Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village -- or ‘The Village’ as it is known by resident -- remains one of Manhattan’s most quintessentially ‘New York’ neighborhoods. Once a bohemian capital, welcoming artists and individuals living alternative lifestyles, it is now home to a mix of families, singles, seniors, and professionals. Tight zoning laws have allowed the area to keep out developers and while there are plenty of high rises on the avenues, side streets are filled with quaint small buildings, most only 4-5 stories.

Greenwich Village is generally defined as the area in lower Manhattan that is bordered on the south by Houston Street (pronounced How-stun, not Hew-stun) and on the north by 14th Street. Broadway provides its eastern border and the Hudson River its western perimeter. Recent improvements along the Hudson have transformed this area into an urban playground with magnificent views. Don’t confuse Greenwich Village with ‘East Village’ (the neighborhood further east with a much edgier vibe) or the ‘West Village’ (the neighborhood further west known for its gay community).

On the weekends, especially during warm weather, ‘Village people’ share their neighborhood with an endless stream of tourists and curiosity seekers, dubbed ‘the bridge and tunnel crowd’ because they come from New Jersey and the outer boroughs of New York via these river crossings. These outsiders tend to bring a negative energy to the neighborhood which has recently been plagued by a spike in violent crime.

Living space is limited in this ultra-popular neighborhood and you’ll pay dearly to rent or buy. In most instances, you’ll get less for your money in Greenwich Village in terms of living space and building amenities. Rents have flat-lined in the neighborhood over the past year. One-bedroom apartments have hovered at around $4,300; studios near $2,600, and two-bedrooms at just under $6,000. Probably close to 85% of the buildings in Greenwich Village are cooperative, so you may be renting from an individual owner with no guarantees on rent increases. And don’t even think about buying in the Village if you don’t have well upwards of a million dollars to spend on a one-bedroom.

Despite the prices, you can’t find a better value when it comes to living in an area that is beautiful, friendly, accessible to transportation, and filled with people who are fiercely proud of their community. On every block, there are helpful neighbors, lots of trees and greener, handcrafted goods, family-run restaurants, and one-of-a-kind people and businesses that give Greenwich Village its one-of-a-kind appeal.

Oh! And even though you may not choose to live in Greenwich Village to be close to made-famous-by-Sex-and-the-City Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street...you’ll be mighty glad it’s there. Their cakes and cookies are delicious.

Whether you want a tattoo, piercing, framed piece of artwork, great culinary meal, some sexy lingerie or an edgy haircut the Village has it all. Peruse the record shops which now have CDs and DVDs, the many vintage clothing stores, the lil cafes or bakeries, or the book shops. Favorite spots of mine are the Pink Pussycat Boutique, Unos Pizzeria, Jekyl & Hyde and the numerous Indian restaurants that abound there. Great haircuts can be found at Astor Place, and there is just a great neighborly feel here .. so much so you may never want to leave. The Village Halloween Parade cannot be missed. If anything you will have to schedule a trip there just to see it. New York University is down this way as is Washington Square Park. Great spots to visit and stroll past. It is easy to get to by train and it's a great place to hangout on the weekend with a group of friends. If you have out of towners, it's usually a great eye opening experience for newbies who want to get a sense of NY's edgy side.

The Village is a place of great pizza, affordable prices when it comes to rents (although they will still be expensive compared to the other 5 boroughs of NY), and a sense of non-materialism. People are more concerned with art and individualism. Check out Ray's Pizza and give your taste buds a blast of a good time!

Greenwich Village is one of my favorite areas of Manhattan. It is always hopping 24/7. Where else can you sit out at 3:00 Am on a summer's evening sipping cappuccino with a group of friends?

Located on the west side of Manhattan and often referred to as "the village" by locals, much of the area has a European feel. This is due to the many quaint brownstones and carriage houses that line the small streets. Unlike parts of Upper Manhattan, the streets in Greenwich Village are not laid out in a grid but sort of meander and curve. Many of these homes display lovely flower arrangements on their stoops and windows giving the area a charming appeal. Bedford Street boasts the oldest home in the area. Over near NYU you can walk the private street named Washington Mews and think you are in Paris.

The area also contains Washington Square Park which underwent major renovation a few years ago. Where once this was a sketch area known for crime, it now boasts a beautiful water fountain and grassy areas where one can sit and people watch There are also street performers and musicians throughout the day and evening.

Restaurants that can satisfy every palette abound, many at reasonable pricies. The Cornelia Street cafe is one of my favorites and often has live music performances. For those who like authentic Spanish food there is Sevilla on Charles Street. If you would like to down a few with some good freinds, almost no other place beats Panchitos on Bleecker Street. The menu displays two large pages of unique and yummy drinks. Just make sure you elect a designated driver for the evening.

Greenwich Village is also where the famous Halloween parade takes place every year. It runs down Sixty Avenue for about an hour and offers many unique floats. The bars and restaurants are hopping at all hours.

