City Ice Pavilion

Pros: FREE indoor parking, locker rooms that don’t smell like regret, and vending machines with top-tier options. Yes, grape soda lovers—we are seen. Bring your $3. Cons: The garage is tight and mildly terrifying. I should’ve turned around when I spotted a hearse near the entrance. 🚩 The setup: locker rooms on the 2nd floor, elevator to the 3rd floor where the ice is… on the roof… inside a dome. First period there’s a loud boom, the dome shakes, and my anxiety clocks in early. An employee explains it’s held together by tension cords and one snapped “not to worry.”🚩 Meanwhile the lights are swinging🚩 and I’m questioning all my life choices. Final verdict: Great grape soda. Memorable experience. I will not be returning. 😅

Ice rink on the roof of an industrial warehouse. It's got locker rooms on the second floor, elevated parking garage and the West Side skate shop on the first floor. You enter from the ground floor and go up. Bathrooms are on the second floor. Basement has some practice facility space for off ice and bands.

Solid rink. Three floors with the rink on the roof, which is pretty neat. Check-in, bathrooms, and locker rooms on the second floor. I've met staff that are super friendly and staff that are quite standoffish, but the overall experience is fine. The rink area is very cold, but you warm up to it. A pretty decent option if you're looking to skate.

May 2024: This place has recently become ridiculously hostile to students. In addition to shortening the classes by 30 minutes, skaters are forbidden from practicing any backward skills on the ice despite the majority of the curriculum being composed of them. We are also forbidden from using the bench area because they are “reserved” for hockey players who use the rink at a completely separate time. I really feel bad for the rink staff for having to enforce these rules. I can only attribute these lazy rules to the management team’s lack of management skills and concern for program quality. I had a really great experience in 2023 but it got so much worse this year. I will definitely consider other facilities for learning to skate. Update: Sep 2024 They finally changed the class structure. Kudos to the people who listened to the feedback and made the changes. My experience has been much improved in this fall semester.

Let it be on the record that today 1/25/2026, a 10 year blizzard storm in NYC. This place DID NOT reschedule the class. THEY EXPECT THE PARENTS TO TAKE THEIR KIDS FOR A 30min class in this weather.

I've done 3 of their one-day clinics in the last 3 months or so and I've really enjoyed all of them. Each had a different instructor and the groups were very small (about 7-12 people) so you get some individual attention and instruction based on your skill level. During these 2 hour and 50 minute sessions, you spend about 2 - 2.5 full hours on the ice which is about the most I can personally take at one time. It's been a great way to get exercise and I've improved skills way more than I ever thought I would. Thanks to everyone at City Ice!!

Interesting venue , parking is.not great lot is tight with limited spots, street may be your best option

Nice facility Good to take your kids for training as they got good instructors "get paid cash only" The entrance is on the back side of the building "rear entrance" It's so cold inside to keep the ice cool I guis, so it requires to dress well for that.

be aware parking is getting bad and you can be in a legal spot but if that trucking co across the street complains they will interrupt the game and make you move. I let them know hey I lost 30 min of ice time on this they just ignored me

be aware parking is getting bad and you can be in a legal spot but if that trucking co across the street complains they will interrupt the game and make you move. I let them know hey I lost 30 min of ice time on this they just ignored me

If you're looking for adult ice skating lessons, this is the best place in the city. The community here is so friendly and the coaches are great. If you pass your beginner six, they also have a bridge program to keep working on freestyle skills. I absolutely love this place and can't recommend it enough

Located on a warehouse on the top of a commercial storage site building, with parking (a free parking garage located up the ramp at the City Closet entrance next to the main entrance and any space to the right that's free you can park in) and the 2nd floor is the pay area with locker rooms. Third floor (roof) is the ice rink, with a small hockey-practice area to the back. Lockers, rentals, and more are available, and pro lessons possible, too. The fee without rentals is $10 when we went on post-Thanksgiving (it's a holiday date so they charge more). Ice could use more frequent cuts, but overall not too bad - watch out for the benches on the far side for hockey as they were almost as slick as the rink (too much melt and not enough cleanup there). A lot of trash along the outside - people not taking care of their responsibility well. Lots of teens, too, which was ok other than the random crash against the boards now and then since they weren't being careful. Plenty of off-ice benches to gear up/out of, and there's an ozone machine ($10 for 8 minutes) up near the entry on the top level. Overall was not too crowded and you could get a bit of practice on ice, which was nice. Rink felt a bit smaller than others, not Olympic size, but part of it is nice that it is enclosed.

