After conducting the historical research and talking to the residents, it was evident that gentrification has enriched and nourished the Long Island City area. It has gone through a great deal of transformation and improved for the better. All the cultural influence and the gorgeous restaurants along with the waterfront view of the Manhattan skyline contribute to the holistic vibe of the area.

1. Gantry State Park
Niloy Zaman

2. Location
• Gantry plaza state park is in 4-09 47th Rd,
Long Island City, NY 10007.
• This area is mostly known as Long Island City
piers.
• Latitude 40.743858
• Longitude -73.959335

3. General History
• Gantry Plaza State Park is a 12 acres state park
located on the East River in the Hunter Point portion
of the Long Island City.
• Previously the park used to be a former dockyard and
manufacturing district.
• The park has a number of restored gantries which are
industrial monuments that were once used to load
and unload rail car floats and barges.
• These barges carried freight railcars between Queens
and Manhattan which is no longer in use.
• These gantries serve as beautiful historic
centerpieces that reflect the waterfront’s past.
• Rail lines were the lifeblood of New York City’s
industry, transporting goods in and out of the area

4. History of the Pepsi
Sign
• The first thing that catches everyone’s eyes in the
park is the iconic Pepsi Cola sign that used to blaze in
neon glory from the Pepsi plant that stood on the
Hunters Point waterfront
• The sign which is actually a large billboard was built
by the Artkraft Strauss Company in 1938, and once
stood on top of the Pepsi bottling plant here.
• Artkraft Strauss (still in business) refurbished the sign
in 1994 and added the modern Pepsi logo in the neck
of the Pepsi bottle.

5. Industrial
Development
in LIC
• A terminal was built on Hunters Point in 1861
directly across the river from what is today the
Midtown Manhattan.
• This area became a huge industrial hub during the
Civil War since it was consolidating good and produce
from all parts of long island for distribution
throughout the union.
• After the war the villages in the are kind of
consolidated into long island city.
• By the end of the 20th century, Long Island City had
the highest concentration of industry in the entire
United States.

6. Communication and
Accessibility to LIC
• The Queensboro Bridge opened in 1909 and
the Second Avenue El train in 1917 made LIC
a lot more accessible to Manhattan.
• In present day, there are 6 tunnels and 5
bridges connecting Long Island City to the
rest of the New York City.

7. The Transition into
Cultural Hub
• Industries were either moved out of state or
oversees during the last 40 years of New York
City’s history.
• New technology took over a lot of the old
companies making them outdated.
• Over the last 20 years new kinds of manufacturing
resuscitated some of the old, empty and
abandoned factories while others turned into
modern residential lofts and apartments.
• Cultural institutions opened and this area came
alive in a completely different way.

8. Rebirth of LIC
• A lot of the artifacts and instruments from
the past have been reused and recycled
during this rebirth.
• The river, the industry, the link to
Manhattan, the history, the iconic pieces of
New York all combined together make up
the new eccentric and modern Gantry Plaza
State Park.

9. Hypothesis/ Research Question
• How has gentrification changed over time the Gantry Plaza State Park and the Long Island City in general?
• I’m also hypothesizing that gentrification been extremely beneficial for the entire LIC area.

10. Benefits of
Interview
• People in general tend to be more descriptive and
elaborative while they talk fact to face with
another person.
• People are more honest during interviews.
• A lot of important factors might come up in the
flow of conversation during the interview that I
probably would never have thought of.

11. Benefits of
Survey
• Survey is time efficient and a great method for
collecting data.
• It’s easier to turn survey responses into graphs and
analyze them.
• Surveys are useful when we’re looking for a
pattern.
• It’s also helpful in case people want to stay
anonymous while participating in the study.

12. Method (Interview)
• Random seemingly older residents were approached
in the Gantry Plaza State Park for the interview.
• They were asked how long they’ve lived in the area.
• They were asked to briefly describe how the area had
changed over time
• They were also asked about the reasons they visit the
park and how often.
• I also noted down whether they were there with
friends and family or by themselves.

13. Interview Discussion
• 5 people who have lived in the area for 10+ years were interviewed.
• They all unanimously agreed that the Gantry Plaza State Park along with the entire Long Island City area has gotten
much more modern and easier to live in over the years.
• They all visit the park very often usually for a nice evening stroll or to read a book and soak up the sun.

14. Method(survey)
• The surveys were handed out to seemingly older residents of LIC.
• They were provided with pens and a brief description of the purpose of my
research.

17. Discussion
• From the survey and interviews, it was pretty evident
that most of the residents of Long Island City feels
positively about the overall vibe of the area.
• They believe that the over process of gentrification
have enriched their lives and affected them positively.
• They visit the Gantry Plaza State Park at least 3-4
times a week.
• Reason for this might be the age range of the
participants. Older people like to socialize in
order to avoid loneliness and boredom and they
can do so effectively when they’re in close
proximity (Bakos, Bozic, Chapin, & Neuman,
1980). A park with a beautiful view is just be
what they need.

18. Discussion
(contd.)
• During the interview, the residents spoke of the
park with nostalgia
• It seemed like they have a very strong place
attachment to the whole neighborhood
(Cooper Marcus, 1992).
• Reason for this is probably the fact that
they’ve lived there for a really long time.
• They talked about how they’ve seen their kids grow
up playing at the Gantry Plaza State park.
• Some of the participants reminisced of the times
when everything was a bit quieter, but they didn’t
seem to mind all the developments that were done
to the area.

19. Limitation
• The participants age range should have been a bit wider and include all age group.
• I did not pay any specific attention toward picking participants with a variety of race, gender and
ethnicity.
• As a result, most of them ended up being Caucasians females.
• The survey should have included more questions

20. Future
Direction
• I will try to pick participants from all age groups
and not just older residents.
• I’ll make my study more diverse and pick
participants with a variety of ethnic background
and race.
• I’ll make sure that my future participants are
divided into 2 equal groups of males and females
• Women tend to be more nostalgic and
emotional than men.
• This probably explains the overly
emotional response I got while
interviewing them.

21. Overall, the study supported my
original hypothesis. After
conducting the historical research
and talking to the residents, it was
evident that gentrification has
enriched and nourished the Long
Island City area. It has gone
through a great deal of
transformation and improved for
the better. All the cultural influence
and the gorgeous restaurants along
with the waterfront view of the
Manhattan skyline contribute to
the holistic vibe of the area.

22. Bibliography
• Bakos, M.; Bozic, R.; Chapin, D.; & Neuman, S. (1980). Effects of
environmental changes on elderly residents’ behavior. Psychiatric
Services, 31(10), pp. 667-682.
• Cooper Marcus, C. (1992). “Environmental Memories” in I. Altman and S.
Low (Eds.). Place Attachment. New York: Prenum Press.
• Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://parks.ny.gov/parks/149/details.aspx.
• Spellen, S., & Montrose Morris. (2013, November 6). Queenswalk: Gantry
Plaza State Park. Retrieved from
https://www.brownstoner.com/history/queenswalk-gantry-plaza-state-
park/.