By R. Resnik, Guest Writer
Before 1898, Brooklyn was actually a stand alone city. Currently, it's known for it’s trendiness, but has always had a rich cultural history that goes way further back than hipster beards, and the expensive coffee shops tourists associate it with today.
Here’s a list of some “to sees” that you might miss if you follow the throngs of tourists who walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn via the Brooklyn bridge.
(If you’re planning on going over this famous bridge, stay out of the bike lane. Otherwise, you risk being run over by a native. And we will hit you.)
Check Out Art Exhibitions
The Bushwick Collective is one of the best, most often missed by tourists highlights is the huge array of street art in Brooklyn. Most of this can be see for free, and there are maps available online for how to do your own street art tour by foot.
The most famous works exhibited are by The Bushwick Collective, founded in 2012. To find it, take the L train to Jefferson street, and you will immediately see it when you walk out of the subway.
You can see these works of art at any time of day or night, as they’re on public streets. If you’re visiting in June, it’s possible that If you are going to this neighborhood to look at the street art, please be respectful and be aware that people live in this neighborhood. A huge pet peeve of long time Brooklynites, it that tourists flock to “cool” “trendy” art spots, with little consideration for the community that’s lived there for years.
Pioneer Works in Red Hook is a great place to see exhibitions, and a part of Brooklyn that is rarely visited by tourists. Created as a not for profit multidisciplinary arts space, there are always wonderful exhibits, performances, and even classes to check out at this wonderful space.
Past classes and workshops include how to play and make your own theremin, and an Introduction to Neuroscience: the Brain Before and After the Apocalypse.
Cross The Williamsburg Bridge
The Williamsburg Bridge is the quieter red cousin to The very famous Brooklyn bridge. If you don’t want to get hit by a bike and you want to avoid some of the insane tourists crowds, definitely use this bridge. You can rent a Citibike to go across if you’re lucky a subway will rattle by while you’re on the bridge, and it’ll shake, so you’ll get the true New Yorker experience.
Don’t forget to read all of the funny graffiti written on all of our bridges that lead to Brooklyn!
See A Show At Brooklyn Theatres
St. Ann’s Warehouse is located in D.U.M.B.O. (Down under the Manhattan Brooklyn Overpass). St. Ann’s Warehouse is devoted to avant-garde theatre and emerging artists. You can always find an interesting show to watch here. For a NYC local ticket hack, if you get to the box office by 10 AM on the day of the show, you could be the recipient of one of the rush tickets available. These are always cheaper than regular priced tickets.
The Brooklyn Comedy Collective was founded by two members of the former Annoyance Theatre, which came to New York by way of Chicago comedy scene fame. Now called the BCC, they are a resident company at The Brick Theatre in Williamsburg. (579 Metropolitan Avenue). You can catch up and coming New York City comedians there all week for only $5-$10.
Read More: Brooklyn Theatre: 7 Spots To See It
Go To The Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen in Bushwick (40 Bogart Street) is a restaurant, bar, and movie theatre all at the same time. There is a full bar outside of their theatre where you can have a sit down dinner while you’re waiting.
Once you go in for show time, you can sit in your seat and order drinks, snacks, and even dinner from the same menu. Explore their delicious array of food, which has small snacks (spanning from movie theatre popcorn to fried mozzarella), as well as bigger dinner items such as burgers.
Sip At The Brooklyn Brewery
The Brooklyn Brewery has a tasting room, and the selection of craft beers that are Brooklyn’s very own. New York is pretty legendary for it’s tap water, which is why we’ve always held the secret to great bagels and beer!
If you’re serious about beer, there are small batch tours that you can take Monday-Friday at 5:00, 5:30, 6, and 6:30 PM. The tours last forty-five minutes, and you’re more likely to get a spot on one if you book on their website in advance.
Wander Through The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens is gorgeous, and it’s a rare nature sanctuary away from New York’s big buildings and bustling streets. The rose gardens is absolutely breathtaking, and you can see it for free on Fridays from 8-12.