While I have never lived in Greenwich Village (and never want to), I have always enjoyed visiting the area. There are so many wonderful boutiques gourmet groceries. While the area was once home to the counterculture movement it is now primarily inhabited by upwardly mobile yuppies. The apartments in the area are very expensive and lots of celebrities call it home such as Matthew Broderick and Sara Jessica Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Uma Thurman, and Kiefer Sutherland.

Like many of the other reviewers, I completely agree that Greenwich Village, fabled place of artists and songwriters, has been absolutely overrun by NYU students. As I lived here when I was an NYU student, I'm in a position to know. Another reviewer mentioned that Washington Square Village and Silver Towers are a place separate from this nonsense. Unfortunately, this is incorrect information. Both complexes house both NYU staff and faculty as well as students, though only graduate students (as I was when I lived in WSV).

There are parts of the neighborhood that maintain their charm. Many of the streets are quaint and delightful, with surprising stores, like a genuine butcher that will chop up a goat if you ask him and a row of wonderful bakeries.

But then there are streets with nothing but bars catering to the dizzy college crowd tipping around on heals or drunkenly (and incorrectly) debating Nietzsche. Overall, the place has a hip vibe because many of the business establishments cater to the college-age crowd. The older, artsy charm is gone and has been replaced by a shallow veneer made from the hair grease of hipsters.

If you want a neighborhood with the charm of the Village but with some more established residents and more of the oddness that made the Village a haven for the eccentric, look into the West Village.

It's a good thing that Washington Square Village and the Silver Towers are built in a way that forms a small urban oasis at their center, otherwise these residential high-rises would have disappeared long ago under slow encroachment from NYU and its student population. As a result, The Washington Square Village is the only “grown-up's” place left in Greenwich Village. The rest of the area is effectively swallowed up by the very prominent presence of NYU buildings, and along with them, the crowds of NYU students. Actually, not a lot of those students live in the area, but they are constantly about, and many cheap local eateries and businesses cater to them. The residential buildings toward the upper border of Greenwich Village as you approach 14th Street are definitely exclusive and high end, and definitely not for students. However, it's the students one sees almost constantly on the streets. The famous, and still incredible Strand bookstore can be found at Broadway and 12th Street. It is a mecca of sorts for anyone who has ever read a book. Considering how central and how beautiful this area is, it's a pity the students kind of ruin it most days for me.

I used to live in Greenwich Village, and though I enjoyed my time there, I'm also relieved I don't live there any more. Too many NYU students, a situation which is only tolerable if you are an NYU student yourself, but which is otherwise near to impossible to live with day to day. Walking down the streets in this area, it seems I am always overhearing conversations about what classes so and so is taking, and how he finds the professors. While I lived there I also felt I was constantly fighting grime accumulated over years and years, and a perpetual mouse problem that eventually got the better of me. And it is loud at night, thanks to drunk revelers, usually of the college age variety. It seems that in recent years the NYU infestation has only accelerated, or else the grungy coolness that used to draw the likes of Bob Dylan has disappeared under new and faceless buildings with nothing much to replace it. In any case, a few holdouts can be found, such as Dante Cafe's great Italian pastries and some sweet little vintage shops. I'm also generally a fan of le poisson rouge, though in general I find the nightlife in the area to be too much centered on teens and kids in their early twenties.

Also known as the West Village, Greenwich Village has a storied history, and is arguably one of the most vital New York City neighborhood. Traditionally artistic, with a thriving community around Washington Square Park (incidentally, also memorialized in novel by Henry James - before it was artsy it was a vanguard of the Edith Wharton/Henry James elite back at the turn of the century), Greenwich Village has emerged from its theatrical and artistic past and is now once more a relatively aristocratic neighborhood: gentrification has priced out the Kerouacs and Ginsbergs in favor of slightly bohemian upper-middle class professionals in love with the district's historic brownstones. There's much to do here whether you're looking for family-friendly fun (Tea and Sympathy, in the "Little England" of Greenwich Avenue, is a charming "English tea shop" with biscuits and puddings galore) or something a bit more risque (gay landmark Stonewall Inn, or the homoerotic sex shops on Christopher Street."

Theatre is here in abundance. Without the glitz and glimmer of Broadway, the shows here tend to be less touristy and star-driven, and as a result, some real quality can be found in these off-off-Broadway Venues. Check out some history, for example, at the Yiddish Art Theatre, Provincetown Playhouse, Variety Theatre, and more.

Greenwich Village has maintained its charm and character throughout history due to its ever-increasing active residents who care about the well being of their neighborhood. The northwestern corner of the district is known as the Meatpacking District, and proudly displays its large industrial buildings and cobblestone streets. The area is packed with restaurants and bars that become a mecca for the endless throngs of visitors jammed on double-decker buses. While locals moan at the influx of tourists on the weekends, adventurists will face the crowd some much-needed entertainment from a jazz locale.

