What Is Dating in Long Island City Like for Men?

Quiet at night, good by day, and closer to Manhattan than its address suggests. Long Island City is a Queens neighborhood of new residential towers along the East River, full of young professionals who work in Midtown. You can meet women in person on its waterfront and in its cafes. Many residents head to Manhattan or Brooklyn to go out, though. And the word Queens can make a woman from Manhattan think a date is farther away than it is.

Here is how the neighborhood works for a single man.

Long Island City, or LIC, sits on the western edge of Queens. Astoria is to the north, Sunnyside to the east, the East River to the west, and Newtown Creek to the south separates it from Greenpoint in Brooklyn. Its waterfront went from warehouses and factories to a row of glass apartment towers facing Midtown across the river.

The people in those towers are mostly working professionals, many in their late twenties and thirties, who chose LIC for the short commute and the views. A lot of them are new to the city or new to the neighborhood. a dating coach says that is exactly what makes New Yorkers open to talking. People who arrived recently are still meeting others, instead of living inside friendships formed decades ago.

Inland, around Court Square and the older blocks, the mix is broader, with long-time Queens residents alongside the newcomers.

LIC's strength is its waterfront. Gantry Plaza State Park and the parks along the river have lawns, piers and benches facing the skyline, and on a nice evening they fill with people sitting, walking dogs and watching the sunset. My favorite daytime setting anywhere in New York is a park, because a woman who sat down in one came out to be among people and is in no hurry. LIC's waterfront is that setting with one of the best views in the city.

The streets near Vernon Boulevard have cafes and small restaurants, and the neighborhood has art spaces, including MoMA PS1, that draw a weekend crowd. Runners and dog walkers are everywhere. A dog is about the easiest opener there is: ask its name.

Be realistic about density. LIC has fewer people on the street than Manhattan, and on a weekday afternoon much of the neighborhood is at work across the river. Weekends and summer evenings are when it comes alive.

LIC's nightlife is small. There are neighborhood bars, a handful of breweries and several hotel rooftop bars with skyline views. coach calls rooftops his favorite venue in warm weather, since the open air lets you talk without shouting, so those are worth knowing.

For a bigger night, Astoria to the north has a much denser bar scene, and Manhattan is a few minutes away. Many LIC residents go out elsewhere and come home late, which is worth remembering: a woman you meet at a Manhattan bar may live ten minutes from you.

My advice on New York dating logistics is that women travel into Manhattan easily and resist going out to the outer boroughs, and he names Queens among them. For most of Queens he is right. LIC is the exception on the map.

The 7 train's first Queens stop, at Vernon Boulevard, is one stop from Grand Central. From Midtown, LIC is closer than most of Manhattan itself. What puts women off is the name of the borough, so talk about time instead:

• Say "ten minutes from Grand Central" or "one stop from Midtown," not "in Queens."
• Lead with what she gets: a sunset on the water with the skyline in front of her is a better invitation than a bar she could find anywhere.
• If she lives downtown or in Brooklyn, it is still easier to start near her and save LIC for a later date.

The waterfront at sunset is LIC's best date, followed by dinner on Vernon Boulevard or a drink at a rooftop bar with the view. If you meet a woman in the park and the conversation is going well, an instant date is easy, since a cafe or bar is a short walk from the water.

LIC is also a good second-date neighborhood for a man who lives there. It is calm, it photographs well, and your place is close.

Seeing a woman on a waterfront bench is easy. Walking over before she leaves is the part men put off. Cold Approach runs its Bootcamp in New York and Miami, in the field, daygame and night game mixed to suit you. Each training day is two four-hour blocks, with live coaching on every approach and feedback after every set. Group runs three consecutive days at a 3:1 student-to-coach ratio. Private is one, two or three days, fully 1-on-1, with longer programs quoted on request. There is no skill floor, and you leave with a written practice plan.