The other night I went to an event in Long Island City at Hunters Point Park. I had a lot of fun at the event. The event I went to wasn’t the only event happening that evening. There were SO MANY events going on! In addition to the “Watercolors on the Waterfront” event that I was taking part in, there was a zumba class happening a few yards away from us, a soccer game in progress on the lawn, a private party (fully catered), and lots of people enjoying their own little gatherings. People with their kids or the dogs, or both, out enjoying the evening. They even have a man-made “beach” with a volleyball net set up, and what looked like a “beach volleyball league” was in progress. There is a food/drink establishment, called Coffeed, that sells some food, coffee (obviously) and other beverages, and even sells beer, wine and sangria. Of course, I HAD to try the sangria with what I’m going to call “drunken peaches” floating in the cup. It was yummy!! All of this happening within just a couple blocks.
Now, I’m not going to admit that it was because of the sangria, but I accidentally forgot a bag I had with me when I went there. It had some items in it that, while not particularly expensive, were important enough for me to reach out to see if anyone located it. Thankfully, someone found it and brought it to the “lost and found” that they have at Coffeed.
So, the next night, I went back to Hunters Point Park to retrieve my lost bag. And again, there was a treasure trove of activity happening! A yoga class was taking place, a small group of people were learning/practicing capoeira, another soccer game, and a lot of other activities happening. The place was humming with fun.
The prior night, and on that evening, I definitely came down with a bad case of neighborhood envy! Don’t get me wrong, I live in a very nice area of Queens, and I love my neighborhood! But it’s not like this part of Long Island City. For one thing, we don’t have that AMAZING view of the Manhattan skyline. But also, I don’t think we have that much activity going on in my neighborhood parks. At least not all in one spot.
Out of curiosity, I went onto Apartments.com (I can’t even write that without hearing Jeff Goldblum in my head!) and checked out the prices of apartments for rent. I only looked at studios and 1 bedrooms. OH MY GOD!!! Studios start at around $2,500 a month! A STUDIO!!! One measly room for a price that BEGINS at $30,000 a year! Not to mention paying for utilities!! One bedrooms were even crazier!! They were charging between around $3,500 to more than $5,000 a month! (translate that to upwards of $60,000 a year) For ONE month!! And that’s to just rent. You don’t even get any equity for that price! Craaaaaazy! I remember it was not too long ago that Long Island City was just an industrial neighborhood. But now, it’s one of the most expensive (if not THE most expensive) residential neighborhoods in Queens. It’s almost in line with Manhattan prices.
So, while I would LOVE to have an apartment that looks out on the Manhattan skyline (the biggest perk to me), and to have a park within walking distance that has so much going on, and to be only a hop, skip, jump or a quick ferry ride into Manhattan, I think I will stick with my neighborhood.
Kernals Poppin' From My Noggin' 