Long Island City: 10 Things You Shouldn’t Miss

Long Island City is one of New York's most forward-thinking neighborhoods. The city's future is being built here, and it has become a hub for art and emerging architecture. You'll spot it right away thanks to the vintage Pepsi-Cola sign.

This Queens neighborhood sits right across the East River from Manhattan, level with Roosevelt Island, that sliver of a neighborhood in the middle of the river you can reach on the Tram, New York's only aerial cable car.

It's an excellent neighborhood to stay in New York (I've stayed there on my last few trips and it keeps getting better). The subway connection to Manhattan is superb. Depending on where you stay, you'll be one, two or at most three subway stops from Grand Central Terminal or Times Square.

On top of that, in LIC you'll find cheaper hotels, many of them with knockout views of the Midtown Manhattan skyline.

From this Queens neighborhood, the main Manhattan attractions are genuinely close. The subway ride takes the same amount of time, or even less, than it would from neighborhoods in the Upper West Side or Lower Manhattan.

What to see in Long Island City

In Long Island City, the elevated New York subway tracks and the old factories covered in graffiti contrast with sleek skyscrapers and luxury residential buildings. The truth is there are fewer and fewer abandoned factories left; they're being swapped out for modern towers at speed.

It's a neighborhood in constant metamorphosis. Once an industrial center, it has turned into one of the most thriving corners of New York, the same process Williamsburg in Brooklyn had already been going through.

Museums in Long Island City

Long Island City is also known as the neighborhood of choice for gallerists and artists. You'll notice it's packed with museums, galleries and contemporary art studios.

MoMA PS1

This is the wing of the Museum of Modern Art devoted to the latest trends in contemporary art.

When you visit MoMA, hold on to your ticket: it gets you into PS1 for free for up to 14 days afterward.

The Noguchi Museum

Three years before his death, Isamu Noguchi himself, one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century, opened this museum in an industrial warehouse in the neighborhood.

He planned every detail, every ray of light coming through the windows. His mark is obvious everywhere you look.

If you like his work, you have to visit the Noguchi Museum.

Museum of the Moving Image

Ready for a dose of film culture? You'll get it at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. It's actually in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, but it's so close to LIC that I recommend it anyway.

It's one of the few museums in the world specializing in audiovisual production, its technologies, and every art form tied to film, television and video games.

5 Pointz: the graffiti mecca until 2013

Although 5 Pointz was demolished in 2013, I decided to tell you what it was so you understand the role this Queens neighborhood played in the history of street art.

The Graffiti Mecca, as it was known, stood a few blocks from the PS1 contemporary art center. Today luxury condos stand in its place.

It was an open-air exhibition where artists from around the world came to paint the walls of this old Queens factory (and the poles, the trash cans, the doors, and you too if you stood there long enough). 

It started spontaneously, then grew into a major global center for aerosol art, thanks to the support of the building's owner and a group of organized artists.

They named it 5 Pointz to signal that the five boroughs of New York City came together there.

Until 2013 you could find celebrities, musicians, DJs, rappers and break dancers there, plus filmmakers and photographers doing their thing around the complex. Add hundreds of admirers, locals and tourists alike, taking in this living street museum with more than 350 murals.

Parks and Manhattan viewpoints

Long Island City is also known for its range of parks along the East River.

Many of these parks used to be piers where goods were loaded and unloaded from ships, back when New York was a major industrial center.

The decline of manufacturing left the piers derelict and unused, a symptom of the city's economic shifts. They became magnets for crime and drug use.

But don't worry! In the 1990s, the authorities decided to transform the waterfront into well-kept public spaces for all New Yorkers to enjoy.

That's how wonderful parks like Gantry Plaza State Park, which you have to visit, came to be.

Gantry Plaza State Park

The one you can't miss is Gantry Park, whose crown jewel is the giant Pepsi Cola sign. As I mentioned, until a few decades ago this was an industrial zone. Today it's a space full of life, especially during summer in New York.

The park is named after the imposing machines called «gantries», the cranes of the old piers used to unload cargo from ships.

These structures are a reminder of Long Island City's industrial past. The park also preserves old train tracks, folding historic elements into its modern design.

Decades ago, this pier was a bleak, desolate place dominated by warehouses and industry. Today it's part of one of the most upscale neighborhoods in New York, with stunning views of Manhattan along the East River.

Socrates Sculpture Park

Another interesting stop is Socrates Sculpture Park, which is scruffier but works as an open-air museum and hosts live shows and performances in the warm months.

From the parks you'll catch spectacular sunsets and views of Manhattan (find more New York viewpoints here).

Studios and production companies

Long Island City's industrial complexes keep giving ground to other kinds of uses.

Many film and TV production companies have settled in the area, perhaps following the lead of the famous Silvercup Studios, where Sex and the City, Mad Men, The Sopranos and 30 Rock were produced, among other well-known series plus plenty of movies.

Several South American TV channels are headquartered here, and a good chunk of Korean audiovisual content is shot here before being exported back to Asia.

All this activity has drawn hundreds of artists who have set up their workshops, galleries and studios in Long Island City's old industrial buildings, turning them into modern lofts.

Where to stay in Long Island City

Long Island City is now a major hotel hub, thanks to its excellent connection to Manhattan, the appeal of the neighborhood, and solid value for money.

From some of its hotels you'll get spectacular Manhattan views like these (sunset version and nighttime version 😜). I took these photos on my last trip:

The best part is that you'll find really good hotels at prices significantly lower than in Manhattan. Seriously!

-o-

Getting there

Subway E, G, V, 7. 45th Road Court House Sq or Vernon Blvd-Jackson Ave station
Subway E and V. 23rd St-Ely Ave station
Subway G. Long Island City-Court Sq station