I take my daughter to City Ice for figure skating practice. She and her coach rent time on the weekends. Parking is plentiful and the rink is not crowded. I can't comment on public skating or the weekday experience. Cathelyn has provided good customer service - better than at other rinks - and the booking process is smooth. Just keep in mind no refunds or credits for any reason. It's a good option for NYC skaters.

This is a great place for kids to learn how to skate. It is conveniently located and has ample amount of space for social distancing. Also the skate shop located inside has a very helpful and knowledgeable staff.

I hadn't been ice skating in quite some time. Or at least on an ice where I can actually "do things". Don't get me wrong, free ice at Bryant Park is sweet and grateful for it. But all you can do out there is skate around in circles until you're dizzy. And Bryant Park IS a Pond. This is a legit standard sized rink. And there are few of them out here in New York. Birthdays can be hosted here! I saw babies with cupcakes. Seriously debating this as a future idea. Open skating is both during the regular weekdays ($5) and on weekends ($8). That's not including rental skates. Which I'm not sure of because I never bother with that nonsense but I believe they are $5. They don't have phenomenal skates here and most of them appear to be hockey skates. But they are much better than the free rink's skates. Lockers are 75 cents and worth it. Trust me, you can't skate with a bag. Ever. Or a phone. It's against almost every rink in the country's rules. And you do not want your shizzle stollen. They also have freestyle ice (for competitive/ above average figure skaters) which is about $15-20 an hour. A bit much. Not ready to fork over the dough for that one yet. There's also plenty of open hockey hours. But open skate is pretty generous on weekends. It starts at 12pm and runs until about 4pm. That's FOUR HOURS of skating for $8. DEAL. This is as close as to a Midwest ice rink I have found in New York and now instantly has become my favorite. There was enough room for me to line up a number of scratch spins and shitty lay back spins during rush hour right after Olympic season. So, I am pleased. Not quite enough room to jump unless you like doing jumps from a stand still position but my leg is still trashed and that wasn't happening anyway. They have a little pizza snack booth. Bathrooms - a bit confusing. That's downstairs. There are 3 levels - the entrance, a main floor, and an upper floor. They offer skating lessons. Which is great if you are tiny. Not sure what the deal with coaches doing classes on ice during public skating instead of private ice. I don't find it particularly beneficial because you're not utilizing any space and any work you have to do has to be done from a stand still position. But ice time is probably a luxury and $$$$ in a major city that I'm still finding impossible to understand. But all in all I love this rink. It has a great sense of community and whoever was in charge of manning the radio for music selection on Saturday was boss. I will be back to work on those lutzes.

Used to come here on school trips but now I find myself coming here often even after. The skates, available for rent, are comfy and the staff are all nice. I love their playlist because they play radio hits and it goes well with the mood. The ice never gets too watery or slushy since it's an indoor rink. Definitely worth coming if you haven't. It's also not as crowded compared to the rink in Bryant Park or the one in Chelsea Piers. It's the best rink amongst the 2 other rinks I mentioned before, in my opinion. But don't just take my word for it and come see so for yourself, you won't regret it!

These refs love blowing their whistles but can't blow them when its actually needed. Also if your going to have heaters for the home team get them for the guests too.. what message are you trying to send..?

Let's make a few comparisons, shall we? - Rockefeller Center Cost*: $15.50 on weekdays; $19.00 on weekends Crowdedness/skating atmosphere: Lion King wildebeest stampede - Central Park Cost: $10.75 on weekdays; $16.00 on weekends Crowdedness/skating atmosphere: Merritt Parkway after a deer-vehicle accident - Chelsea Piers Cost: $13.50 Crowdedness/skating atmosphere: OK, I haven't actually been here in years, so I'm not actually sure how crowded it gets these days. But it's $13.50 for a plain ol' rink. Come on, now. - City Ice Pavilion Cost: $5.00!! Crowdedness/skating atmosphere: Aplastic anemic bone marrow (sorry, just took a hematology exam.....translation: IT'S EMPTY). THIS PLACE MAKES ME SO. VERY. HAPPY. Don't come here for the touristy NY skating under the giant Xmas tree experience. Come here if you want to skate on your own or with some friends and not have to maneuver around impenetrable chains of giggling pre-teens. Come here if you want to be able to skate regularly and not be shit broke. Come here with a date who you're not looking to impress with over-the-top romantic-ness but rather with a good time and some room to frolic around on the ice. But don't come that often. I don't want it getting too crowded. P.S. The only downside of this place is the ugly-ass Rangers logos all over. So I'm posting a picture of myself indifferently flipping one off in exchange for not docking the City Ice Pavilion a star for their sins against hockey humanity. ------------------------- *All of these prices are for admission only - not including skate rental. (But can you guess who offers the cheapest skate rental?)

