Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the

New York City borough The boroughs of New York City are the five major governmental districts that comprise New York City. They are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective county of the State of New ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and

Newtown Creek Newtown Creek, a long tributary of the East River, is an estuary that forms part of the border between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, in New York City. River engineering#Channelization, Channelization made it one of the most heavily-use ...

, which separates Queens from

Greenpoint, Brooklyn Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway and East ...

, to the south. Its name refers to its location on the western tip of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. 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 The City of Greater New York was the Merger (politics), consolidation of the New York City, City of New York with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Island, which took effect on January 1, 1898. New York had already annexed the Bronx ...

in 1898. In the early 21st century, Long Island City became known for its rapid and ongoing residential growth and

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

, 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 Queensboro Bridge, officially the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City. Completed in 1909, it connects the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens with the Midtown Manhattan ...

, the only non-tolled automotive route connecting Queens and

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Northeast of the bridge are the Queensbridge Houses, a development of the

New York City Housing Authority The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the ...

and the largest public housing complex in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

. 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 The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

's 108th Precinct. Politically, Long Island City is represented by the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

's 26th District.

History

As independent city

Long Island City was incorporated as a city on May 4, 1870, from the merging of the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

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 Aldermen 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. The Common Council of Long Island City in 1873 adopted the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

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 the 1880s, Mayor De Bevoise nearly bankrupted the Long Island City government by

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

, 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 the city, the rest of the Town of Newtown (today known as

Elmhurst, Queens Elmhurst (formerly Newtown) is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Junction Boulevard on the east; and the New York Connecting Rail ...

) and other Towns in Queens were consolidated into New York City. The last mayor of Long Island City was an Irish-American named Patrick Jerome "Battle-Axe" Gleason.

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

. 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

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

, 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

, 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 is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or , the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little ...

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 The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. 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 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
, Population Division – New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 14.7% (2,946)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 25.9% (5,183)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% (62) Native American, 15.5% (3,096) Asian, 0.0% (6)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.2% (248) from other races, and 1.9% (385) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 40.5% (8,104) of the population.Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
, Population Division – New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2016. 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 Household income is a measure of income received by the household sector. It includes every form of cash income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, investment income and cash transfers from the government. It may include near-cash gover ...

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 Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been us ...

, 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 Department of City Planning (DCP) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for setting the framework of city's physical and socioeconomic planning. The department is responsible for land use and environmental review, p ...

, the southern portion of Long Island City south of the

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

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 ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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.

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 from One World Observatory 2017

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 Silvercup Studios is one of the largest film and television production facilities in New York City. The studio is located in Long Island City, Queens, with another facility in the Port Morris neighborhood of the Bronx. The studio complex has ...

, which has produced notable works such as

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...

'' and

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'' and ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

''. 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 LaGuardia Community College is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in New York City. It is in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in and part of the City University of New York. LaGuardia i ...

. 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 was an American artist, furniture designer and Landscape architecture, landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Grah ...

converted a photo-engraving plant into a workshop; the site is now the

Noguchi Museum The Noguchi Museum (chartered as The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum) is a museum and sculpture garden at 3237 Vernon Boulevard in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in New York City, designed and created by the Japanese-Amer ...

, 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 The Jim Henson Company, Inc., formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc. (commonly referred to as Henson), is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is kn ...

Society Awards Society Awards is an American company best known for designing and manufacturing high-profile entertainment industry awards, including the Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, GLAAD Media Award, and YouTube Creator Awards, among others. History So ...

, 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 Swingline is a division of ACCO Brands Corporation that specializes in manufacturing staplers and hole punches. From its foundation in 1925, the company was located in Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States, until the plant was moved ...

Staplers plant was the temporary headquarters of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

. Other former factories in Long Island City include Fisher Electronics,

Marantz Marantz is a company that develops and sells high-end audio products. The company was founded in New York, but is now based in California. The first Marantz audio product was designed and built by Saul Marantz in his home in Kew Gardens, Quee ...

