Every home has its own personality and as any experience apartment dweller knows, even units that were built identically will change and become unique over time. From your enjoyment of the view to how easy and fun it is to move around the kitchen, every person seeking a new apartment in Long Island City is looking for something special, the apartment that seems to be a natural extension of their personality and lifestyle, not just some cookie-cutter cubby with default amenities.

The Antiglasstower Approach

If you’re looking for an LIC apartment, you deserve more than a default selection of identical units and here at ARC, we’re dedicated to making sure each and every client we work with finds the perfect residence for their needs and lifestyle. We don’t see each of our apartments as interchangeable or identical, even if the floor plans and amenities are the same. Interested potential residents who come to us for Long Island City apartment opportunities don’t get shown one unit at random to choose from half a dozen, we like to start with what the resident is looking for. The right view, the right number of bedrooms, and the right ‘feel’ is incredibly important to most people and our goal is to connect every resident with an apartment that has the right look and feel to become a new home-base for their already awesome lifestyle. This is what we like to call our Antiglasstower approach because no two luxury apartments are the same, and neither are our residents.

Spotting the Glasstower Mentality

If you are currently looking for an apartment in Long Island City, you may have noticed a trend in how you are treated by building managers, rental services, and real estate agents. All too often, they take note of your price range and demographic and offer you a string of nearly identical apartments or even simply suggest an entire building of units that ‘might suit your needs’. If you feel like you’re being offered apartments in a way that doesn’t take your real preferences and feelings into account, you’re probably dealing with the glasstower mentality and it’s time to look for someone using the antiglasstower approach. With so many residents and apartments packed tightly into the city, people who deal in property often get glassy-eyed and stop seeing either the apartments or the tenants as individual and unique.

If you want to test the glasstower mentality of apartment hunting services, try a little experiment. Dress down when you meet one service in your old ripped jeans and a band T-shirt and dress up for another service in your best interview outfit. Just see if the first service doesn’t offer you ‘trendy’ lofts while the second service offers you personality-free glass tower apartments. Don’t let stereotyping services choose your next home for you. Look for something special that suits who you really are, not how you dress.

Finding a Unique LIC Apartment with ARC

Tired of the glasstower mentality? So are we! Here at ARC, we apply our antiglasstower approach to treat every unit and customer with respect for what makes them special. Whether you’re looking for a new home for your family, a two-bedroom unit for you and a friend, or a cozy studio to ride out your independent young adult years, we’ve got you covered. Let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll help you find exactly the right apartment for not just your needs, but for your personality as well.

The post Finding The Perfect LIC Antiglasstower Apartment appeared first on ARC.

Long Island City offers quite a different vibe compared to Manhattan and other New York City boroughs. It has long been established as an “anti-cookiecutterism” community that goes against the trends. It’s now a hub where artists, entrepreneurs, and creatives of all types have gathered due to the close proximity to Midtown with a lower cost of living, several artistic venues, and other unique benefits to the area.

Long Island City was a former industrial center for decades before it recently went through a dramatic shift into a renovated and updated residential community. Today, it’s one of the most architecturally unique and diverse regions of New York City; a home to people of all backgrounds.

A brief history of Long Island City

Nearly the entire current area of Long Island City used to be an industrial epicenter for New York, including the neighborhoods of Ravenswood, Hunters Point, Dutch Kills, Steinway, and Astoria. It was first developed around 1861 after a Long Island Railroad terminal was constructed at Hunters Point.

Throughout the 1900s the area began to quickly grow with several new factories and commercial buildings sprouting up. Simultaneously, residential complexes were built to accommodate the demand for those who started to prefer living in the area compared to the more crowded conditions of Manhattan. Toward the end of the 20^th century, several of the industrial companies relocated while art galleries and museums moved in. The community started to make a shift toward the creative and eclectic post-industrial culture that it’s now known for.

Unique architecture and scenery

Long Island City now continues to have its own independent local culture and vibe compared to Manhattan, shaped by the ghosts of its industrial past. Developers have capitalized on the area’s proximity to Manhattan and lower costs while launching several exciting new commercial and residential structures.

Many of the former industrial buildings in Long Island City still stand today and have been repurposed, such as the famous Silvercup Studios which is located in the former building of Silvercup Bakery. A nearby I-beam manufacturing plant was also later converted into a film studio by the Suna family, the founders of Silvercup Studios.

These are just a few examples of the dozens of other industrial buildings have been repurposed into restaurants, artistic venues, and galleries. Today the community includes a mixture of older commercial and industrial buildings as well as several modern and recently constructed buildings. These developments helped Long Island City turn into the popular arts-centered community it is today.

Now a lively arts centered community

With a quick tour of Long Island City, you’ll see that it’s very different from Manhattan and the other boroughs. You’ll find incredible waterfront parks, a wide range of different architectural styles, restored buildings, art galleries, and unique stores and boutiques throughout the area.

You’ll find art just about everywhere in Long Island City, from the outdoor sculpture parks in the area, to the MoMA PS1 and a variety of other specialized art galleries, to frequent community events, and extraordinary painted murals on the side of buildings.

With a distinct personality and a community of trailblazers rather than followers, Long Island City and its new luxury apartment complexes like ARC have become top residential destinations for creatives of all types. Artistic, cultural, and cuisine trends are set in Long Island City every day, making the community a true definition of anti-cookiecutterism.

The post The “Anti-Cookiecutterism” of Long Island City appeared first on ARC.