Friday, March 18, 2022 – JUST OVER THE BRIDGE IS AN OLD COMMUNITY, NOW BEING REVITALIZED
FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022
The 625th Edition
SECRETS OF
LONG ISLAND CITY
QUEENS
FROM UNTAPPED NEW YORK
SECRETS OF LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS
Overlooking the East River on the extreme western tip of Queens is Long Island City, one of New York’s fastest-growing neighborhoods. On May 4, 1870, Long Island City was created through a merger between the Village of Astoria and the hamlets of Ravenswood, Hunters Point, Blissville, Sunnyside, Dutch Kills, Steinway, Bowery Bay, and Middletown in the Town of Newton. At the time, the city had between 12,000 and 15,000 residents and was split into five wards, each receiving two representatives to serve on the Board of Alderman along with an elected mayor. During the 1880s, Mayor De Bevoise was convicted of embezzlement, nearly bankrupting Long Island City’s government in the process. As a result, in 1884 many residents living in the former Astoria area petitioned the state legislature to allow it to secede from Long Island City and reincorporate again as an independent village, though the petition was eventually dropped. Long Island City remained an incorporated city until 1898, when Queens was annexed to New York City.
Once known for being an epicenter of the manufacturing industry, Long Island City was rezoned as a residential neighborhood in 2001 — causing the area to undergo significant gentrification as new developments such as Hunter’s Point South were erected. Today, Long Island City is known for its stunning waterfront and thriving arts community, with must-visit places like MOMA PS1, the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Museum, and Culture Lab LIC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the development of art in Western Queens.
The neighborhood houses the Hunters Point Historic District
On the south side of Long Island City along Newtown Creek is Hunters Point, a subsection of the neighborhood known today for its East River waterfront and stunning views of the Manhattan skyline. The area gained its name in 1825 from British sea captain George Hunter, whose family operated the site as a 210-acre farm. The area is also home to the Hunters Point Historic District, a national historic district created in 1968. The district is made of a row of 47 townhouses built between 1871 and 1890 in the Italianate, French Second Empire, and Neo-Grec styles along 45th Avenue between 21st and 23rd Streets.
Visitors can also stroll through Hunter’s Point South Park, an expansive green space featuring a waterside promenade, a 30-foot-tall cantilevered platform for viewing the skyline, and a 13,000 square-foot pavilion. The park was erected on a peninsula built from landfill extracted during the excavation of the city’s tunnels, resulting in steep piles of earth with a wildly curved perimeter. During the 1990s, the area was designated a park by Governor Mario Cuomo, with construction overseen by the engineering firm ARUP and design firms SWA/Balsley and Weiss/Manfredi. Hunter’s Point South Park’s design involved separating the peninsula from the mainland, ringing it with new marshes and riprap that fill with water twice a day during high tide — discretely returning the piece to the water. In addition, all the streets leading to the park have bioswales with landscaped tree beds and other plants designed to absorb stormwater before it reaches the park.
Before its burial, Sunswick Creek’s source was located close to 21st Street north of what is now the Queensboro Bridge and Queens Plaza. The creek’s name may have originated from the Algonquin word “Sunkisq,” which translated to “Woman Chief” or “Sachem’s Wife.” In 1664, the land on the northern shore of the creek was purchased by British settler William Hallet from two native chiefs named Shawestcont and Erramorhar, and the peninsula was renamed Hallets Cove. Due to increased industrialization, the lack of a proper sewage system, and the high population density of Long Island City and nearby Astoria, Sunswick Creek became heavily polluted by the 1860s and 1870s. After the outbreak of diseases in 1871 and 1875, the marshes surrounding the creek were drained in 1879. By 1893, the creek had been diverted into one of the new sewage system’s brick tunnels. In 1915, protest arose among the residents of Ravenswood over the infestation of the creek’s tide gates by mosquitos, arguing to the New York City Board of Health that the tide gates should be opened as they were actually making the water stagnant and trapping the mosquitoes inside the creek. One year later in April 1916, residents broke down the tide gates themselves using axes, which prompted the New York City health commissioner to remark that the residents preferred “to live like hogs.” By the end of 1916, New York City’s government proposed closing the creek and mandated households to divert their sewage elsewhere. Today, the creek exists underground as part of a sewage tunnel, with Socrates Sculpture Park occupying what was once the creek’s mouth.
