The Long Island City amenity wish list - brought to you by its residents
Lots of good conversation going on these days. The Vernon rumors delivered yesterday, and an older post about the CUNY dorm building, has inadvertently created an informal LIC wish list. So we’ve decided to tally the requests, and present them to the vast sea of enterprising entrepreneurs out there; some of whom might understand what it is to live and start a business now in LIC.
There seems to be a general preference amongst the actual residents for the independent, local chain, and mom/pop type retail amenity, over national brands. Save for probably a decent pharmacy (which is delivering in Queenswest in the form of a Duane Reade). Brokers and developers are more interested in the national brands of course, as they can pay high premiums on the new GF retail emerging with the residential development.
The list so far, in no particular order:
- An indie/arthouse movie theatre.
- More restaurants, and we’ve got Asian fusion well covered so something else please.
- Ahem, grocery stores.
- A Community pool.
- More wine bars/lounges.
- More clothing boutiques.
- A mom/pop video store.
LIC residents and soon-to-be’s, feel free to add on and cast your vote. Maybe someone out there is reading and taking notes.
How about sunlight? I had plenty of it until an ugly ass condo was built 3 doors down from me. Now I get none for much of the day.
Raindew–a small chain in Queens and Long Island that’s like the old 5 and 10 and also inlcudes hardware. Where I used to go to buy picture hangers, grout, shampoo and makeup, pick up a birthday card and a pair of flip flops, and get my prescription filled and a key made at the same time. I used to go to Raindew at least once a day. Raindew PLEASE open up in LIC!
-another independent coffee house (Brazil is weary)
-a bigger stationery store than the Pumpkin (or they need to up their stock)
-a kitchen equipment store
-a dessert place
Raindew is kind of crappy.
We could really use a hardware store.
Hardware store, fish store, artisan bakery, meat market. Cheap Middle Eastern food. Who ever delivers that will clean up! We have to many hifalutin restaurants as it is. And yes….more sunlight and less ugly — condo’s
Diane
Fitness Center - NYSC would be nice
Absolutely a gym. but a cool gym please. something interesting. good classes. not just the boring circuit training stations - and a lot of the condos will have those anyway.
Cheap Middle Eastern food. That’s a good one.
I guess Raindew is kind of crappy in that it has no high-end stuff, but you’re not buyng clothes or furniture there. A lot of the stuff a household needs is not high end. And it’s nice to have all those needs met in one place.
I also vote for a bakery. Preferably high end.
Something like Surprise Surprise on 3rd ave & 12th st or 11th. Mix of housewares, and light hardware. hardcore hardware store would be nice too - though that could be solved by a shuttle to Home Depot and good delivery service on their part. It’s really not that far away.
But we need housewares. That is a must-have. And I too second the bakery.
Since this is a Wish List how about: Agata & Valentina, Trader Joe’s, or dare I say an Associated Supermarket. I’m dreading having to treck back into the city for last minute groceries… I’m leaving Manhattan for LIC and refuse to buy a car. Really, it seems like I may end up buying a car just to buy groceries! (Yes, yes - I love Fresh Direct but sometimes I can’t always plan ahead!)
Hot yoga
trader joes…
here is a link to their location suggestion form:
Trader Joe’s would be great. How about a Billiards room/cafe like a mini-version of Slate or like the one on Austin Street in Forest Hills?
Please no cheap junk stores!
TRADER JOE’S WOULD BE THE BOMB.
Taqueria Coatzingo III!!!
bakery bakery bakery please. a good bakery. not just bread. cakes and desserts too. we have no dessert place. I am tired of sweet crepes. though they are very good.
A store like Surprise Surprise would be great! I shopped there for many years when they were at 19th and Third. Glad to hear she is still in business!
How about a panini and dessert cafe, with espresso and wine?
#4 and #21. You have Communitea as a mom-and-pop, independent place that offers panini, espresso and some dessert - though admittedly not the cakes/soft pastry type. I live around the corner and it really is a solid place. So maybe you guys should get out more and check out the existing places.
A Mexican, Indian and Middle-Eastern restaurant would be great.
