A borough full of house rabbits
Queens is one of the more rabbit-dense parts of the city, largely because it has the housing stock for it — apartments and houses with enough floor space for a proper x-pen setup or a free-roam room, which is harder to come by in Manhattan. What it does not have much of is somewhere to leave that rabbit when you travel.
The usual options are a general boarding facility that also houses dogs, or a sitter doing drop-in visits at your apartment. Drop-ins work for a healthy rabbit and a short trip. They work less well when a rabbit has a stasis history, takes daily medication, or when you are gone for two weeks — because the gap between visits is exactly where a gut slowdown turns into an emergency.
Here, your rabbit is the only boarding guest, in a private apartment, with two wellness checks a day. No dogs, no children, no other clients' rabbits. My own rabbit stays behind a closed door in my room for the whole stay.
Routes from Queens
From western Queens — Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside — the Queens-Midtown Tunnel across to Manhattan and then the Lincoln Tunnel is the most direct line. Off-peak it moves; at rush hour you are crossing Midtown twice, which is as slow as it sounds.
From northern and eastern Queens — Flushing, Bayside, Jackson Heights, Corona — the Grand Central to the Cross Bronx and over the George Washington Bridge is usually the better bet, coming down into North Bergen from the north. It avoids Midtown entirely.
From southern Queens — Forest Hills, Jamaica, Richmond Hill — either route works, and honestly whichever one your navigation app likes on the day is probably right.
Expect roughly forty minutes to an hour off-peak. On airport timing: this works well in the Newark direction and poorly in the JFK or LaGuardia direction. If you are flying out of Newark, dropping off here first is close to on the way. If you are flying out of a Queens airport, plan the drop-off as a separate errand the day before rather than squeezing it into departure morning.
Travelling with your rabbit
An hour in a car is longer than most rabbits are used to, but it is very manageable with a bit of preparation. Use a secure carrier with a towel or non-slip mat in the bottom so your rabbit is not sliding on every turn. Cover it with a light cloth — being unable to see the world rushing past is calming rather than frightening for a prey animal. Tuck in a handful of their usual hay, and do not read anything into it if they ignore it.
Once here, I leave new guests alone in the pen with hay and water for the first stretch instead of handling them. Rabbits decompress faster when they get to investigate a new space on their own terms.
The setup
The boarding space is the quietest corner of the apartment: a 30-inch playpen on two 48-inch quilted mats, washable and grippy, with a soft blanket draped over one side so there is always somewhere shaded to hide. Inside are a crinkle tunnel, a plush toy, a heavy ceramic water bowl that will not tip, and a stacking cup for pellets and greens. Everything is cleaned and reset between guests, and you are welcome to bring your rabbit's own enclosure instead.
Medical care included
My own rabbit has megacolon, which means motility medications, critical care syringe feeding, subcutaneous fluids and daily output tracking are part of my normal routine. I do not charge extra to administer medication.
If your rabbit has a stasis history, dental disease, arthritis, a head tilt, or a measured diet, bring the details and any prescriptions to the meet and greet and we will build the stay around them. I keep an exotic vet on call, and I know the early signs of GI stasis — the ones that show up long before a rabbit looks obviously unwell.
Rate
Boarding is $30 per night, plus $20 per night for each additional rabbit, and bonded pairs always stay together. Unlimited hay, fresh water, pellets on schedule, fresh greens per their diet, both daily wellness checks, a morning photo, an evening video, and medication are all included. There is a packing checklist here if you are not sure what to send.
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