This place was very easy to get to by public transport and the rink, not overcrowded. There is skate store and sharpening place on site which was great. There are lockers available for use for only 75 cents. My only complaint was that there is no food stall there, only vending machines. some of which didn't work so bring your own food. Happy skating!

Ice skating is for adults too. I usually get turned on when a guy yells, "Faster, faster!" in my ear but on the ice it should be a no-no. The end result is quite terrifying: loss of hand-eye-feet coordination, shaky balance, screaming, crashing into a wall, heart palpitations... Ice skating can be exciting and dangerous stuff. I have my own skates too but they haven't turned me into a pro. I only have them because I bought them for $19 many many years ago. Whether you have your own skates or not, it really does not matter. The skates at City Ice Pavilion seem to be in good shape. I heard no complaints about them and they looked brand new. Much like the skates, everything else about City Ice Pavilion was top notch. It is a relatively new indoor rink in the middle of nowhere A.K.A LIC. The walk from the subway station to the rink at night feels a bit sketchy. There is nothing around, not even people, and the area is dark. But once at the rink, everything turns into a Winter wonderland. It's fun for the whole family. Expect lots of children and hockey wannabes at this rink. Fret not, there is a ton of space here. It's almost football field size. The website has minimal information. If you're wondering about lockers, just bring quarters. There is no need for your own lock. I got this information from Yelp (thank you Sandoids!) and not the City Ice Pavilion website. All in all, a great time is to be had at City Ice Pavilion. Forget Wollman and Bryant Park. Be comfortable, stay warm and stay indoors at City Ice.

If you weren't looking particularly for ice skating or hockey then this indoor rink would be like a vegetarian to a butcher shop. City Ice Pavilion is huge and their rink is huge. To enter the rink you have to go through these huge turnstyles. City Ice Pavilion is located at the end of Long Island City where Queens meets Brooklyn where all the warehouse businesses and people scarcely go because it's not retail nor residential. But it's conveniently a few streets down from the 7 subway line and has a parking garage. This place is the cheapest place I know for skating, hockey and rentals. Or bring your own skates but here is some basic pricing: Public Skating: Check the calendar. $5weekday/$8weekend Admission, $5 Skate Rental, $2 Helmet. Hockey: $20 Figure Skating: $20 This place caters to all but you have to check the calendar and go to the registration desk. One day you'll see teenagers and kids (all ages, check the calendar) practicing and another a team of adults playing or visa versus. If you're a novice this place is perfect, it's not too crowded on the weekdays and the instructors are pretty good. There's also session for experienced skaters on the ice. There's one on one and lessons. ---Decent sized lockers: 75cents to operate ---Locker Rooms ---Clean Bathrooms ---Pro Shop to buy all your gear on the ice ---Vending machines for energy ---Many aisles of in good shape skates, they have many many many ---The rink is plexiglass surrounded ---Bleachers to watch games or your kids ---It's cold in there

Pretty empty rink for Freestyle sessions in the morning. Convenient indoor parking garage that connects you directly to the elevators to the rink. Also, a short walk from the 7 train. I found the rink to be warmer when it snows outside. Since this is a rooftop rink, my guess is they turn on the heat to keep snow off the dome. Which is nice when you're skating at 6am. The ice quality is always right-- not too soft, not too hard, no pools of water after resurfacing either, and no patches or grooves on the ice. Definitely the preferred rink compared to the sister rink. (-1 star): The locker rooms after the hockey team uses them need serious deodorizing. I get it, skaters sweat and skates smell!!! Another option is to cycle the locker rooms to better equip for skating teams or install deodorizers in each room. Side-note: the rink is conveniently located one-block away from the doughnut plant. It's always nice to walk over to get donuts after a good workout.

Came here on a groupon. Staff very friendly. Easy to get to, just take the 7 train and walk like 3 blocks. Place seems pretty new and clean. Regular prices are affordable compared to Chelsea Piers. Lockers are like 75cents.

