From the NY Post:Officials and business leaders want to change the name of Queens neighborhood Long Island City to the trendier “LIC” — so as not to be confused with Long Island.
“It’s bad for hotels, it’s bad for real estate, and it’s bad for morale,” explained Rob MacKay, head of the Queens Local Development Corp. Tourism Council and a Long Island City resident.
“It puts us out on Long Island, and that’s inaccurate — we are urban and hip.”
The name is also a problem when MacKay tries to persuade foreign travel agents to book guests in the neigbhorhood’s hotels.
“They are constantly telling me that when they do booking and see Long Island City, they say, ‘Oh, that’s too far’ from Manhattan — they think it’s either in suburban hell or the Hamptons.”
The 21 hotels in Long Island City’s East River waterfront area could be losing 5 percent of their business simply because of the confusion, said Jeffrey Reich-Hale of the Wyndham Garden hotel.
“All people focus on is the name,” Reich-Hale said.
“From a marketing standpoint, it’s difficult selling the area and letting people know we’re not on Long Island, we’re two [subway] stops from Manhattan.”
Like you people haven't done enough damage to Queens already. Pack up and get out if you can't make money here.
43 comments:
Oh for.....please just kill me now!
If you go around saying, "we are urban and hip," you most certainly aren't.
Am I missing something here? The Wyndham Garden hotel is near the intersection of Vernon Blvd. and 44th Drive. If you walk up Vernon to the 7 train, it's one stop to Manhattan. If you walk up 44th Drive to the E and M trains, it's one stop to Manhattan.
Maybe the geographic confusion isn't coming from the tourists, Mr. Reich-Hale.
Assholes. Go away.
Long Island City IS on Long Island. Look at the map you idiots!
Anon #2 -- truth
This is so stupid... Sorry but why should we cater to idiots that can't google map a location and realize Long Island City has been at the same exact location for over a century. Ridiculous!
So will they change the name of Kew Gardens to KG, lest we confuse it with the original in the UK? While we're at it, let's change Hell's Kitchen to HK: you don't want to offend non-believers and Satanists now, do ya?
Reeeee-diculous!
Psst...wanna really annoy hip and trendy folks?
Tell them that the Battle of Long Island, during the revolutionary War, was fought in Brooklyn Heights!
I think you need to target the 'officials' that are behind this ... ashamed of your roots and your community Jimmy?
The critics do realize that Long Island City and the borough of Queens is, in fact, part of Long Island, right? Geographically, the name is accurate. You can take Long Island City from Queens, but you can't take Queens from Long Island.
Changing the Interboro, Idelwild, Queensboro, Triboro, the bottom line is that everyone is ashamed to have anything to do with the real Queens.
The real neat thing is that this is made possible by your elected officials.
Now they may give you stamps for your little civic, and jerk around your parents by threatening to close senior centers every year, and look the other way while your neighbor turns their home into a pigsty (out of cultural sensitivities of course) but since you mechanically reelect them each year there is - a some very deep level - no problem.
In a day or two you will be back to being adsorbed in the issues of small moments in your little lives so just let it go...
Some people have thought I meant Staten Island, (Ricmond County), when I said Richmond Hill.
If foreign visitors think that Long Island City is too far from Manhattan's tourist corridor--just think of the idiots who are promoting overcrowded, low class, stinky, downtown Flushing as a tourist destination.
You've got to be kidding!
I just traveled all the way from Paris just to shop at Golden Mall.
In the near future, I can see all the money losing LIC hotels taking in some section 8 tenants.
It looks like Long Island City's real estate developers have screwed themselves by overbuilding.
Spin doctoring and coming up with a new name won't help much.
The lower east side is now called the LES, but did that help this spotty (still crime ridden) nabe?
LIC faces slacking condo sales, a so-so overpriced rental market, and now under booked hotels.
You sales agents had better get cooking,
or else move back to Missouri to live with mom.
And he went to college (and most likely graduate school) to come up with an idea like this?
Sure, they showed up in Astoria and expected to find a hotel,
Kew Gardens and St. Albans thought they were near London,
Rockaway and ended up in New Jersey,
Queens Village and thought they were on some West Side piers,
Glendale and thought they were in Glen Cove,
Murray Hill and thought they were just steps from Grand Central,
Sunnyside and was going to visit Washington Irving,
Yellowstone Blvd and thought they were going to see Yogi Bear,
and Jamaica where they were going to dance the calypso, man (well not too far off on the latter).
And of course, thought that Ozone Park was a Star Wars theme park.
For some time now, I would shorten Long Island City by writing LIC, simply out of convenience. Now, in stringent opposition to this sheer idiocy, I vow to write out LONG ISLAND CITY every chance I get!
I was born and raised in Astoria, and I have lived all over Western Queens; Maspeth, Jackson Heights, Middle Village, Elmhurst, Rego Park, Woodside and Long Island City. I love this borough and this entire city. I have always expected to live here to my final day. That said, I never cease to be baffled, UTTERLY BAFFLED, the lack of respect that Queens seems to get, not only by people who come here from places that couldn't even hold a candle to Queens, but by Queens residents themselves. If we and our politicians can't love and respect our home borough, who else will. And to those of you who come here to make money off our backs, or to have someplace to stay because you can't afford Manhattan, if you don't like it here, nobody is holding a gun to your head to stay. But if you do decide to stay, please remember that this is our home, and we love it just the way it is. Keep your damn hands off of it, and please show us the respect that we would show you if we were in YOUR backyard!
