Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, a borough in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually 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 the borough of Quee ...

to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek—which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brooklyn—to the south. Incorporated as a city in 1870, Long Island City was originally the seat of government of the

Town of Newtown The Town of Newtown was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, loosely based on the current Newtown, a suburb of Toowoomba. It existed between 1913 and 1917. History On 25 January 1913, the Shire of Gowrie ...

, before becoming part of the

City of Greater New York The City of Greater New York was the term used by many politicians and scholars for the expanded City of New York created on January 1, 1898, by consolidating the existing City of New York with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Is ...

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 of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

, its waterfront parks, and its thriving arts community. The area has a high concentration of art galleries, art institutions, and studio space. Long Island City is the eastern terminus of the Queensboro Bridge, the only non-tolled automotive route connecting Queens and

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Northwest of the bridge are the

Queensbridge Houses Queensbridge Houses, also known simply as Queensbridge, is a public housing development in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Owned by the New York City Housing Authority, the development contains 29 buildings and 3,1 ...

, 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 U ...

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 antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

. 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 New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

's 108th Precinct. Politically, Long Island City is represented by the New York City Council's 26th District.

History

As independent city

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

Village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. The first elected Board of Aldermen was H. Rudolph and Patrick Lonirgan (Ward 1); Francis McNena and William E. Bragaw (Ward 2); George Hunter and Mr. Williams (Third Ward); James R. Bennett and John Wegart (Ward Four); and E.M. Hartshort and William Carlin (Fifth Ward). The mayor and the aldermen were inaugurated on July 18, 1870. In the 1880s, Mayor De Bevoise nearly bankrupted the Long Island City government by embezzlement, of which he was convicted. Many dissatisfied residents of Astoria circulated a petition to ask the New York State Legislature to allow it to secede from Long Island City and reincorporate as the Village of Astoria, as it existed prior to the incorporation of Long Island City, in 1884. The petition was ultimately dropped by the citizens. Long Island City continued to exist as an incorporated city until 1898, when Queens was annexed to New York City. The last mayor of Long Island City was an Irish-American named Patrick Jerome "Battle-Axe" Gleason. The Common Council of Long Island City in 1873 adopted the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

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

Mayors of Long Island City, 1870–1897

After incorporation into New York City

The city surrendered its independence in 1898 to become part of the

. 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 A destination sectional center facility (SCF) is a processing and distribution center (P&DC) of the United States Postal Service (USPS) that serves a designated geographical area defined by one or more three-digit ZIP Code prefixes. A sectional ...

(SCF). The Greater Astoria Historical Society, a nonprofit cultural and historical organization documenting the Long Island City area's history, has operated since 1985. Through the 1930s, three subway tunnels, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and the Queensboro Bridge were built to connect the neighborhood to Manhattan. By the 1970s, the factories in Long Island City were being abandoned. In the 1990s, Queens West on the west side of Long Island City was developed to revitalize along the

, with plans to bring in as many as 16,000 new residents in a total of 19 new buildings. Long Island City (20190306141621)

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 The Long Island City Courthouse is located at 25-10 Court Square in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. It formerly housed Criminal Court, County Court, the District Attorney staff, and the county sheriff's office. Today the Courthouse is ano ...

, and United States Post Office are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. New York City designated landmarks include the

Pepsi-Cola sign The Pepsi-Cola sign is a neon sign at Gantry Plaza State Park in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The sign, visible from Manhattan and the East River, was built in 1940 and originally installed atop PepsiCo (previo ...

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 Sven (originally known as Queens Plaza Park) is a residential building located at 29-27 Queens Plaza North in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. At tall, Sven is the second-tallest building in Queens behind Skyline T ...

Demographics

Based on data from the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, 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 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. 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 hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 25.9% (5,183)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

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

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.2% (248) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

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

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

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 The Queens Community Board 2 is a local advisory group in New York City, encompassing the neighborhoods of Hunters Point, Long Island City, Sunnyside, and Woodside, in the borough of Queens. It is delimited by the East River on the west; Bri ...

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 the combined incomes of all people sharing a particular household or place of residence. It includes every form of income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, near cash government transfers like food stamp ...

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 of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

, while southern LIC is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying. According to the 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning, the southern portion of Long Island City south of the Queensboro Bridge had an approximate average equal population of White and Asian residents with each their populations being between 10,000 and 19,999 residents, while the Hispanic and Black populations each were under 5,000 residents. North of the Queensboro Bridge in northern Long Island City had between 10,000 and 19,999 Hispanic residents while the White, Black, and Asian populations were each between 5,000 and 9,999 residents. According to a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 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 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 U ...

