North 3rd St, Williamsburg

North 3rd isn't the most outstanding street in Williamsburg. But, because it isn't jam packed with restaurants, bars and shops, it is actually one of the more sedate streets to live on in Brooklyn. The apartments are all crummy -- but, unless you are living in one of the fancy, waterfront condos, all of the apartments are crummy. And, the general population around the Bedford stop is pretty young. Most of the demographic around Bedford is college age or slightly older. So, the area is pretty lively / loud and dirty depending on how you look at it.
The two things, in my opinion, worth mentioning on North 3rd are Levee and Radegast. They are directly across the street from each other on 3rd and Berry. The Levee used to be a big crack den. There were the biggest weirdos ever back when Willy was just starting to get popular. The kids came in and took it over but some of the creeps still linger which makes it a really interesting bar. The bartenders put out cheese puffs and pretzels on the bar. And, there are board games all over but not a ton of places to sit which I think is kind of bizarre. My friend and I got into a contest with strangers over who could stuff the most cheese puffs in your mouth at once at the Levee. Obviously, we had been drinking a lot. I always have fun at this bar even though it's a complete skuzz bucket.
Radegast is completely the opposite. It's a biergarten and it's quite big. It's dark and has Leonard Cohen playing. The outdoor area has huge communal tables and a sausage and burger booth in the back. It's a lot more sedate than the Levee but still always fun. And, the sausage is pretty stellar.
Shopping, the East River Park and a ton of bars and restaurants are a hop skip and jump away. It's close to the L train and, depending on how far away you live from Bedford, relatively quiet. The only thing about N 3rd that's bad is that it's a little sketchy at night.