From the Daily News:A Queens neighborhood that went from sprawling warehouses and manufacturing plants to luxury towers is now undergoing its latest transformation: as a haven for tourists.
Hotel developers are capitalizing on the area’s proximity to Manhattan — and lower nightly rates — to lure visitors to chic lodges that fight to outdo each others.
And many residents, who are moving in as high-rises continue to sprout up on the waterfront, are embracing the boom.
And then the article goes on to quote "residents" such as a spokesman for the city’s tourism agency, NYC & Co., the director of the Queens Tourism Council, and James the director of the tourism and hospitality program at LaGuardia Community College.
My favorite comment came from RexLIC, "I'm surprised it took until Thursday for the weekly "LIC is booming" article."
Are the tourists really spending money outside of their hotels in LIC? Especially the ones along Vernon Blvd across the street from a power plant?
My favorite "civic leader" George Stamatiades had this to say: “It’s a positive influx of development,” he said of the burgeoning local industry, though he complained that some developers are “nothing but bums.”
11 comments:
vernon blvd has some nice restaraunts. there was a good thai place and a nice italian pizza from what i remember. if you want crappy and over priced there is Water's Edge
Let's face it, some tourists stay in LIC hotels because they are cheaper than Manhattan, but tourists come to New York City to see New York City, not Long Island City. With the close proximity to Manhattan, they can take an inexpensive cab or just hop on a subway and within a few minutes are there. So LIC, stop constantly patting yourself on the back. LIC is over developed, overpriced and the character has totally been lost. Speaking as a former LIC residents who lived there before development and after.
A Queens neighborhood that went from sprawling warehouses and manufacturing plants to luxury towers is now undergoing its latest transformation: as a haven for tourists.
So where are the politicians that the soon to be displaced warehouses and plants elected saying about that?
Whoops, substitute people, voters, veterns, seniors, families for warehouses and plants.
George S as a spokesman for the area is like having the fox discuss henhouse management.
That guy has credibility only because the politicians put him there.
Thanks for the shoutout, QC. That was me with the comment. How many more of these insane "rah rah rah" pieces do I have to read in my lifetime? Here's the rule: if the media reach the 1000+ articles mark, over a 20 year period, your neighborhood is most definitely NOT "up and coming!"
Long Island City is made into a transient place on purpose. That treatment wears out buildings quickly and makes it easy to convert them into human warehouses.
The worker visa imports Asians to work in Silicon Alley midtown - they pretty much use the buildings as barracks.
After a decade or two of abuse from tourists and the like, the towers around the Plaza will become dormitories for the service staff for the Manhattan cosmopolitan elites.
Anyone with any knowledge of urban planning can see that every mistake in the book, from wiping out the landmarks that make an area charming to long empty walls that feature garages and little else, to a complete lack of shops and stores and long term residents that make a community.
LIC is a disaster and those few voices that say so are viciously attacked while the likes of Stamatiades are hailed as heroes.
All this 'economic' rather than 'ethnic' cleansing is happening across the river from the UN.
Wow, why the hate? LIC is a great place to live and visit.
Why the hate? How about because all the other neighborhoods in Queens have been neglected while Manhattan lite for the almost-rich is being built in LIC.
"This is the year," Crappy, "this is the year!"
I wish Flushing and Jamaica were "up and coming" too, but it's hard to be attracted to lipstick on pigs.
I hate these damn luxury high rises, the only people that can afford to live in them are people making 6+ figures a year. Queens is becoming VERY expensive to live in. It went from being one of the cheaper boroughs to being one of the most expensive boroughs. I am so sick of high rises! Build something that people can actually afford to live in that doesnt look like shit.
d@mn see. I saw this like 8 years ago. ALL waterfront facing manhattan will eventually be worth a fortune. Jersey City was a dump, but it translate to something nice ..and so far during that time LIC was the only warehouse area.
Wish I had the money to invest in the property that time..but I was just a college grad that time.
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