Greenpoint

Its side streets, named alphabetically from Ash to Quay along the waterfront, are lined with frame and brick rowhouses, small apartment buildings and old street trees. Corbel & Stoop's walk-ups here, The Milton, Java Street House and Huron Row, sit on exactly those blocks, a few minutes from the shops on Manhattan Avenue and the river at the ends of the streets.

The neighborhood keeps a working-waterfront feel even as new parks and piers have opened along the shoreline, and the skyline views across the river are some of the best in the borough.

Dining, shopping and entertainment

Manhattan Avenue is the main street, with Polish bakeries, delis and butchers alongside newer wine bars and restaurants. Franklin Street runs parallel closer to the water, with cafés, small boutiques and cocktail bars. Radio Bakery is a 3-minute walk, Karczma and the WORD bookstore are each about 5 minutes away, and Me and Paul's is a 5-minute walk for an evening drink. CTown Supermarkets, 2 minutes away, covers the weekly groceries.

Parks and the outdoors

WNYC Transmitter Park, a 7-minute walk, has a lawn and a fishing pier facing Midtown. To the north, the Newtown Creek Nature Walk winds along the creek beside the wastewater plant's silver digester eggs, and McGolrick Park, a shaded square inland, hosts a weekend farmers market. McCarren Park, on the Williamsburg border, adds a running track, ball fields and a public pool in summer.

Getting around

The G train stops at Greenpoint Av, about 3 minutes on foot, and at Nassau Av, roughly 12 minutes away, connecting to the L, the 7 and the E/M within a stop or two. The NYC Ferry's Greenpoint landing at India Street runs down the East River to Midtown and Wall Street. The Pulaski Bridge carries a protected bike lane into Long Island City, and the Kent Avenue bike lane runs south through Williamsburg.