It’s a common refrain: Long Island City is “up and coming.”
But as photos from a recent exhibit in LIC prove, Queens as a whole has almost always been in the process of transforming.
The 19 images, on view at the LIC office of realtor Modern Spaces, show this change, thanks to a company called Bernstein Associates. Since the ’50s, Bernstein’s photographers, working with the construction industry, have taken pictures of project sites, buildings and architecture, largely for documentation purposes.
But Bernstein’s shutterbugs have done more than just document.
“We get to see things from a different perspective,” said Laurie Donald, a partner at the photography company. “Sometimes the changes are upsetting, sometimes they’re exciting.”
The oldest photo on view is from 1964, of Shea Stadium. Other images include a shot from 1986 of the Citicorp tower being built, another of the Citylights building, a highrise co-op, under construction, and a view of the Long Island City waterfront completely development-free.
To Eric Benaim, president of Modern Spaces — which handles rentals and sales for many of the new condos in the area — the photos offer a glimpse of “the rise of LIC.”
He pointed out Bernstein’s photos of the old Pepsi-Cola sign, which was moved to facilitate views from the condo aptly named The View. “We handle one of [The View’s] buildings exclusively,” he said.
Since moving to the area almost five years ago, Benaim echoed the common sentiment. There have been “a lot of changes.”
But Donald did note that since Sept. 11 and the recession, the construction industry has withstood “the biggest down cycle that I’ve ever experienced.”
“All that seems to be happening building-wise are infrastructure projects,” she said. “Everything has pretty much slowed down.”
Donald runs Bernstein, which is based in Westchester, with a partner, Alan Kazin. The office has a full-time staff of 12, with photographers who live in Brooklyn, New Jersey and elsewhere. They shoot around the city, in upstate New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts.
Many of the photos at the Modern Spaces exhibit are undeniably beautiful. Donald said she enjoys her job and the view it affords her of the ever-changing urban landscape.
“It’s just being a part of it,” she said.
When: Daily, through March 6, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Where: 47-42 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City
Information: (718) 784-1110