Maybe a Stone-Cold Creamery type place as well?
I was thinking more of a Max Brenner-type place, or something like the pastry cafes in Little Italy on Mulberry.
I think Stone-Cold is terrible. How about something like the Jahn’s that recently left Richmond Hill or a Serendipity?
A Morrocan themed restaurant would be cool, like Le Souk or Casa La Femme. A good Spanish tapas place would be great too.
yes we need some Indians and Middle Eastern peoples to come feed us please. that food is so damn good.
I’m #4 and I love Communitea. But they’re not open late and they don’t have cupcakes. I love the idea of a bakery. And a butcher. And middle eastern food. And Indian food. Afghan food! I love Afghan food. Jahn’s would be great, too.
And yes, an independent hardware store would be amazing. I think there is a hardware store on Jackson.
NYSC - please!!!
Live Music dive a la CBGB though this might draw far too many hipsters to the area so it’s a double-edged sword.
Old-Fashioned Men’s Barbershop
A Bowling Alley
A giant movie theater with major market movies
A loews hardware store
A Marshalls
A 5 guys burgers and fries
A Target
Sorry, but sometimes the large national chains offer a larger selection of goods and services that just make them better. I can appreciate independent artsy film, but sometimes major studios do make good movies that I want to see. And man, a good, greasy cheeseburger and fries is just the right thing to cure a hangover.
#27, Sounds like you should move to the ‘burbs.
spanish tapas restaurant (with great wine selection) sounds good!
yeah #27. this is not the right neighborhood for you.
except for the bowling alley is a good idea. a billiards place would be nice too.
Does no one else want to see a big budget movie?
To that point, aren’t indie movie theaters and independent coffee shops and Spanish tappas places kind of a foregone conclusion? Of course all of those things are going to open in LIC.
#27 You scare me. Can I suggest that you’d be better off in Long Island, instead of Long Island City?
Ice Cream or Dessert place
hardware store
How about we convince one of the three gazillion afghani food carts on the corner of 74th and broadway in Jackson Heights to move down to LIC.
#26, live music would be wild. No need to be scared of hipsters.
A big movie theater in and of itself wouldn’t work unless it had a major parking lot or garage.
I would love to see a shopping complex like a mini-version of Atlas Park. It could have a smaller theater with the major movies, and some shopping. Is everyone here looking forward to a big library right on the water? Wouldn’t an upscale shopping complex with a Barnes and Noble included be better?
#39, you are speaking my language.
“An upscale shopping complex with a Barnes and Noble”? “Like Atlas Park”? Instead of the library? I’m a pretty newbie to LIC, but these comments horrify me, and make me wonder if other newbies and soon-to-bes are as clueless–and if the community I moved here for is changing to one just like I moved to get away from. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Hot yoga is coming in a couple of months!
No chains! Were are all the conscious minded entrepreneurs who are willing to open up their own unique grocery store? Their own unique bookstore and bakery? I know you exist out there!
Yes! Mexican, Moroccan.
Love the story about Hot Bread Kitchen. Why don’t they open a storefront? Or why don’t we challenge the local restaurants to buy their bread?
Diane
you people really need to explore lic a little more. there is already an indian restaurant, live music venue, and hardware store in existence. i guess i’ll keep that info to myself.
#42, be careful. No Chains? Trader Joes, Amish Market, Cold Stone Creamery, Crunch Fitness, New York Sports Clubs and a solid 1/3 of all the other ideas expressed here have been chains. I guess it’s just a matter of some chains being ok, and some chains un-cool. Regardless, sometimes chain stores do offer better goods and services than local mom and pop operations.
Why would you want a big chain bookstore instead of a brand new library that your tax money already paid for? Visit your local library and see how much they have to offer - bestsellers, DVDs, graphic novels, manga, on-line resources like databases, audiobooks, and ebooks. Go ahead and pay full price for a book you’ll read once, but take the 7 into to Times Square to do it.
Jeezus.
