Apartments. Restaurants. Parks. Art. Buzz. Without a doubt, Long Island City is a smoking hot neighborhood these days.
But why?
The LIC Summit will take place at Museum of the Moving Image on Tuesday, Oct. 17, starting at 8:30 am.
Spearheaded by LIC Partnership, this annual, half-day, networking-and-conversation fest features four panel discussions about the dynamic Western Queens neighborhood and some of its most pressing issues.
The program kicks off with a Keynote Panel moderated by Carl Weisbrod, whose resume includes stints as chairman of the NYC Planning Commission, director of the NYC Department of City Planning, MTA board membership, and president of the NYC Economic Development Corporation. He’ll lead a discussion with JetBlue Managing Director Justin Ginsburgh, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., and Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer.
The next panel, Sustainability and Resiliency in LIC, will explore waterfront development in the context of adaptive reuse, sustainability, and resiliency with Bjarke Ingels Group’s Jeremy Alain Siegel as the moderator. City Council Member Julie Won will participate along with NYC Department of City Planning Queens Director Alexis Wheeler and Mahdi Jawas, a clean energy specialist at Con Edison.
Public Spaces and the Public Realm is the title of the third discussion. Public Non-Profit Solutions Managing Director Larisa Ortiz will moderate the conversation on such topics as streetscapes, public plazas, outdoor dining, and pedestrian travel. Dutch Kills Bar owner Paty Boccato, MoMA PS1 Deputy Director Jose Ortiz, Lions Group Managing Director Aaron Shirian, and NYC Chief Public Realm Officer Ya-Ting Liu will be the guests.
Former Queens Economic Development Corporation Board Chair Tracy Capune, who was a vice president of Kaufman Astoria Studios until recently, will moderate the final panel, Challenges and Opportunities of NYC’s Fastest Growing Neighborhoods. Gotham Organization’s Bryan Kelly, Innovo Property Group’s Andrew Chung, Dynamic Star’s Brad Zackson, and Andrew Steiker-Epstein from Charney Companies will contemplate ways to capitalize on LIC’s popularity while maintaining the neighborhood’s uniqueness.
Admission prices run from $175 to $250.
Museum of the Moving Image is located at 36-01 35th Ave. in Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District. Parking is limited, but $12 discounts will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for those with event tickets at Astoria Central Parking, which is at 34-22 35th St. and 31-37 31st St. The closest subway station is Steinway Street’s stop for the M and R trains and the 36th Avenue station on the N and W line.
Images: LIC Partnership