Borough Romantics Push Back Against Un-Romantic Poll

Though Queens may be the borough of airports, home of the New York Mets and the most diverse county in the nation, there's one thing it is not: the romance capital of New York.

At least, that's according to a recently released NY1/Marist College Valentine's Day poll, which ranks the love quotient of each of the five boroughs.

Leading the pack is Manhattan, with 64 percent of respondents calling the borough of towering skyscrapers like the Empire State Building and bucolic playgrounds such as Central Park the most romantic. Next is Brooklyn, boasting the Promenade, a plethora of city charm and a mood-setting iconic bridge, with 18 percent.

As for Queens, it turns out that our low-rise, car-centric and backyard-loving borough runs a distant third, nabbing just 9 percent in the city "love" poll. Staten Island and The Bronx fared even worse, with a mere 6 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

A handful of customers at Deepdale Florist in Little Neck this Valentine's Day took exception to the general consensus that Queens lacks a certain je ne sais quoi in the l'amour department.

"Whatever borough you're in — that's the one that's the most romantic," said Douglaston resident Robert Marzan, who snagged a single red rose for his wife early this morning. 

Doug Martell, a Lake Success native browsing for bouquets at the flower shop on Horace Harding Boulevard, offered a similar take on whether or not Queens was the most romantic of the city's boroughs.

"It's all a matter of perspective. My wife and I love the Mets, so the most romantic thing I can think of is watching the team at Citi Field," Martell said. "Though most women wouldn't call that romantic."