Fine dining can be found at Butter, a chic and upscale restaurant where you could run into a noteworthy celebrity. For something a little more casual, check out Atomic Wings on 9th Street – but you have to be into wings to get the whole affect of this joint (I missed out).

Greenwich Village offers a wide array of hotel accommodations including the Washington Square Hotel (walking tours begin here) and the unique Minetta Street Suites on a secluded street just off MacDougal Street. Ethnic restaurants and jazz clubs surround this hotel.

Every Halloween in Greenwich, the Village Halloween Parade takes place at 6PM. The parade is a mile long march of drag queens, masqueraders, puppets, exhibitionists, and the like. It is the largest Halloween event in the country and not to be missed at least once in your lifetime.

Greeenwich Village is what some consider to be the heart of New York City. With its upbeat urban tempo, modernistic scene, vibrant nightlife, and unique people, this section of the city is a prided tourist location and the diverse representation of urban culture.

Bohemian Greenwich was originally a settlement of Dutch settlers in outskirts of the fast growing New York City. What was the mid-19th century haven for upper-middle class is now the paradigm of the modern culture of New York City, still the hallmark of avant-garde art, fashion, dining, music, and living.

Greenwich Village spans nearly 30 blocks in the Lower West Side below West 14th Street and west of Broadway in the densely populated isle of Manhattan. When visiting here, the challenge of getting to all this neighborhood has to offer might seem daunting, but everyone’s tastes can be tantalized here, no matter what entertainment they are seeking!

Sightseeing in this neighborhood is a best bet, as the picturesque brownstones and lively inhabitants offer the eye a feast of interest. Some of the most popular places to visit is located in the neighborhood’s heart: Washington Square Park. Surrounded by the ever-sprawling New York University and located at , this world-renown park in a center for live street performances, excellent goods vendors, and beautiful scenery. The famous stone arch is a must-see.

Shopping in the Village is its trademark and a wonderful way to spend a day— and a lot of money — in New York City. Ranging from vintage dives to upscale boutiques, everyone can find something to love in this diverse neighborhood. With luxury eateries for dogs and cats to deluxe bathroom stores, this neighborhood is like nothing else. The thing to remember when shopping in the city is to avoid the chain stores! This is the time to be adventurous, and with several unique stores and shops, you won’t be disappointed.

Living in the Village is a coveted honor, either done through subletting or having a good amount of money. A good amount of money = six or seven figures. Owning a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment will set you back 500,000 at the absolute least, while some units go for $2 million or more. If you still want to live the in the Village and don’t have Donald Trump’s wallet, a good idea would be subletting an apartment, which could range anywhere from $2000- $20,000 per month. Be careful of sketchy deals and shifty people, however, as subletting doesn’t always end up in the best situation. You’ll be in good company in this neighborhood though, because beyond the NYU crowd, several famous people and New York Elite reside in this fantastic neighborhood.

And now it’s time for food. Greenwich Village has a lot to offer in terms of dining, and after a day of trudging about the vibrant neighborhood, you’ll want something to eat! In this great neighborhood, you’ll find cuisine from literally every corner of the world and with top chefs and avant-garde and artistic techniques, this will be a meal to remember. Restaurant quality ranges throughout the neighborhood, as there are plenty of low-end greasy fast food joints as there are upscale $200-a-plate restaurants.

Getting to the Village:
NYC Metro: A, C, E and B, D, F, V to West 4th Street, 1, 9 Christopher Street/Sheriden Square, Houston Street

3 Faves For Shopping:
Strand Bookstore at Broadway and 12th; great books at cheap prices (some books are priced as low as 50 cents!).
Ludivine.172 W. 4th St; French designers, french boutique, right in the heart of the Village
Verve Shoes 338 Bleecker Street; Unique women’s shoe store with a great selection, and great blue couches to rest your heels!

Restaurants in the Village:
Dell’anima at 38 Eighth Ave., nr. Jane St.; avant-garde upscale Italian cuisine
Dessert Truck University Pl. nr. 8th St., Cheap, fast, delicious desert... from a truck
Kingswood 122 W. 10th St., nr. Greenwich Ave.; Great Bar Food

Greenwich Village is the New York neighborhood with which I was most familiar before ever even setting foot into the city. Its reputation certainly proceeds it – and perhaps it was most appealing to the younger version of myself because of its history as an artist bohemia early in the twentieth century, as well as being the scene of the Broadway musical Rent (along with Alphabet City).
The Village’s Bohemia days are certainly long gone – mostly what you find now in the area are cultural commodities in the forms of restaurants and various places whose main money-maker is alcohol. The rent rates are up and the area is mostly host to middle-aged former(and current) bohos who broke down and got professional jobs in order to maintain their apartments.
The Village spans practically the entire width of Manhattan, and is divided into two parts: east and west. The two different parts of Greenwich subsequently come with two different stereotypes: the West Village is a bit trendier, and offers more of a gay scene, whereas the East Village is a bit younger (home to the NYU student crowd) and less trendy.