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Long Island City-Hunters Point noise map: how loud is it?

Long Island City-Hunters Point is one of New York's louder neighborhoods: 12.8% of residents live with average-day transportation noise of 60 dB or more — road, rail and aviation combined — which ranks it the 26th-loudest of 197 New York neighborhoods. The map below shows how that noise concentrates along its busiest corridors.

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Transportation-noise map of Long Island City-Hunters Point, New York: the neighborhood outlined in white over modeled road, rail and aircraft noise, colored from amber (about 45 dBA) through red and purple to blue (90 dBA and up).
Long Island City-Hunters Point outlined over the modeled 24-hour transportation-noise level (LAeq, dBA) from the US DOT BTS 2020 National Transportation Noise Map. Boundary © LA Times; streets and water © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO.
Interactive map Open Long Island City-Hunters Point on the live noise map → Zoom to any block over the federal BTS raster, or use your location.
Long Island City-Hunters Point noise exposure at a glance
Rank in New York (of 197 neighborhoods) #26
Residents above 60 dB 12.8%
Residents above 70 dB 5%
Residents in the 45–60 dB band 70.9%
Residents (ACS 2016–2020, area-weighted) 20,647
Census tracts mapped 19

Long Island City-Hunters Point is home to about 20,647 residents across 19 census tracts. 12.8% of them are exposed to 60 dB or more of average-day road, rail and aviation noise. Within that, 5% face the most severe band — 70 dB or louder, the level at which sustained exposure starts to threaten hearing. A further 70.9% sit in the 45–60 dB band — a noticeable background hum rather than a hearing risk. That ranks Long Island City-Hunters Point #26 of 197 New York neighborhoods, well above the typical New York neighborhood. Among New York neighborhoods it sits just below Flushing-Willets Point (#25) and just above Elmhurst (#27).

The exposure is not spread evenly. The 5% in the 70 dB-plus band are the households packed right against a freeway, rail corridor or flight path, while blocks a few streets inland fall away fast. On the map that reads as a bright ribbon of noise tracing the corridor through Long Island City-Hunters Point.

Long Island City-Hunters Point noise: the specifics

  • Ranks #26 of 197 New York neighborhoods by share of residents exposed to ≥60 dB transportation noise.
  • 12.8% of Long Island City-Hunters Point's ~20,647 residents live with 60 dB or louder average-day transportation noise.
  • 5% are in the severe 70 dB+ band; 70.9% sit in the 45–60 dB moderate range.
  • Area-weighted across 19 census tracts from the federal BTS 2020 noise map × ACS 2016–2020 population.
  • #26 of 197 — see the full New York ranking.

What share of Long Island City-Hunters Point residents are exposed to 60 dB or louder transportation noise?

12.8% of Long Island City-Hunters Point residents live with average-day transportation noise (road, rail and aviation) at or above 60 dB, and 5% are above 70 dB — ranking Long Island City-Hunters Point #26 of 197 New York neighborhoods by noise exposure.

How Long Island City-Hunters Point compares

How this is measured

This is a transparent aggregation of federal data, not an estimate: the US DOT 2020 National Transportation Noise Map (road + rail + aviation), paired with Census population by the University of Washington and area-weighted to the New York Times boundary for Long Island City-Hunters Point. It does not count sirens, construction, nightlife or neighbors, and it resolves busy corridors better than quiet local streets. For your exact spot, measure it with the free online decibel meter →

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