After a bunch of emails requesting more information about New York I felt like it was time to expand on the New York section. If there is anything more that you want to know, keep you emails coming!
"Manhattan? Uptown? Queens? I just want to stay in New York!"
I used to get that a lot. So how will you know where to stay and is Manhattan part of New York? Well read on below and you might be surprised.
Lets start at the beginning.
NYC is split up into "boroughs" just like Paris has "arrondissements" but this is about New York, Paris is for another time.... so what is a "borough"? A borough is a division/county of New York. so you have "New York City" and then you have smaller divisions of it.
New York City has five boroughs to be exact: Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. (Please refrain from calling New York "Manhattan" that just confuses everyone.) If you are planning on traveling to these different areas then be prepared to take a tolled bridge or tunnel or shell out for the ferry. Why? You might ask. Well of these five boroughs all but one are located on islands:
Manhattan is an island
Staten Island is an island
Queens ("Queens County") and Brooklyn ("Kings County") are on the western tip of Long Island, side by side
The Bronx is on the mainland
Side fact: Brooklyn is the most populated borough but Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban populated area in the world.
Bonus fact: Skyscrapers in Manhattan are concentrated in Midtown and the lower part as the other areas of the island are too week to support the structures.
Now that we have the large picture in place, lets make it more confusing!
Since you've decided what borough you want, how about the different city sections. New York is notorious for it's acronyms:
DUMBO – Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (formally Gairville)
great views of Manhattan and New York's Bridges
up and coming industrial neighborhood
found between Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges
FiDi – Financial District
wall street
found in the southern tip of Manhattan
LES – Lower East Side
was an immigrant, working class neighborhood that cleaned up and got popular
listed on America's Most Endangered Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
found between the Bowery / East River / Canal Street / Houston Street
NoHo – North of Houston Street
primarily residential upper-class
most of the 125-building area is a historic district
found between Broadway / Bowery / E. 9th / E. Houston St
NoLiTa – North of Little Italy
considered part of Little Italy but has lost the Italian character due to the influx of yuppie
s
found between Houston st / Bowery / Broome St / Lafayette St (east of SoHo, south of NoHo, west of LES, and north of Little Italy/Chinatown)
SoHo – South of Houston Street
largest collection of cast iron architecture in the world
location of many artists lofts and art galleries with an array of shopping
found in lower Manhattan
TriBeCa – Triangle Below Canal Street ("The Triangle")
Originally called "New Amsterdam" by Dutch settlers who farmed the land
Home to lots of artists, actors, models, entrepreneurs, and celebrities
found in lower Manhattan between canal St / West St / Broadway / Chambers or Vesey or Murray St
Tribeca Film Festival is held here
UWS – Upper West Side
very affluent area, primarily residential
known as being a cultural and intellectual hub with two universities in the area
found in Manhattan between Central Park / Hudson river / W. 59th St. / W. 110th St.
UES – Upper East Side
one of the wealthiest neighborhoods
formally named "the Silk Stocking District" (they made them here)
found between Central Park / Fifth Ave / 59th St / East River / 96th St
includes Lenox hill, Carnegie Hill, and Yorkville
If you are a Sex & the City fan, this is the area that Carrie lived in
There is an unofficial "Little Britain" found around Greenwich Avenue in the West Village, Manhattan. Tea & Sympathy has a traditional English tea room that has visited by many British celebrities from David Bowie to Kate Moss, Joss Stone, Rupert Everett, and more .
Now that you know more about New York you should feel more comfortable picking a place to stay when you do go. If you don't or if you want to know more about something New York just drop me a line and I'll expand the New York series.
