Wednesday, December 31, 2014, by Jessica Dailey
And now, the conclusion of the Curbed Cup, our annual award to the New York City neighborhood of the year. Because this is the most important decision of all time, the polls will be left open until noon on Friday, January 2. Let the final battle begin!
No. 7 Long Island City pulled away from the Financial District after a close Final Four battle. The waterfront neighborhood bested 57th Street and South Williamsburg on its road to the finals, and while it was seeded in the middle of the pack, LIC definitely has a strong argument for being neighborhood of the year (even if we lost 5 Pointz). Hunters Point South moved steadily forward, and thousands of new apartments are in the works. Several big developments opened this year, and plans were revealed for the tallest residential tower in Queens.
For the second year running, a serious underdog makes the Curbed Cup finals. Hot and gentrifying Crown Heights was no match for little ol’ City Island; the Bronx enclave crushed its Brooklyn competition by 246 votes. Clearly, this win had little to do with City Island’s new condo development (it’s first new real estate project in 15 years), and a whole lot to do with an out pouring of community pride. Several commenters praised the island and its inhabitants, who are currently rallying to beautify the entrance to their community. The island’s portal will also be getting a new bridge, but not the giant one the city proposed. City Islanders didn’t care for that design, and in May, the city gave them what they wanted.
We never would have predicted this year’s tournament would come down to the no. 16 and no. 7 seeds, but that’s the beauty of the Curbed Cup. Will the underdog take the ultimate prize once again? If so, we expect a party.
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· City Island archives [Curbed]
· Long Island City archives [Curbed]
· All Curbed Cup 2014 coverage [Curbed]
