Halloween Weekend, Marathon Sunday and the LIC Development Tracker

LIC Weekly for Thursday, October 29, 2026: the new Development Tracker, Culture Lab's New Works Festival, Halloween weekend, the Marathon, Bulbfest and a 2006 pub crawl from the archive.

Good morning, Long Island City. Halloween is Saturday, the Marathon comes over the Pulaski Bridge on Sunday, and METTRA on Jackson Avenue throws its grand opening today and Friday night. Here is your week in LIC.

5 things to know

1. The LIC Development Tracker is live. What is going up in Long Island City? Our new Development Tracker lists 35 major residential and mixed-use projects, including Skyline Tower, with the address, developer, status and expected completion for each one.
2. Culture Lab LIC's New Works Festival returns for year three. Four world premieres in theater, music and dance at Culture Lab LIC on 46th Avenue, November 5 to December 6, and 100% of ticket sales go to the artists. First up is Atalanta: The Long Shot, November 5 to 8.
3. SculptureCenter shows Aziz Hazara: Coming Home. SculptureCenter on Purves Street is showing objects the artist gathered after the 2021 withdrawal from Bagram Airfield, on view through December 28. It is open Thursday to Monday, 12 to 6 PM.
4. LICPerks: five check ins, one $25 gift card. The Long Island City Partnership free LICPerks Passport gives you a $25 LIC Gift Card when you check in at five different participating businesses. The deadline is Saturday, October 31.
5. Megami Dojo posts all eight Isshin-ryu kata on YouTube. Megami Dojo, the LIC karate school, has published videos of all eight empty-hand kata of traditional Okinawan Isshin-ryu karate. The instructor suggests watching with the sound on to hear the snap of the gi.

5 things to do

1. Today, Thu Oct 29, noon to 4 PM, and Fri Oct 30, 7 PM to midnight: METTRA grand opening. The food hall at 28-17 Jackson Avenue (formerly JACX&CO) opens with a ribbon cutting today and a party Friday night. A $25 Tasting Passport covers a tasting, one drink and a raffle ticket. METTRA in the directory.
2. Sat Oct 31, 12 to 5 PM: Halloween Harvest Festival. Socrates Sculpture Park closes its season with new installations by two 2026 Artist Fellows, a vegan food market and the Halloween Dog Costume Contest from 3 to 5 PM. Free with RSVP.
3. Sat Oct 31, 7 to 9 PM: The hAUNTing at The Chocolate Factory Theater. A haunted house, performance party, concert and altar at The Chocolate Factory Theater, 38-33 24th St. Come dressed for the occasion. Free with RSVP.
4. Sun Nov 1, all day: The NYC Marathon runs through LIC. Runners cross the Pulaski Bridge into LIC at the halfway point. The bridge is closed to spectators, so cheer from the Queens side and expect street closures. Our Marathon guide has the route and the best spots.
5. Sat Nov 7, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM: 12th Annual LIC Bulbfest. Help the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy plant more than 15,000 bulbs in Gantry Plaza State Park and Hunters Point South Park. Tools and instructions are provided. Check in near 49th Avenue and Center Blvd.

Hosting something in LIC? Submit your event. All LIC events.

1 piece of history

Throwback Thursday: the QueensWest.com Pub Crawlathon, November 2006. Twenty years ago this week, QueensWest.com announced the Pub Crawlathon, billed as the small race the night before the big race (the Marathon). The fall crawl kicked off on Saturday, November 4, 2006, at 6:30 PM with five bar stops along Jackson Ave and Vernon Blvd. One of them, LIC Bar, is still at 45-58 Vernon Blvd. Read the original post in the QueensWest.com archive.

Guide spotlight

Best Cocktails in LIC (October 2026). Cocktail programs you can verify, from Dutch Kills and Rewind near Court Square to Blend on the Water and Sweetleaf Center Blvd by the water. It is not a ranked list, every place links to its directory listing, and Bar Enzo on 43rd Avenue is one of the newer additions. More on the launch.

Tip of the week

Last call for the Long Island City Community Garden. The garden at 5-30 49th Ave. is open to the public 20 hours a week from April 1 to October 31, as posted at the gate, so this weekend is the last chance this season to look inside. More on the garden.

That is the week. Tell us what we missed, and come say hello on the LIC Community forum.

Jason

Forward this to a friend. LIC Weekly: the best of Long Island City, once a week. Get LIC Weekly Submit an Event Add Your Business