boom suffers from lack of retail, but developers see opportunity to bridge gap (The Real Desl)