Neighborhood Spotlight: Gantry Park In LIC
Hey Footy Family,
In this week's spotlight, we focus on the second ever location NYC Footy hosted leagues: the iconic (at least for us) Gantry park field in Long Island City.
👉 Reminder: Our biggest ever early bird expires Tuesday for all summer leagues (including LIC). 👈
We also hosted one of our first ever tournaments at this field about 10 years ago (our one and only "tech tournament"). It's located snug in the middle of residential housing, with access to bars and even a brewery nearby. It's fits two fields with a comfortable 7v7 split and, before or after your game, access to the unique views of the east river.
[The registration page for LIC summer can be found here]
Next Up: Gantry Park in Long Island City
The Field:
Footy Players at Gantry Park
The Gantry Park field (AKA the Queens West Sports Field) is in a gorgeous location right along the East River in Queens. There’s plenty of room around the field for everyone to safely store their stuff, and the field catches a fair bit of sun, so bring sunscreen (if you’re an adult and you get sunburnt it’s only your fault). Goalies, it’s not a terrible idea to bring a hat.
This gem of a field is in a prime location in LIC so you’ll find people playing soccer there at almost every hour of the day, especially in the summer. If you’re itching for some practice outside of your NYC Footy games, you should sign up for our BetterPlayer program which has practices all around the city every day of the week. Otherwise, Gantry Park is a great place to show up to if you just want some casual futbol fun.
The Neighborhood:
LIC Bar
LIC Bar is the go to bar from the field for post-game drinks. If you owe someone a drink on the other team for getting nut-megged, or you just want to get to know more of the Footy crowd, this is the spot. There’s a lot of outdoor space, cheap beer, and they don’t mind if you order outside food to the bar. The regular bartender happens to be a big Mets fan, so if you come with the right gear you might get served quicker. Just don’t mention John Rocker, The Phillies, or the 2000 Subway Series.
Skinny’s Cantina in LIC
Skinny’s Cantina is a Mexican joint one block from the field with dangerously good frozen margaritas, great table food, and a friendly staff that will help you drink yourself under the table if you stay there overlong. If you’re looking for cold drinks on a warm night with a view of the water and the midtown skyline, look no further.
The Gutter in LIC
The Gutter, if you haven't already visited or heard of it already, is a bar with an eight lane bowling alley in the back. Apart from the alleys, where you can drink white russians and live out your very own Lebowski fever dream, they have plenty of space up front, a lengthy, shifting beer list, and sell a dam good hot dog. Being only two blocks away from the field this is a great place to keep the fun going.
Fun Fact: Hunter's Point Park, right next to the field, is built to help withstand the overflowing waters of the East River in the event of a hurricane. It also features man-made marshland along the riverside, built as part of one of the cities Green Urban renovation initiatives.
Directions:
Subway: The field is incredibly accessible by subway, with the 7, G, E, and M trains all stopping within 5 blocks of the field.
Bike: Biking to the field is easy if you’re coming from Queens and Brooklyn. Coming from Manhattan is a little more arduous, but if you want that extra workout from biking over the bridge, bless you. There’s a Citibike station and bike racks to lock your bike right next to the field.
Boat: The Hunter’s Point Ferry Terminal is only a short walk away from the field and is a great way to move about the city that a lot of people don’t take advantage of. It's easily as fast as the subway, if not faster if you're coming from the right place. You can grab Ferries to the field all along the East River from both Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Thanks for listening.
- James
Get Kicking!
As always, we'd love any feedback you have about the fields, how to get there, or any hidden gems in the area. We promise to keep your secrets safe within our email blasts.