New York City Rental Car and a Sunnyside Overview

Sunnyside is a neighborhood in the western part of Queens that you can visit with your New York City car rental. It is bordered by Hunters Point and Long Island City to the west, Astoria to the north, Woodside to the east, and Maspeth to the south.

Bridge the gap

The area that is now Sunnyside was developed after the Queensboro Bridge was completed in 1909. Before that, there were a few small farms and marshland in the area. Many six-story apartment buildings were built in the 1920s and 30s still remain for you to see with your New York City car rental. The area was also known as one of the first planned communities in America. In Sunnyside Gardens, there were brick row houses of two and a half stories with front and rear gardens and a central court for all to use. This became the "superblock" model of development. These well-planned garden homes are now a historic district and also home to one of the two private parks in the city (the other is Gramercy Park).

Plan your visit

You can get to Sunnyside a number of ways. The subway runs the 7 Train here with three stops. There are also 5 buses that serve the area. If you take your New York City car rental, there is access from the Long Island Expressway and the Queens Midtown tunnel from Manhattan, or the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway from Brooklyn.

See the surrounding areas

Sunnyside is very close to Long Island City, which was created in 1870 from a number of communities including Astoria, Hunters Point, Blissville, Ravenswood, Dutch Kills, Bowery Bay, Steinway, and Sunnyside. Long Island City was an important part of the amalgamation of New York City as one of the major players that needed to approve the decision.

Get in touch with your artsy side

The Noguchi Museum is found in Long Island City with your New York City car rental. This is the first American museum to be founded, curated, and funded by an artist for his own work. Here you will find a permanent collection of Noguchi's art. He focuses on the cultural time in which he worked, with major cultural figures with whom he engaged. There are also educational programs here for families that make this a great stop with your New York City car rental.

Also found in Long Island City with your New York City car rental is SculptureCenter, a contemporary art museum founded in 1928. This is a not-for-profit arts institution dedicated to experimental and innovative contemporary sculptures.

Sunnyside is an interesting place to visit with your New York car rental because it was one of the first planned communities in America. Still here today, it has one of the only private parks in the city and serves as an early model for modern city development.