In the Long Island City microhood of Dutch Kills, things got weird and a little bit bleak as residents waited for the city to rezone the area for residential construction. There was a hotel boom that led longtime inhabitants to fear for the neighborhood. Then there were fancy cocktails at an eponymous bar. The usual growing pains. But now, finally, Dutch Kills is ready to be crowned an up-and-coming residential 'hood. The Daily News declares it to be ugly but cheap, and therefore "artist or musician heaven — inexpensive housing, dead quiet nights and lots of privacy with welcoming neighbors." About that inexpensive housing: 1BR rents in prewar buildings are around $1,100, with 3BRs for $2,000. There's a two-family home on the market for $625,000 and a three-unit apartment building is asking $725,000. And, on top of that, nearby residents actually lobbied for residential zoning in the first place. Have we entered an alternate universe?
· Dutch Kills: Recent rezoning could transform industrial neighborhood into land of opportunity [NYDN]
· Dutch Kills coverage [Curbed]