There *was* a great live music venue, The Creek and the Cave, up until a week or so ago. You folks asking for one ever go? Still some smaller/acousticer acts at Dominie’s Hoek or occasional stuff at The Space or Texas Firehouse.
Pharmacy: LIC Pharmacy on 21st St south of 44th Dr.
Indian: 5-Star Punjabi is cheap, good, and open ’til 4:30 AM!
Pseudo-Mexican: The Creek and the Cave
They have some hardware at The Pickwick on 21 St.
Excercise at the YMCA. Or run/bike the streets like me (way more interesting and educational!)
Big movie theater is already there along the Dutch Kills/Astoria border.
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is just on the other side of the Pulaski Bridge… maybe closer to you QueensWest types than C-Town is.
No fucking suburban shopping centers. Holy shit. Atlas Park is disturbing… I stumbled upon it during a bike ride one day. We already have the ones on Northern Blvd (is that still LIC? Maybe Sunnyside or Astoria, I’d have to check the map).
Record stores, a new live music club (sigh), loft parties, vintage/thrift clothing stores.
Seriously, who wants to open a rock club? I’ll book your shows. Come on.
what happened to the creek and cave?
Loft parties (sigh)
Vintage
Brandon,
We don’t want LIC to turn into a bunch of cheap artsy places like the East Village in the 80s.
Creek and the Cave is still there, just can’t due live music anymore due to worsening noise conflicts with the neighbors living above. Oh well.
There are a few good loft parties at Texas Firehouse and such around yet.
“We don’t want LIC to turn into a bunch of cheap artsy places like the East Village in the 80s.”
Correction: YOU don’t want that. I’ll take it.
Well this isn’t Long Island Brandon City; we still live in a democracy.
Word. It also isn’t Long Island Anonymous Poster #49 City, either.
No 80s loft parties, holy crap, didn’t we all live through the 80’s in NYC already?
Why re-hash NYC’s past?!?
Oh wait, most of the people who want that weren’t here in NYC for it, so we all have to do what they want when they were sitting at home in the Midwest or hanging in the 7-11 parking lot.
No thanks, LIC will find it’s own identity and it will be nothing like that, thankfully.
I’d prefer a Barnes an Noble instead of a public library. I wish they would build that on the library site.
hey anonymous #53 (you’re also #49 and #51, obvs), maybe YOU should move to the midwest. a change in scenery might do you good since you’ve been here for so looooong. also, were you the one that suggested a cold stone creamery? thought so.
Brandon, I’ll take it too. #41
What’s wrong with a public library? I’m kind of looking forward to it.
People don’t want to move into luxury buildings on the waterfront to get the 80s East Village. Sorry Brandon, you’re outvoted by a mile.
why does it have to be the east village in the 80’s? In the 80’s they were doing lines of coke off the bar counters. I don’t think anyone wants that kind of insanity. But I would vote for East Village type of vibe over the ATLAS mentality any day. I don’t think it’s ALL yuppies going to take over LIC either - there is a very strong community here already and we put up a hell of a fight.
And btw #58, it costs just as much if not more to live in the East Village than LIC. Now what does that say?
I’m with Brandon too, so eat shit yuppie #58.
LIC already has an identity #53.
The shops, cafes, stores, etc. of the East Village of today is great and to have some of that in LIC would be good, but not the cheap derelict crap of the 80s East Village that Brandon wants. And I am talking about the particular spot on the waterfront where they want to put the library. Instead of a huge library, I think the location could be put to better use. Why do we need a huge library? Are you really going to use it that much? Why not something that can have multi-use? Maybe have part of the location for a smaller library and part with some upscale shops.
And why are you knocking Atlas? It has interesting architecture, an Amish Market and good Japanese and Italian restaurants, a Borders, a few boutique women’s clothing stores, a pet store, etc. LIC can have a mix of different vibes, what’s wrong with that?
#62. Upscale shops, upscale shops. Jesus Christ, I’m so sick and tired of yuppies.
