Neighborhoods

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Permalink Reply by Rick Ethington on October 29, 2007 at 3:41pm

I live in the South Bronx inbetween neighborhoods Morrissania and Hunt's Point.

I like the fruit stand down the street and the eLevated 5 and 2 track a couple blocks from our door. The evangelist with an amp and a microphone at the corner across from the Hunt's Point stop on the 6. I can't understand a word he's saying, however, I know it means something to him to be saying it to everyone half a block away. The trains stopping and going make a very specific chord I've never sussed out and we can hear them while we're trying to go to sleep. There's an underground/independent recycling group who collects all of the bottles and cans on recycling days.

I don't like the planes overhead, the same song played over and over on the loudest car audio system on the streets, the Bronx Incinerators, the idling traffic on the freeways a mile away, the soot on our windowsill from the aforementioned, the terrible condition the fruit is in by the time they are trucked out here from california.

Et cetera.

I love NY, I don't really have a favorite neighborhood.

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Permalink Reply by Type (little) a on November 3, 2007 at 9:14am

Although I live in NJ now, I've lived in several neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan. I've lived in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, which was very loud and busy, lots of apartment buildings, mixed with houses. There were a lot of new immigrants from Russia and China, so they gave an extra cultural flavor to a Traditionally Italian Neighborhood.

Then I moved to the East Village, 2nd ave and 12th street. While it was awesome to walk to work and not have to leave Manhattan Island, it was not as awesome as I thought it would be. There were drunks and noise 24/7,And it was damn near impossible to park my car.

So I moved to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The commute wasn't GREAT, but it wasn't awful or anything. And the neighborhood was charming. There were TONS of bars, lounges, restaurants, parks and fun things to do. And it was a community in it's own right, without being insular.

Since I've moved to NJ, I miss walking. I don't miss street parking.

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Permalink Reply by Julie C on November 4, 2007 at 7:46am

I've lived in Queens for three years now. Half of that was spent in Forest Hills Gardens, which is a gorgeous area (mansions! curving streets lined with stately trees! YARDS!) that I would never have suspected would even be in New York.

The first summer here, I was in South Williamsburg, right next to Broadway. It was fascinating how my block was loud, messy and run down, with one group of people. Two blocks away, on the other side of Broadway, another group lived, and it was quiet, green, and clean. Amazing how quickly and drastically neighborhoods change!

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Permalink Reply by Rick Ethington on November 4, 2007 at 8:15am

It's like pockets of culture fighting to survive in a homogenizing city.

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Permalink Reply by Nina on November 17, 2007 at 6:15pm

I live in Tudor City, and although the neighborhood is dull, I find the longer I am here, the harder it is to leave. When I moved to the city five years ago, my brother gave me one day to help me find apartments. He walked me up 41st street into Tudor City and said, "If you don't move here, I'll kill you." Why? Because he knew I would be safe and comfortable and SAFE in this neighborhood.

My New York is very different from other people's, and I regret that sometimes. This is why I make an effort to socialize everywhere, including other boroughs (I am in love with Jackson Heights and the South Bronx) so my life in New York consists of more than a few blocks of lovely safety.

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Permalink Reply by TheJerseyTomato on November 21, 2007 at 5:22pm

As someone living across the river, I usually spend my time near MSG for work reasons. But I ventured down to Alphabet City just 2 weeks ago and man has it changed since the 80s... when I wasn't allowed to go past 1st Ave. Men in fine black coats pushing baby carriages. A great German restaurant (the reason we walked a total of 70 blocks that day!). What a nice place it's turned out to be... neighborhood-oriented with stores that Greenwich used to have. The NY that I grew up with (without the sleazy guys handing out flyers near the peepshow theaters by the PA).

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Permalink Reply by Neelofer on November 3, 2008 at 7:37am

I live in Prospect Heights and I love my proximity to the Brooklyn Museum and Prospect Park. There's a healthy mix of families and young people in the neighbourhood. We have a range of dining options with most being small businesses invested in the community. We have excellent access to public transportation (B/Q/C/2/3/4/5 and several buses). Not to mention, it's an extremely pretty neighbourhood with all the brownstones.

Oddly enough, I can't really think of anything I dislike. It's a great place to live. In fact, I would call it my favourite neighbourhood.

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