by Terry Pristin

Created in 1909, Queens Plaza in Long Island City was intended as an attractive gateway to the borough for which it was named. In more recent decades, however, the area became known as a haven for drug-dealing and prostitution and as a filthy, noisy eyesore, where pedestrians risked their lives as they tried to cope with multiple lanes of traffic.

But Queens Plaza — just across the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge from Manhattan — has recently undergone a US$45-million face-lift, shepherded by the city department of planning and financed mainly with federal funds.