**Archive. Originally posted October 26, 2007.
1993
I put a bunch of old friends to work for me so I can come up with a quickie post for today. This is a completely unscientific survey of native New Yorkers from all 5 boroughs. They are all close to my age (early 40’s).
These were the questions asked:
1. Best affordable neighborhood
2. Where would you live if you could afford any nabe?
3. Favorite restaurant
4. Old NYC or Gentrified?
5. Best weekend getaway
6. Best kept NYC secret
The results varied widely, especially for restaurants, but there were a couple of things most people agreed on.
1. No two people chose the same affordable neighborhood. Some surprises were the Upper East Side and South Beach, Staten Island. There was an Inwood and a Washington Heights. At least that’s close. One person didn’t want to tell, because then it wouldn’t be affordable while another said there weren’t any affordable neighborhoods left.
2. Upper West Side wins! Only one person responded with the same answer to questions 1 & 2 and that answer was Crown Heights. The rest of us would rather be someplace else. Very telling. One smart ass said Paris.
3. Ok, so did I really expect to get 2 people to agree on a restaurant with all of the fine dining establishments NYC has to offer? Old Town Bar, Friend Of A Farmer and La Palina in Gravesend were among some of the answers. A Brooklyn restaurant, Al Di La, was one Manhattanite’s favorite. The same wise ass who gave us Paris said Papaya.
4. Overwhelmingly…..Old! One person said old, but with good restaurants.
5. Mostly upstate. It ranged from Dutchess to The Catskills to Ithaca and Oneonta. Only a couple of people said Long Island and a few were adventurous enough to get out of New York state for the weekend.
6. There are no secrets left! Nearly everyone agreed to that.
My answers?
1. Bed Stuy
2. West Village
3. Hangawi
4. Old!
5. Catskills
6. Used to be the Coney Island flea markets, but they no longer exist.
Ok, now that the natives have spoken….what are your answers? And let us know how long you’ve been in NY.
7 Comments
1. inwood
2. uws
3. kush, bk
4. old
5. hudson valley
6. none left
(21 years in nyc)
1. Parkchester
2. Financial District
3. House of Vegetarian (Mott street)
4. Pre Gentr.
5. Feischmanns Margaretville
6. Conet Island in Winter
15 yrs
1. Woodside (but the hipsters are starting to sprout up)
2. UES (I started out on the UES – still love it).
3. Donato’s in Woodside (39th Avenue). The chicken francese is pure heaven.
4. I miss the NYC of 1988-1994 – or maybe I just miss my twenties!
5. Greene, Columbia & Dutchess County with a sprinkling of the Brandywine area in Delaware/Pennsylvania. We hit Wilmington, DE & West Chester, PA a lot.
6. Secrets? Hmmm. Due to all the damn bloggers, no secrets! LOL
1.Riverdale (only because you just reminded me today)
2.Ft. Greene
3.Was Dojo’s, but they were shut down.
4.Old
5.Woodstock
6.Bensonhurst, Canarsie…places that will never be cool.
8 years
Sorry, me again. I just wanted to clarify that I’ve lived in Brooklyn for 8 years, but visited many times before that. When I say I prefer “old” I mean over 10 years ago.
Native:
1. Ditmas
2. Bkyn Hghts
3. Grimaldis
4. I miss the old, but I appreciate my car not getting broken into.
5. Bucks County
6. Can’t think of one. And if I did, I wouldn’t want to share!
15 years
1. Um, nowhere?
2. Ditmas, in a mansion
3. Franny’s and DiFara’s
4. Old
5. The family in Utica or the family in Lancaster, PA.
6. No secrets left.