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Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to the south. Its name refers to its location on the western tip of Long Island.

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The area has a high concentration of art galleries, art institutions, and studio space.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Long Island City is the eastern terminus of the Queensboro Bridge, the only non-tolled automotive route connecting Queens and Manhattan. Northeast 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.<ref name="NYCPlanning"/> It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 108th Precinct.<ref name="NYPD 108th Precinct"/> Politically, Long Island City is represented by the New York City Council's 26th District.<ref>Current City Council Districts for Queens County Template:Webarchive, New York City. Accessed May 5, 2017.</ref>

History

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As independent city

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Template:Multiple image Long Island City was incorporated as a city on May 4, 1870, from the merging 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.<ref name="new">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>History of the 108th precinct Template:Webarchive at nypdhistory.com (Retrieved April 7, 2020.)</ref> At the time of its incorporation, Long Island City had between 12,000 and 15,000 residents.<ref name= new/> Its charter provided for an elected mayor and a ten-member Board of Aldermen with two representing each of the city's five wards.<ref name= new/> City ordinances could be passed by a majority vote of the Board of Aldermen and the mayor's signature.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Long Island City held its first election on July 5, 1870.<ref name="election">Template:Cite web</ref> Residents elected A.D. Ditmars the first mayor; Ditmars ran as both a Democrat and a Republican.<ref name= election/> 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).<ref name= election/> The mayor and the aldermen were inaugurated on July 18, 1870.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 1880s, Mayor De Bevoise nearly bankrupted the Long Island City government by embezzlement, of which he was convicted.<ref name="unhappy">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name= unhappy/> The petition was ultimately dropped by the citizens.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Long Island City continued to exist as an incorporated city until 1898, when the city, the rest of the Town of Newtown (today known as Elmhurst, Queens) and other Towns in Queens were consolidated into New York City.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The last mayor of Long Island City was an Irish-American named Patrick Jerome "Battle-Axe" Gleason.

Mayors of Long Island City, 1870–1897

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Mayors
Mayor   Party Start year End year
A.D. Ditmars<ref name= election/> bgcolor=Template:Party color| Democratic and RepublicanTemplate:Efn 1870 1873
Henry S. De Bevoise<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn Democratic 1873 1874
George H. Hunter (acting)<ref name= impeach/><ref name= municipal/>Template:Efn Democratic 1873 1874
Henry S. De Bevoise<ref name= impeach/><ref name= municipal/>Template:Efn Democratic 1874 1875
A.D. Ditmars<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn Democratic 1875 1875
John Quinn (acting)<ref name= resign/> Democratic 1875 1876
Henry S. De Bevoise<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Democratic 1876 1883
George Petry<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> bgcolor=Template:Party color| Independent Democrat, Republican<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 1883 1887
Patrick J. Gleason<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Democratic<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 1887 1897

After incorporation into New York City

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File:12 St 43 Rd boulder jeh.jpg
Ancient boulder, a glacial erratic, partly blocking 12th Street
File:Long Island City (20190306141621).jpg
Looking west from an apartment building near Queens Plaza

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.<ref>About Template:Webarchive, Greater Astoria Historical Society. Accessed November 17, 2021. "Greater Astoria Historical Society, founded in 1985 is the place to learn and celebrate Long Island City and its neighborhoods."</ref>

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 Template:Convert along the East River, with plans to bring in as many as 16,000 new residents in a total of 19 new buildings.<ref>Cohen, Joyce. "If You're Thinking of Living In /Long Island City, Queens; Industrial in Places, but Residential Too" Template:Webarchive, The New York Times, February 27, 2000. Accessed November 17, 2021. "Years of discussion about the future of the Long Island City waterfront -- which benefits from radiant views of Manhattan, directly across the East River -- have had their first major concrete results in the Queens West development. What is planned as a 19-building development will eventually encompass 74 acres on the East River south of the Queensboro Bridge.... When built out in about 15 years, Queens West is expected to add about 16,000 people to Long Island City's population, said Carolyn C. Bachan, president of the Queens West Development Corporation."</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NYTimes-HQ2forQueens-2018"/> A resident of nearby Woodside proposed establishing a Japantown in Long Island City in 2006, though this did not occur.<ref>Gill, John Freeman. "For a Big Dreamer, a Little Tokyo Template:Webarchive." The New York Times. February 5, 2006. Retrieved September 5, 2013.</ref> By the mid-2010s, Long Island City was one of New York City's fastest-growing neighborhoods.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Historic landmarks