#62, we already have good italian restaurants here, sorry, no Olive Garden though, you’ll have to go back to Atlas for that. Everyything else you mentioned we already have–if you ever left your high rise and went around the neighborhood you’d see. Maybe they could make an underground walkway from your fabulous apartment to your new waterfront shopping mall so you could eat at the Olive Garden and pick something up at the Gap without ever having to set foot in Long Isalnd City. How fab!
#64 - you should try to know what you are talking about before you post, otherwise you show everyone how ignorant you are. I never saw you at Olive Garden at Atlas because: 1) I have never been to an Olive Garden in my life, and 2) there is no Olive Garden at Atlas. The restaurant is Pasticcio. The owners have run an Italian restaurant in Manhattan by the same name for a number of years and opened a new one in Atlas. It actually is very good and nothing like a chain restaurant. Maybe you should stop being jealous of people who live in nice condos.
#63- you’re right, let’s have a bunch of cheap crappy shops in LIC, that would be great.
East village vibe wouldn’t be so bad! Students! Live music! Second hand bookstores! Good quality restaurants without the linen tableclothes! Start up businesses like that bread place with the immigrant workers! Designers who make their own clothes! i.e. what we are already lucky enough to have, but just more of it. All sounds nice to me (despite the fact I sucummbed to the convenience of the glass towers).
I was actually hoping for a shop incorporating some kind of really really tight jeans and belt with metal spikes on it. Also, not showering for weeks at a time is good too. Frankly, many of us are paying a lot of money for our apartments that we intend to keep for many many years. You hipsters, from Michigan don’t care about the long term conveniences of your neighborhood. Instead, you are far more concerned with what is cool and or hip. There are compromises as my wife pointed out last night. I was wrong to suggest a lowes, but some kind of true value hardware store would be nice. Sometimes the big chain brands do better than the local guy. I would love a Rite Aid like they have on Broadway in Astoria. They carry everything, way more reliable than Duane Reed.
To #65 Actually, I live in a very “nice condo” I bought in the Badge Building. And though I’m not here that long, at least 5 people say hello to me every morning by name as i walk to the train to get to work. I’ve brought mozarella to Maria, my daughter picks up food from Mario’s every day after school and I pay Anthony for it when I get the chance. There was a neighborhood here before I moved in and I consider myself lucky to be part of it now. I like nice too, but this neighborhood is already lovely and unique. There’s no need to make it like everything else.
It’s so depressing to me that there are people who would be more excited about a big box bookstore than a brand new library. The library can be a center of culture and community. A Barnes and Noble is a hub of commerce. Please explain the appeal to me. I truly do not understand.
I’m with you Meghan.
#68 - I never knocked the neighborhood, but as it develops we will need more things - some more of the same (nice restaurants, cool bars/cafes, delis, stores) and some new and different (Ari’s hardware store, Amish Market, Duane Reade, etc.) My point is that I don’t want a bunch of junky and cheap hipster places to dominate the area. I think LIC can have a mix of vibes. On the same note, you shouldn’t knock other areas and places. A lot of people that live in that area like Atlas and it has brought a nice mix of new shopping, dining and retail to that neighborhood.
What is the appeal of Barnes and Noble? I buy books, DVDs, etc. - I have an extensive library. You can’t buy books at a public library. Libraries are a relic of the past and a waste of money. With the internet much of what you would go there for is at your fingertips at home. Have you been to the library lately? Seems to be a hangout for people who want to read the paper without buying it and pedophiles.
A library could be good, but in this day and age, you don’t need to take up all that space for a library. And I also worry that the city would build some bland-looking government building that would be an eyesore right at a key spot on the waterfront. They are talking about a two-level box of a building. I would rather see something there that looks nice, has multiple uses for the community, and could also have a smaller space for a library. You can still make it a location for community and culture without taking up all that physical space for a library that might not get a lot of use.
i’m looking forward to a library, a place i can hang out without having to consume something. actually, this whole thread has made me sad, and i need to stop reading it. now i know who voted for george bush.
Also there is a library a few blocks away at Court Square. Agree that it is a complete waste to put a library there.
If it was up to me I would put a retail there.
#74 - go smoke some pot in Tompkins park, you’ll feel better.
