Residents of Long Island City, Queens, can also have the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop, but most of the high-rises on the water are rentals. Citylights, a 10-year-old building at 4-74 48th Avenue, has a two-bedroom, two-bath co-op on the 38th floor on the market for $560,000. The living room looks out on the United Nations.

Less familiar but perhaps even more breathtaking are the views from the bedrooms and the terrace, stretching east onto Long Island, north toward the Bronx and south into Brooklyn.

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