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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.<ref name="nris" /> New York City designated landmarks include the Pepsi-Cola sign along the East River;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Fire Engine Company 258, Hook and Ladder Company 115 firehouse;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Long Island City Courthouse;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the New York Architectural Terra-Cotta Company building;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Chase Manhattan Bank Building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

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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 Template:Convert, the neighborhood had a population density of Template:Convert.<ref name="PLP5">Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010 Template:Webarchive, Population Division – New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2016.</ref>

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.<ref name="PLP3A">Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010 Template:Webarchive, Population Division – New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2016.</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="CHP2018-1">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp 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.<ref name="CHP2018-2">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp Both figures are higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.<ref name=":21">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In both community boards, most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp

As of 2017, the median household income was $66,382 in Community Board 1<ref name="CB1PUMA">Template:Cite web</ref> and $67,359 in Community Board 2.<ref name="CB2PUMA">Template:Cite web</ref> 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, Template:As of, 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.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Commerce and economy

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Developments and buildings

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File:Long Island City from One World Observatory 2017.jpg
Long Island City in Queens as seen across the East River from One World Trade Center in Manhattan in 2017
File:Pepsi-Cola sign in Gantry Plaza State Park, Long Island City, New York.jpg
Gantry Plaza State Park as seen from the west
File:LongIslandGantryCrane.jpg
Gantry cranes in Gantry Plaza State Park on the Long Island City waterfront

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 and The Sopranos. The Silvercup sign is visible from the IRT Flushing Line and BMT Astoria Line trains going into and out of Queensboro Plaza (Template:NYCS trains). 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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 Template:Convert One Court Square, formerly the Citicorp Building, was built in 1990 in Courthouse Square; it is currently the fourth tallest building in Queens and the fifth-tallest on Long Island, and was Queens' tallest building until 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The tallest building in the borough and second tallest on Long Island, the Template:Convert Orchard residential tower, was architecturally topped-out in July 2024.<ref name="27-48 Jackson">Template:Cite web</ref> Yet another skyscraper, the Template:Convert tower named Sven, completed construction at Queens Plaza and became the third tallest building in the borough.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Queensbridge Houses, a public-housing complex, comprises over 3,000 units, making it the largest such complex in North America.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Since 2005, part of the neighborhood has been maintained by the LIC Partnership as part of the Long Island City Business Improvement District.<ref name="Eagle b670">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Bertrand i981">Template:Cite web</ref> Initially, the business improvement district comprised 84 properties on either side of Queens Plaza.<ref name="Bertrand i981" /> The BID was expanded in 2017 to cover several other major roads in Long Island City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The LIC Partnership requested in 2022 that the BID's size and budget be doubled,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the BID was again expanded in 2024.<ref name="Queens Post t646">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Companies

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File:Silvercup Studios and Citicorp Building from Queensboro Bridge.jpg
Citigroup Building and Silvercup Studios from the Queensboro Bridge
File:Brewster Building from Queensboro Plaza Platform.jpg
Brewster Building and the JetBlue headquarters as seen from Queensboro Plaza

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Other companies headquartered in Long Island City include independent film studio Troma and Standard Motor Products.

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The airline moved there around mid-2012.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

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, Virginia. Both campuses would have 25,000 workers.<ref name="NYTimes-HQ2forQueens-2018">Template:Cite web</ref> The selection was confirmed by Amazon on November 13, 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On February 14, 2019, Amazon announced it was pulling out, citing unexpected opposition from local lawmakers and unions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Subsections

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File:Harbor at north end of Dutch Kills, Queens jeh.jpg
North end of canalized Dutch Kills

In 1870, the villages of Astoria, Ravenswood, Hunters Point, Dutch Kills, Middletown, Sunnyside, Blissville, and Bowery Bay were incorporated into Long Island City.<ref name="Long Island City">Template:Cite book</ref>

Dutch Kills

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File:Dutch Kills Green west jeh.jpg
Dutch Kills Green, now part of Queens Plaza

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.<ref name="Long Island City"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Blissville

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File:City View Inn jeh.jpg
Hotel on Greenpoint Avenue in Blissville

