Several days ago, sales have launched at The Neighborly, a seven-story, 82-unit condominium located in the rapidly developing Dutch Kills neighborhood in northeast Long Island City near the Astoria border. The project, formerly known as LIC Commons, is a collaboration between developer New Empire Corporation, Anthony Morali Architect PLLC, and interior designer Paris Forino. Units start at $615K for a 433-square-foot studio, from $745K for one-bedroom apartments, and $970K for two-bedrooms. The Neighborly is among the last batch of buildings built with the 15-year 421a tax abatement before the plan was discontinued.
Apartments feature broad, floor-to-ceiling windows and white-plank oak floors. Every unit includes a dishwasher and a washers/dryer, and many offer balconies that look out either onto the street or the common courtyard. Kitchens come with eat-in waterfall peninsulas, white marble countertops, and appliances from Bosch and Blomberg. North Tower overlooks the Long Island City and Manhattan skylines, while the South Tower overlooks the expanse of Queens.
In this article:
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
The largest available unit, #N72A, sits at the top floor and overlooks the Long Island City and Manhattan skylines from the living room and the 30-foot long terrace. The through-floor unit offers another balcony in the en-suite master bathroom, which also comes with a bathroom with a walk-in shower.
The development stretches from 33rd to 34th Street and consists of the North and South tower, each with four to six apartments per floor. An elevated courtyard sits in between, nestled atop the roof deck of the shared podium. Landscaping, lounge seating, cabanas, and grilling stations make for a cozy urban oasis, while adjacent common areas in each tower offer shelter in the colder (or hotter) months. The common roof deck at the building pinnacle looks over dramatic skyline panoramas.
The elevator-serviced building also features a dog run, storage units, and on-site parking. The 20-space bicycle room comes in handy for accessing the neighborhood’s emerging bike lane network, with a major expansion currently in the works.
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
The average of $1,238 per square foot ranks below Long Island City’s $1,338 square-foot average, in part because the location is still being established. For decades, Dutch Kills, located in northeast Long Island City north of Northern Boulevard, has been a long-density periphery consisting of commercial and industrial warehouses, parking lots, and scattered townhouses with occasional apartment buildings. In recent years, however, the surrounding blocks are transforming into a dense, mid-rise, mixed-use neighborhood through an influx of new development.
The Addition, a six-story, 93-unit rental, was finished down the block from The Neighborly in 2018. The Collective Paper Factory, an industrial-themed hotel recently opened a block east in a renovated pre-war industrial loft, features the Mundo restaurant and bar. The Silver Star sits down the block, where the combination of a Mercedes-Benz dealership and a panel-clad, grey-colored apartment high-rise above poise it as a Long Island City counterpart to Mercedes House on Automobile Row in Manhattan. A few blocks to the east, where Steinway Street meets Northern Boulevard, the six-story, 143-unit rental at 36-20 Steinway Street nears topping out. Brooklyn Grange, a 45,000-square-foot roof farm situated atop a pre-war loft building, is located a few blocks to the southeast.
The Neighborly makes its own contribution to neighborhood vibrancy with 13,072 square feet of commercial space located at the ground level.
This density is enabled in part by the the 39th Avenue station of the N/W trains and the 36th Street station of the E/M/R trains, both located within three blocks from each other (the latter sits a block south of The Neighborly), offering five- to ten-minute commute to Midtown. The long-peripheral area now benefits from what is fast becoming a central location in western Queens. Dutch Kills sits within walking distance of the commercial strips at Steinway Street and Broadway in Astoria, the plethora of restaurants and bars in Sunnyside, and the ever-growing commercial, cultural, dining, and entertainment options in Long Island City. Several parks (Queensbridge, Rainey, and Socrates Sculpture Park) stretch along on the East River waterfront, all connected by a bike lane which runs to the Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City’s Hunters Point neighborhood.
The transit-rich area still has ample space available for development, so The Neighborly makes sense as a long-term investment that is all but certain to appreciate in value over the coming years. The massive development in planning for the Sunnyside Yard, located two blocks to the south, will be a game changer for Dutch Kills and all of western Queens.
The Neighborly, 37-14 34th Street
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
6sqft delivers the latest on real estate, architecture, and design, straight from New York City.