I take my son here all the time. It is $5 for public skating which lasts 2 to 3 hours if you get there when it opens. The facility is clean, modern and very large (compared to Wollman, etc.). The ice is regularly resurfaced. There are very few people here (once again, compared to Wollman, etc.). I highly recommend this place. It is great to come here and safely work on some skills that you can bring off the rink to inline skates, etc. The only bad thing I have to say about this place is the parking. Well I guess it is not even bad, as there is at least parking. However, the entrance to the parking is very tight and goes up a very steep ramp. The spots are very tight and then trying to leave is a hassle because you have to go down the same tight ramp. If you are going to come here with a car, make sure you bring the smallest car you have.

Really love this rink... When I first tried this rink out, I was a little intimidated because they were a ton of teenagers huddled around the bleachers being really loud and obnoxious and I didn't think that I could even stay and skate under those conditions, however the big group of kids left a few minutes after I got there, and the rink was beautifully peaceful, the public session during the week is really quiet and the ice, considering it's not that cold of a rink, is super solid and always smooth even after a lot of skating. It's a very humble place to skate and they actually play kind of new age Pop music which is kind of cool, and it's super cheap, just seven dollars for a public session for 2 1/2 hours. This is now my go to New York City rink and beats Chelsea Piers by 1000.

It looks a little dated at this point. It's the only observation I would add. It's clean, not terribly crowded like other skating rinks in the city and a good value for the money.

This is pretty close from the 33rd st station, and it is a HUGE rink! I was expecting it to be Rockefeller/Bryant Park/Central Park size but it was about double that size. Our group of 150 got to rent out the place to ourselves, and they charged $8/person (to skate for a good 3 hours). The skates were actually pretty comfy, unlike the Bryant Park ones. I had fun skating on the ice! The food, however, was absolutely terrible (I know, even with my low expectations to begin with). I had a very stale and plastic-like pizza that I ate 1/3 of, some fries that turned cold right away (just had a few) and the hot chocolate was watery. My other friends who ordered food ended up tossing them after a few bites, too. Oh, and you have to go through the revolving doors and down the elevator to use the restroom. Annnd there was only one mini heat lamp on the stands! The place was FREEZING.

I love the ice rink here!! I only gone once but the experience was great!! I always wanted to go here since it looks like a legal rink. Also from reading the other reviews, I thought why not ?! I've been wanting to go ice skating for a while. And finally got to since a friend finally agreed to go with me! (everyone said no! :( ) So anyways, deff visit their website to see what's the schedule . They update the schedule every week. Usually there would be hockey practice or some other things going on but keep a look out for what time for public sessions to begin and end. It might be hard to find the place since Sunnyside is not very crowded and there isn't a lot of people to ask around. But once you find it you're good! (obviously) There are two levels, one where the lockers and bathroom is located - also where you would pay for the admission and for skates if you don't 'have your own pair. Then there's the top floor (the roof top) where the rink is located. The rink is HUGE!!! It's so beautiful! I went on a holiday (weekend of thanksgiving) so there was a lot of kids but if you can skate it wont' be a problem. Oh, also the rink is COLD!!! but there's hot chocolate and some other foods if you want. The staff was quite friendly too. I found them to be professional as well. Deff gave me a good impression of the whole place. I will come again!!

I'm not a fan of indoor ice skating, poor signage, unhelpful staff, or tons of children, but I still had a fun weekend afternoon here so I won't be stingy with my star rating! To save anyone else some trouble you buy admission and pay for skate rental on the second floor, and you rent skates and the rink is on the third floor. They take your shoes at the skate rental and it's freezing inside so you likely won't need to rent a locker unless you are a family with a giant bag of snacks and children's gear... Of which there are plenty. But it also seemed like people just willy nilly left their bags around by the benches and seating area. ‍

Fun fun fun! I went here around two weeks also with my cousins and we had fun. I wish I could rate this place higher but the facility needs a little bit of a facelift. Another thing is that when you get there, someone is there operating the elevator, but she didn't tell you where anything eat lol. We were like oook we are on the second floor but do we get off? Like where is the announcement?! Lol another thing is they spray the skates with Lysol so that was really weird to me.