“You hipsters, from Michigan don’t care about the long term conveniences of your neighborhood. Instead, you are far more concerned with what is cool and or hip.”
you can’t choose where you were born or grow up, but you can choose where you want to live as an adult. this thread has made me realize that those who have commented here who were born, raised, and still living in nyc are just as narrow-minded as those people living in the midwest. and in regards to “long term conveniences,” those condos you spent a lot of money on aren’t going to be around too long with that shoddy architecture. i’m quite happy to be living in my building built in 1919 (gasp!).
Does your 1919 house have a swimming pool?
oh snap, #78! you got me good.
this comment thread is one of the first true glimpses I’ve had of the different kinds of people now living here. seems pretty divided. which is a good thing. we have some healthy social diversity. (maybe not so much ethnically though)
#77 - Where did you get your architectural and engineering degrees from?
Having lived in an older house, it not all its cracked up to be. Quite a bit of time and money was spent dealing with trying to keep a 100+ year structure comfortable, attractive and livable. All depends on your taste I guess.
lic is obviously a divided neighborhood, but we need to respect each other’s opinions, tastes, etc. all in all, it’s good to see people actually feeling passionate about their neighborhood.
To #73, I think you’re a little too late to be concerned about an “eyesore” on the waterfront.
As for a multiplex cinema, maybe it could go in the Powerhouse building. That Karl Fischer design looks exactly like an overgrown version of the AMC 25 in my in suburban Missouri hometown.
I don’t understand your point Clarice. Are you saying that the luxury condo buildings are eyesores?
COMMERCE BANK! Chase has lost over $18,000.00 worth of our money in the last 6 years! We always get it back but it sometimes takes weeks to correct the damage. We use Commerce for the gallery/store and it’s such a different banking experience. I remember the days when you didn’t have tellers behind glass. I don’t know how they do it but I like it.
there is a commerce bank in lic. but it’s over by the north side I think.
1 good Korean BBQ dive + 1 traditional Vietnamese joint > 10 Asian Fusion restaurants. What’s up with Bany on Jackson and the loud euro-trash music?
Also the bodega per foot ratio (BpF) is pretty high on Vernon.
Anybody who thinks the Creek and Cave is passible as Tex-Mex or Mex is itchin for a fight.
Would be nice if the intended Library site was more park space to allow for festivals, etc.
Looking forward to the library, but it really could be somewhere else close by.
Also we need a decent dog park. You know, one that’s not just dirt…
No dog parks. Rather have parks or buildings for people. Dogs don’t belong in the city. Every dog park no matter how nice eventually ends up a muddy mess, because dogs are destructive and filthy. BTW pick up after your dog. Too much dog poop in LIC.
How about a school and day care? Very important for the community!
anonymous
Schools yes.
But not on waterfront property! It’s bad enough they’re putting a library there. A building that will be closed more often than not. Geniuses in our local government. Or whoever made the decision to put a library there. QWDC.
Okay here we go-
#1. FAIRWAY
#2. An invigorating and challenging Middle and High School.
#3.Cool vintage clothing store like “The Beacons Closet” in Williamsburg.
#4.Hardware and houseware store.
#5.Office and art supply store.
#6.Would Bread Alone be considered a chain bakery?
Janet
Come on!
How long would an art supply store stay in business? A bakery went under, but an art supply store would make it?
Hey #95
Don’t you have any sense of humor what so ever? This is a wish list right? And the bakery went under about 2 years ago. I think a few more buildings have been built since then.
Janet
Janet, there is a great high school here already, a block from Queensboro Plaza. The Academy of American Studies, listed just about everywhere as one of the best HSs, including best high schools in the entire country. It’s a public school, too. Lots of people don’t know about it because its relatively new, but if you do your research for schools this one comes up over and over as one of the best. It’s small and hard to get into, though.
Thanks Anonymous #97. I have heard of the Academy. But I hadn’t checked into the website until now. It does look like a very good school and tough to get into. (1/2 lottery, the other 1/2 selection) Which is great for those who get in but with only 160 kids accepted each year, it will probably mean we need another school to keep up with the growing population of exceptional teenagers.