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 Julie Won (born April 17, 1990) is a Korean American politician from New York City. She is a member of the New York City Council for the 26th district, which covers the western Queens neighborhoods of Sunnyside, Long Island City, Woodside, a ...

, 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 bee ...

, which has produced notable works such as

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's '' 30 Rock'' and HBO's ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

''. The Silvercup sign is visible from the

IRT Flushing Line The IRT Flushing Line is a rapid transit route of the New York City Subway system, named for its eastern terminal in Flushing, Queens. It is operated as part of the A Division. The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), a private operator, ...

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 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 is named after former congressman and New York City mayo ...

. 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 and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and severa ...

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 in the Long Island City section of Queens, New York City, designed and created by the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi. ...

, 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 (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 known for ...

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 Societ ...

, and a commercial rooftop farm run by

Brooklyn Grange Brooklyn Grange is a 5.6-acre organic urban rooftop farm in New York City, growing vegetables and honey for local restaurants, markets, and community-supported agriculture. The farm is located on three rooftops in Brooklyn and Queens. The firs ...

. 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. The company was formerly located in Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States, but the plant was moved to Nogales, Mexico, i ...

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 between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

. Other former factories in Long Island City include

Fisher Electronics Fisher Electronics was an American company specialising in the field of hi-fi electronics. The company and the name was bought by Japanese electronics conglomerate Sanyo in 1975. History Fisher Electronics was an American audio equipment ma ...

, Marantz and

Chiclets Chiclets is an American brand of candy-coated chewing gum manufactured by Mondelez International. The brand was introduced in 1900 by the American Chicle Company, a company founded by Thomas Adams. History The Chiclets name is derived from t ...

Gum. Long Island City's turn-of-the-century district of residential towers, called Queens West, is located along the East River, just north of the LIRR's Long Island City Station. Redevelopment in Queens West reflects the intent to have the area as a major residential area in New York City, with its high-rise residences very close to public transportation, making it convenient for commuters to travel to Manhattan by ferry or subway. The first tower, the 42-floor Citylights, opened in 1998 with an elementary school at the base. Others have been completed since then and more are being planned or under construction. Long Island City contains several of the tallest buildings in Queens. The One Court Square, formerly the Citicorp Building, was built in 1990 on

Courthouse Square Courthouse Square is a backlot located at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. The set is composed of several facades that form an archetypal American town square with a courthouse as its centerpiece. The set was built for th ...

; it is the second tallest building in Queens and the third-tallest on Long Island, and was Queens' tallest building until 2019. The tallest building in both Queens and Long Island, the

Skyline Tower Skyline Tower is a large low-income high rise apartment complex in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The building is also often called St. Anthony Tower, or 1247 St. Anthony. At it is the largest single HUD-subsidized building in Minnesota, ...

one block away, was architecturally topped-out in October 2019. Yet another skyscraper, the Queens Plaza Park, is under construction at Queens Plaza and will become the tallest skyscraper in Queens and Long Island when complete. The

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

Companies

Silvercup Studios and Citicorp Building from Queensboro Bridge

Eagle Electric Eagle Electric Manufacturing Company, founded in 1920, was a maker of electrical devices, switches and circuit units based in Long Island City, New York, in the borough of Queens. History The company was founded by Louis Ludwig and his younger br ...

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

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

factory in the United States, owned by

Wonton Foods A wonton () is a type of Chinese dumpling commonly found across regional styles of Chinese cuisine. It is also spelled wantan or wuntun in transliteration from Cantonese () and wenden from Shanghainese (). There are many different styles of ...

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 remain ...

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. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). From its inaugural drawing on April 19, 1992, unti ...

. The

Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...

tie manufacturing factory, which employs 122 people and produces more than 1.5 million ties per year, has operated in Long Island City since 1999. Long Island City is the new home of independent film studio

Troma Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...

Brewster Building from Queensboro Plaza Platform

In spring 2010,

JetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...

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 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any ...

, 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. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

was in final talks with the government of New York State to construct one of two campuses for its proposed Amazon HQ2 at Queens West in Long Island City. The other campus would be located at National Landing in

Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia Crystal City is an urban neighborhood in the southeastern corner of Arlington County, Virginia, south of downtown Washington, D.C. Due to its extensive integration of office buildings and residential high-rise buildings using underground corrido ...