I am going to say that I think this place, while not the fanciest place in the city, has the best ice, bar none. I have played at Riverbank, Chelsea Piers, and this place. There is no comparison. Riverbank's is great, but it's outdoors so it is limited to the winter months. Chelsea Piers is soft and frequently filled with water and wet spots. Put aside the fact that the people here are not the arrogant jerks that the Chelsea Piers people are. It's not the fanciest place. I think the proper analogy is a gym versus a "health club." If you want pretty, go to a "health club." If you want a gym with a good atmosphere, people who are serious about working out with everything you need, and very good equipment, go to a gym. Same as here. Go to Chelsea Piers if you want to be seen. Go to City Ice Pavilion if you want to play hockey.

If you come here for open hockey, you'd better bring 15 to 20 of your friends and two goalies because (even after five years) they can't seem to attract enough skaters. Maybe that's because they change their schedule from week to week and do such a poor job of updating their online schedule. I called to confirm a couple weeks ago and the director of hockey told me the schedule was wrong and he would get someone to fix it...tomorrow. Isn't that a little late? And btw, why don't you update it yourself? Not your job, or beyond your skill level? One recent occasion (with only three skaters) I asked for some extra pucks. I was told someone would bring some. No one ever did. I complained to the front desk afterwards and was told that someone had brought us pucks. I'm sure he saw that we already had a few pucks and figured that was enough. If you want to practice shooting, you want to set up in one spot and shoot pucks by the dozen. You don't want to shoot one puck, chase down the rebound, skate back to your original spot, shoot again, and repeat. The next week I asked for a shooter tutor. Again, no help. I hope someone at the rink reads this and realizes how poorly they serve their hockey customers.

This place is pretty good! They have a full size rink and a snack bar. I take private lessons there and my coach is the best coach you could possibly ask for. She is literally picture perfect. The weekends may a bit crowded. The rental skates are just okay. Some of them stink and are dull. But whatever. The people are really nice there. I have came here about 4 times as of today. The prices are $8 on the weekends and $5 on weekdays. The skate rental is $5 tax included.

Since no other beer leaguer has written a review for this place I figure I owe it to the rink since I spend so a considerable amount of time there. The ice here is awesome, they've done a great job keeping it hard and there is no ditch or whatever you want to call what Chintzy Piers has around the boards. The puck bounces off the boards predictably and flat. While every rink has it's share of douche bags this place isn't so bad. It's a pretty friendly environment overall. BYOB as with any other rink. There are actual locker rooms so teams can dress together. Free parking is a plus if you have a car. It's less than 2 Avenues from the 7 at the 33rd stop. Much shorter walk than over to 13th avenue at Chintzy. Game on!

I can't really rate the experience because I didn't actually make it inside but I could offer you some advice if you do think of going to this place. This ice rink is located in a very commercial area and in a commercial building, so if you intend of going out somewhere nice this is not the place to go to. I didn't check in advance their schedule online and arrived around 7:00 at night and there was no one at the front desk, when all of a sudden some huge guy dressed in the full hockey costume falls out of the elevator (Apparently the ice rink is located on the roof of the building) and when asked where you can pay he pointed to a room at the end of the hallway where some one was selling gear, and this guy tells us that there is no public sessions at night, only in the middle of the day. So my suggestion is that if you wanna to try this place then check their schedule online first.

Public skating during the weekend can be pandemonium with crazy child madness on the ice and little ones crawling around the bleachers with skates on. And maybe a few maniacal adult skaters adding to the mayhem. The skate guards are very hands-off. Scary! However, when the kiddies are not around, it is not crowded and is positively delightful. The ladies' room is not pristine, but there is a changing room. The lockers (75 cents) are larger than at the other rinks. Staff is friendly. It's a little dark, which is sad, compared with Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers, which has large windows that open onto the Hudson. Free bleachers -- yes, at Wollman you have to actually pay to be a spectator; and Sky Rink has limited room -- for your friend to sit and do whatever he or she wishes, such as play games on the phone or read a book on the iPad or maybe watch you skate and take embarrassing pictures. This rink is on an isolated block or two -- un-locatable by GPS or the app on your phone!! Even from a helicopter it is non-descript. There is a parking lot and they say there are plenty of spots, but there are not. LaGuardia CC is a few blocks away on a busy street where the #7 train stops. The walk from there to the rink is a little deserted and feels sort of sketchy. If you do take the train that Google maps suggest, you have to cross the bridge. Be forewarned. It is so confusing to get there. This is a good rink to go to on the weekend if you have kids and want to sit indoors to watch them, or if you live in Queens.

What would Brian Boitano do? Not sure. But I digress. The rink is no fuss, no muss and a great way to spend some downtime. Only complain is, the staff needs better crowd controlling skills. People were going every which way instead of collectively skating one way. I'm sure lots of injuries occur this way.

