A thousand reasons to love Long Island City. Tips: Editor@LICtalk.com
Long Island City got rocked by Tropical Storm Isaias yesterday, especially near the waterfront, but when all is said and done it’s still rolling. As one long time resident with a battered terrace described it “the wind was even worse than Hurricane Sandy.” ((yet Sandy inflicted much more severe flooding))
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Over the last two months various cheerleaders and detractors have stated their cases as to why they are for/against the Waterfront Master Plan. The latter group seems to be spearheaded by Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer on behalf of various groups created during HQ2, aka the Amazon Naysayers. The cheerleaders are a seemingly disparate collection of voices looking to bless the Plan exactly as it is, let’s call them the Amazon Apologists.
Well Amazon isn’t coming to LIC, and neither is its 25,000 jobs. I think most would agree that the Naysayers are fully responsible for that. While that is a terrible shame, more now than ever, it is completely irrelevant in terms of assessing how much and what type of upzoning should be allowed now. It certainly does not mean completely unfettered approval of the full density, developer-friendly amenity package put forth in the initial Plan.
[Read more…] about The Apologists Vs. The Naysayers In LIC
Call me Nostradamus. No, no I wouldn’t want the heavy weight of knowing what the future holds, especially these days. How about the second coming of John Paulson? Sadly it would just be a fantasy as my large wager was only in my head. Like the bottom of the Mets batting line-up, two strikes and I may as well be out. Nevertheless my call for a 15% reduction in monthly apartment rents is looking very prescient these days given a recent Crain’s report indicating two months free rent ((14 months for the price of 12 = 15% lower per month (12/14 = .85) ))is becoming more normal in NYC.
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A new restaurant called Top Quality has opened at 10-29 44th Rd. in Long Island City. As we previously reported, the restaurant is overseen by Mark Rancourt who formerly owned Extra Fancy in Williamsburg. An employee onsite today shared that the kitchen is led by Matthew Gaudet, a chef who received many accolades heading several high end restaurants in Boston.
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So after completing my last post which was an update on real estate in LIC, I go on vacation for a couple of weeks only to find that rental prices have seemingly dropped yet again. According to an article published last week in Bloomberg, as well as on their own web site, QLIC, a 420-unit rental building on Queensboro Plaza is offering two months of free rent on select newly-leased units.
[Read more…] about Two Months Free Rent In LIC