The Village of Astoria was incorporated in 1839 by
Stephen Halsey. Dutch Kills was settled in 1643. Samuel Hallet settled
the Hell Gate in 1652.
When the rocks were blasted out of the Hell Gate,
shortly after the Civil War, the explosion was heard in Newark.
Long Island City was incorporated in 1870 by absorbing
the Village of Astoria, and the hamlets of Steinway, Dutch Kills, Middletown,
Ravenswood and Blissville.
Sunnyside Gardens is the first planned community in
New York and boasts one of only two private parks in the city.
Long Island City’s last mayor was the colorful
"Battle-Axe Gleason."
The first word ever duplicated was "Astoria"by
Chester Carlson, the inventor of the photocopy process in a lab on Broadway.
The last beer garden in New York City is Astoria’s
Historic Bohemian Hall & Park.
Nearly 400,000 tourists visit Long Island City cultural
institutions: MOMA Qns, PS 1, Noguchi Museum, American Museum of the
Moving Image, Astoria Performing Arts Center, and Socrates Sculpture
Park --- making the arts --- and artists --- Long Island City’s
fastest growing community!
Three locations of New York's Music Trail are in the
area: Kaufman-Astoria Studios, Steinway Piano Factory, and Scot Joplin’s
grave in St. Michael’s Cemetery.
In the 1920s and 1930s movies were made at the Paramount
(now Kaufman-Astoria) Studios.
Astoria Park has over 60 acres and is considered one
of the most beautiful parks in the New York City park system.
The 1936 Olympic Swimming Trials were held in Astoria
Park Pool.
Over 250,000 people live in Long Island City, making
it the largest community in Queens.
Over 1,100 stores and 300 restaurants are in the community.
Steinway Street is called the “Longest Shopping Mall in the World.”
Over 4,000 businesses are in the community. Long Island
City products are sold around the world.
Although Long Island City is in Queens, its face is
to Manhattan: it is connected to New York by three bridges and four
tunnels placing its communities minutes away from mid-town.