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 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, Brook ...

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 Queens, the largest of New York City's five boroughs by area, is home to over 40 skyscrapers taller than . At , The Orchard, a residential skyscraper in Long Island City, is the tallest building in Queens, and the second tallest building i ...

. The

One Court Square One Court Square, also known as the Citicorp Building or the Citigroup Building, is a 50-story, office tower in Long Island City, Queens, across the East River from Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was completed in 1989 and desig ...

, 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. The tallest building in the borough and second tallest on Long Island, the

Orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

residential tower, was architecturally topped-out in July 2024. Yet another skyscraper, the tower named Sven, completed construction at Queens Plaza and became the third tallest building in the borough. The Queensbridge Houses, a public-housing complex, comprises over 3,000 units, making it the largest such complex in North America. Since 2005, part of the neighborhood has been maintained by the LIC Partnership as part of the Long Island City Business Improvement District. Initially, the

business improvement district A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within whichever businesses elect to pay an additional fee (or assessment) in order to fund projects within the district's boundaries. A BID is not a tax, as taxes fund the government. BID f ...

comprised 84 properties on either side of Queens Plaza. The BID was expanded in 2017 to cover several other major roads in Long Island City. The LIC Partnership requested in 2022 that the BID's size and budget be doubled, and the BID was again expanded in 2024.

Companies

Silvercup Studios and Citicorp Building from Queensboro Bridge

Brewster Building from Queensboro Plaza Platform

Eagle Electric, now known as Cooper Wiring Devices, was one of the last major factories in the area, before it moved to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

; Plant No. 7, which was the largest of their factories and housed their corporate offices, is being converted to residential luxury

loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

s. Long Island City is currently home to the largest

fortune cookie A fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary cookie wafer made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a piece of paper inside, a "fortune", an aphorism, or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chinese language, Chines ...

factory in the United States, owned by Wonton Foods and producing four million fortune cookies a day.

Lucky number In number theory, a lucky number is a natural number in a set which is generated by a certain " sieve". This sieve is similar to the sieve of Eratosthenes that generates the primes, but it eliminates numbers based on their position in the rema ...

s 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 Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and overseen by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which also manages other large jackpot games such as t ...

. The

Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers Inc. is an American clothing brand founded in 1818 which is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in the United States. Originally a family business, it is currently owned as a joint venture between Authentic Brands G ...

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. Other companies headquartered in Long Island City include independent film studio

Troma Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. They are the longest running independent film studio in the world. The company produces low-budget inde ...

and Standard Motor Products. In spring 2010,

JetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways Corporation, stylized as jetBlue, is an American major airline headquartered in Long Island City, in Queens, New York City. Primarily a point-to-point carrier, JetBlue's network features six focus cities including its main hub a ...

announced it was moving its headquarters from Forest Hills to Long Island City, also incorporating the jobs from its

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under , it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast. Situated on the Long Island ...

, 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 Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

was in final talks with the government of New York State to construct one of two campuses for its proposed

Amazon HQ2 Amazon HQ2 is Amazon (company), Amazon's corporate headquarters in National Landing in Crystal City, Virginia (part of Arlington, Virginia, Arlington County) in the Washington, D.C. area, and an expansion of the company's headquarters in Seattl ...

at Queens West in Long Island City. The other campus would be located at National Landing in

Crystal City, Virginia Crystal City is an urban neighborhood in the southeastern corner of Arlington County, Virginia, approximately south of Downtown (Washington, D.C.), Downtown Washington, D.C. Due to its extensive integration of office buildings and residential h ...

. 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 ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

, 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 The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, 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 Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

to the north;

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 A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

over Newtown Creek, connecting

and Blissville; it was replaced in the 20th century by the

Greenpoint Avenue Bridge The Greenpoint Avenue Bridge is a Drawbridge (American English), drawbridge that carries Greenpoint Avenue across Newtown Creek between the neighborhoods of Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Blissville, Queens in New York City. Also known as the J. J. B ...

