What has changed in New York since September 11, 2001? In a series of several posts, the Travel blog invites you to rediscover the most fascinating metropolis in the Americas. Today: the evolution of the different districts of the city.
In the old days, New York was almost like Manhattan, in the minds of many visitors. Today the five boroughs of the city have almost all become a destination in themselves: on the one hand, these vast municipalities have changed a lot and form cities in their own right; on the other hand, frequent travelers who come back to New York again and again want to discover something new with each new visit. Brief overview of the inventory.
Manhattan
It’s still the heart of the city, especially in Lower Manhattan, especially this week, as all eyes in the world are on the Financial District, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. To revive this neighborhood that was touched to the heart 10 years ago, the New York & Co. tourism promotion agency even launched a vast promotional campaign last June to encourage visitors to explore this area of the city more. .
Further north, Soho remains the district of chic boutiques, art galleries and trendy restaurants, as do its new neighbors, Noho (North of Houston St.) and Nolita (North of Little Italy). Tribeca is becoming less commercial and more residential (and remains the stronghold of Robert de Niro), while the Lower East Side has literally transformed into one of the last fashionable neighborhoods.
The former beatnik hideaway of Greenwich Village continues to look like a village, gentrified but still fun to walk around. East Village, infrequent in the 90s, is now populated by young urban executives and followers of neighborhood life, who appreciate its community atmosphere and urban vegetable gardens. As for Chelsea, it is now prized by a certain fringe of artists and gallerists, and a little neglected by its gay population, but the Meatpacking District has become very popular there, especially since the development of the High Line Park.
Going further up Manhattan, Times Square is brighter than ever and has been granted more pedestrian space, while the East Side and Upper East Side still exude luxury and opulence to the south and east. of Central Park. Finally, the black community of Harlem is no longer the majority, in this former ghetto in full rebirth and… in full gentrification.
Brooklyn
Even if there are some less desirable areas (such as Flatbush or Bed Stuy), Brooklyn has been the target of a real craze in recent years, especially in Williamsburg (a once multiethnic and now trendy district, which evokes the Plateau. ), Park Slope (young good-chic, good-natured families, Victorian streets and the gastronomic epicenter of Brooklyn) and Carroll Gardens (a former Italian neighborhood increasingly inhabited by French speakers), but also Red Hook and DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) , both colonized by artists. At the other end of the borough, Coney Island has for its part been revitalized in recent years, while preserving its incomparable kitsch side.
Queens
The largest of boroughs of New York remains modest but also the most multi-ethnic of New York: you can feel a bit of Greece (Astoria), Ireland (Woodside), Romania and Turkey (Sunnyside), ‘Latin America (Corona Heights), India and the Philippines (Jackson Heights), China and Korea (Flushing)… It is also in Queens that the MoMA moved its houses during its renovations, which breathed new life into the Long Island City neighborhood. To see in particular: the brand new Museum of Moving Image and the Kaufmann Astoria Studio (former Paramount cinema studios), the PS1 (the annex of the MoMA) as well as the Louis Armstrong house-museum (in Flushing Meadows).
Bronx
Located north of Manhattan, it is the last fiefdom of popular New York, where hip hop was primarily born and where the new Yankees stadium and a Little Italy 100% authentic – unlike the one in Manhattan. But borough remains predominantly poor and therefore less secure in places. That said, young families and many artists have made it their home in recent years due to low rents and improved metro lines. Notable places to see: Edgar Allen Poe’s house, the Bronx Museum of Art and the largest zoo in the United States.
Staten Island
The least known, the least populous and the most remote boroughs New Yorker runs along New Jersey, west of Brookyn. Accessible thanks to the ferry of the same name, it essentially looks like a typical suburb of the United States.
For more information on boroughs of New York, visit the New York City & Co.
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