Who wouldn't be attracted to Long Island City's great Manhattan views, lower cost of living, and quick commute to Midtown? That's about all the sales pitch one really needs, as this Queens neighborhood fast makes its way to a place on New York City's prime real estate map.
Long Island City is just one subway stop away from Manhattan on the 7 train, minutes to Central Park and Grand Central and you can quickly be in Brooklyn by crossing the bridge.
Up until 2000, Long Island City was primarily an industrial area scarred by the remnants of old factories and warehouses. Some of them now have new uses, like the old Silvercup Bakery now Silvercup Studios.
Opened in 1983, it is now the largest independent, full-service film and television production facility in the northeastern United States.
And while the neighborhood isn't home to any celebrities, it is no stranger to them with HBO's The Sopranos and Sex and the City both filmed along with several major films. "People that move into the neighborhood are looking for a better quality of life, more light, and more space ... it's a neighborhood with a lot of potential," said Robson Lemos, senior vice president of New Development Concept, Marketing and Sales at The Corcoran Group, "It was never unsafe, just changing from warehouses and manufacturing to residential without having to demolish beautiful architecture."
One of the neighborhood's biggest attractions is being a riverfront community, which makes it home to Water Taxi Beach, waterfront tennis, and Gantry Park. The East River bounds Long Island City on the north and west sides, east by Hazen and 31st Streets (the New Calvary Cemetery), and Newton Creek at the southern border, which separates Queens from Brooklyn's Greenpoint.
Another landmark building getting homage is the Pennsylvania Railroad Powerhouse whose notable smoke stakes are being morphed into the new community. Sam Mishra, a sales and leasing agent from Platinum Properties, said that the building on Second Street will soon be home to The Powerhouse Condos. Construction on this 180-unit residential building should be complete by the second or third quarter of 2009.
Mishra said the original smoke stakes were demolished, but a glass structure has been created to resemble them. Special amenities will include a communal spa, rooftop cabanas, and access to full service concierge through intercom.
Clifford Finn, managing director of New Development for Citi Habitats Marketing Group, said the Packard Motor Company, which operated in the neighborhood from 1899 to the 1950s, will be honored with a new rental project, Packard Square.
Packard Square on Crescent Street, just north of Queens Plaza, finished the first phase of a four-phase complex a few months ago and the building is about 70% leased. Special amenities in this studio, one and two-bedroom apartment building include a landscaped roof deck with a sunning area, grilling stations, and a view machine to take in the skyline, and a residents lounge with billiards, library, fitness center, screening area, and wet bar.
Other new residential developments include the Casa Zizcaya, The Orient Condominium, the Vere, The L Haus, and East Coast towers by Rockrose, a seven-building master plan.
Patrick Smith, vice president of Marketing and Sales Brown Harris Stevens Project Marketing, thinks the "hidden secret" of Long Island City is PS78 Q, a top-rated public school inside the Hunters Point community. Hunters View (73 completed units) and Hunters Point (131 units expected to have occupancy in four months) are separate 12-story residential buildings in the Hunters Point community.
Smith said he sees a demand for larger units (two and three bedrooms) because of the family-friendly community that's now attracting young couples and newly weds with children.
According to Finn, these are also the same kind of people that might rent in the lower east side; "a slightly edgier area off the main path."
With the demand for residences come more retailers. Duane Reed Pharmacy recently opened on 5th Street where Food Cellars, a major supermarket, is also located. Retailers line Vernon Avenue with boutiques and bistros. Lemos said the neighborhood has restaurants from all over the world, "you won't find this much diversity in all of Manhattan."
Home to the Noguchi Studio/ Museum, 5 Pointz Art Studio, and The Deitch Studio, Long Island City has an emerging art scene, too. Smith said Long Island City Cultural Alliance is "the cartel" of the art scene. His company collaborated with the art community by allowing a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting emerging artists called "Chashama" to beautify construction fences with murals and outdoor galleries. The name of the construction site beautification program is "Street Gallery."
Mishra has heard people refer to this neighborhood as "the next Battery Park of Queens." Long Island City is indeed developing as a Manhattan backyard neighborhood and might soon be in competition with the Jersey Gold Coast.
