Long Island City

The block-long Hunters Point Historic District, on 45th Avenue between 21st and 23rd Streets

Stats

What you'll pay: $650,000 and up for a new apartment ($900,000 for a wood-frame house)
What you'll get: A 1,000-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath condo in a doorman building five stories or taller
Distance to midtown: One stop on the 7 train

Very little about this area actually feels like Long Island—and that's how the people who live here like it. In the past decade the booming section of the Queens West waterfront has morphed from gritty industrial landscape into full-fledged hipster 'hood. Now, as the new branches of Duane Reade and upscale grocer Amish Market currently under construction attest, essential amenities for families are following. The convenience factor rivals that of northwestern Brooklyn; Manhattan is just one stop away on the 7 train, and its skyline adds a breathtaking backdrop to the daily routine. But those aren't the only reasons LIC loyalists prefer the view from their side of the East River.

Stepping out of the subway station and onto Vernon Boulevard, you'll find several blocks of locally owned shops and eateries. The clutch of pizzerias, specialty food markets and restaurants reflects the area's Italian-American heritage, while several slick real-estate offices —hyping the thousands of new apartments that have hit the market since 2005 or are now under construction—point to the future. On Saturday afternoons, fresh-faced young parents wearing babies in slings mingle with old-timers, shopping carts in tow, and boys zipping by on skateboards.

"It's not pretentious, and it's still young and up-and-coming," says Jennifer Jones, a hotel industry executive who with her husband, Charles, bought a one-bedroom with lots of ceramic tile, heated bamboo floors and a whirlpool tub last year in a new boutique building. She aims to sell this apartment and trade up to a larger space in the neighborhood now that she and her husband are planning to start a family. "Like most people, we got priced out of Manhattan, and we weren't ready for the suburbs yet; this is a nice happy medium."

Many businesses in the area are owned and operated by local moms and dads. A mother-and-daughter team runs the children's-book and toy store Purple Pumpkin (47-14 Vernon Blvd between 47th Ave and 47th Rd, 718-784-7300), which kicks off a free weekly story hour this spring. The dads in charge of two new eateries, sushi/barbecue/Tex-Mex joint Lucky Mojo (5-14 51st Ave at 5th St, 718-786-7427) and Latin fusion restaurant Blend (47-04 Vernon Blvd at 47th Ave, 718-729-2800), make sure kids eat for free during the early bird specials. Pick up cuddly stuffed toys made by LIC denizen Danielle Luscombe and tiny tie-dyed T-shirts at artisan store, gallery and community event hub Art-O-Mat (46-46 Vernon Blvd between 46th Rd and 47th Ave, licweb.com/artomat).

The main pre-K to grade five school, P.S. 78 (48-09 Center Blvd between 48th and 50th Aves), receives raves from locals for a high level of family involvement, and Insideschools.org praises its strong oceanography and music programs. But parents complain that there aren't more options.

Real-estate offices in Long Island Cityare crowded on the weekends, and the boomtown aura means that even total strangers will strike up conversations on the street about whether to invest now. New high-rise condos cost $700,000 to $1 million for a two-bedroom. Wood-frame houses are more scarce; prices for those start at $900,000. Another 4,000 apartments are slated to be built over the next three or four years, according to Andrew Ebenstein, operations manager of the Long Island City Business Development Corp.

Bottom line: Soon-to-open amenities are solidifying LIC's transformation to a family-friendly 'hood that's minutes from Manhattan.