. 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

Harbor at north end of Dutch Kills, Queens jeh

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 tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

, 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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, 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 Sunswick Creek is a buried stream located in Astoria and Long Island City, in the northwestern portion of Queens in New York City. It originated to the north of Queensboro Bridge and Queens Plaza in Long Island City, flowing north to the prese ...

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 men ...

to the north; Newtown Creek to the south; and Dutch Kills, a tributary of Newtown Creek, to the west. Blissville was named after Neziah Bliss, who owned most of the land in the 1830s and 1840s. Bliss built the first version of what was known for many years as the Blissville Bridge, a drawbridge over Newtown Creek, connecting Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Blissville; it was replaced in the 20th century by the

Greenpoint Avenue Bridge The Greenpoint Avenue Bridge is a 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. Byrne Memorial Bridge, the bridge ...

, also called the J. J. Byrne Memorial Bridge, located slightly upstream. Blissville existed as a small village until 1870 when it was incorporated into Long Island City. Historically an industrial neighborhood, it has

Triangle 54 Triangle 54 is a public park located in the Blissville neighborhood of Long Island City in Queens, New York City. This traffic triangle is bound by 48th Street on the southwest and east, and 54th Avenue on the north. The park contains ten trees ...

, a small park with a monument at 54th Avenue and 48th Street.

Hunters Point

Hunters Point is located on the south side of Long Island City, along Newtown Creek. The area took the name Hunters Point in 1825, named after British sea captain George Hunter whose family operated the site as a 210-acre farm. It contains the Hunters Point Historic District, a national historic district that includes 19 contributing buildings along 45th Avenue between 21st and 23rd Streets. They are a set of townhouses built in the late 19th century. ''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 New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

in 1968, and was listed on the

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

Arts and culture

Long Island City is home to a large and dynamic artistic community. * Long Island City was the home of

5 Pointz 5 Pointz: The Institute of Higher Burnin' or 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center, Inc., mainly referred to as simply 5 Pointz or 5Pointz, was an American mural space at 45–46 Davis Street in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. When the building o ...

, a building housing artists' studios, which was legally painted on by a number of

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

artists and was prominently visible near the Court Square station on the . The 5 Pointz building was painted over and demolished, starting in 2013. 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 Socrates Sculpture Park is an outdoor museum and public park where artists can create and exhibit sculptures and multi-media installations. It is located one block from the Noguchi Museum at the intersection of Broadway and Vernon Boulevard in th ...

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 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution located in Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, the ...

, 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 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. *

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 New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

, 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 upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objecti ...

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 an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

(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 birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between 2 ...

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 Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to Hedge ( ...

. 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 contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...

, 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, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

, 11% are

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, and 29% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In Community Board 2, 20% of residents are

, 9% are

, and 23% have high blood pressure. In addition, 22% of children in northern Long Island City and 19% of children in southern Long Island City are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-nine percent of Community Board 1 residents and ninety-two percent of Community Board 2 residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 79% of residents in both areas described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", slightly higher than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket, there are 17 bodegas in southern Long Island City and 10 in northern Long Island City. The nearest large hospitals in the area are the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Elmhurst and the Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens in Astoria.

Post office and ZIP Code

Long Island City is covered by ZIP Code 11101. The United States Post Office operates the

Long Island City Station Long Island City 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 the westernmost L ...

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 A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

, 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 (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

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 public high school located in the Astoria section of Queens, New York. BSGE was established in 2002. It serves a student body of about 400 students between the 7th and 12th g ...

, a 7–12 school * Queens Paideia School, an independent progressive school that offers personalized learning and group activities for its mixed-age student body, K-8 * 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 The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts is an arts high school in Astoria, Queens as part of the New York City Department of Education. The school, founded by Tony Bennett, is a major arts high school in New York City offering high school diplomas i ...

(Q501) * High School of Applied Communication (Q267) * Information Technology High School (Q502) *

The International High School (Queens) The International High School at LaGuardia Community College is a high school in Queens, New York City. History Former Principal Eric Nadelstern founded the International High School at LaGuardia Community College in 1985 as a joint venture by t ...

at LaGuardia Community College (Q530) *

Long Island City High School Long Island City High School, commonly abbreviated L.I.C. or LICHS, is a public high school in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. The present building was built in 1995. The school had an enrollment of around 2,500 in 2015. Demographics As ...

(Q450) *

Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community College Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community College (MCHS) is a public high school located on the campus of LaGuardia Community College in the Long Island City neighborhood in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. MCHS houses appro ...

