(Photo: Rafael Gonzalez)
May 26, 2015 By Jackie Strawbridge
Long Island City residents are privileged with front-row seats to Manhattanhenge, or Manhattan Solstice, the biannual piercing of the island by the sun as it aligns perfectly with the Midtown street grid.
Queens residents can celebrate the Manhattanhenge sunset, which takes place on Thursday, with the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy’s inaugural LIC Henge at LIC Landing, 52-10 Center Blvd, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Manhattanhenge was popularized by the renowned astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson. Writing for the Museum of Natural History, home to the Planetarium, he noted that Manhattanhenge is best enjoyed as far east on the island as possible, looking west.
“You get much better views from Long Island City looking across to Manhattan than from the Manhattan side,” attested HPPC President Rob Basch.
LIC Henge is open to the public and will be accompanied by live music from the Anthony Cekay Jazz Trio. HPPC will hold a contest for the best pictures of Manhattanhenge; contestants can post their shots online with the tag #LICHenge.
LIC Landing will provide snacks and drink specials for LIC Henge.
Basch said LIC Henge offered an opportunity to welcome the summer, celebrate HPPC and inspire new members to join.
“It’s a good time to come out and meet the people from the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy and see what we’re doing,” Basch said. “We wanted to have a nice party to welcome in the summer for the community and our membership, and this seemed to be a good time for it.”
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3 Comments
Great article, thanks for the info!
It’s on Friday and Saturday though.
I’d love to attend.