ARCHIVES

The best of Prospect Heights, neighborhood-slash-metaphor.

Not so long ago, you’d have done anything to get away from the Lower�Lower East Side. Now you’ll do anything to come back.

The Southside of Williamsburg has become a place to put down roots.

In the past twelve months alone, Harlem has absorbed huge supermarkets, name-brand pharmacies, and suburban-style chain stores. But even at the heart of the action, local flavor remains firmly entrenched.

Even if Queens does follow Brooklyn’s boom, there’s nowhere quite like Jackson Heights: It has clusters of great South Asian and Latino restaurants, a shopping strip, and a historic district with unique garden housing.

With Bruce Ratner’s new Atlantic Terminal at one end, C&W bar Floyd at the other, and a mix of antiques, boutiques, and Arabic stores in between, Atlantic Avenue is as good a symbol of Brooklyn’s gentrification—and multiplicity—as any.

Nestled between the main Soho and Nolita drags, Crosby Street offers a quietly chic shopping experience. No crowds, no street vendors: just an impressive array of well-edited stores.

Run-D.M.C. had Christmas in Hollis, but Forest Hills is packed with chains, boutiques, and hard-to-find items that make the F-train trip worthwhile. Just off Queens Boulevard, you'll find a cluster of stores on Austin Street.

The stretch of Lexington Avenue from 69th Street to 82nd Street feels like a slice of New York past, with few chains and a clutch of boutiques that have lasted for generations. The atmosphere is classic, a bit conservative, and deÞnitely quality.

Once upon a time, the Bowery was all flophouses, whiskey joints, and legendary bums. The flophouses survive, but now they’re surrounded by celebrity lounges and multi-million-dollar lofts.