I love this ice skating rink soooo much, the rental skates fit perfectly, the ice is so smooth, I recommend going here best rink in queens, and the staff members are really nice!!:)

I've recently gone back to the sport of figure skating after a ten year hiatus from it. I said good bye to loops, flips, lutzes, axels, salchows, toe loops and said hello to progressives, swing rolls, waltzes, tangos, and all the fun footwork in ice dance. I do miss the feeling of landing a double jump that you've spent hours on your ass trying to get it right or spinning and doing some crazy spin combinations like camel, sit, change sit, layback but then I remember why I quit figure skating in the first place (its S-C-A-R-Y and big bruises & cuts/scrapes all over my body from falling is not fun). I've been to City Ice Pavilion twice and had good experiences there. The public sessions in the middle of the day, midweek are so quiet, and its only $5! The freestyle session I attended was in the evening so I felt old b/c all the kids were practicing their programs for a competition and their skater parents are all at the side of the rink watching like hawks. The walk to the rink to/from the 7 train is short but a little scary at night b/c there's no one on the street! Probably not doing that in a while...or at least will bring my kick scooter with me so I can just scoot my way to the rink in record time. Ice quality is pretty good and the rink is a nice Olympic sized-rink. There are bleacher seating on the side of the rink so if there were a exhibition, competition, or hockey game it would be quite a comfortable viewing area for the audience.

The story is that the guy who built this made it so his kid would have a place to skate and play hockey because there wasn't anything like this in Queens. It's wild how it's top of a building. I like looking at the ceiling and thinking of space. I love this place. 13 for skates and ice time. 8 if you have your own skates. And their skates are fine. Not that plastic crap at antiquated skating rinks. No disruptions, completely hassle free. Watch out for little kids pulling down their parents to the ice.

Came here with a local community center group of kids, ages 6-18. The staff and place is nice, but we had an awesome experience with the CityIce Café!! THE PIZZA WAS GOOD! The guy (I think his name is Mike...? See photo!) is a masterful one-man show, managing to produce 4 NY style pizza pies, all the while making coffee and taking orders from other skaters & visitors. He did it all, with a great smile and attitude. Made the experience really quite perfect. We will be back :)

Pro's -New/well maintained -Cheap ($8 plus $5 more if you need skates) -Nice space in the middle for people (like me!) who want to spin and jump Con's -Too crowded for my taste -Slowest.Elevators.EVER I am sure most places like this are crowded in NYC on the weekends but I could barely move on the ice and I like to skate fast. I grew up and took lessons in CT and never saw any place this crowded. As you can imagine with lots of people the ice got banged up pretty quickly and even with a zamboni run in the middle of the public session it didn't help for long. It's a convenient and cheap way to spend the afternoon but if you really want to do anything more than slowly skate around I'd find somewhere else.

Went to a meetup here (www.randomeventsny.com) and promptly signed up for lessons. Affordable lessons! I highly recommend City Ice to anyone wanting to learn. Whether you've never skated before or want to advance your skills, it's the perfect venue. Class size is small (4 people in mine), so teachers are able to give each person the attention needed. They do a wonderful job of dividing students up in terms of age and skill level, enabling everyone to progress at his/her own rate in a comfortable atmosphere. Our teacher, Ziad, is FANTASTIC. He's very focused, but at the same time he's fun-loving, patient, and encouraging. We have a blast every week. I just passed Adult 1 (yay!) and I'm definitely requesting him for future classes. The rest of the staff is great, too. Everyone from administration, to coaches, to skate guards is friendly and helpful. Note to parents: They are fab with kids as well! (Semesters are 8 weeks. Fee includes skate rental, 30 min. lesson, the general skate session on the day of class, and USFSA registration/evaluation. Free parking, but it's a small-ish lot. Bring quarters for the lockers!)

In high school, ice skating meant wollman or rockefeller center. Both are only open in the winter, crowded, expensive, crap rentals, etc. Hence, I never really liked ice skating. This place has completely changed my outlook on ice skating. It is the exact opposite and has none of the problems of the aforementioned popular places. It is cheap. $5 for public skating. Two or three hours on weekdays, more on weekends. You can't even buy a drink at starbucks for $5 anymore. Rentals are also $5. The skates are nice and new! There is very little possibility of collisions because there are very few people here especially given the rink size. It is a full size hockey rink and very rarely are there more than 15 people on the rink. Usually there are only about 5 or 10 especially during weekdays. I highly recommend this place as a simple way to escape the heat in the summer.

