"Honestly, these days I’m starting to think that New York, the New York of your dreams, the one where you were going to move there to become a name, to have your name read somewhere, is a constant mirage." Feel this sentiment, and I think it's a common one. The NY of dreams, I find, exists for most between years ~2-5. The first year beats you up, then you find your footing, and then things change at such a pace that is, often, worse, and the place you learned to love starts to look nothing like itself.
I lived in GP in 2016 when people asked "where's that" and wouldn't come hang. I do still love it, just for different reasons, as a destination more than anything.
Reminds me of all the people moving to my native Florida complaining of NY’s cold and noise. All I heard was seasons and energy. 7 years ago I signed up for the NY experience, Greenpoint edition. By then the angsty drumbeat of gentrified guilt was plenty loud. Did the neighborhood go to hell when Pauly G opened the slice shop? Or earlier when Glasserie was still the best meal north of American Playground? If having the best the world has to offer be it soba, croissants, Scandinavian, matcha, ice cream or other only a few blocks away is a nightmare consider me The Sandman.
Greenpointer of almost 10 years! Found a good spot that has miraculously withstood the rent spikes. But I feel you. I loved how "off the beaten path" it felt back when I first came here; a place few people wanted to commute to out of inconvenience. So much charm and character. I still love living here, but now I don't want to do a damn thing on the weekends because everything has become such a THING. Haven't gone to any of these new cool pop up spots bc I'm tired lol.
Archestratus rules. Greenpoint was at one point my absolute favorite neighborhood in New York. But I too have a young kid now. And taught other kids for years before that. And seeing the city though kid colored glasses, it feels like the world of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, where kids exist in theory but in reality are not supposed to actually *be* anywhere. And they’re definitely not going to wait in a 60-person line for a croissant, no matter how hyped it is. TLDR, we have since moved.
this is why I’m a regular at multi-generation, legacy establishments. While the trend crazed NYC transplants suffocate in the latest viral trend, I’m happily elsewhere
Hi Neighbor! I’m in Greenpoint too—been here since 2016 and stayed through COVID. I’ve watched the neighborhood shift a lot. The tiny park by me is basically a dust patch now, but I blame the weird 2021 renovation, not the dogs. The grass never stood a chance.
I also hate that you need a reservation everywhere now. Even the tiniest spots are packed with weekend commuters. I went to Palace on a Friday after laying low for a while—completely packed. I asked someone how they found it: TikTok.
Luckily, my block still has longtime Polish families, and I know my neighbors, my deli guys, and the baristas. That part still feels lovely. I have a friend who’s a regular at a spot, and I wave when I pass him on my walk to work—it’s those little things.
But I’ll never share my secret places. It’s okay to gatekeep.
Syrena Bakery on Norman Ave is a solid alternative to the lines. An OG Polish spot, frequented by families who have been in the neighborhood pre-Girls era. Nothing TikTok-able necessarily but some real authenticity of original Greenpoint
I’ve been a GP/Williamsburg girlie since 2012 and also came to GP for the cheap rents due to a chemical spill that tainted the soil and made no one want to live up here. It bums me out to my core that most people moving here in luxury row are coming from upper east side or are literal college students whose parents are paying for their 1 bedrooms in the Blue Slip.
There was this restaurant on the corner right across from McCarren park... I cannot remember what it was called. It blasted death metal and served cheap and really good macaroni and cheese. My ex-husband and I would go there circa 2013-15 after a full summer day of dancing to a DJ on somebody's roof or in an empty lot, for the price of a pack of cold beer. It was the perfect ending, affordable, and without a wait. That was a good time.
And I think I know the exact tech asshole with the anxious dog you speak of. He and his fiance moved into one of the new tall buildings by the water in 2021. Then he cheated on her, she left the country, and he stayed with their tiny Australian shepherd. He would try to take that dog inside all these bars and restaurants and forcing the employees to tell him, no, you cannot bring your dog inside, no exceptions, it's a health department rule. He would let her run off leash in the park. He was so embarrassing to be around, I'm glad we're not friends anymore.
Oh no I think the place you are talking about is currently “Bernie’s,” which 100 percent is a place that has a line for chicken fingers and other Midwestern child inspired food! And the degree to which there are … so many Australian shepherds … that and the golden doodle.
I also think it’s funny how Greenpoint has all of this artisanal and organic stuff when the actual area itself is soo polluted (home to one of the biggest oil spills in the US)
The great thing about this phenomenon is that if you stay in NYC long enough, you live to see the next Gen valorizing the era you thought was not-quite-as-cool-as-"before" , and wishing to god THEY had only been here to experience the thing you were slightly underwhelmed by in the moment
I live close to GP and this echoed so many of my own feelings ! Completely agree on the SNL comp as well, and I find myself now just wishing it was more affordable and less full of douchebags :/
I think back to something I saw recently about how social media has flattened everything and everything feels the same no matter where you go… no flavor
It’s wild to see the flatness of social media making cities all feel the same, it’s totally true, and kind of a tragedy when it comes to places where the weird regional flavor is important
"Honestly, these days I’m starting to think that New York, the New York of your dreams, the one where you were going to move there to become a name, to have your name read somewhere, is a constant mirage." Feel this sentiment, and I think it's a common one. The NY of dreams, I find, exists for most between years ~2-5. The first year beats you up, then you find your footing, and then things change at such a pace that is, often, worse, and the place you learned to love starts to look nothing like itself.
