Five Lower Manhattan Neighborhoods: Top Picks



Top Picks. Yeah right. Impossible. Not New York. More so for lower Manhattan. This part of the city has too many to choose from. In fact, I find it's hard to think of anything or any place that has yet to be written about. New York is the epicenter of the global media and because of this no establishment or experience can escape the attention of the thousands of writers, photographers, television producers and amateur bloggers that scour the metropolis daily for new material. Sometimes all this information can be tiring and the choices overwhelming - yes, enough to spoil your trip to the city. Best to just trust your instincts and forget what the experts say (many are fronts for PR firms) and go ahead and tour the city with the originality only your own set of eyes and ears can provide. So forget what the style gurus think is cool or hip today - they'll be replacing that list in a week anyway.

Here are some timeless (and tireless) classics I suspect will outlive the hit lists of the moment:

The East Village (and Alphabet City).
On my first extended trip to New York in 1991 it wasn't easy exploring the East Village even in daylight. The neighborhood was, well, dodgy - and the streets messy. For sure this was its appeal. It gave the area the kind of street cred New Yorkers are crazy about and love to romanticize (which musicals like RENT capture so well). In reality, a walk through the hood was less ideal with drug dealers coming up to you and all sorts of paranoid characters looking over the shoulders when. It was a bohemian enclave before bohemians became the cultural icons they are today. The shabby chic vibe was a necessity for cash-strapped residents and not the self-conscious come-on it is nowadays. Food was cheap(er) and the merchandise on sale pretty much unique to this part of town.

Fast forward to this decade and so much has changed. Romantics will bewail the neighborhood's gentrification and loss of authenticity. Cheap eats in ramshackle holes in the wall have been replaced by new restaurants built to look, well, ramshackle and shabby- but with dishes priced like mid-Manhattan establishments.

Starving artists (again, like those glamorized in RENT) have since moved up the income ladder or moved out and the neighborhood is exploding with professionally run boutiques, cafes and restaurants that appeal to the BOBOs or bourgeois bohemians that have made the East Village their home.

But there's an upside to some amount of commercialism and gentrification. At least the quality of food is better. And so are the shops. Local entrepreneurs understand the hip appeal of the neighborhood and are using it to launch shops that sell the one of a kind stuff wealthy bohemians like to consume - in an environment that is much safer and gentler.

Spend time strolling past the old apartment buildings and neighborhood shops. The boho cum hippie vibe is still alive and can be sampled in any one of the many organic restaurants or "Free Myannmar" support group headquarters. I guess this partly explains the bias for cuisine from developing Latin, Asian and African countries. Ironically, you won't find many of them living or eating in these places (except in the back kitchen), but quality is high and owners put a lot of work into making your experience an authentic one.


Greenwich (and West) Village.

Although still romanticized in fiction, the West Village has long given up its bohemian pretensions. The area is home to successful celebrities, designers, entrepreneurs and financial executives. Which is not necessarily bad since the neighborhood's new sophistication has rubbed off on the local economy and the selection of bookstores, delis, clothes shops, restaurants and lifestyle stores are of very high quality.

The New York University campus provides the much needed diversity and youthful energy that gentrification often kills. Students also need cheap food and it's good to know that many of the pizza joints of my NYU days are alive and kicking.

The shopping streets around Broadway Avenue in the Village are a great place to sample the edgy street wear popular among the young. Sneaker freaks and vintage clothes afficionados will enjoy the wide range of choices here.

Bleecker street is always a joy to rediscover as are the many cobblestone streets that intersect it. Keep an eye out for shops selling vintage items, vinyls as well as cutting edge fashion from Europe and New York. Celebrity watchers will be thrilled as many famous artists, writers and actors live and shop in the neighborhood.

Soho.

Cliche, I know, but I can't blame the neighborhood for attracting tourists all wanting to experience the kind of stylishness New York is known for. We all know the story by now - you know, that one about how Soho was once where poor artists lived in the area's rundown buildings and transformed them into spaces to create and exhibit their art. Well, that must have been ages ago because as early as the 80's, pretty much all of Soho was converted into ultra chic lofts for the ultra rich of Manhattan. Everything else has been turned into retail palaces for the globe's fashion and lifestyle elite.

Skip the neighborhood if you're on the cheap. You'd just feel horribly out of place or envious. Instead, pretend you're some kind of low key gazillionaire and take in the fantastic merchandise in the Soho flagship stores of PRADA, APC, J Lindeberg and just about every global ultra luxe label you can imagine.

You don't have to be loaded to load up on the Soho experience though. Grab a snack at the spacious and unbelievably well- stocked Dean and Deluca deli superstore or the venerable Balthazars boulangerie nearby. Take a window seat and watch chic shoppers walk you by with their large shopping bags and oversized sunglasses. Who said you need to spend a lot to feel stylish?

In fact, as a penniless student in the early nineties I would often come to Soho just to take in the beautiful cast-iron buildings here and visit the art galleries housed in these historic structures. Many galleries have since given way to luxury boutiques but the weathered cast iron facades remain a compelling reason to keep coming back. The spectacular Moss Design Museum is a combination of industrial design gallery and store - a preview of where art galleries may be headed in the future.

NoLiTa.

Short for North of Little Italy, the area is tucked somewhere between the swanky shops of Soho and the boho joints of the East Village. Interestingly, so are the kind of shops and cafes here - their character somewhere between boho chic and high end luxe. Nolita is a prime example of the retail phenomenon called curated consumption - the trend towards multi-label merchandise and the eclectic mix of handpicked one-offs - be it vintage jeans, Japanese toys or Scandinavian furniture. It's still early days for Nolita, but I predict bigger things to come for this once unremarkable neighborhood.


Meatpacking District.
What is today described as the cutting edge of retail and commercial space was once a dirty and abandoned part of town. I should know since I used the location to film a short feature about urban desolation. That was then; this is now. These neighborhoods today are some of most fashionable in Manhattan and everyone is racing to put up some boutique, restaurant or hotel here. Enjoy it while the boom lasts.

New York is every bit as stylish as Paris but the fascination with the city of lights is real in this town. Pastis, a French bistro in the Meatpacking district, is always full but well worth the time in line if only for their wonderful moules (mussels) and wine. The surrounding boutiques of cult designer brands is a great alternative to the big brand stores of Soho as well.