Long Island City’s The View Going (partial) Rental

"Prices range from $2,440 for a 1 bedroom to a three bedrooms for $7,500 per month"

You've got to be kidding! You can get a 1-bedroom in Manhattan for that price.

Not only that. other condos that have gone rental in LIC - and the OP is an idiot because Streeteasy lists many - also go for much less.

I don't think so jason. $2400 for a one-bedroom in a nice building near the water in LIC is normal.
Comparable apartments in comparable buildings in Manhattan are definitely higher. This is a great, brand new full-service building, not some old 5th-floor walk-up.

I'm paying $2495 for a one bedroom in an elevator bldg. in manhattan. I would definitely not pay that in LIC, maybe $1800 no more.

With all due respect to your preferences julia, there are some thousands people in LIC that do prefer to pay that amount rather than what is available in Manhattan. And most nice one-bedrooms in similar buildings in Manhattan are in the $3000 and up range.

I'd pay the extra 20% not to have to cross a bridge.

it's still not manhattan..i like the convenience of walking outside my bldg. and everything is right there..there's no there in LIC.

agreed julia... might as well live in Alpine NJ :) DOH!

You can rent a 2 bedroom in Hell's Kitchen in new construction for 3400/mo. and a one bedroom from 2500 -- look up be@clinton on StreetEasy.

(BTW, it's a new construction condo building with a number of rental listings.

You obviously didn't grow up in NYC. People who grew up in NY don't have this Manhattan-centric fascination that outsiders have.

Yeah, we can't compare the rates they could get months ago to determine where things will land.

There is clear pressure downward in Manhattan, and I can't imagine we're not going to see the same in LIC with all the empty apartments.

Based on streeteasy listings for one-bedrooms in Clinton, the average rent is above $3000/month.

"I don't think so jason. $2400 for a one-bedroom in a nice building near the water in LIC is normal.
Comparable apartments in comparable buildings in Manhattan are definitely higher. This is a great, brand new full-service building, not some old 5th-floor walk-up."

No, I was talking about what the ENITRE post said. There are no $7000 per month apartments for rent in LIC< at any size. The ones that DID list that high, as streeteasy clearly shows, have been greatly reduced. As with Harlem and other fringe areas, people who desire 3 or four bedroom places arn't willing to pay that much to no live on the Island. Which is why you see Harlem and LIC 3-4 bedrooms listed first for $708k, then 7k, then 6k...the 220 sf one at fusion went from $8k to now $4700 no fee. And still no takers. 5SL has had a few 3 bds for rent for over 6 months, no takers at $4200.

As for the one bedrooms for $2400 - not anymore. Rockrose is offering them for that PLUS two months free with a two year lease PLUS $1500 cash back for "moving expenses." For example. Which is is net effective rent of $2137.

That's 2200 SF feet...

"You obviously didn't grow up in NYC. People who grew up in NY don't have this Manhattan-centric fascination that outsiders have."

Actually, they do. 90% of the people under 40 I have met who were born in the are would prefer to live in Manhattan if they could afford it.

Easy, easy, everyone. I personally wouldn't even consider LIC, but I won't go around attacking it! That's not nice. Clearly, LIC, downtown Brooklyn, etc. have been among the hardest-hit areas--much more so than Manhattan below 96th.

Also, to elaborate on LICComment's comment about people from NYC not being manhattan-centric...well, it is partly true. People from the Midwest often tend to go crazy about Manhattan and diss others. But the same can be said about people who grew up in Manhattan...like myself. I grew up making fun of the "bridge-and-tunnel" people and the "718 people." If I am at a bar and someone gives me a 516 phone number, it's going right to trash! I think people from the boroughs and Long Island/Eastern Jersey tend to think that their boroughs are "just as good."

And obviously julia hasn't stepped foot in LIC, or else she would know how much is there. Hey, LIC isn't for everyone - most of the people moving in and who recently moved in are a younger, professional crowd. It isn't for the stodgy older set or the trust-fund kids.
jason, even if what you said is true, and I'm not sure it is, that means the low end one-bedrooms are over $2100. Given that the apartments in the View are better than in the rental buildings, it makes sense that they would ask for more.

As to the NYC native point, people who grew up in the boroughs don't feel it so important to cram their life into a shoebox in Manhattan just to say that they live there, especially when they can have a great space at a good price with just as easy access to places they want to go in Manhattan as people who live in Manhattan. I can get to midtown, Time Square, or pretty much anyplace downtown easier than friends of mine that live in the UES or UWS. It's not like Queens or Brooklyn is some small mid-west town with nothing going on. They have great restaurants, cafes, activities as well. "Bridge-and-tunnel" is more of a personality description than a geographic one.