, 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

. 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 A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

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. ''See also:'' The historic district was created by the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...

in 1968, and was listed on the

in 1973. The modern Queens West and Hunter's Point South developments are located on the East River waterfront.

Arts and culture

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 Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

artists and was prominently visible near the Court Square station on the . The 5 Pointz building was painted over and demolished by the property owner, starting in 2013. The owner was ordered to pay $6.75 million to artists as compensation. In 2021, a pair of connected rental towers dubbed 5Pointz 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. * Across the street from Socrates Sculpture Park is the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Museum, founded in 1985 by Japanese-American sculptor

. 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. * MoMA PS1, an affiliate of the

, 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 Maya Ying Lin (Chinese: 林瓔; born October 5, 1959) is an American architect, designer and sculptor. Born in Athens, Ohio to Chinese immigrants, she attended Yale University to study architecture. In 1981, while still an undergraduate at Yal ...

in 2002. Founded by artists in 1928, SculptureCenter has undergone much evolution and growth, and continues to expand and challenge the definition of sculpture. 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. * 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

Woodside, Sunnyside, and Long Island City are patrolled by the 108th Precinct of the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

, 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 crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful Force (law), force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, vio ...

s 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 The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...

(FDNY) fire stations: * Engine Company 258/Ladder Company 115 – 10-40 47th Avenue * Engine Company 259/Ladder Company 128/Battalion 45 – 33-51 Greenpoint Avenue 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 birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 ...

s 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 Air pollution is the presence of substances in the air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be gases like ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles like soot and dust. It affects both outdoor ...

, 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 Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classified as obese when ...

, 11% are

diabetic Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, and 29% have

high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...

—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In Community Board 2, 20% of residents are

, 9% are

, and 23% have

. 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 Elmhurst Hospital Center (EHC), also known as NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, is a 545-bed public hospital in the Elmhurst, Queens, Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens in New York City. It is one of the 11 acute care hospitals of NYC Health + Hospi ...

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

operates the

Long Island City Station The Long Island City station is a rail terminal of the Long Island Rail Road in the Hunters Point and Long Island City neighborhoods of Queens, New York City. Located within the City Terminal Zone at Borden Avenue and Second Street, it is t ...

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 An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do rel ...

, 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 The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...

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

. Long Island City is zoned to: * PS 17 Henry David Thoreau School * PS 70 * PS 76 William Hallet School * PS/IS 78Q * PS 85 Judge Charles Vallone * PS 111 Jacob Blackwell School * PS 112 Dutch Kills School * PS 150 * PS 166 Henry Gradstein School * PS 171 Peter G. Van Alst School * PS 199 Maurice A. Fitzgerald School * PS 384 Hunters Point Elementary * IS 10 Horace Greeley School * IS 126 Albert Shanker School For Visual And Performing Arts * IS 141 The Steinway School * IS 204 Oliver W. Holmes Additionally, Long Island City is home to: *

Baccalaureate School for Global Education The Baccalaureate School for Global Education (BSGE) is a New York City state school, public secondary education in the United States, high school located in the Astoria, Queens, Astoria section of Queens, New York (state), New York. BSGE was es ...

, a 7–12 school * Gantry View School, an independent progressive school that offers personalized learning and group activities for its mixed-age student body, K-5 * St. Raphael School's campus

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. * Academy of American Studies (Q575), a history high school * Academy for Careers in Television & Film (Q301) * Academy of Finance and Enterprise (Q264) * Aviation Career and Technical High School (Q610) * Bard High School Early College II (Q299) * Frank Sinatra School of the Arts (Q501) * High School of Applied Communication (Q267) * Information Technology High School (Q502) * The International High School (Queens) at LaGuardia Community College (Q530) * Long Island City High School (Q450) * Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community College (Q520) * Newcomers High School - Academy for New Americans (Q555) * Queens Vocational and Technical High School (Q600) * Robert F. Wagner Jr. Institute For Arts & Technology (Q560) *

William Cullen Bryant High School William Cullen Bryant High School, or William C. Bryant High School, and W.C. Bryant High School, or Bryant High School for short, is a secondary school in Queens, New York City, United States serving grades 9 through 12. Name The school is na ...