I lived in GP in 2016 when people asked "where's that" and wouldn't come hang. I do still love it, just for different reasons, as a destination more than anything.
Buckwheat and soba are the same thing, its the Japanese word for buckwheat and all soba is buckwheat.
Wrote this piece about The Dare that feels very tied to the NYC nostalgia complex you mentioned.
https://open.substack.com/pub/andysteiner/p/why-is-everyone-trying-to-kill-the?r=yas04&utm_medium=ios
rip transmitter park 😢
It kills me! Your profile photo is nice though :)
ty I don’t live there anymore but everything about this article is 💯
Reminds me of all the people moving to my native Florida complaining of NY’s cold and noise. All I heard was seasons and energy. 7 years ago I signed up for the NY experience, Greenpoint edition. By then the angsty drumbeat of gentrified guilt was plenty loud. Did the neighborhood go to hell when Pauly G opened the slice shop? Or earlier when Glasserie was still the best meal north of American Playground? If having the best the world has to offer be it soba, croissants, Scandinavian, matcha, ice cream or other only a few blocks away is a nightmare consider me The Sandman.
Greenpointer of almost 10 years! Found a good spot that has miraculously withstood the rent spikes. But I feel you. I loved how "off the beaten path" it felt back when I first came here; a place few people wanted to commute to out of inconvenience. So much charm and character. I still love living here, but now I don't want to do a damn thing on the weekends because everything has become such a THING. Haven't gone to any of these new cool pop up spots bc I'm tired lol.
Archestratus rules. Greenpoint was at one point my absolute favorite neighborhood in New York. But I too have a young kid now. And taught other kids for years before that. And seeing the city though kid colored glasses, it feels like the world of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, where kids exist in theory but in reality are not supposed to actually *be* anywhere. And they’re definitely not going to wait in a 60-person line for a croissant, no matter how hyped it is. TLDR, we have since moved.
this is why I’m a regular at multi-generation, legacy establishments. While the trend crazed NYC transplants suffocate in the latest viral trend, I’m happily elsewhere
Hi Neighbor! I’m in Greenpoint too—been here since 2016 and stayed through COVID. I’ve watched the neighborhood shift a lot. The tiny park by me is basically a dust patch now, but I blame the weird 2021 renovation, not the dogs. The grass never stood a chance.
I also hate that you need a reservation everywhere now. Even the tiniest spots are packed with weekend commuters. I went to Palace on a Friday after laying low for a while—completely packed. I asked someone how they found it: TikTok.
Luckily, my block still has longtime Polish families, and I know my neighbors, my deli guys, and the baristas. That part still feels lovely. I have a friend who’s a regular at a spot, and I wave when I pass him on my walk to work—it’s those little things.
But I’ll never share my secret places. It’s okay to gatekeep.
Syrena Bakery on Norman Ave is a solid alternative to the lines. An OG Polish spot, frequented by families who have been in the neighborhood pre-Girls era. Nothing TikTok-able necessarily but some real authenticity of original Greenpoint
I’ve been a GP/Williamsburg girlie since 2012 and also came to GP for the cheap rents due to a chemical spill that tainted the soil and made no one want to live up here. It bums me out to my core that most people moving here in luxury row are coming from upper east side or are literal college students whose parents are paying for their 1 bedrooms in the Blue Slip.
Sitting at Bar Americano is my personal hell
The dimmest lighting in the world for eating artichokes, hell!
There was this restaurant on the corner right across from McCarren park... I cannot remember what it was called. It blasted death metal and served cheap and really good macaroni and cheese. My ex-husband and I would go there circa 2013-15 after a full summer day of dancing to a DJ on somebody's roof or in an empty lot, for the price of a pack of cold beer. It was the perfect ending, affordable, and without a wait. That was a good time.
And I think I know the exact tech asshole with the anxious dog you speak of. He and his fiance moved into one of the new tall buildings by the water in 2021. Then he cheated on her, she left the country, and he stayed with their tiny Australian shepherd. He would try to take that dog inside all these bars and restaurants and forcing the employees to tell him, no, you cannot bring your dog inside, no exceptions, it's a health department rule. He would let her run off leash in the park. He was so embarrassing to be around, I'm glad we're not friends anymore.
Oh no I think the place you are talking about is currently “Bernie’s,” which 100 percent is a place that has a line for chicken fingers and other Midwestern child inspired food! And the degree to which there are … so many Australian shepherds … that and the golden doodle.
MATCHLESS. It was called Matchless. I just remembered. It was torn down to build a condo.
Woah, I forgot about that Mac n cheese. So good.
Yes! Down the block. Featured in an episode of Girls
I also think it’s funny how Greenpoint has all of this artisanal and organic stuff when the actual area itself is soo polluted (home to one of the biggest oil spills in the US)
Right? It sure is polluted!
The great thing about this phenomenon is that if you stay in NYC long enough, you live to see the next Gen valorizing the era you thought was not-quite-as-cool-as-"before" , and wishing to god THEY had only been here to experience the thing you were slightly underwhelmed by in the moment
You might even say it’s … the circle of life!
I live close to GP and this echoed so many of my own feelings ! Completely agree on the SNL comp as well, and I find myself now just wishing it was more affordable and less full of douchebags :/
I think back to something I saw recently about how social media has flattened everything and everything feels the same no matter where you go… no flavor
It’s wild to see the flatness of social media making cities all feel the same, it’s totally true, and kind of a tragedy when it comes to places where the weird regional flavor is important