Sunnyside

I lived in Sunnyside for 8-9 months while working as a young professional, first in Long Island City and then in downtown Manhattan, and it was perfect for me. I paid dirt-cheap (for NYC--$700/mo) rent for a pretty, spacious room in a newly remodeled 3BR, 2 bath third-floor walkup with 2 (count 'em!) balconies on 47th & 50th, 2 minutes from the 7 line. Our building was shared with 2 immigrant families and I always felt perfectly safe there, not to mention that there was a laundromat and quality Mexican and Thai food literally right next to our apartment. Although the 7 line isn't perfect, the vast majority of the time I could leave my apartment and count on being in midtown in 15 minutes, and for what I was paying you just can't beat that. It's also an interesting mix of young people and families-- a lot of East Asian, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, and Irish immigrants, especially-- which means diverse authentic cuisine and the benefit of not feeling like you're living in Gentrification Central (I'm looking at you, Hell's Kitchen and Crown Heights!) Lots of kids and pups around!

The cons: You do have to keep your wits about you walking home late at night if you're a single woman. There was little crime in my neighborhood and I never had a problem, but it's not 50th & Park. Though there are many bars, they are nearly all Irish pubs with little selection and definitely no cool factor. There's also little shopping, and while the neighborhood itself is walkable, the walks to good shopping are a little long & sketchy, so if you want shoes or a new ipod, you'll have to hop on transit. Good thing there's a ton of that!

The worst: There's no green space in walking distance except a cemetery, and if you are a middle class single young person (read: someone whose friends/peers mostly live in the LES/Brooklyn) the transit to every party or happy hour you go to will be annoying.

Essentially, for my purposes (low price, nice pad, groceries, quick transit, relatively safe, quiet place to relax on weekends) it was PERFECT. However, if you're looking for hip bars right nearby or a place where you can cross the street to a park or an American Apparel or the latest rooftop jam session/art exhibit/rager, this is obviously not your cup of tea. It's a place to live in peace and relative ease while knowing you have to get on transit to do everything but stay home, go to the gym, or grocery shop.

I may be slightly biased here: I have never been much of a fan of this area. Rent is unbelievably cheap (for New York City), and there are plenty of inexpensive restaurants and public transportation connections in Sunnyside. By subway, the commute to/from the city should only take about 10-15 minutes. All of these factors make Sunnyside a very popular choice for young professionals who are looking for a short commute and cheap rent. Sunnyside also boasts one of the city's most diverse populations, which translates into diverse food and shopping nearby as well. There is a very cheap movie theater in the neighborhood, but its state is appalling. At the same time, Sunnyside also has terrible parking and is very dirty and ill maintained. The neighbors are mainly unfriendly and the area doesn't seem safe. Every night, I see at least a dozen drunk men wandering the street. While they are mostly harmless, Sunnyside isn't exactly a place where I'd want to raise a family. In short, I think that it's a great place for young professionals to get started before having families or settling down. It may be inexpensive and convenient, but in my opinion, it is far from ideal.

Sunnyside is a safe, affordable and quiet neighborhood that is located in western Queens. This neighborhood was established after the building of the Queensboro Bridge in the early 20th century. Sunnyside is easily accessible from Manhattan via a 15 minute ride on the number 7 subway trains which serves the neighborhood at the 33rd and 40th street stations.
The boundaries of Sunnyside are loosely defined as the Long Island Expressway which lies to the South of the neighborhood, the New Cavalry Cemetery which lies to the east, the Sunnyside shipyards which lie to the north and the western side of the neighborhood and Northern Boulevard. The busy Queen’s Boulevard traverses the length of the neighborhood which is dominated by low rise red brick apartment buildings which are a combination of co-ops and condos. The defining landmark of the neighborhood is the kitschy Sunnyside arch which is located at 46th Street and Queen’s Boulevard and welcomes visitors to Sunnyside.
However the neighborhood also encompasses the mini-neighborhood of Sunnyside gardens which was developed in 1924 and was influenced by the garden movement. This seven block enclave of Sunnyside gardens is populated by single and multi-family homes which have small individual gardens with shared interior courtyards. The neighborhood which has a distinct suburban feel to it and it is also home to the verdant Sunnyside park which like Manhattan's Gramercy Park is accessible only by residents of the area. However unlike Gramercy Park Sunnyside Park offers affordable membership to people who are not residents of the area. The Park offers facilities like
a grass playing field, basketball courts, swing and sand play areas for small children, a bocce court and a wading pool and picnic areas.
Sunnyside was initially settled by Irish immigrants but today it is a multicultural neighborhood that is is home to various diverse immigrant communities like the Armenians, Romanians, Indians, Bangladeshis, Chinese, Koreans, Colombians, and Ecuadorans. This multi-cultural character of the neighborhood is also reflected in dining scene that offered by the neighborhood which is populated by some good Korean, Peruvian, Irish, Turkish, Italian and Mexican restaurants.
Another notable aspect of Sunnyside is its annual all inclusive St Pat’s for all Parade which is the only NYC parade that welcomes gays and lesbians from the Irish community to take part in the festivities.