LICComment, this is why we make fun of Queens. Let it go. I think you are beginning to make LIC seem more ridiculous and pathetic than it already is.

"As to the NYC native point, people who grew up in the boroughs don't feel it so important to cram their life into a shoebox in Manhattan just to say that they live there, especially when they can have a great space at a good price with just as easy access to places they want to go in Manhattan as people who live in Manhattan."

I don't know if I agree with that. I grew up in the boroughs, and I'm definitely willing to spend more to live in Manhattan, and I think mostly because I was outer borough.

If I wanted "more room", I'd more to the suburbs or another city...

To me, we pay SO MUCH to live in this town, in terms of $$$ and everything else, that stopping short at the border to save a few bucks to me doesn't make a huge amount of sense (assuming you don't *have* to live in NYC(.

If its compromise you want, go to Boston or 2nd tier cities. The same dollars get you MUCH closer to city center. And how many museums or concert halls do you need if you are commuting in, anyway?

vaneder, this is why people make fun of obnoxious snobs.

Okay, I am going to stop being nice because I got singled out.

I think, and most would agree with me, that people who bought new constructions in LIC in the last 24 months made reallly, incredibly, unbelievably bad investments. Had I bought a unit in LIC, I would probably be on multiple medications by now.

First of all, those new constructions are in the middle of nowhere because they were counting on the area blossoming in the coming years. But, with such prospects completely disappearing, they will continue to live in the middle of nowehere.

I'd hate to imagine a walk from the train station home after work--in those dark allies...near the prison...only to find dingy bodyshops and vacant ex-furnisure stores.

At least Brooklyn has some substance and history... Some parts are really pretty, and the artistic scenes are pretty hip. But LIC--you just don't want to be there unless you have to.

I agree with LIC, that LIC has made significant strides in the past few years. Anyone that hasn't been there in the last 6 months should check it out before giving blanket statements.

That being said, development in this town is coming to a halt. New business flows are coming to a halt. I've seen this all over manhattan, but its clear in places like WB and LIC and gentrifying brooklyn (1 bbp, fort greene).

A slowdown in improvement is of course itself a bad thing, but not the end of the world. The problem is that the new inhabitants - and more importantly, the market - had an expectation of continued improvement. These areas won't get any worse, just flatten out. The problem is the expectation of "better" has been built into prices. Lots of new developments are having trouble selling... but when it becomes clear that the expected new services aren't arriving, this will make selling even harder. Unfortunately, we could be looking at a bit of an avalanche when the negative neighborhood news starts becoming commonplace.

vander - thanks for showing that you have no clue what you are talking about and that you don't mind just making things up when you post. Dark alleys (not allies)? Prisons? Prospects disappearing? What bizarro world are you living in?

nyc10022 - you're not making sense. We are talking about people who like NYC but don't have the complex to need to lower their living standards to fit into someplace in Manhattan. Moving to the suburbs or another city is not a desirable option in those cases.

nyc10022 - fair point, but in the case of LIC, since all the developments are basically new and creating a new area, the influx into the area will still be strong for the next 6-9 months. The improvement in retail services will continue as all these people move into the area. People who bought in the buildings that were/are priced appropriately a year or two ago will be fine. Buildings that were overpriced to begin with will continue to sit, since the developers seem to be trying to hold firm on prices.

Delusional...

I don't know LIC very well, but I've seen enough to know it's not "the middle of nowhere." I think a lot of people just regurgitate what they hear, which can very often be wrong. Is it the West Village? Of course not, but I think LICComment is pretty honest about this. It's going to draw a younger crowd, and speaking as someone who once lived on Madison in the 70s, that is really not a bad thing. nyc10022 makes some good points - I know there are buyers who bought in Harlem, LIC, Williamsburg, etc. under the impression things would "get better." They will, though it's clear that the rate of change is slowing down considerably. That said, and this is especially true in LIC I think, so many residents are coming in over the next 6-9 months that I expect a good bump in amenities and businesses arriving before things "flatten out" for a while. The good thing about development slowing is that it will give the neighborhoods time to catch up and work out some of the details that get overlooked in boom times. I'm rambling, sorry, but again, as nyc10022 said, don't see any reason to panic about finding yourself out in the cold here.