(Q445)

Higher education

Numerous institutions of higher education have (or have had) a presence in Long Island City. * Briarcliffe College has a campus on Thomson Avenue. *

City University of New York School of Law A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

is located at 2 Court Square. *

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

's Depression Project is located at 3718 34th Street. * DeVry University – New York Metro (also known as DeVry College of New York), maintained headquarters at 3020 Thomson Avenue until March 2011, at which time New York Metro's main campus relocated to 180 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, and DCNY relocated its Queens presence to 99–21 Queens Boulevard in Rego Park *

is located at 3110 Thomson Avenue. * Middle College National Consortium is located at 27–28 Thomson Avenue, #331 * Touro College is located at 2511 49th Avenue. *

Calvary Chapel Bible College New York City Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

is located at 31-10 47th Street.

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

. 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 Jean Prouvé (; 8 April 1901 – 23 March 1984) was a French metal worker, self-taught architect and designer. Le Corbusier designated Prouvé a constructeur, blending architecture and engineering. Prouvé's main achievement was transferring m ...

, 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 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

, 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 Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

, 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. A mobile branch opened nearby, and Queens Public Library agreed in 2024 to open a new branch at the 5 Pointz development.

Parks and recreation

There are several waterfront parks in Long Island City. These include or have included: * Gantry Plaza State Park, a park on the East River waterfront between Anable Basin to the north and 50th Avenue to the south * Hunters Point South Park, a park on the East River waterfront at Hunter's Point South, near

* Malt Drive Park, a park just south of Hunters Point South Park. The park includes native plantings, and it slopes down from the neighboring buildings toward Newtown Creek. * Queensbridge Park, a park on the East River waterfront north of

, within the Queensbridge Houses * Water Taxi Beach was New York City's first non-swimming

urban beach An urban beach (also city beach and sometimes beach club) is an artificially-created environment in an urban setting which simulates a public beachfront, through the use of sand, beach umbrellas, and seating elements. There are many variation ...

, and was located on the East River in Long Island City. City Hall planned to build 5,000 moderate income apartments in this area, a development called Hunter's Point South. The beach later closed and the apartments have been constructed. Other parks include: * Andrews Grove, on 49th Avenue between Fifth Street and Vernon Boulevard * Bridge and Tunnel Park, between the Pulaski Bridge, 50th Avenue, 11th Place, and the Queens–Midtown Tunnel entrance ramp * City Ice Pavilion, with of skating surface, opened in Long Island City in late 2008. The ice skating rink is on the roof of a two-story storage facility. * Hunters Point Community Park, a

linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and Esplanade, shorelines. Examples o ...

located on the south side of 48th Avenue between Fifth Street and Vernon Boulevard * Murray Playground, between 45th Avenue, 45th Road, and 11th and 21st Streets * Old Hickory Playground, at Jackson Avenue and 51st Avenue

Transportation

Public transportation

Long Island City Steinway Railway Company c 1894

The following

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

stations serve Long Island City: * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () The following

MTA Regional Bus Operations MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the Public transport bus service, bus operations division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City. The MTA operates local, limited-stop, express, and Select Bus Service (bus rapid transit ...

bus routes serve Long Island City: * Q32: to Pennsylvania Station (Manhattan) or Jackson Heights via Queens Plaza and Queens Boulevard * Q39: to Glendale via Thomson Avenue * Q60: to East Midtown (Manhattan) or

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

via Queens Plaza and Queens Boulevard * Q66: to () via 21st Street * Q67: to Middle Village via Borden Avenue * Q69: to

Astoria Heights Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast, an ...

via 21st Street * Q100: to

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...

