Greenpoint is clearly in Brooklyn, but we’re sooooo close to Queens that sometimes people even think we’re in Queens. I dated a guy in Sunnyside and it literally took me like 8 minutes on the B24 – with stops – to get to his house. Different boroughs, but we both lived off Greenpoint Avenue.
Which brings me to a question from Nadir of Tales from the Mutliverse:
I have to say I agree with you.As you have mentioned before, as you grew up in Greenpoint you would hike to Queens more often than south to other areas of Brooklyn. And on my treks though the neighborhood over the years I have noticed that even the architecture seems far more Queens like than Brooklyn like, even more so than Williamsburg. So my question I guess is asking more for your opinion than not, but what trends have shaped the development of Greenpoint that acts like and seems more of a satellite of Queens than a neighborhood of Brooklyn? Or you know disagree with me. That will be fine as well.
Greenpoint definitely has more of a Queens feel to it than a Brooklyn feel. I think that it simply has to do with our location. Had that whole water thing not been there, we’d probably have been part of Queens. Most of the people I know shopped, dined and went out in Queens than ever went further into Brooklyn. As a kid, my parents took me to the Queens Center Mall, we went to dinner at Sizzler or Red Lobster (now that I think about it, ew.). Me and the girls used to go to the bars on Queens Blvd. Breffni’s comes to mind especially…
I also agree that we’ve got a Queens borough state of mind when it comes to architecture as well. Not entirely, but our row houses of siding are less Brooklyn than our Billyburg neighbors. Also, I noticed years ago of the migration habits of Greenpointers. Most Brooklynites next stop is Staten Island, where as Queens folks or Brooklynites closer to Queens head to Long Island. Then Staten islanders flock to Jersey and Long Islanders just go further out on the Island. They all wind up in Florida, though.
But, we’ve definitely got the mentality of Brooklynites. We’re proud to be part of our borough and thankfully we don’t have Queens’ insane layout of numbered streets, avenues, lanes, roads and whatever else they could think of. Driving in Queens makes me want to blow my brains out. Which brings up another thing I’ve noticed, Greenpointers are more of a driving folk than other parts of Brooklyn. My parents never took the subway. Ever.
Probably because we were driving out to Queens.