Located in Prospect Park, right outside of the gardens you can find tons of trees and walking paths for you to enjoy. Located between the neighborhoods of Park Slope, Flatbush, and Windsor Terrace, Prospect Park is a great place to explore Brooklyn on foot.
See A Concert At Baby’s Alright
Baby’s Alright is a fun, funky music venue in Williamsburg. It’s a great venue because it’s small, so the audience can feel really connected to the band. The acoustics always sound good, and this venue is a right of passage for indie bands, so you might very well be watching the next big thing. Catfish and the Bottlemen, Sunflower Bean, and Sofi Tukker all started here.
You can find a concert almost every single night, and brunch is served on the weekends. There’s a food menu available, so you can also relax and enjoy dinner & a drink before concerts. Elsewhere, located in an old Bushwick warehouse, is a less traditional music venue & art space. Their gallery features diverse contemporary art, and there are a ton of concerts and club night available for you to choose from.
Visit The Mcnally Jackson Bookstore
Mcnally Jackson in Williamsburg (76 N. 4th St) is an independently owned bookstore. It’s a great place to shop for yourselves, or buy gifts for all the book lovers in your life without feeding Amazon more money.
While you’re surrounding yourself with hardcovers, and new book smell, be sure to check out their cafe. Here, you’ll be able to try out locally sourced fresh baked goods, and coffee & tea.
Read More: The 11 Best Coffee Shops in Brooklyn
Shop Brooklyn Vintage
Going to Brooklyn wouldn’t be complete without checking out some of the vintage clothes that together compile the iconic Brooklyn look. There are many vintage stores to choose from, but one treasure in particular is the Artists and Flea flea market off of Bedford and North 6th.
The market focuses on local brands and vintage clothes, so here you can find an array of affordable clothes from every era. Another great find is the Fox and Fawn store. (570 Manhattan Avenue). Their mission is to provide quality second hand clothes to New Yorkers at an affordable price point.
Take A Boat
If your tired of traveling underground, and you don’t want to cross one of the bridges by foot, check out one of the ferry boats that will quickly transport you to several Brooklyn neighborhoods.
There are two docks in Manhattan, one on east 35th right off the FDR, and one on Wall Street. This is a great way to explore the East River, see another angle of the beautiful NYC skyline, and on a hot summer day enjoy the breeze.
Walk Around Brooklyn Heights
If you want to see a beautiful, and strangely stuck in the past part of Brooklyn, you definitely need to take a walk through Brooklyn Heights. Here you can see beautiful houses, many which have been featured in movies, as well as where famous works of art were written. Both Arthur Miller and Truman Capote lived, and wrote here.
The house featured in the movie Moonstruck can also be found here if you want to walk on the sidewalk Cher did. One of the most interesting highlights of Brooklyn heights is the gas lamp lights that line some of the streets, so you can see how New York used to look.
Editor's Picks + Notes
By Melissa Elise Randall, Editor
I've always wanted to go to Brooklyn. I'm surprised it took so long.
When I was still attending Temple University for Film, I considered moving to New York. It's funny to think what my life would be like now if I had made that choice. It's a safe assumption that I would have ended up in Brooklyn, a trendy, gritty borough of the city.
In my real, actual life, I was visiting Brooklyn with my boyfriend, Chase. We left my family cabin up in Redwood, New York, and journeyed the six hours to the city.
When we started to encounter New York traffic, Chase cited it as a reason that he wouldn't want to move there.
"I could convince you," I said absentmindedly, looking out the window.
The comment resulted in a back and forth of whether or not I could actually convince Chase to move to New York.
About ten minutes later, the conversation ended with a need to find food (stat) and me declaring:
"I'm not moving us to New York to prove a point, Chase."
A few subway rides, slices of pizza, and two Broadway shows later, we both departed with optimistic attitudes about the city (traffic aside.)
Why?
Because Brooklyn is a never-ending, fast-paced scavenger hunt. During our adventure, we uncovered the quickest routes to get to Manhattan (check), endless amounts of bookstores and thrift stores with erratic hours (check), and a place to get freshly squeezed juice (check).