(Bronx) via 21st Street * Q101: to East Midtown (Manhattan) or Astoria Heights via Queens Plaza and Northern Boulevard * Q102: to

Roosevelt Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, wit ...

(Manhattan) or Astoria via Vernon Boulevard, 41st Avenue, and 31st Street * Q103: to Astoria via Vernon Boulevard * B32: to Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal via 11th/21st Streets * B62: to

Downtown Brooklyn Downtown Brooklyn is the third-largest central business district in New York City (after Midtown Manhattan, Midtown and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighb ...

via Jackson Avenue The

and Hunterspoint Avenue stations of the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

(LIRR) are also located within Long Island City. The US$11.1 billion

East Side Access East Side Access (ESA) is a public works project in New York City that extended the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) two miles from its Main Line (Long Island Rail Road), Main Line in Queens to the new Grand Central Madison station under Grand Cent ...

project, which brought LIRR trains to

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

, opened in 2023; this project created a new train tunnel beneath the

, 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 NY Waterway, or New York Waterway, is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley. The company utilizes public-private partnership with agencies such as the Por ...

started service to points along the East River. On May 1, 2017, that route became part of the

NYC Ferry NYC Ferry is a public network of ferry routes in New York City operated by Hornblower Cruises. , there are six routes, as well as one seasonal route, connecting 25 ferry piers across all five boroughs. NYC Ferry has the largest passenger fleet ...

's East River route, which runs between Pier 11/Wall Street in Manhattan's

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...

and the East 34th Street Ferry Landing in

Murray Hill, Manhattan Murray Hill is a neighborhood on the East Side (Manhattan), east side of Manhattan in New York City. Murray Hill is generally bordered to the east by the East River or Kips Bay, Manhattan, Kips Bay and to the west by Midtown Manhattan, though the ...

, 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 Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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

and the Queens–Midtown Tunnel; and from

by the

Roosevelt Island Bridge The Roosevelt Island Bridge is a tower drive vertical lift bridge that connects Roosevelt Island in Manhattan to Astoria in Queens, crossing the East Channel of the East River. It is the sole route to the island for vehicular and foot traffi ...

. 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 (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York (state), New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, running ...

(

New York State Route 25A New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York (state), New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, running ...

), which becomes Jackson Avenue (the former name of Northern Boulevard) south of Queens Plaza; and

Queens Boulevard Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare connecting Midtown Manhattan, via the Queensboro Bridge, to Jamaica in Queens, New York City, United States. It is long and forms part of New York State Route 25. Queens Boulevard runs northwest to ...

, which leads westward to the bridge and eastward follows

New York State Route 25 New York State Route 25 (NY 25) is an east–west state highway in downstate New York in the United States. The route extends along the central parts and North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island for just over from east ...

through Long Island; and Vernon Boulevard.

Notable people

Seven

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

players were born in Long Island City (LIC), and two have died there: * Joe Benes (1901–1975, born in LIC) * Ed Boland (1908–1993, born in LIC) * Al Cuccinello (1914–2004, born in LIC) * Tony Cuccinello (1907–1995, born in LIC) * John Hatfield (1847–1909, died in LIC) * Billy Loes (1929–2010), right-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. * Gus Sandberg (1895–1930, born in LIC) * Dike Varney (1880–1950, died in LIC) * Billy Zitzmann (1895–1985, born in LIC) People raised in the Queensbridge Houses include hip-hop producer

Marley Marl Marlon Lu'Ree Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge Houses, Queen ...

, and rappers

MC Shan Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965), better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American rapper, singer and record producer from New York City. He is best known for his guest appearance and production on Canadian singer Snow's 1992 single " ...

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

, and

Roxanne Shante Lolita Shante Gooden (born November 9, 1969), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. She first gained attention in 1984 through the Roxanne Wars, and was part of the Juice Crew. The 2017 film ''Roxanne Roxanne'' ...