"nyc10022 - fair point, but in the case of LIC, since all the developments are basically new and creating a new area, the influx into the area will still be strong for the next 6-9 months. The improvement in retail services will continue as all these people move into the area."

Good points. LIC does have influx to come, just from people who already bought and are just waiting to move in....

That being said, whether the rest of the retail will come is in doubt... if the plans were made at a time more development was expected, there could be pullbacks, even to the point of being illogical. This could snowball in either direction. That being said, LIC prices seemed to be building in a level of expectation of growth that I think is clear will not be there.

"People who bought in the buildings that were/are priced appropriately a year or two ago will be fine. Buildings that were overpriced to begin with will continue to sit, since the developers seem to be trying to hold firm on prices."

I hear this a lot... "appropriately", but if 20% declines in manhattan become 30% declines, and the gentrification in the "new neighborhoods" slows, I have to figure you're talking bigger than Manhattan declines. And "appropriate" pricing isn't going to make up for a 30% or more decline...

I guess we'll have to see where it lands... but even a 20% decline is going to put most of the last 2-3 years underwater.

Vanderveen,I agree that LICComment can sometimes get overly defensive about LIC but no need to get nasty.
First of all, as you stated, it is personal preference. Mine, for example, would be LIC over Brooklyn ... but I realize that it is a preference, and plenty of others share it. And I don't even live in LIC, although I will admit that I have seriously looked at it on more than one occasion.

second of all, I agree that certain parts of LIC (including Queens Plaza and Ct. Square) have a loooooong way to go and I would not feel comfortable living there (similar to many parts of Williamsburg). But, I must say that it is now hard to argue that the waterfront area (Train to 45th street and Jackson avenue to the waterfront) has not hit critical mass. I would feel more than comfortable having my wife walk around that area at night and the population and retail has certainly caught-up. Granted a number of the later condos to come on-line will be sitting with a bunch of empty or rental units for a while, it does not change the fact that almost 1,000 people contract will be moving over the course 2009. If you got in at the right price it is a very nice place for people to live - if it fits with their personal taste, of course.

Anyhow, I have been going over to the waterfront area for 5 years now and I must say the changes since the end last year are very noticeable. I think that it is due to the fact that most of the new buildings started closing in late December or are just starting to close now.

I not trying to agrgue the price in LIc or the restof the city moving forward, I'm just saying that the neighborhood has become very livable.

"That being said, whether the rest of the retail will come is in doubt... if the plans were made at a time more development was expected, there could be pullbacks, even to the point of being illogical. This could snowball in either direction."

The concern I have with retail isn't just for LIC, it is for the industry in general. Retail is way over-stored right now and the sector is reeling with liquidity issues. Expansion into new areas is on the back burner and you will see a rash of store closings as the liquidity issues worsen. Expect retrenching and little to no expansion.

I don't disagree...

I agree JuiceMan, which is why I singled out a certain area. I would be happy to live in the waterfront area under current conditions. Other areas: Queens Plaza/Ct. Square, I would consider if all of the plans were to come to fruition - and I think that it may be a long time before we see that.

I would be happy with the current level of shops/restaurants/etc. in the vernon/jackson area - my comment about what was to come had to do purely with the # of people, even if half of the people backed out of contracts (not very likely) there would still be a huge influx of people to the area. Plus, buildings that have been under construction are now actually complete. It just adds to the foot traffic and aesthetics of the area and brings more life.

I agree 100% though that the city in general (and especially "new" areas) will see definite pullbacks. We will be seeing a lot of empty retail space across the city for the next few years.

LICComment.. I believe the song went... "If I can make it anywhere.... NY, NY".... I don't recall the song "If I can make it anyhere.... LIC, LIC"

:)

Oh... one other thing... it's lucky they haven't passed the toll on 59th, but no matter you're still N/R it in? no? At one time... when coinage was a problem... I actually kept one of my cars in LICC... now you get to live there where I kept a car in storage for 6 months :)

No I'm not done w/ you yet :).... does oldbuyers still have that oldbuyers stench? or irrespective of his stench you like hanging out with delusional people who thinks you can never lose money in NYC RE? oh and by extrapolation LIC... since no that's still not nyc... and no matter how you justify it in bars in NYC to a prospective "girlfriend" most of them know what you can't admit to.. .that NYC is just too expensive for you... enjoy the manhattan skyline... for me I likez the CP view :)

w67, you have to get off the drugs, man.

agree with you on that one LIC

Drugs are good... it's the overuse that's the problem :)