Long Island City

Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. In the early 21st century, Long Island City became known for its rapid and ongoing residential growth and gentrification. The area has a high concentration of art galleries, art institutions, and studio space. It is the eastern terminus of the Queensboro Bridge, the only non-tolled automotive route connecting Queens and Manhattan. It was incorporated as a city on May 4, 1870, from the merging of the Village of Astoria and the hamlets of Ravenswood, Hunters Point, Blissville, Sunnyside, Dutch Kills, Steinway, Bowery Bay and Middleton in the Town of Newtown. The city surrendered its independence in 1898 to become part of the City of Greater New York. In 2001, the neighborhood was rezoned from an industrial neighborhood to a residential neighborhood, with plans to bring in as many as 16,000 residents in a total of 19,000 new buildings. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community District 1 to the north and Queens community District 2 to the south. It has its own main post office and was formerly a sectional center facility (SC Astoria) The Greater Astoria Historical Society, a nonprofit cultural and historical organization documenting the area's history, has operated since 1985.Through the 1930s, three subway tunnels were built to connect the neighborhood to Queens. By the 1970s, the area was developed to revitalize 74 acres (30 ha) along the East River.

History

Long Island City is the primary city name, but also Astoria, Long Is City are acceptable city names or spellings, Queens on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. Long Island City was incorporated as a city on May 4, 1870. It was formed from the merging of the Village 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. The city surrendered its independence in 1898 to become part of the City of Greater New York. In the 1990s, Queens West was developed to revitalize 74 acres (30 ha) along the East River, 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 gentrification. 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 in long Island City in 2006, though this did not occur. The Greater Astoria Historical Society, a nonprofit cultural and historical organization, has operated since 1985. The coat of arms was designed by George H. Williams, ofRavenswood. The shield is rich in historic allusion, including Native American, Dutch, and English symbols.Through the 1930s, three subway tunnels, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and the Queensboro Bridge were built to connect the neighborhood to Manhattan.

Demographics

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. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 14.7% (2,946) White, 25.9% (5,183) African American, 0.3% (62) Native American, 15.5% (3,096) Asian, 1.2% (248) from other races, and 1.8% (385) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 40. 5% (8,104) of the population. The median household income was $66,382 in Community Board 1 and $67,359 in community Board 2. In 2018, an estimated 18% of community board residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in New York City. The unemployment rate was 8% in community board 1 and 5% in Community board 2. The Asian population of Long Island City has grown fivefold since 2010 nearing 11,000 residents. 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.

Commerce and economy

Long Island City was once home to many factories and bakeries, some of which are finding new uses. Long Island City's turn-of-the-century district of residential towers, called Queens West, is located along the East River. 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 tallest building in both Queens and Long Island, the 778-foot (237 m) Skyline Tower one block away, was architecturally topped-out in October 2019. The Queensbridge Houses, a public-housing complex, comprises over 3,000 units, make it the largest such complex in North America. The former factory built in 1919 now houses the Jim Henson Company, Society Awards, and a commercial rooftop farm run by Brooklyn Grange. The Standard Motor Products Building was put on the market by Acuman in 2014 and acquired by RXR Realty, LLC for $110 million. The largest fortune cookie factory in the United States, owned by Wonton Foods and producing four million fortune cookies a day, is being converted to residential luxury lofts. The site is now the Noguchi Museum, a space dedicated to his work. The first tower, the 42-floor Citylights, opened in 1998 with an elementary school at the base. Other buildings on the campus originally served as the location of the Ford Instrument Company, which was a major producer of precision machines and devices.

Subsections

Blissville, which has the ZIP Code 11101, is a neighborhood within Long Island City, located at 40°444.87N 73°569.81W. It is bordered by Calvary Cemetery to the east; the Long Island Expressway to the north; Newtown Creek to the south; and Dutch Kills, a tributary of Newtown Creek, to the west. It contains the Hunters Point Historic District, a national historic district that includes 19 contributing buildings along 45th Avenue between 21st and 23rd Streets. 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 has Triangle 54, a small park with a monument at 54th Avenue and 48th Street. The neighborhood is currently undergoing a massive rezoning of mixed residential and commercial properties. It 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. In the 20th century, it was replaced by the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, also called the J. Byrne Memorial Bridge, located slightly upstream. In 1870, the villages of Astoria, Ravenswood, Hunters Point, Dutch kills, Middletown, Sunnyside, Blissville, and Bowery Bay were incorporated into Long island City. 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. The city is also home to the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Museum, and the MoMA PS1 arts center. The 5 Pointz building was painted over and demolished in 2013. The Culture Lab is a new nonprofit dedicated to supporting visual art, theater, music, and art of all disciplines in Long Island City. It is located on the Anable Basin in the heart of the city, near the 7 and 7> train stations. It was founded by artist/designer Maya Lin in 2002, and is named after the former school in which it is housed. It opened its doors to the public in November 2013, and has since become an important part of the Long Island community. It has three art galleries, a 90-seat theatre, outdoor event space and is located in a former trolley stop on the East Side of Manhattan. It closed its doors in November 2017 after a two-and-a-half-year renovation, and reopened in January 2014. It's located near the intersection of Broadway and Vernon Boulevard, near where the Noguchis founded the foundation. The Fisher Landau Center for Art is a private foundation that offers regular exhibitions of contemporary art. It also hosts lectures, dialogues, and performances. The Museum of Modern Art is the oldest and second-largest non-profit arts center in the U.S. dedicated to contemporary art, and was founded in 1928. Its exhibitions include works by contemporary artists, architects, sculptors, and musicians.

