Three Brooklyn Neighborhoods That Everyone Should Visit

Image source: Flickr - David Berkowitz

Brooklyn—specifically, Williamsburg—is New York City’s cradle for all things hip and au courant, to hear the New York Times tell it. Über-cool shops, restaurants and watering holes are opening up seemingly every week, and the Style pages are flush with photos of bright young things who are “influencers” and “tastemakers” in this great city. What you don’t see, though, are the other ‘hoods that are home to countless enclaves, the unflashy, humble, hardworking cultural groups who provide a different set of touch points that truly make New York City the diverse place that it is. Here’s a look at a small (small) part of this kaleidoscopic borough.

Crown Heights

There is a huge resurgence in this neighborhood, home to a large population of Orthodox Jews and people of Caribbean descent (from Jamaica, Haiti and other islands). Gentrification on the border closer to Prospect Heights brings with it restaurants, bars and shops, all falling in line with Brooklyn’s current hipness, yet still contributing to the neighborhood’s charms. Don’t miss Crown Heights’s claim to fame, the annual, raucous West Indian American Day Parade—with its noisy, colorful regalia—which marches down Eastern Parkway every summer. A sort-of Carnival, it brings out the neighborhood’s vast population to join in the revelry, complete with feathers, dancers and lots of color. Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and Brooklyn Museum are all within walking distance, providing an ample dose of institutional culture should you need it.

Brighton Beach

The staggering number of signs in Russian should not intimidate or stop you from visiting this enclave, which bears the nickname Little Odessa. The area is steps from that more iconic New York beach—Coney Island—so by proxy, it’s an area worth exploring. The food alone is a staggering panoply of flavors, with spots slinging shashliks (shish kebabs) and garlicky chicken tabaka, as well as anything pickled. Swing by Brighton Bazaar, a behemoth of a grocery store, which is also basically a DIY-flavor-passport, dishing out hundreds of dishes as varied as blinis to sausages. Of course, don’t forget the beach itself, one of the best in the City.

Sunset Park

Home to a growing Mexican population and Brooklyn’s very own Chinatown, Sunset Park is a thriving neighborhood on the borough’s west side, minutes from Park Slope and Gowanus. The namesake park boasts some of the best views of Manhattan, Staten Island and New Jersey (believe it!) but more than that, it’s a vibrant area with tons to do, see and eat. Diverse pan-Asian restaurants and Latin American spots line the main drag, offering authentic flavors at reasonable prices. Step into La Fe for its Puerto Rican mofongo or Ba Xuyen for arguably the city’s best banh mi sandwich. If you’re feeling like a macabre stroll, Green-Wood Cemetery is a hilly reprieve from city bustle while also an interesting lesson in New York history (Boss Tweed and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher are laid to rest here).

Note: Available plans and coverages may have changed since this blog was published.