Blissville, which has the ZIP Code 11101, is a neighborhood within Long Island City, located at Template:Coord<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name="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

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Template:Infobox NRHP

File:LIRR 1891 Long Island City.jpg
Map of industrial Hunters Point in 1891

Hunters Point is located on the south side of Long Island City, along Newtown Creek.<ref>Hunters Point, Queens: Neighborhood Profile Template:Webarchive at About.com</ref><ref>Queensmark Comes To Hunters Point Template:Webarchive, Queens Historical Society</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="LPC-HP">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NYCPk-HPSouth">Template:Cite web</ref>

It contains the Hunters Point Historic District, a national historic district that includes 19 contributing buildings along 45th Avenue between 21st and 23rd Streets.<ref>Queens Landmarks-Hunters Point, Historic Districts Council. Accessed March 27, 2023. "This district features a row of forty-seven townhouses built between 1871 and 1890 in the Italianate, French Second Empire and Neo-Grec styles. Original stoops, lintels, pediments, and other details can still be found on many of the homes. Designated May 15, 1968."</ref> They are a set of townhouses built in the late 19th century.<ref name="nrhpinv_ny">Template:Cite web See also: Template:Cite web</ref> The historic district was created by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1968,<ref name="LPC-HP"/> and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.<ref name="nris"/>

The modern Queens West and Hunter's Point South developments are located on the East River waterfront.<ref name="NYCPk-HPSouth"/>

Template:Clear

Arts and culture

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

  • Long Island City was the home of 5 Pointz, a building housing artists' studios, which was legally painted on by a number of graffiti artists and was prominently visible near the Court Square station on the Template:NYCS trains.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 5 Pointz building was painted over and demolished by the property owner, starting in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The owner was ordered to pay $6.75 million to artists as compensation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2021, a pair of connected rental towers dubbed 5Pointz<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> opened.
  • Culture Lab LIC, operating out of The Plaxall Gallery, is a new nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the development of visual art, theater, music, and art of all disciplines in Western Queens, and providing much-needed community space. The 12,000-square-foot converted waterfront warehouse is donated by Plaxall Inc. and is home to three art galleries, a 90-seat theatre, outdoor event space and is located on the Anable Basin in Long Island City and over the years has become an important institution for the surrounding artistic community.
  • The Fisher Landau Center for Art is a private foundation that offers regular exhibitions of contemporary art that closed to the public in November 2017.<ref>History of the Center and the Collection Template:Webarchive, Fisher Landau Center. Retrieved November 29, 2017. "The Fisher Landau Center for Art closed on November 20th, 2017, and is no longer open to the public."</ref>
  • Across the street from Socrates Sculpture Park is the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Museum, founded in 1985 by Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi.<ref>Glueck, Grace. "Noguchi And His Dream Museum" Template:Webarchive, The New York Times, May 10, 1985. Accessed December 13, 2018. "After years of planning, the Japanese-American sculptor has realized a dream, to gather his art in a self-created setting that is also a work of art. The opening tomorrow of his Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum in Long Island City is a feat that surprises no one who knows this dynamic octogenarian, and a very special event in the cultural life of New York."</ref> After undergoing a two-and-a-half-year renovation completed at a cost of $13.5 million, the museum reopened in 2004 with newer and advanced facilities.<ref>Vogel, Carol. "The Renovated Noguchi Museum Is Friendlier but Still Discreet" Template:Webarchive, The New York Times, June 8, 2004. Accessed December 13, 2018. "Were it not for the workers' putting finishing touches on the museum and garden last week for the reopening on Saturday, it would have been hard to tell that the institution had undergone a two-and-a-half-year $13.5 million renovation."</ref>
  • MoMA PS1, an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art, is the oldest and second-largest non-profit arts center in the United States solely devoted to contemporary art. It is named after the former public school in which it is housed.
  • SculptureCenter is New York City's only non-profit exhibition space dedicated to contemporary and innovative sculpture. SculptureCenter re-located from Manhattan's Upper East Side to a former trolley repair shop in Long Island City, Queens renovated by artist/designer Maya Lin in 2002. Founded by artists in 1928, SculptureCenter has undergone much evolution and growth, and continues to expand and challenge the definition of sculpture.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> SculptureCenter commissions new work and presents exhibits by emerging and established, national and international artists. The museum also hosts a diverse range of public programs including lectures, dialogues, and performances.
  • Socrates Sculpture Park is an outdoor sculpture park located one block from the Noguchi Museum at the intersection of Broadway and Vernon Boulevard.<ref>Socrates Sculpture Park Template:Webarchive, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved November 29, 2017.</ref>
  • See.me is web-based arts organization located in Long Island City. The organization is dedicated to supporting artistic talent, harnessing online creative communities, and promoting artists' work.