(Q520) * Newcomers High School - Academy for New Americans (Q555) *

Queens Vocational and Technical High School Queens Technical High School is a State school, public career and technical education secondary school located in Long Island City, New York (state), NY. The school has an enrollment of 1,400 students and serves grades 9-12. A new wing, completed ...

(Q600) * Robert F. Wagner Jr. Institute For Arts & Technology (Q560) * William Cullen Bryant High School (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 The City University of New York School of Law (CUNY School of Law) is a public law school in New York City. It was founded in 1983 as part of the City University of New York. CUNY School of Law was established as a public interest law school ...

is located at 2 Court Square. *

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

's Depression Project is located at 3718 34th Street. *

DeVry University DeVry University () is a private for-profit university with its headquarters in Naperville, Illinois. It was founded in 1931 by Herman A. DeVry and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. DeVry is predominantly an online educator but ...

– 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 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 Julianne Swartz (born April 29, 1967) is a New York-based artist who works with sound, kinetics, and other materials to make sculpture, installations and photographs. Swartz uses optics, magnetism, and the concepts of space and time in her body ...

, designer furniture by

Eames Eames is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aled Eames (1921–1996), Welsh maritime historian * Arthur Johnson Eames (1881–1969), American botanist * Benjamin T. Eames (1818–1901), American politician, U.S. Representative ...

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, leased the space to the library for $1 per month. After the tower's new owner Savanna failed to renew the Court Square branch's lease, the location was closed in February 2020, and the branch would either move to a new location or be closed permanently. , the Court Square branch had closed and a mobile branch had opened nearby.

Parks and recreation

There are several waterfront parks in Long Island City. These include or have included: * 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 Newtown Creek * Queensbridge Park, a park on the East River waterfront north of Queensboro Bridge, within the

Water Taxi Beach Water Taxi Beach was an artificial temporary beach operated from 2005 to 2010 on a wharf on the East River in the Hunters Point section of Long Island City, in the New York City borough of Queens. It was operated by the New York Water Taxi Compa ...

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. Urban beaches are designed t ...

, 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 The Pulaski Bridge in New York City connects Long Island City in Queens to Greenpoint in Brooklyn over Newtown Creek. It was named after Polish military commander and American Revolutionary War fighter Casimir Pulaski in homage to the large ...

, 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 An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

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 shorelines. Examples of linear p ...

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

The following New York City Subway stations serve Long Island City: * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () The following

MTA Regional Bus Operations MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was created in 2008 to consolidate all bus operations in New York City operated by the MTA. , MTA Regional Bus Operations ru ...

bus routes serve Long Island City: *

Q32 Q32 may refer to: * Q32 (New York City bus) * AN/FSQ-32, an American military computer * As-Sajdah, the 32nd surah of the Quran * , a Naïade-class submarine, ''Naïade''-class submarine {{disambiguation Letter–number combination disambiguation p ...

: to

Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated Penn Station) is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to several of its grand passenger terminals. Several are still in active use by Amtrak and other transportation services; others have been ...

(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 situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

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

Q100 Q100 may be: * Quran 100 the 100th chapter of the Islamic Holy book * De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q100 turboprop, now by Bombardier Aerospace * Q100, a conventional notation for the 100-year flood, particularly in hydrology Transportation * Q100 ...

: to Rikers Island (Bronx) via 21st Street * Q101: to East Midtown (Manhattan) or Astoria Heights via Queens Plaza and Northern Boulevard * Q102: to Roosevelt Island (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 and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and r ...

via Jackson Avenue The Long Island City and Hunterspoint Avenue stations of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) are also located within Long Island City. The US$11.1 billion East Side Access project, which will bring LIRR trains to Grand Central Terminal in

, is under construction and is scheduled to open in 2022; this project will create 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

, 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 Port ...

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 Pier 11/Wall Street is a pier providing slips to ferries and excursion boats on the East River in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located east of South Street and FDR Drive just south of Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City ...

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 head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...

and the East 34th Street Ferry Landing in

Murray Hill, Manhattan Murray Hill is a neighborhood on the east side of Manhattan in New York City. Murray Hill is generally bordered to the east by the East River or Kips Bay and to the west by Midtown Manhattan, though the exact boundaries are disputed. Murray Hi ...

, 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 borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

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

from Brooklyn; from Manhattan by the Queensboro Bridge and the Queens–Midtown Tunnel; and from Roosevelt Island 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 traffic ...

