Long Island City Is Most Popular NYC Spot For Developers: Study

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS -- Developers are making themselves at home in Long Island City, according to a new study that shows the Queens neighborhood leading a citywide housing boom that's trickling its way into the borough.

More apartments are slated to go up in Long Island City than in any other New York City neighborhood, a Localize.city analysis shows.

Analysts from the New York-based real estate site found the Queens neighborhood ranked No. 1 on lists of 20 New York City areas with the highest number permits filed and approved for residential units in the last year.

"Development in Long Island City has been high for the past five years, skyrocketing in 2015, as developers rushed to get their projects in before the expiration of the state’s 421-A tax break," analysts said.

This year, a whopping 1,436 apartments were approval to go up in Long Island City. That's on top of the 2,597 for which developers have filed plans and are awaiting permits.

Analysts noted Long Island City has for years been a hot spot for residential development, peaking in 2015 as developers across the city pushed to have their plans approved before New York's 42-A tax break was set to expire in January 2016.

While this year's numbers pale in comparison to the 8,116 apartments approved for Long Island City in 2015, analysts noted it appears to be entering yet another construction cycle. The neighborhood saw more units approved in the first half of 2018 than in the past two years combined, Localize.city found.

To accommodate the incoming population,"the city has bolstered neighborhood infrastructure with new parks, ferries and other amenities," analysts said.

"Three new schools are in the works as well, but even these schools may not meet the increased demands as thousands of new families move in."

Other Queens neighborhoods to make Localize.city's list of developer hotspots are Flushing, Jamaica, Astoria, Far Rockaway and Forest Hills.

Flushing ranked No. 15 on the list of top 20 neighborhoods with the highest number of approved residential units at 454.

Jamaica and Astoria ranked third and fifth, respectively, in a separate list of 20 neighborhoods with the most residential unit permits filed overall. Far Rockaway came in further down that list at No. 6 and Forest Hills at No. 14.

In Jamaica, permits were filed to build 1,245 residential units this year, nearly a decade after the neighborhood was rezoned. Analysts linked the neighborhood's growth to its "bustling Jamaica Station transit hub."

"A new platform at Jamaica Station is expected to finish in 2019 and ease train bottlenecks at peak hours," analysts said.

"The Parsons Boulevard F train is likely to be renovated...And office space and hotel development is on the rise, too, strengthening the area as a regional center."

Read the full report at Localize.city.

Lead image via Google Maps