Understand
Sunset Park
is often called New York City's little Puerto Rico and Brooklyn's Chinatown and is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City. Located just less than 20 minutes away from Downtown Brooklyn, Sunset Park is a place for all families to come and shop, and locals can be seen running errands in the heart of the neighborhood along 5th Avenue between 60th and 44th Streets. Its hilly terrain gives magnificent views of Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan, Staten Island, Jersey City and the nearby Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Besides the Hispanic part of the neighborhood filled with families of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Meixcan and other backgrounds, the Chinese also put Sunset Park on the map with its countless Chinese resturants found on 8th Avenue between 60th and 40th Streets. Besides the diversity, Sunset Park also has a severe drug problem and was the site of the August 8, 2007 Brooklyn tornado. At least 40 buildings and 100 cars were damaged.Borough Park
contains the biggest Chasidic Jewish community in the city. You will see lots of kosher foods on sale, and shops that are closed every Friday night and Saturday but open on Sunday, due to religious rules. If these things are unfamiliar to you, a trip to Borough Park may be worthwhile.Kensington
is located south of Prospect Park. It is the most diverse neighborhood in Brooklyn and is one of the most diverse in the United States. It currently is one of the "up and coming" neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Many new trendy restaurants and boutiques have opened making this neighborhood a hotspot to now reside. It is served by the F and G trains at Church Avenue, and the Q train at Beverly Road and Cortelyou Road.Bay Ridge
has traditionally been a residential Irish-Italian-Norwegian neighborhood, but recently has seen an influx of Arab, Asian and Russian families as well. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge connects to here from Staten Island, and Fort Hamilton, a United States Army Base, is here as well. There is a great variety of good values in food to be had in this neighborhood, especially on 3rd Avenue. The neighborhood is also one of the top bar areas in the non-downtown area of Brooklyn.Bensonhurst
used to be Italian as far as the eye could see, but it now contains Albanian, Pakistani, Korean, Chinese, Mexican, and many Eastern European immigrants as well. Nonetheless, it is still the center of Brooklyn's Italian community and is one of the most well-known Italian-American neighborhoods in the United States. The train runs above ground and it is a lively place with an Old New York feel. Many of the best "unknown" restaurants in Brooklyn known locally but often ignored by the Manhattan-based establishment can be found in Bensonhurst. Get there by taking the D or M train to 18th, or 20th Avenues, or Bay Parkway.