Sunnyside, Queens is a great neighborhood for families. There is a wonderful private park that does not cost very much to belong to, and it has two playgrounds, a sand area, a toddler pool, a ball field, tennis courts, barbecue area, and concrete for bike riding. Sunnyside, Queens also boasts two great health food stores, outstanding ethnic restaurants, and great Irish pubs. Every Saturday morning there is a farmer’s market near one of the playgrounds, and there is also a Community Supported Agriculture program. There are great family centered programs and events, and you can walk to PS 1 in Long Island City and to the heart of Astoria and to Jackson Heights in not very much time.

This Queens neighborhood is just a short commute into midtown, making it ideal for anyone who works in midtown but can’t afford the ridiculous rents in that area. It is an extremely diverse place: home to a plethora of nationalities, including Mexican, Nepali, Romanian, Turkish, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Eastern European Jews, Irish, Indian, Hungarian, Filipino, Ecuadorian, Dominican, Albanian, Armenian, Chinese, Bangladeshi, and Colombian. Tourists of a certain shade may be interested to know that this is where the city hosts the only Saint Patrick’s Day Parade that allows a gay and lesbian Irish community to participate in the festivities. This is probably one of Queen’s most interesting neighborhoods, from a residential point of view anyway – as it is unlikely that tourists would be too interested in visiting.

Sunnyside is a neighborhood in northwestern Queens that is surrounded by other communities such as Astoria/Long Island City to the north, Hunters Point to the west, Greenpoint and Maspeth to the south, and Woodside to the east. Sunnyside also lies within Long Island City and is bounded at this overlap by Sunnyside Yards.

Most of Sunnyside’s residents are from various ethnic backgrounds and as a result offers many restaurants and stores to meet the needs of its residents’ cultures.

Sunnyside has easy access to Manhattan and Brooklyn via the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Long Island Expressway. The easy access transportation makes Sunnyside a popular place to reside if working in the City.

P.S. 199, P.S. 150, P.S. 11 and I.S. 125 are some of the public schools serving the area. The schools offer great diversity and exposure to all cultures and backgrounds. Children will not grow up sheltered from the rest of the world in this neighborhood.

Sometimes I think of Sunnyside as 'the one that got away'- my first NYC neighbourhood. Only ten-fifteen minutes from Manhattan (depending how touchy the 7 felt like being) the rents were reasonable and the atmosphere fantastic. One of my favourite neighbourhoods-- and I lived in many while I was in the NYC area. It used to be a heavily Irish area, but the population has shifted a bit in recent years. Still, it's easy to find signs of the old demographic-- a number of pubs and Irish restaurants line the main drag. Most of them are priced well, and provide good food and the kind of friendly service that isn't always a given in local restaurants. There's also an enormous imports store- The Butcher's Block-- where you can pick up anything from chocolates to just the right kind of tea.

If you're lucky enough to live in Sunnyside Gardens proper, there are huge communal gardens lining the space between houses. We used to have cook-outs in the summer-- everyone came over to eat, and football games would inevitably commence on the shared lawn.

The area was quiet at night, really low crime rate, while still being convenient to the city and everything it had to offer.

Just a great place to live, and a neighbourhood I'd highly recommend to anyone looking to start out in the city.

Sunnyside, Queens (NY) is a neighborhood which used to be populated almost solely by Irish immigrants. It has since turned into more of a "melting pot", but still has a great community feeling. Located on the 7-train line, Sunnyside is only 3 stops outside of Manhattan, making it a great location for people who work in the city but would like a better value for their money in rentals. For the same price that you might rent a studio apartment in Manhattan, you can find a 2-bedroom with full kitchen and living room ammenities. Sunnyside itself could use a bit of cleaning up as the streets are often a bit dirty. The local pub scene is pretty good with plenty of authentic Irish bars lining Queens blvd. Overall, this is a cute neighborhood that, if you don't mind a bit of trash on the streets, can be a good alternative to the pricey options in Manhattan.