I had my daughters 10th bday party here. If u are looking for something different to do for your child's birthday party, this just may be it! We chose a Sunday so we were given a smaller studio rink which was private and for our party only. No worries of older kids or adults whooping passed our kids or getting in their way...just a group of kids hanging out and having a great time. The package included use of a locker for your 1 1/2 hour party, a private host, 1 1/2 - 2 hours of skating and includes 30 minutes with a coach (Michael) who was extremely great with all of the kids including my feisty 2 year old who wanted to skate with the big kids. He was so patient and friendly and he seemed to really enjoy being there to help the kids. As for the party, we were given a locker and a party host (Karen) who was also very patient and made the entire party stress free for me. When I realized I forgot my candles and knife for the cake she saved me. It was totally worth the money and every child there had a great time...every parent couldn't stop telling me what a great idea it was for a party and how happy they were to watch the kids have such a good time.

My son and I wanted to learn how to skate and the Pavilion offers reasonable prices for lessons. My son is having so much fun during his lessons. When we are leaving the rink, he has one of the biggest smiles on his face every time. The instructors are very professional and caring. The rink is a nice size to skate so there's enough room to practicing the lesson without bumping into others. The director of the skating lessons is very friendly and will try her best to accommodate. We are already planning to sign up for the next session.

This place is definitely a hidden gem in an area full of warehouses and distribution centers. I didn't even know this place existed until I was asked to come ice skate for the first time (in my life =O). This place is clean (new--2yrs old) and not crowded. Perfect for beginners like me that need to hug the perimeter. Thanks to my patient and supportive 'teacher', I was good to go after 30 minutes. Admission is $8 and skate rentals are $5. As other Yelpers have mentioned, be sure to bring quarters for the lockers. This place is mainly for private sessions and/or hockey practice. Check their website for their schedule. On this particular night, public skating was from 7:30pm to 9:50pm.

CIP is a great place to bring your kids to skate. And if you need your skates sharpened Brett at the pro shop does a fantastic job. Great customer service!!!

We are regulars at city ice for over 6 years. Coming to the rink is a family event and we have made extended families there. The coaches are great and always willing to work with the ability if each child. City Ice is much more convenient to get to than other rinks via mass transit or driving. Free parking right downstairs and there is *always* a spot!

We love the place. Our 2 kids have been going there for 2.5 years now. Instructors are very professional and care about the students' success. Highly recommended for learning the first steps and taking ice skating to the next level

I enjoy practicing at this excellent rink. The texture of the ice is beautiful and the people who skate there ,and work there, are very friendly, especially Carlos . He goes out of his way, working over and beyond, to make sure that the skaters are safe and happy, and that the ice Is smooth and properly maintained:)

I have the impression that as a New Yorker, born or adopted, there is certain activities that you have to practice. Which one are you thinking about for Winter time? Ice Skating... of course. And it has been necessary 2 years and 1 month for me to do Ice Skating for first time, not only in NY but in my entire life. Ice skating is not what people used to do in Spain, where I lived before . Globalization is changing things, tho and now even the small town where I'm coming from is promoting that Salmantinos practice it; but this is a different history... I was invited for a friend to join a group for ice skating at Ice City Pavilion, a new rink located at Long Island City. My review will not be probably the most objective since be able to compare is key to define what is worse or better. I have however a point of view belonging to the minority of yelpers probably, considering that my ice skating level is the same than people under.. lets say 2 years? .. There was some other adults learning, that's true, but any of them looked as I and some other babies did. So, mostly for beginners. As novel in this field my essentials for a good first experience could be defined as follow: plenty of space and respect, very important. Following by enough exit doors distributed all around the rink, long time for skating, skate rental and please.. covered .. Its 15 degrees outside. For $13 (+ $1 for the small cup of coffee) I got 2 hours of challenge to myself; you can get 3 hours in fact. My first round to the rink took me forever and I looked like If I was superdrunk. The second one took me forever as well. The following ones wasn't too different; I got warm words/help from friends. But it wasn't until a second period of ice skating, after the rink was cleaned, when I started to slid over the ice and feel it thanks to the advice of one the guys in my group. No, it wasn't perfect; I still looked pretty weird but for a second I though "I really want to learn and experience it completely". Going from 1 to 4pm on a Saturday wasn't the best time I think. Time for kids and you have to be more careful. And I swear I had enough work taking care of myself. Said this at the end I barely notice that there was so many kids, it wasn't crowded or disorganized and everyone no matter your skills, had enough space to do their best. I felt very comfortable with the skates and I could keep my bag in the lockers. In between, bring 3 quarters for it and is big enough to keep 1 big bag or 2 bags. I also got a small cup of hot coffee, kind of watery but not bad and gave me a comfy feeling in the ice; and the guy serving it was the funniest I could meet. "Its this decaf?" I asked when I saw two identical jars unidentified. "there is no way I could serve you decaf. What is the point drinking decaf?" that's how I like my coffee server. Hands down. You can also have Tea, Hot chocolate and some baked sweets. I also saw three Happy Birthday parties for kids. Inside of a private area. Some people could maybe think that Ice Skating in NY must be done at Rockefeller Center, Central Park or Bryan Park.. but well, should I be more truly New Yorker surrounded by tourist? I don't think so. I wanna come back. Also as a New Yorker "initiation ritual" maybe looks too much fun when its suppose this rituals has to be hard with aspirants suffering other than having fun. I had fun of course, but do you remember when you did it first time? you can smell the fear and the only time I fall down (hey! only once) it was painful.. I swear it was.

