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A brief history

Historical map of Dutch KillsThe Paul Revere Coop building is located in an area of Long Island City called Dutch Kills. Dutch Kills is a small community within Long Island City and near Astoria. Dutch Kills was so named because of the small stream (or “kill,” in the original Dutch) that traversed it.

The first settlement of Dutch Kills took place in 1643 when a Dutch settler secured a grant of approximately 100 acres on the east bank of the waterway, followed shortly thereafter by another Dutchman who was granted land on the west bank opposite .

While Dutch Kills was the earliest settlement in western Queens, other similar communities were settled nearby in the late 1600s. These towns included Ravenswood, Blissville, Hunter’s Point, and Astoria and were independent from each other for the first two centuries of their existence.

The crucial period in determining the modern identity of Dutch Kills began in 1870, when this town consolidated with Ravenswood, and Hunters Point to form a new city called “Long Island City.”

Streets of AstoriaThe further consolidation of New York City in 1898 further changed the environment of Long Island City. It was in this period that Long Island City and its subsidiary of Dutch Kills would shift from an agricultural community to the foundations of an industrial economy.

Over the past century there have been other smaller scale plans for parts of the area. These include the Regional Plan Association’s 1929 proposal for a new rail terminal over Sunnyside Yards.

In 1984 the Department of City Planning created the Hunter’s Point Recommendations for a Land Use Plan. In 1991, the Hunter’s Point Community Improvement Plan recommended changes for the neighborhood. Also in 1991, the NYC Economic Development Corporation commissioned a Long Island City Industry Survey.

A 1993 report of the City Planning Department, A New Framework for Development of Long Island City, recommended creation of a Long Island City Central Business District (CBD).

In 2001, this recommendation was implemented under the Long Island City Rezoning. The rezoning and Framework followed a succession of mixed-use planning proposals.

Enhanced rail service is on the way. With public investment in East Side Access, a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) initiative to provide direct service to Grand Central Station, the Sunnyside Yards will soon house an intermodal station serving the LIRR—and possibly the Metro-North Railroad, Amtrak, and New Jersey Transit.

This improved access and added development capacity make Dutch Kills attractive for residential and office development. Yet the mayor’s industrial policy report, Protecting and Growing New York City’s Industrial Job Base (2005), recently identified the area as an Industrial Business Zone.

(Portions of this brief history provided by: http://urban.hunter.cuny.edu/~sokolow/PDF/final_interim_report.pdf )

Places to visit

American Museum Of the Moving Image [Map]
34-12 36th Street, Long Island City, NY 11106
Phone: 718 784-4520
Website: http://www.movingimage.us/

Kaufman Astoria Studios [Map]
34-12 36th Street, Long Island City, NY 11106
Phone: 718 349-5600
Website: http://www.kaufmanastoria.com/

Noguchi Museum [Map]
32-37 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11106
Phone: 718 204-7088
Website: http://www.noguchi.org/

Socrates Sculpture Park [Map]
32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11106
Phone: 718 956-1819
Website: http://www.socratessculpturepark.org/

PS1 Contemporary Art Center [Map]
22-25 Jackson Avenue Long Island City, NY 11101
Phone: 718.784.2084
Website: http://www.ps1.org/

Steinway Mansion (c. 1865) [Map]
18-33 41st Street, Astoria, NY 11105

A New York City landmark, the eye-catching former home of William Steinway is privately-owned. The Steinway piano factory may be visited by appointment (718-721-2600).

Public Library Services

You may obtain a library card if you live, work, go to school or own property in New York State. Children 12 years old and younger must have a parent or guardian who resides at the same address sign for permission to get a library card.  By opening a free account and obtaining a card, you can borrow books, magazines, CDs, Videos, DVDs, and more, at all libraries throughout Queens. Most library materials may be borrowed for 21 days.

The following Queens Public Library branches are the closest to our Neighborhood:

Astoria [Map]
14-01 Astoria Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11102
Phone: 718.278.2220
Ravenswood [map]
35-32 21 Street, Long Island City, NY 11106
Phone: 718.784.2112

Queensbridge [map]
10-43 41 Avenue, Long Island City, NY 11101
Phone: 718.937.6266

Court Square [Map]
25-01 Jackson Avenue Long Island City, NY 11101
Phone: 718.937.2790

Steinway [Map]
21-45 31 Street, Long Island City, NY 11105
Phone: 718.728.1965
Manhattan: [Map]
Also Available to all NY state residents are the New York Public Libraries (NYPL): http://www.nypl.org/ . For more information call the library switchboard at 212.930.0800 and they will direct your call.