Construction is underway on a solar canopy above the Court Square parking garage in Long Island City, adding a large source of clean power to a corner of the neighborhood otherwise dominated by high rises.
The project has been in the works since 2017. It’s DCAS’s first parking garage solar canopy anywhere in the city, and it’s expected to produce enough power annually to offset roughly 335 metric tons of CO2, similar to taking dozens of cars off the road for a year.
The garage sits at 45-40 Court Square, next to the landmarked Long Island City Courthouse. DCAS presented the project to Queens Community Board 2’s Land Use and Housing Committee last October, and photos shared on social media now show work happening on site.
The canopy will also bring four public EV charging stations to the garage, letting eight vehicles charge at once, along with new LED lighting to replace the current fixtures.
Long Island City has added thousands of new residents and apartments over the past decade, and the city has been under pressure to add clean energy infrastructure to match that growth. The project is part of a broader city mandate to install 150 megawatts of solar power on city-owned property by 2035. A garage roof that currently does nothing but collect rain will instead generate power for the grid.
The canopy is designed to sit low, about 12 to 13 feet above the top deck, and blend in with the existing building rather than tower over it.
Construction started around the end of 2025 and is on track to wrap up by October 2026.