Police and crime

Woodside, Sunnyside, and Long Island City are patrolled by the 108th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 5-47 50th Avenue. The precinct ranked 25th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. The incarceration rate of 163 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.:8. Crimes across all categories have decreased by 88.2% between 1990 and 2018. In 2018, the precinct reported 2 murders, 12 rapes, 90 robberies, 108 felony assaults, 109 burglaries, 490 grand larcenies, and 114 grand larsenies auto in 2018. As of 2018, with a non-fatal assault rate of 19 per 100, 000 people, Sun nyside and Woodside's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that. of the City as a Whole: 19.8. The Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all category having decreased by 89.2%. The precinct has a low incarceration rate: 163 per100,000. people. In 2010, the Precinct had a crime rate of 16 per cent, lower than the city's overall rate of 17 per cent. It has a crime-free rate of 18 per cent in 2018, higher than the New York City rate of 14.5 per cent for all of New York. It is one of the few precincts in the city to have a low murder rate.

Fire safety

Long Island City is served by the following New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations:Engine Company 258/Ladder Company 115 10-40 47th Avenue.Engine Company 259/Ladders Company 128/Battalion 45 33-51 Greenpoint Avenue. Formerly, Engine Company 116 was located at 37-20 29th Street, until it was closed in 2003 as a cost-saving measure. The FDNY Fire Department is made up of the following departments: Engine Company, Ladder Company, and Engine Company. The Fire Department's headquarters are located in New York's Central Park, at One World Trade Center, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street. It is also located in the East Village at the intersection of Fifth and Sixth Avenue. The fire department's headquarters is located in Manhattan's Midtown East at the base of the East River at the junction of Seventh and Eighth Avenues. It also has a fire station in the Upper East Side at the center of Manhattan's East Village, at 11th Street and Seventh Avenue. It was previously known as Engine Company 261/Lads Company 116, which was located in a building on the East Side. The station was shut down in 2003. It has since been replaced by Engine Company 259, which is located on the West Side at 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue, and the Fire Department Fire Station in the West Village at 9th Street. There is also an Engine Company 128, located at 45th and Greenpoint Avenues, and a Fire Station 1, located on Fifth Avenue.

Health

As of 2018, preterm births are more common in southern Long Island City than in other places citywide, but are less common in northern Long Island city. 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%. The nearest large hospitals in the area are the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Elmhurst and the Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens in Astoria. The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, is 0.0078 milligrams per cubic metre (7.8×109 oz/cu ft) in northern L.I. City and 0.00093 milligram per cubic metres (9.3×109oz/cuft) in southern L.i. City. For every supermarket, there are 17 bodegas in south L.L.C. and 10 in north L.A. Culprits of smoking are higher than citywide average of 14%. In Community Board 1, 19% are obese, 11% are diabetic, and 29% have high blood pressure. 20% of Residents in Community Board 2 are obese and 9% areabetic, and 23% havehigh blood pressure, compared to citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In both areas, 90% of people eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than average of 87%. Nineteen percent of residents and fourteen percent of Community board 2 residents are smokers.

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 at 46-02 21st Street. The post office is located on the corner of 21st and Long Island Avenue. The ZIP Code is 11101, with a post office on 21st Avenue. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details. For support in the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/. For help in the Philippines, call the Asian Pacific American Samaritans at 1-877-788-7070 or  visit http://www samaritan.org/Asia-Pacific-Region. For information in the Middle East, visit the Asia-Pacific region of the United States, which includes the following countries:  Australia, Namibia, Thailand, Philippines, Argentina, Maldives, South Africa, and the Middle East.