Long Island City

The Lay Of The Land

Long Island City sits directly across the East River from Midtown, close enough that the Manhattan skyline functions as its western wall. For most of the twentieth century it was an industrial district of factories, warehouses, and the rail approaches to the Queensboro Bridge, and that bones-of-industry past still shows in the wide streets, the loft conversions, and the occasional surviving smokestack between the towers.

The housing here is the youngest in this guide by a wide margin. The waterfront around Center Boulevard and Hunters Point is dense with new high-rises: full-amenity buildings with doormen, gyms, roof decks, and floor-to-ceiling glass angled at the water. Inland toward Court Square and Dutch Kills you'll find more of the same rising among older low-rise blocks, plus a smaller supply of loft conversions for anyone who wants the industrial shell rather than the new-build polish. Apartments skew toward studios and one-bedrooms built for a quick commute and a long view.

That commute is the whole pitch. The 7 at Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue and the E and M at Court Square reach Midtown in a single stop, and the G, N, W, and R thread the rest of the area, giving it some of the fastest access to Manhattan of any neighborhood outside it. The Long Island City ferry adds a slower, prettier alternative across the river.

What's still filling in is the texture between the towers. Hunters Point South Park and Gantry Plaza State Park give the waterfront a genuine front yard of lawns, piers, and that postcard skyline, and the restaurant and gallery scene grows each year, but several blocks still read as transitional, busy by day and quiet after dark. It is a neighborhood you choose for the apartment and the access first, the street life second.

Long Island City suits someone who wants new construction, real amenities, and the shortest possible ride to a Midtown desk, and who would rather watch the skyline than live inside it.

Asking rents among listings active on Sidewalk, updated September 27.

• Sami's Kabab House★ 4.4 (2,233) · Afghan restaurant35-57 Crescent StWebsite
  470 ft away
• S-Meat & Hueso★ 4.8 (4,312) · Colombian Restaurant35-50 31st StWebsite
  0.3 mi away
• Rio Market Inc★ 4.5 (1,621) · Supermarket32-15 36th AveWebsite
  0.4 mi away
• Rio Bonito Grill★ 4.6 (1,797) · Steak House33-01 36th Ave
  0.4 mi away
• Astoria Seafood★ 4.3 (1,862) · Seafood Restaurant37-10 33rd StWebsite
  0.4 mi away
• Sanfords★ 4.4 (2,584) · American Restaurant30-13 BroadwayWebsite
  0.4 mi away

• Astoria at Hallet's Cove11-15 Broadway
• Huis2441-22 24th Street
• Midori36-45 31st Street
• Steel Haus41-32 27TH STREET
• 27-10 37th Avenue

Live Listings In Long Island City

• 
  36-45 31st Street · 6E

  1.0 bed · 1.0 bath

  $3,800/mo
• 
  27-10 37th Avenue · 6B

  2.0 bed · 1.0 bath

  $4,500/mo
• 
  41-22 24th Street · 2C

  2.0 bed · 2.0 bath

  $5,324/mo
• 
  11-15 Broadway · 4C

  1.0 bed · 1.0 bath

  $3,350/mo
• 
  36-45 31st Street · 5H

  1.0 bed · 1.0 bath

  $3,750/mo
• 
  36-45 31st Street · 2D

  1.0 bed · 1.0 bath

  $3,995/mo