Police and crime

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Woodside, Sunnyside, and Long Island City are patrolled by the 108th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 5-47 50th Avenue.<ref name="NYPD 108th Precinct">Template:Cite web</ref> The 108th Precinct ranked 25th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, 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.<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fire safety

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Long Island City is served by the following New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations:<ref>Template:Cite FDNY locations</ref>

  • Engine Company 258/Ladder Company 115 – 10-40 47th Avenue<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Engine Company 259/Ladder Company 128/Battalion 45 – 33-51 Greenpoint Avenue<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Health

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Template:As of, 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.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp 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).<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp 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.<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp 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%.<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, is Template:Convert in northern Long Island City and Template:Convert in southern Long Island City.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp 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.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp 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.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp In Community Board 2, 20% of residents are obese, 9% are diabetic, and 23% have high blood pressure.<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp 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%.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp

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%.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp For every supermarket, there are 17 bodegas in southern Long Island City and 10 in northern Long Island City.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp

The nearest large hospitals in the area are the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Elmhurst and the Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens in Astoria.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Post office and ZIP Code

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Long Island City is covered by ZIP Code 11101.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The United States Post Office operates the Long Island City Station at 46-02 21st Street.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

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File:Board of education building by Chalagi7.JPG
Department of Education building at 44-36 Vernon Blvd

Long Island City generally has a slightly higher ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city Template:As of. 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.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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%.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp<ref name=":21" />Template:Rp 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%.<ref name="CHP2018-1" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018-2" />Template:Rp

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.<ref>Home page Template:Webarchive. New York City Department of Education Office of School Support Services. Retrieved May 1, 2013. "2004 The Office of School Support Services 44-36 Vernon Boulevard Long Island City, NY 11101"</ref>

Schools

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Template:Multiple image

K-12

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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

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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

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

Libraries

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File:Gantry Plaza td (2019-09-24) 021 - Peninsula Park, Hunters Point Community Library.jpg
Exterior of the Hunters Point Library
File:Hunters Point Library td (2019-09-24) 012.jpg
Interior of the Hunters Point Library

The Queens Public Library operates two branches in Long Island City. The Hunters Point Community Library is located at 47-40 Center Boulevard<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> on the bank of the East River.<ref name="Timeout HP Library" /> Designed by Steven Holl Architects in 2010 and opened on September 24, 2019, the library has a floor area of Template:Cvt and is Template:Convert tall, measuring Template:Convert along the New York City waterfront.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="Timeout HP Library" /><ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="Timeout HP Library">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A third branch, the Court Square branch, opened in 1989 and was located on the ground floor of One Court Square.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A mobile branch opened nearby,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Queens Public Library agreed in 2024 to open a new branch at the 5 Pointz development.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Parks and recreation

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

Other parks include:

Transportation

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Public transportation

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File:Long Island City Steinway Railway Company c 1894.png
Long Island City Steinway Railway Company c 1894
File:Court Square skylight vc.jpg
Entrance to Court Square-23rd Street
File:LIC dock NY Waterway jeh.jpg
Ferry dock

The following New York City Subway stations serve Long Island City:<ref>Template:NYCS const</ref>

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Long Island City:<ref name=busqns>Template:Cite NYC bus map</ref>

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 brought LIRR trains to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, opened in 2023; this project created a new train tunnel beneath the East River, connecting Long Island City and Queens with the East Side of Manhattan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was discontinued in 2011 due to new construction on the site of the old landing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In June 2011, NY Waterway started service to points along the East River.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One NYC Ferry stop for the East River route is located at Hunters Point South,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while another NYC Ferry stop for a route to Astoria is located at Gantry Plaza State Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Road

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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

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

People raised in the Queensbridge Houses include hip-hop producer Marley Marl, and rappers MC Shan, Mobb Deep, Nas, and Roxanne Shante.

Other notable residents of Long Island City include:

References

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Notes

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Citations

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Further reading

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