. Other notable residents of Long Island City include: * Mike Baxter (born 1984), outfielder who played for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. * Richard Bellamy (1927–1998), art dealer. * Jane Bolin (1908–2007), first black woman to serve as a judge in the United States when she was sworn into the bench of the New York City Domestic Relations Court in 1939. * Sonam Dolma Brauen (born 1953), Swiss-Tibetan sculptor and painter'' Eisenvogel'' (''Across Many Mountains'') in: * Mario J. Cariello (1907–1985), politician who served as Borough President of Queens and as a New York Supreme Court Justice. * Richard Christy (born 1974), musician and writer on ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...

'' * John T. Clancy (1903–1985), lawyer, politician and surrogate judge from

. *

Julie Dash Julie Ethel Dash (born October 22, 1952) is an American filmmaker, music video and commercial director, author, and website producer. Dash received her Master of Fine Arts, MFA in 1985 at the UCLA Film School and is one of the graduates and filmm ...

(born 1952), filmmaker * Florence Finney (1903–1994), politician and first woman president pro tempore of the Connecticut State Senate; born in Long Island City. * Vern Fleming (born 1962), former professional basketball player who played in the NBA for the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

and

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

"Rookie Puts Family, Friends 1st"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', October 11, 1999. Accessed June 24, 2024. "Queensbridge kids always have played a lot of hoops. Besides Ray Martin, former Indiana Pacer Vern Fleming grew up there, as did LIU Athletic Director Andy Walker, who played for the New Orleans (now Utah) Jazz." * John J. Flemm (1896–1974), politician, founder and president of Flemm Lead Company * Roy Gussow (1918–2011), abstract sculptor * Steve Hofstetter (born 1979), actor and comedian; operates the Laughing Devil Comedy Club in the area * Zenon Konopka (born 1981), ice hockey forward; lived in Long Island City during the

2010–11 NHL season The 2010–11 NHL season was the List of NHL seasons, 94th season of operation (93rd Season (sport), season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup ...

* Murray Lerner (1927–2017), documentary and experimental film director and producer. * Blanche Merrill (1883–1966), songwriter * Mollie Moon (1912–1990),founder and president of the National Urban League Guild * Natalia Paruz, musician and director of the annual NYC Musical Saw Festival *

Naomi Rosenblum Naomi Rosenblum, PhD, (January 26, 1925 – February 19, 2021) was the author "of two landmark histories of photography, ''A World History of Photography'' (1984) and ''A History of Women Photographers'' (1994), and dozens of seminal articles and ...

(1925–2021), photography historian. * Levy Rozman (born 1995),

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

International Master, chess coach and online content creator * Metta Sandiford-Artest (born 1979), former professional basketball player who played 19 seasons in the NBA *

Joe Santagato Joseph Patrick Santagato (born February 25, 1992) is an American YouTuber and podcaster. He is the co-host of the podcast ''The Basement Yard'' and is also commonly seen on ''“Santagato Studios”'' and ''“The Picky Boys”''. Early life J ...

(born 1992), comedian and creator of

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

board game ''Speak Out''. * Jessica Valenti (born 1978), feminist writer, founder of the website Feministing and columnist for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' * Andy Walker (born 1955), retired professional basketball small forward who spent one season in the NBA for the New Orleans Jazz * Anicka Yi (born 1971), conceptual artist.Gregory, Alice
"Anicka Yi Is Inventing a New Kind of Conceptual Art"
, '' T: The New York Times Style Magazine'', February 14, 2017. Accessed November 17, 2021. "A few weeks before I visited the lab, I met Yi for lunch at her home in Long Island City."

References

Notes

Citations

External links

Queens Buzz Lead-in Section to LIC

Long Island City BID

LICNotes
(archived)
Greater Astoria Historical Society

LIC Cultural Alliance
{{Authority control Central business districts in New York City Former cities in New York City Neighborhoods in Queens, New York Former county seats in New York (state)