April 08, 2022
Queens is Here!
Upland is excited to announce its next expansion on the East Coast with Queens, NY! As a reminder, our strategy for city releases generally revolves around 2 major components: the health and sustainability of the economy, as well as incoming partnerships and activations. While Detroit has successfully created an affordable inventory for new players, we have some work to do on the sustainability side, mostly with regard to secondary market pressure in the Manhattan hub. Hence the launch of the final piece to the NYC puzzle, Queens, which should help alleviate pressure in the Manhattan hub.
TL;DR
- Upland’s Next City is Queens, New York
- Detroit’s Effects on the Market
- Secondary Market Trends in the Manhattan Hub
- Queens Release Details (Terminal Sale & Schedule)
Recapping Detroit
Detroit’s release had a very clear goal of creating affordable opportunities for new players to become a part of the Upland ecosystem. Prior to the release of Detroit, FSA inventory was scarce, and properties below 5k UPX even more so. Now, with the Detroit market up and running, there is still plenty of inventory readily available for new players, with >100k FSA properties below the 5k UPX mark. This should provide a sufficient starting environment for new players for the foreseeable future. Of course, we will continue to monitor property availability and are preparing for future “starter cities” when market demand is sufficient.
Preparing for Queens
As we discussed in the previous city announcement, Detroit was unlikely to have an effect on secondary market markups on the East Coast. After roughly a month later, the data reveals that this assumption was accurate, and there is still work to be done to mitigate secondary market pressure in the sold-out Manhattan hub. Market data shows that markups in Brooklyn and Manhattan remain largely unchanged, and are still trending slightly upwards. In order to ensure this trend is not artificially created by the lack of natural supply in NYC, the next step is to inject the last borough - Queens.
This means that the entirety of New York City (across all 5 boroughs) will finally be available! Expansions in the Manhattan hub (beyond NYC) are still a possibility pending suitable economic conditions. Now, onto the details!
Queens Release Details:
Queens is currently planned to release on Wednesday, April 13th, at 8:00 AM PT, and roughly ~20% of properties in Queens will be reserved under the “Fair Start Act” (FSA). As with most recent city releases, Queens will be released in “Vanilla mode”, and collections will be revealed 1 week after the release. The release of Queens will be preceded by a stress test on Tuesday, April 12th, at 8:00 AM PT.
City Information
Send Fees (Lo/Hi/Default): 20/100/40 UPX
Airport: No
Train Terminal: Yes
Collections: ~16 - 22
FSA Allocation: ~20%
Treasure Hunt Tier: 2
Fun Facts About Queens
- Queens is named after an actual queen! Back in Colonial America when the British colony was established, Queens was originally named for Queen Catherine Braganza, wife of Charles II.
- The Queens borough boasts a whopping 2.3 million residents. If Queens decided to secede from the rest of New York City, it would be the fourth largest city in America!
- Queens is home to the famed Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Park, a monument to the 1964 World’s Fair, a global event aimed at celebrating the achievements of nations around the world.
Queens Terminal Sale
Starting now, players can be able to register for the upcoming sale of Queens terminals taking place on Saturday, April 9th, at 10:00 AM PT. Because JFK is defined as a part of Manhattan, we will be adding a special bus terminal that will allow players to travel to Queens directly from JFK. This means that players will not be able to “send” to properties in Queens directly after disembarking from the plane, and must board the bus to travel there.
Registration for Queens travel terminals will only be available in the Upland Store on the web version of the Upland app.
Registration Details:
Registration Start: Friday, April 8th, at 9:30 AM PT
Registration Close: Saturday, April 9th, at 9:00 AM PT
Sale Start: Saturday, April 9th, at 10:00 AM PT
Train Terminal Qty: 20
Train Terminal Pricing: $475
Bus Terminal Qty: 10
Bus Terminal Pricing: $225
Note: An additional 20 train terminals will be unlocked as demand grows in the NYC hub.
Getting to Queens
Note: Travel routes to Queens will have boosted capacity for a few days prior to and during the release.
Queens Release Schedule
Tuesday (4/12)
- 8:00 AM PT: Stress Test Begins with the opening of the “Woodside” and “Jackson Heights” neighborhoods in Queens, NY.
- Similar to the Upland Fire Drill, we will be dropping Pinatas and Sends in order to increase activity during the test. Keep an eye out next week for more test details.
Wednesday (4/13)
- 8:00 AM PT: The entirety of Queens will be released
- A 5-minute warning will be issued prior to the start of the city opening
Note: As a reminder, if we see signs that the city release experience is sub-optimal, we will take immediate action and lock any unminted properties. If required, this may be followed by a brief maintenance period.
Get ready to explore the rich and unique history of NY’s largest borough, Queens!
P.S. Channel your NYC State of Mind with Upland's curated Queens playlist and Custom Wallpapers!
P.P.S. To help players better plan their Queens minting strategy, we wanted provide players with a heads up on which properties will not be available following the launch of Queens. The following properties have been reserved as Landmarks for future distribution.
- Louis Armstrong House - 3456 107TH ST
- Ralph Johnson Bunche House - 11524 GROSVENOR RD
- King Manor - 150-03 JAMAICA AVE
- Old Quaker Meeting House - 13716 NORTHERN BLVD
- Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36TH ST
- Silvercup Studios - 42-22 22ND ST
- John Bowne House - 3701 BOWNE ST
- Steinway Mansion - 18-33 41ST ST
- Kingsland Homestead - 14335 37TH AVE
P.P.P.S. Need help getting to Queens? Check out this short video on how to travel from JFK to Queens!