What a hidden gem! I've been to quite a few ice rinks all over NYC and Queens. This place is the best so far. Just off the beaten path along the 7 line. I think this place is new and just opened this winter. Oops I realized I forgot to take pictures. I was having so much fun! Thanks to Judy K. for organizing this fun get together! Plus the cost is only $8 on the weekends with no lines and a mediocre sized crowd. It seems that not many people know about this rink high above the LIC warehouse neighborhood. I have an office the next block over and I didn't even know this place existed! Skates rentals are brand new and cost $5 and lockers are moderately sized to fit your book bag and then some. 75 cents for the lockers so don't forget to bring quarters. They also do birthday parties and have private heated tents inside and cater. There's also a snack booth that sells water & hot dogs and etc. PS - There's a parking garage, not sure how to access it but I saw one. I'll definitely try and make it back again before they close for the season.

My daughter has been going to City Ice for a year every weekend. She has been taking lessons, and they have helped her to be pretty good. She likes going, so that's great for me.

this place is a well kept secret, but it shouldn't be. this newly built rink has excellent facilities and really deserves more press and more customers. i brought my little sister here during that terrible week between xmas and new year's when tourists flood into new york to pillage and purchase. i completely gave up on trying the bryant park or central park rinks when i saw the lines wrapping around the block. i decided to try city ice pavilion and i was amazed that it wasn't packed to the gills. city ice pavilion is about a mile's walk from my LIC apt. it's tucked away in an industrial neighborhood near laguardia college. but easily accessible to all since it's just a short walk from the 7 train. i was really happy with the low prices - $8 ticket entry and $5 skate rental. plus, if you bring a big group, they'll give you a discount, just talk to one of the older looking people wearing a city ice jacket. the ice skates are all brand new and are really top quality skates--they have a ton of padding to protect your ankles and are amazingly comfortable. other useful info: skip the empty locker rooms (i think they're for teams or sports use) and use the coin operated lockers right outside the rink. but be warned that you can only use them once--if you want to grab something from the locker and keep skating, it'll be another 75 cents to lock it again.

Note: this review is for the adult hockey league only. I wish I could give City Ice's adult hockey league zero stars. Negative stars in fact. After being a loyal and paying customer for this league's first 3 years in business I've finally had enough of this nightmare. They have the audacity to raise their prices to the most in the tri-state area. NORTH AMERICA in fact! They increased their prices by 26% making them more expensive than even Chelsea Piers, despite the fact that their ice is awful, they've been through 4 league managers in just the past season alone, they can't figure out how to make a schedule where all the teams play each other an equal number of times, some of their officials are hands down the worst I have ever seen, half of their showers are missing heads, and oh yea, they're not even in Manhattan. World Ice Arena, which is less than a 10 minute drive away, is a fraction of the cost and has better ice. Ice House in NJ charges less than these clowns AND they give you 4 more games plus 2 free practices. There's also Aviator in Brooklyn and even Lasker Rink in Central Parl during the winter. And, oh yea, somehow Chelsea Piers is even less money per game now. DO NOT GIVE CITY ICE YOUR BUSINESS!!!

a treasure! super cheap, esp for nyc nice clean facility very friendly staff what a nice place