TODAY I came across an interesting rental listing on Streeteasy offering a 2br/2ba in Hunters Point for $3,500. It’s located in the Citylights Building which though a little dated and not quite amenity rich as nearby towers, is still very well located across the street from Gantry Park and near the 7 line.1 It’s also spacious at over 1,000 square feet, and on a high floor with good views and light and a renovated kitchen.2. Most importantly it’s only $3,500 a month and No-Fee.
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All Quiet On The Covid News Front In LIC
I FEEL like we’re in a news gap as we wait for the election, all is quiet on the Covid front locally, public schools are finding their hybrid sea legs, and new retail business formations are on hold for the most part. And yet the real estate business in LIC pushes forward, commercially anyway.
[Read more…] about All Quiet On The Covid News Front In LICLeaving LIC For $uburbia?
SINCE shortly after the pandemic began in the U.S., the mass media has gorged on the supposed city to suburbs migration angle. I say supposed because there are a number of complicating factors and spotty data making it difficult to discern whether it’s a torrent or a trickle. Every year there is a migration of some for the burbs, with the bulk of that bell curve moving when school lets out in the summer. This year you also had some that pulled forward that decision, which should create a vacuum in years hence under ‘normal’ circumstances. The additional demand from that ‘pull forward’ is probably enough to lead to bidding ‘insanity’ as described in the NYT title below (link). That’s because unlike toilet paper there’s no way to instantaneously increase supply, which is made more acute (and drawn out) given the strict zoning in NYC suburbs, especially versus say Dallas. Once you net out the two sets above, I think the absolute numbers of those leaving NYC and buying a home1 in the NYC suburbs is smaller than the hype, if solely because of the incremental supply issues. 2
[Read more…] about Leaving LIC For $uburbia?Languorous Long Island City Summer Ends With A Bang
WOW, what an end to the week summer. Two big pieces of news for Long Island City occurred within the last 24 hours, after a six-month local news cycle usurped by city, national and worldwide headlines. First, a young man was shot and killed one block from Center Boulevard in Hunters Point early yesterday evening. While this news is startling and seemingly an abrupt punctuation mark on a crazy summer both near and far, I’m not quickly tempted to extrapolate the nightly shenanigans in the park to it. One look at the picture1 of the young man lying on Borden Avenue being aided by a police officer and knowing now that he’s in his last minutes of his life is much graver than what we’ve been dealing with.2 I still believe the parks will calm down after the summer is over and that this is a one-off incident much like the occasional shootings that intrude on the Upper East Side or Tribeca. I hope.
The Apologists Vs. The Naysayers In LIC
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.
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