Actually Queens and Brooklyn ARE on Long Island, just look ata map.
ans Yes Long island city is on Long island and One Subeway stop from Manhattan
That said, I never cease to be baffled, UTTERLY BAFFLED, the lack of respect that Queens seems to get, not only by people who come here from places that couldn't even hold a candle to Queens, but by Queens residents themselves.
I THINK ITS TIME THAT JIMMY VAN BRAMER AND PETER VALLONE, BOTH BUILDING THEIR RESUMES OUT OF FLOODING THEIR COMMUNITIES WITH PEOPLE LIKE THIS - DAMN THE CONSEQUENCES - SHOULD ISSUE A STATEMENT.
To all you "look at a map" fools, if someone says they are going to Long Island, no one thinks they mean Queens.
"LIC you later" Ach anudder von! Dat vas a reely gut von! Hahr-hahr. Hey vate, vee kann finush it laik dis: LIC you later...elligater. Oh, see Ife chust schplit my lederhosen vit larfter. Hahr-hahr-hahr.
But if they say they are going toLong Island City, they know you mean Queens.
Keep the renaming ideas coming. I suggest "Mannesville"
Hippsterville
If they're so worried, they can call themselves the Wyndham Garden-Hunters Point. But then I guess there would have to be a real estate industry conference to figure out if it should be Hunters Point, Hunterspoint, or Hunter's Point.
Hunters Point?
They would confuse it with Hunts Point.
Call it Brooklyn North, or, to give it a nice Olde English flair,
Brooklyn-across-Newtown.
Sure, they showed up in Astoria ...
You forgot all the folks going to Kennedy Airport expecting to see a Space Shuttle launch!
Not to mention the ones who think Broad Channel is a place to watch vintage porn!
"But if they say they are going to Long Island City, they know you mean Queens."
Yes, but I am a Queens native. I have heard and seen others make the mistake. If you are not from the area and you don't know the neighborhoods, but you know Queens Brooklyn, Long Island, etc, Long Island City sounds a lot like...well Long Island.
Ask some people on the street in Queens where Kansas City is, I'll bet a lot of them say Kansas.
Rather have LIC than "Queens West" and be associated with the duh doys from the rest of the county.
There is a Kansas City, KS.
Dumb and dumber-do they have anything better to do with their time and do we need all this worthless government riding our tax dollar?
No one's concerned about confusing Flushing with a toilet, right?
Sometimes things just work themselves out, don't they?
'“It’s bad for hotels, it’s bad for real estate, and it’s bad for morale,” explained Rob MacKay, head of the Queens Local Development Corp. Tourism Council...'
That's funny, because it hasn't stopped all those hotels from being built, or all the condo/rental towers from going up, nor the endless round of stories touting LIC (dammit!) that appear seemingly daily in the press (Jason Sheftell at the News just wrote his hundredth such piece). You mean this overblown market and superstorm of hype could have been worse?
I say keep it Long Island City. I live here, make all my $$$$$$ here. It's great .
I'm also a life long Queens native.
Maybe these hotels are renting to stupid people. When you travel you should always do your research, no matter who you are or where your going.
PEace.
HA! This needs to be changed because it is way more embarrassing to Long Island! "LIC" doesn't hold a candle to Long Island. (Hipsters don't leave NYC so they wouldn't know. And that's the way we prefer it.)
With apologies to Gertrude Stein.
LIC or Long Island City..."A turd is a turd, is a turd"!
Nothing can change the fact that it's been over developed and under served in proportion to the scope of the overbuilding that's been going on.
What does it matter what Bloomberg & Co. do to it now? It's been screwed in every hole imaginable!
Call it Manhattan East...that's what it's destined to become, anyway.
That's pronounced LICE, as in head lice.
"Maybe these hotels are renting to stupid people. When you travel you should always do your research,"
Maybe people did do research and decided staying a subway stop or two from Manhattan is worth saving easily $100 or more a night. LIC is actually one of the better places to stay if you can't afford Manhattan. Much more convenient than many other hotels scattered throughout the borough.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g48080-Long_Island_City_New_York-Hotels.html
It seems many people are just fine staying outside Manhattan.
How long before a name change for Dutch Kills is proposed? I mean, just think of all the tourist revenue lost to the Dutch Kills area since so many people stay away due to erroneous fears of violent assault by roving gangs of wooden shoe wearing, tulip growing, windmill building, cocoa drinking murderous psychos? Add to that all the Dutch visitors to NYC for whom the neighborhood's name is perceived as an ominous threat. Who can blame them for keeping away and spending all their tourist dollars elsewhere?
LIC? Its not a name change. Its simply an abbreviation! And this abbreviation has existed since it has been named Long Island City! I can't believe this non issue is getting so much media attention. Yet the networks refuse to report on more important issues, should I list them? And anyone confused about if its on LI or NYC should maybe pay a visit to Creedmore. N.F.P.
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