Holiday Parties in Long Island City

Draft · not published · for reviewPhotographs are CityView's ownIllustrations stand in where no photograph exists
Two players mid rally on a padel court at CityView Racquet Club

Holiday parties · Long Island City

Nobody stands around holding a drink

The company holiday party has a reputation. Two hours of small talk near a bar, then everyone leaves early. Ours is the one where your team plays padel, eats food we cooked, and finishes in the sauna.

Why this works better than a room

Every other venue in Long Island City sells you square footage and a skyline. That is fine for a wedding. For a company party it means your colleagues stand in a circle for two hours and the quiet ones say nothing at all.

CityView has twelve courts across three racquet sports. A group splits into rotating stations and plays. Nobody needs to have held a racquet before, because our pros run the sessions, and a team that has never played padel is playing inside five minutes.

Then everyone eats together, in a building with its own kitchen, its own bar and its own licence.

4Tennis
5Padel
3Squash

Twelve courts today. Three more squash courts are under construction, which will take the club to fifteen.

The Brisas padel bubble at CityView Racquet Club

How a holiday afternoon runs

Guests arrive in the Member Lounge for drinks. The group splits across tennis, padel and squash and rotates. Anyone who would rather not play stays in the lounge, which overlooks the courts. Everyone reconvenes for food, and the spa is open to whoever wants it.

The spaces, and how many each holds

Space Standing Seated
Upstairs Member Lounge 120+ 35
Café Lounge 25
Padel bubble 25 spectators
Contrast Therapy Spa 15-person communal sauna, three plunge tubs
Rooftop Terrace opening this fall

Spaces combine. The lounge, the courts and the spa mix and match to the shape of your day. Tennis has the most limited availability of the three sports, so tell us early if it matters.

The walnut table in the Member Lounge at CityView Racquet Club set for a seated meal
The Member Lounge, set for a seated dinner

Food and drink, cooked here

We hold a full food and liquor licence and run our own kitchen and bar.

Three of the four large event spaces in Long Island City require you to bring in your own licensed caterer, and one of them forbids hiring a restaurant at all. At CityView the food is ours: no caterer to source, brief, insure or chase, and no corkage conversation.

In December that matters more than it does the rest of the year. Menus are built around the shape of the day rather than a fixed package, the bar runs to a timed service, and the kitchen is already in the building if anything needs to change on the night.

Illustration of plates being served at a private event at CityView
Catering in serviceIllustration · awaiting photography

Three ways to build the day

Tier one

Court access

Open play and social rotation across the sports you choose. The simplest version, and the one that suits a group that wants to be left to it.

Tier two

Programming and coaching

Our pros run the session: guided matches, clinics, drills, or a tournament bracket with a winner at the end. The right choice where abilities vary, which at a company party they always do.

Tier three

Full event experience

The building at your disposal. Courts, lounge, café and spa combined into one itinerary, with food and bar service timed around it.

Food and beverage is selected separately from the tier, so you are never buying a package with things in it you did not want.

Getting here

There is no car park and no garage, and street parking in Long Island City is limited and paid. For a December party that is a feature rather than a problem, because the subway is three minutes away and nobody has to think about driving home.

Line Station Walk
7 33rd St – Rawson St about 3 minutes
E F R Queens Plaza about 10 minutes

43-34 32nd Place, Long Island City, NY 11101
A loading dock is available for anything large arriving by vehicle.

Sound and screens

Five screens in the upstairs Member Lounge and one in the Café Lounge, microphones and speakers for speeches, a full backline if you are bringing a band, Sonos wired throughout, and free Wi-Fi for everyone.

On-site AV support can be arranged.

Questions planners ask about December

How many guests can you host for a holiday party?

120 or more standing in the Member Lounge, or 35 seated. For a party built around playing, three racquet sports run at the same time so a large group splits into rotating stations rather than queueing. We are not the biggest room in Long Island City and we do not try to be. What we offer is a party where people are doing something.

Do guests need to know how to play?

No, and most do not. Our pros run the sessions, and a group that has never held a padel racquet is playing inside five minutes. It is usually the part people talk about afterwards.

What about the people who do not want to play?

The Member Lounge overlooks the courts, so nobody has to sit somewhere else to opt out. There is a wet bar, a pool table and a fireplace. The contrast therapy spa is open as well.

Do we need to bring a caterer?

No. We hold a full food and liquor licence and run our own kitchen and bar, so there is no outside caterer to source, brief, insure or chase.

Can we do a sit-down dinner rather than a reception?

Yes. The Member Lounge seats 35 for a meal, and the Café Lounge seats 25. For larger groups a standing reception with food works better, and the two can be combined across the evening.

Is there parking?

No car park or garage, and street parking nearby is limited and paid. The 7 train at 33rd St – Rawson St is about a three minute walk. A loading dock is available for event set-up.

How do we get a quote?

Send us the date, the headcount and roughly what you have in mind, and we will come back with options. Or call (718) 389-6252.

NOTE TO TOM, NOT FOR THE PAGE.

Three gaps, all flagged before this goes anywhere near live:

1. December availability is not on this page because we do not have it. It is the first thing a holiday planner wants and its absence is the biggest weakness here. Ask Quincy which December dates are open, and whether there is a cut-off.

2. No prices, per the 27 August decision. Eventective publishes competitors' ranges, so planners price-comparing there will not find us. That was a deliberate choice, recorded here so it is not mistaken for an oversight.

3. No photograph of an actual party. The catering image is an illustration standing in. A holiday page without a picture of people at a party is working with one hand tied.

Capacities are Albert's from 8 September, his words "the latest numbers we have been using". Quincy has not confirmed them.

Remove this block before publishing

Tell us about your party

The more you tell us now, the more useful our first reply will be. The date, roughly how many people, and whether you want them playing or just somewhere good to eat.

Email events@cityviewracquet.com or call (718) 389-6252
43-34 32nd Place, Long Island City, NY 11101