. 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, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore of Long Island, running for from Interstate 495 (I-495) at th ...

(

New York State Route 25A New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore of Long Island, running for from Interstate 495 (I-495) at the ...

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

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

, 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 for just over from east midtown Manhattan in New York City to the Cross Sound Ferry terminal at Orient Poin ...

through Long Island; and Vernon Boulevard.

Notable people

Seven

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

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 William Loes (December 13, 1929 – July 15, 2010) was an American right-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1950, 1952–56), Baltimore Orioles (1956–59) and San Francis ...

(1929–2010), right-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers,

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles 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 American League's eight charter ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

. * Gus Sandberg (1895–1930, born in LIC) *

Dike Varney Lawrence Delano De Varney (August 9, 1880 – April 23, 1950) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played professionally for the Cleveland Bronchos during part of the season. Early life and career Varney, was born in Dover, New Hampshire ...

(1880–1950, died in LIC) * Billy Zitzmann (1895–1985, born in LIC) The NBA's

Metta World Peace Metta Sandiford-Artest (born Ronald William Artest Jr.; November 13, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. He was known as Ron Artest before legally changing his name to Metta World Peace in 2011 and later to Metta Sandifor ...

and filmmaker

Julie Dash Julie Ethel Dash (born October 22, 1952) is an American film director, writer and producer. Dash received her MFA in 1985 at the UCLA Film School and is one of the graduates and filmmakers known as the L.A. Rebellion. The L.A. Rebellion refers ...

both grew up in the Queensbridge Houses, as did hip-hop producer

Marley Marl Marlon 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 housing projects ...

, and rappers

MC Shan Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965) better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist. He is best known for his song "The Bridge" produced by Marley Marl, and for collaborating with Snow on " Informe ...

, Mobb Deep, Nas, and

Roxanne Shante Lolita Shante Gooden (born March 8, 1970), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects of Queens, New York City, Shante first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and w ...

. Other notable residents of Long Island City include: *

Mike Baxter Michael Joseph Baxter (born December 7, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. He is now a hitting co ...

(born 1984), outfielder who played for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. * 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 Thomas Richard Christy Jr. (born April 1, 1974) is an American drummer and radio personality, best known for being the former drummer for several heavy metal bands since the early 1990s, most notably Death, and his tenure on '' The Howard Ster ...

(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 nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

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

. * Florence Finney (1903–1994), politician and first woman president pro tempore of the Connecticut State Senate; born in Long Island City. * Roy Gussow (1918–2011), abstract sculptor * Steve Hofstetter (born 1979), actor and comedian; operates the Laughing Devil Comedy Club in the area *

Zenon Konopka Zenon Konopka (born January 2, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Also known as "Zenon the Destroyer", Konopka played for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Ottawa ...

(born 1981), ice hockey forward; lived in Long Island City during the 2010–11 NHL season *

Murray Lerner Murray Lerner (May 8, 1927 – September 2, 2017) was an American documentary and experimental film director and producer. Career Lerner was born May 8, 1927, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Nacham and Goldie (Levine) Lerner. Murray's fat ...

(1927–2017), documentary and experimental film director and producer. *

Blanche Merrill Blanche L. Merrill (born Blanche V. Dreyfoos; July 22/23, 1883"Blanche Merrill," ''U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014'' on ''Ancestry.com'' accessed June 5, 2018 (access by subscription). – October 5, 1966) was a songwriter specia ...

(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, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

International Master, chess coach and online content creator *

Joe Santagato Joseph Patrick Santagato (born February 25, 1992) is an American YouTuber and podcaster. His podcast, ''The Basement Yard'', has reached #1 on iTunes. Early life Joe Santagato was born and raised in Astoria, Queens, New York, United States. H ...

(born 1992), comedian and creator of

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

board game ''Speak Out''. *

Jessica Valenti Jessica Valenti (; born November 1, 1978) is an American feminist writer. She was the co-founder of the blog Feministing, which she wrote for from 2004 to 2011. Valenti is the author of five books: ''Full Frontal Feminism'' (2007), ''He's a Stud, ...

(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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' *

Anicka Yi Anicka Yi (born 1971 in Seoul, South Korea) is a conceptual artist whose work lies at the intersection of fragrance, cuisine, and science. She is known for installations that engage the senses, especially the sense of smell, and for her collaborat ...

(born 1971),

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...

ist.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."

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Queens Buzz Lead-in Section to LIC

Long Island City BID

LICNotes

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)