The abandoned Montauk Cutoff has its very own community garden
While the High Line may no longer be abandoned, one major disused railroad lying fallow in New York City is the Montauk Cutoff. Likely built in 1908 among the construction of a wave of overpasses in industrial Queens, it is called a “cutoff” as it bypassed the city below it. Measuring only a third of a mile long, the railroad was primarily used to get trains in and out of Sunnyside Yard.
The Montauk Cutoff remained popular until the 1970s, when freight train traffic in Long Island City began to decrease. Abandoned completely in the 1990s, the site was used by the now-defunct Sextantworks (Wanderlust Projects) for a speakeasy and urban exploration mixed event. In 2011, Smiling Hogshead Ranch, an urban farm collective created by a group of Long Island City neighbors, formed a guerrilla garden on the abandoned tracks of Montauk Cutoff — later securing a lease from the MTA to become an official nonprofit organization. By day, Smiling Hogshead Ranch is an agricultural farm and community garden and by night a social club and cultural venue.
Socrates Sculpture Park is surrounded by boulders recycled from old grave markers
One of Long Island City’s most prominent art venues is Socrates Sculpture Park, named after the Greek philosopher Socrates. The park’s name also serves as a nod to the people of nearby Astoria, which holds New York City’s largest Greek community. The site where Socrates Sculpture Park resides today was once a port for offloading stone and sand, which eventually transformed into a dumping area and landfill. In 1985, local sculptor Mark di Suvero spearheaded the area’s restoration, opening the 4-acre park one year later. For 14 years, Socrates Sculpture Park operated as a temporary city park, only being granted official status by then-Mayor Rudolph Guiliani in 1998 after a developer attempted to build luxury hotels and a marina on the site after the park’s lease had expired.
Unknown to most, Socrates Sculpture Park is surrounded by stone fencing built in part from boulders recycled from old grave markers. Unfortunately, nobody knows which graveyard the stones were pulled from. Hidden within the park is a beach at Hallets Cove, whose sandy shore is often concealed from view during high tide. On select weekends in July and August, visitors can participate in free kayaking and canoeing sessions through the LIC Community Boathouse.
The Long Island City Courthouse served as a set piece for the hit Marvel series Jessica Jones
Constructed in 1874, the Long Island City Courthouse was designed by architect George Hathorne in the Beaux-Arts style. The decision for the courthouse’s location at 25-10 Court Street was decided as the Queens County seat was being moved from Jamaica to Long Island City. After a portion of the courthouse was destroyed by a fire in 1904, the building was remodeled and enlarged by Peter M. Coco. Though two jails were once part of the complex, they were replaced by a parking garage in 1988. Formerly housing Criminal Court, County Court, the District Attorney staff, and the county sheriff’s office, the courthouse is home to the Civil Term of the Supreme Court for Queens County, which also sits in Jamaica.
The Long Island City courthouse has also been featured on the screen. During season 2 of the hit Marvel series Jessica Jones, Trish and Griffin meet Jessica at the courthouse after her arraignment for the assault of Pryce. On Person of Interest, the courthouse is featured in the pilot episode and once more in season 4 during a meeting between Reese and Fusco as they investigate the murders of several Brotherhood members.
FRIDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
SEND ANSWER TO ROOSEVELTISLANDHISTORY@GMAIL.COM
THURSDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
BLACKWELL’S ISLAND FERRY AT BELLEVUE DOCK.
MARTIN DORNBAUM GOT IT RIGHT
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island
Historical Society unless otherwise indicated:
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
RIHS (C) FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD
Copyright © 2022 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com
Leave a comment