Janet
With over 2000 artist still here, they all haven’t been pushed out yet, I think a stationary and art supply store could really work. It can’t be anything chain like it, really needs to address 2 specific agendas which in the mind of the right person could flourish.
The bakery went out of business for the following reasons. It was primary a specialty cake store that was run as a hobbie. The space was 15′x 15′ wide. Anything else it supplied (which was nothing to write home about) was out sourced. Bring on a bakery!
#88 can you tell me where Commerce Bank is? I walk and drive around here all the time and their is one in Astoria, but I don’t recall a Commerce within walking distance, (15 blocks) in Hunters point. I really would like to know, anybody?
There is a library near the Citibank building, and every time I walk by, I see no more than 5 old men sitting in there reading the newspaper. How is another library going to help our neighborhood if no one uses the one we have?
You walk by and see five people? Try walking through the doors and actually checking out a book or asking about the myriad of children’s programs they offer, which help families in the neighborhood or the ESL classes they offer. Your tax dollars are already paying for it, so why not take advantage of the books and DVDs you visit a retail store to purchase and use once.
Out of curiosity, how did you get through school without using the library as a resource? Hate to break it to you, but wikipedia isn’t always correct…
Meghan, don’t waste your breath on #101. Yuppies don’t visit libraries. Reading free books is the equivalent of shopping for groceries at CTown. There’s not nearly enough cachet involved.
Meghan, it doesn’t matter if you want to ignore all the above comments against using all that waterfront space for a library; most people in the area I know do not want a boring-looking government box of a building right in a prime spot in the neighborhood. Look at the great shops and cafes right off the water in Canary Wharf, or on the waterfronts in Montreal, San Diego and other places. Build something that looks great, is useful to all, and include a smaller library as part of it.
The assumption that because a building is a library, it will be an ugly box is incorrect. Seattle is a great example of a city that has incorporated an amazing library into their community, creating a tourist attraction in the process.
At the end of the day, this library can be a place for the community, much as you would use a retail bookstore. It will have free wifi, community space, computers for your use, and be staffed with professionals dedicated to making the library an integral part of the community. Many new libraries are also integrating coffee shops, so you don’t necessarily even have to rule that out.
I just find it frustrating when people dismiss the library when they haven’t visited their own to see what it offers. Librarians work really hard to meet community needs and belittling that effort while never bothering to see what is actually go on really pisses me off. The library is going to be as useful to you AS YOU MAKE IT. Don’t assume it is not important to others, however. Trust me when I tell you that there are people in the surrounding neighborhood that can’t afford to stop in Barnes and Noble and pick-up the latest bestseller or don’t have a computer of their own for their kids to do homework. If you’re afraid your sense of aesthetics may be offended, frankly, that pales in comparison to the impact a library will have on the overall community.
http://www.queenswest.com/gantrypark/pictures/queens-west-library-pictures
http://www.nypl.org/branch/local/man/ml.cfm
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Seattle_Public_Library.html
http://www.slcpl.lib.ut.us/details.jsp?parent_id=7&page_id=5
A good dog park.
i would like a bakery, a larger grocery store with organic and natural foods, and some sort of hardware shop. i think a record store or a live music venue would be nice as well…
Real good cheap hooker joint. Russian chicks.
yes we need some Indians and Middle Eastern peoples to come feed us please. that food is so damn good.” - poster #24
Maybe there are already Indian and Middle Eastern folks LIVING in this neighborhood who are not affiliated with the food service industry and don’t want to feed you. The world is not here to serve you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want for this neighborhood:
1) MORE affordable housing for lower income folks and LESS ridiculously expensive housing for yuppies.
2) A Queens Public Library branch
3) A Fairway Supermarket
4) For the MTA to make the Q103 run much more often, day and night, 7 days per week.
5) For Manetta’s to start pizza delivery (but maybe that would be dangerous for me)
6) For this neighborhood to keep what character it still has, and not totally turn into National Yuppie Chain Store Heaven flanked by ugly high-rise condos.
FITNESS CENTER CRUNCH