Long Island City

Understand

Long Island City and Astoria encompass a very large and increasingly diverse section of Queens that stretches along the East River. Long Island City was traditionally an industrial area and often still feels like Manhattan's unkempt broom closet, with its train depots, factory buildings, school bus parking lots and the like. But since the early 2000s, a burgeoning art community has grown like a weed through the cracks in a sidewalk and is now quite strong, with multiple art galleries, performance spaces, a formal museum that acts as a branch of MoMA. This, in turn, has attracted a stretch of quality restaurants and bars along Vernon Boulevard north of the bridge, which has in turn brought new housing development and a growing community of young families along the river. Astoria is named after fur magnate John Jacob Astor, who acted as front-man investor for development of a village here in the early nineteenth century. In the 1910s Astoria became home to the first American silent film studios -- a heritage celebrated at the Museum of the Moving Image -- but today the neighborhood is more locally famous for the large Greek community that began its migration here in the 1960s and has bestowed it with a wide range of excellent Greek food in its tavernas and ethnic grocers. Astoria's plethora of reasonably priced rental housing has today attracted a new migration of young artists and hipsters, and there is also an increase in migration of people from around the world here. Most notable in that respect is the large Middle Eastern community that is centered on Steinway Street just south of the RFK Bridge Expressway.

Getting there

By subway Get to the heart of Long Island City by taking the E M or R trains to Queens Plaza, the N W or 7 to Queensboro Plaza, the E G M or 7 to Court Square, or the 7 to Hunters Point Avenue. Get to the busiest parts of Astoria by taking the N or W train to Broadway, 30th Avenue or Ditmars Boulevard, or the M or R train to Steinway Street.

By LIRR There is a lonely LIRR terminal at Long Island City (officially, it's not even a station, but rather a "passenger yard"), as well as a somewhat busier station at Hunterspoint Ave. They are only served by a handful of trains during rush hours, and not accessible from Manhattan, but can be handy if you are traveling to/from those areas at that time. The Long Island City station is worth a visit if only to see how laughably huge it is given how little traffic goes through it (it was the main LIRR terminal before Penn Station).

See

1 Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave (at 37th St; Subway: M R trains to Steinway St or N W trains to 36th Ave), ☏ +1 718-777-6888. Tu-Th 10:30AM-5PM, F 10:30AM-8PM, Sa Su 10:30AM-7PM. A museum devoted to, literally, moving images, so visitors will find exhibits on zoetropes and video games in addition to film and television. They also put on a terrific screening program, with films showing continuously throughout the day. $20 adults, $12 seniors/college students, $10 children 3-18, free children under 3. All admission free after 2PM to 6PM every Thursday. Free admission for everyone F 4PM-8PM. 2 The Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Rd (at Vernon Blvd), ☏ +1 718-204-7088. W-F 10AM-5PM, Sa Su 11AM-6PM. Open until 8PM on the first Friday Jun-Sep. $10 adults, $5 seniors/students, free for children under 12. Pay what you wish on the first Friday of the month. 3 P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center (MoMA PS1), 22-25 Jackson Ave, ☏ +1 718-784-2084. Th-M noon-6PM. Supported by the Museum of Modern Art, this innovative (and cheap) contemporary art museum is in a former public school building. The conversion left most of the original features of the school - the large ex-classrooms are perfect for installations - and the bathrooms are a blast from the past. P.S.1 is a few blocks south on Jackson Avenue from the Citibank tower; the entrance is a concrete slab (how fitting) which occludes view of the school itself. P.S.1 also has a nice cafe and outdoor seats. Suggested admission $10 adults, $5 students and seniors. 4 SculptureCenter, 44-19 Purves St (at Jackson Ave), ☏ +1 718-361-1750. Th-M 11AM-6PM. Suggested donation $5 adults, $3 students. (updated Nov 2018) 5 Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd (at Broadway), ☏ +1 718-956-1819. 10AM-sunset daily. Free. 6 Steinway & Sons Pianos, 18-01 Steinway Pl, ☏ +1 718-721-2600. Tours suspended as of March 2024. They offer free guided tours during fall and spring to see the skilled craftsmen at work. Phone ahead, a month i

Do

The Chocolate Factory, 5-49 49th Ave (at Vernon Blvd; Subway: 7 train to Vernon Blvd-Jackson Ave or G train to 21st St-Van Alst; LIRR: Long Island City), ☏ +1 718-482-7069.

Buy

1 Euromarket Astoria, 30-42 31st St (between 30th Ave and 30th Dr; Subway: N W trains to 30th Ave), ☏ +1 718-545-5569. 8:30AM-midnight daily. Grocery market serving many specialty European foods that are difficult to find in the US. Outstanding collections of international meats, cheeses, wines, and beers. (updated Apr 2021)

Eat

To the north, Astoria is notable mostly for the bevy of outstanding Greek restaurants which draw crowds from all boroughs. Further south in Long Island City there are two major restaurant strips of note, the trendy stretch of Vernon Boulevard just north of the Midtown Tunnel entrance with its many delicious, multi-ethnic food offerings, and the four-block section of Steinway Street just south of the Grand Central Parkway that's host to dozens of Middle Eastern restaurants and hookah lounges.

1 Agnanti, 19-06 Ditmars Blvd ( N train to Ditmars Blvd), ☏ +1 718-545-4554, [email protected]. Su–Th noon–11PM, F Sa noon–11:30PM. Delicious traditional Greek fare with outdoor seating along Astoria Park and a cozy indoor dining room that seems a million miles away from New York City. Don't miss the grilled saganaki or the Greek salad, and for the main course focus on the many amazing seafood offerings. 2 Bare Burger, 33-21 31st Ave ( N train to Broadway), ☏ +1 718-777-7011. Innovative burger joint that offers organic burgers made from a choice of beef, ostrich, elk, and lamb. Very good milkshakes. (updated Oct 2024) 3 Casa Enrique, 5-48 49th Ave ( 7 train to Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av), ☏ +1 347-448-6040. Snazzy little nuevo Mexican joint just off the main strip of LIC eateries on Vernon Blvd. A lot of great options here: braised lamb shank, chicken enchiladas with salsa verde, stuffed chiles in a cream sauce and more. 4 Kabab Cafe, 25-12 Steinway St, ☏ +1 718-728-9858. Tu–Su 1–5PM & 6–9PM. This tiny, unpretentious gourmet Egyptian restaurant run by renowned Alexandrian chef Ali El Sayed is a major pilgrimage site for foodies everywhere. Recommended are the sauteed artichokes and sauteed beet, apple & garlic starters, along with a variety of excellent traditional north Egyptian entrees like braised lamb cheeks and calamari with eggplant & grilled vegetables. (updated Apr 2021) 5 Koliba Restaurant, 31-11 23rd Ave ( N