LIC Hopes to Lose Hamptons Association

LIC: Yes, you read the headline correctly. Long Island City in Queens does not want to be associated with the East End anymore.

Concerned businessmen in the area, most of whom are in the tourism industry, believe that they are losing out-of-town customers who assume that Long Island City is not conveniently located close to Manhattan. The name apparently lures would-be travelers to believe that the locale is either a sleepy suburb or out in the Hamptons.

So: The term “Long Island City” is leading people to believe that the city is located on Long Island. To remedy the discrepancy? officials have proposed changing the name of the area to “LIC”—an already popular abbreviation.

In other news, a campaign will soon be launched to let the same out-of-towners know that the city should be pronounced letter-by-letter. Otherwise, it may come to be known as “lice” or “lick,” through those names are clearly more attractive than the thought of being associated with—gasp!—Long Island.