We visited coffee shops and got hole-in-the-wall chinese food. I snapped picture after picture of the street murals, and when we got home to our Airbnb at night, our friendly host, Micah, was there to greet us.
Usually, he was cooking.
One afternoon, I observed Micah (who is actually a chef), preparing some food for deliveries. Windows open and upbeat, jazzy music playing, he seemed relaxed, inspired, and in his element.
That's Brooklyn.
Since, I've returned a few times for the more affordable accommodations on the other side of the river, but my desire for wanting to go back to New York always boils down to one simple thing.
I feel so incredibly inspired.
That being said, here's my favorite things to do/see in Brooklyn.
Explore Street Murals
Wherever you go in Brooklyn, there's bound to be a mural somewhere. While this is the trademark of any up-and-coming neighborhood, the murals in Brooklyn seem a little more vibrant. Eclectic. Feeling. There was a story behind every image, on every corner. The murals I liked the most were in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
If you're looking for a specific place to see murals, check out The Bushwick Collective. From what I hear, they have an annual art fest in early June.
Otherwise, just keep your eyes open and your camera/iPhone/device ready.
The Bushwick Collective, St Nicholas Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237
Cup of Brooklyn
One rainy morning, Chase and I ventured to Cup of Brooklyn for breakfast. I'm not going to lie: I was really excited to check out some coffee shops in Brooklyn. It seems to be the homeland of every trendy coffee place in existence.
Cup of Brooklyn lived up to the hype. For starters, their toast options came with a costly add-on of prosciutto, which I expect to see in every other hip coffee shop in about a year or so. I got a bagel with cream cheese and cucumber (another add-on), Chase got a donut the size of his hand.
Overall, I'd recommend it. There's not much there to dislike.
Pick Chinese food, any Chinese food
When it comes to chinese food, I'm not snobby. In my experience, random, no-frills chinese food seems to be the best. When I lived in Durham, I swore by this little chinese place squeezed in a shopping center. There's no predictability to amazing Chinese.
We stopped in a random place near the Myrtle Avenue Subway stop. Per usual, my eyes were much bigger than my stomach, and I ended up throwing out an entire thing of egg drop soup and dumplings. But more on that experience later.
Pro tip? Make sure you're carrying cash, a lot of these local places don't take credit.
Literally every street corner.
See The Brooklyn Bridge
One of the most touristy Brooklyn activities (by far) is going to the Brooklyn Bridge. Home to nearly every selfie posted on a Brooklyn-based Tinder profile, The Brooklyn Bridge is good if you want to snag some awesome views of the city. If you're looking to take pictures on the bridge, be smart and stay alert. Head over to the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights to get (the safest) and the best pictures.
(But for God sakes, leave your selfie stick at home.)
Go To The New Yorker Festival
This past September was my first time to The New Yorker Festival. I had the pleasure of seeing Maggie Gyllenhaal, Christine Baranski, Patton Oswalt (and we had a fun back-and-forth on Twitter about his abs), and.... JIM CARREY!
I love Jim Carrey.
I'll definitely be back next year, and you should be too. You get a VIP pass (early entry/shorter lines) if you buy at least three tickets to talks, which occur in different locations around the city all weekend.
Roberta's
Chase and I went to Roberta's Pizza after a long, hot day. We were all starving, but immediately found some peace in one of the cool, breezy back rooms. I didn't have high expectations for the artisan, brick oven style pizza, which is probably the reason Roberta's surprised me.
The crust was flaky and absolute perfection. Thin, and perfectly melted and seasoned with fresh mozzarella cheese and onion slices. Chase and I went ham on a plain pepperoni (fresh, actual pepperoni). And damn, damn, damn it was so good. I'm still dreaming of that pizza, and have no shame in all of the pictures I took of the interior for Instagram.
Bonus: Roberta's is a really cool building, taking up half of a city block. There's a lot of places to sit outside and check out the murals and street art in close proximity. The next time I visit, I plan to spend a long, fat evening there ordering as much pizza as possible.
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