Best borough of NYC?

[J Route Z]

What would be, in your opinion..if you've been there, the best borough in NYC? Why have NYC divided into different "municipalities"? Each one even has a borough president. And an awesome sign that may say "fuggeddaboutit".

[NE2]

New Jersey.

[The Nature Boy]

Western Connecticut

[empirestate]

Philadelphia.

[adventurernumber1]

I actually may be going to NYC (which will be the first time I've ever been there) this January. So I guess I'll have to find out for myself which borough is the best 

[SteveG1988]

Nj should annex staten island

[Pete from Boston]

Where in the world can a man find a woman fit for a king?

Queens!

In other words, clearly nobody has anything useful to say on the subject. Win some, lose some.

[The Nature Boy]

The problem with answering the OP is that the word "best" can mean so many different things to different people.

If you like dense urbanization, you'll love Manhattan
If you want a grittier urban environment, you'll love The Bronx
If you want a gritty but yet hipster environment, you'll love Brooklyn
If you want New Jersey, you'll love Staten Island

I don't know enough about Queens to make a comparison but I'm sure they have something nice too.

[empirestate]

Yeah, I mean...it all depends on what you look for in your boroughs. And even then, they each have the diversity of a major city in their own right, Manhattan actually the least so.

[Scott5114]

Why have NYC divided into different "municipalities"? Each one even has a borough president.

Because they were originally different municipalities that merged into NYC. I would imagine boroughs were retained for the same reason states were retained under the Constitution–that way each area can determine the government that works best for it.

[NE2]

Because they were originally different municipalities that merged into NYC.

Except Bronx, which was annexed gradually. And Queens and Staten Island had multiple towns. Even Brooklyn didn't cover the whole of Kings County until 1896, two years before consolidation. The boundaries don't even match the old counties; Bronx County wasn't created until 1914.

[Laura]

Because they were originally different municipalities that merged into NYC.

Except Bronx, which was annexed gradually. And Queens and Staten Island had multiple towns. Even Brooklyn didn't cover the whole of Kings County until 1896, two years before consolidation. The boundaries don't even match the old counties; Bronx County wasn't created until 1914.

Even though Brooklyn was made up of seven towns, for census population purposes, they were lumped together as one unit. For top populations, New York City (Manhattan) was number one and Brooklyn was pretty high up there, if not number two.

To actually answer your question, OP, at the moment I like Brooklyn the best because it reminds me of what I imagined Manhattan was in the early 20th century. However, with all of the high density development pouring into downtown, I feel like I will start to like it less as time goes on. I love all of the old Brownstones, the parks, etc.

However, I've spent time in all five boroughs, and like them all for different reasons.


iPhone

[empirestate]

Fun Bronx fact: the word "the" officially appears in the name of the borough ("Borough of the Bronx") but not of the county ("Bronx County")–except in Spanish ("Condado del Bronx" = "County of the Bronx"). 

That's the borough I live in at present, but I'm starting to wonder if Staten Island is more my scene. The Bronx has lots of parkland and open space, and several solidly middle-class neighborhoods like Throg's Neck, Woodlawn Heights, parts of Riverdale and much of Kingsbridge, not to mention some decidedly high-priced areas of Riverdale and its subdivision Fieldston.

Staten Island, meanwhile, with its population of less than a million, has the feeling of a mid-sized city, but with the government of a city of 8 million (for better or worse).

[roadman65]

For the best to visit, it would be Manhattan.  It has all the sites and of course Rockefeller Center.

For a nice evening on some amusement rides, its Coney Island and the world famous Nathan's.

For culture diversity its Brooklyn.

[hotdogPi]

Maybe we should open a poll.

[NE2]

Even though Brooklyn was made up of seven towns, for census population purposes, they were lumped together as one unit.

Not in 1890, but the vast majority of population was in Brooklyn.

[empirestate]

For the best to visit, it would be Manhattan.  It has all the sites and of course Rockefeller Center.

What, you mean Rockefeller Center isn't a site? :-)

For a nice evening on some amusement rides, its Coney Island and the world famous Nathan's.

For culture diversity its Brooklyn.

Coney Island is part of Brooklyn, or did you not mean to distinguish the two?

[Alps]

For a nice evening on some amusement rides, its Coney Island and the world famous Nathan's.

For culture diversity its Brooklyn.

Coney Island is part of Brooklyn, or did you not mean to distinguish the two?

Shh, he's still confused by the numbers from the weather thread.

Fun Bronx fact: the word "the" officially appears in the name of the borough ("Borough of the Bronx") but not of the county ("Bronx County")–except in Spanish ("Condado del Bronx" = "County of the Bronx"). 

That's the borough I live in at present, but I'm starting to wonder if Staten Island is more my scene. The Bronx has lots of parkland and open space, and several solidly middle-class neighborhoods like Throg's Neck, Woodlawn Heights, parts of Riverdale and much of Kingsbridge, not to mention some decidedly high-priced areas of Riverdale and its subdivision Fieldston.

Staten Island, meanwhile, with its population of less than a million, has the feeling of a mid-sized city, but with the government of a city of 8 million (for better or worse).

I could pick any borough as the best - except Staten Island. Staten Island is all of the taxes of the city and high prices of the bridges, minus the convenience.

[empirestate]

I could pick any borough as the best - except Staten Island. Staten Island is all of the taxes of the city and high prices of the bridges, minus the convenience.

Fair point, but I'm already down on convenience where I live, and yet not getting all the benefits that should accompany it, so I'd be willing to concede a bit more on that point if it gets me a little (lot) more breathing space.

[Pete from Boston]

I could pick any borough as the best - except Staten Island. Staten Island is all of the taxes of the city and high prices of the bridges, minus the convenience.

Fair point, but I'm already down on convenience where I live, and yet not getting all the benefits that should accompany it, so I'd be willing to concede a bit more on that point if it gets me a little (lot) more breathing space.

If you're considering Staten Island, you're not doing yourself any favors if you don't consider the rest of the inner suburbs as well (suburb meaning areas with suburban characteristics, which category includes Staten Island).

Not only are there other places with space, but most of them aren't limited to by four notoriously congested choke points to get in or out.

[Tom958]

I don't know enough about Queens to make a comparison but I'm sure they have something nice too.

Pirated from nextcity.org:

"New York has a reputation for high-priced real estate, and anyone who's ever visited likely has wondered, where does the guy who's selling me pizza live?

"'It's a hidden condition,' Bradley Samuels, of SITU, said. 'You have that thought but it's a fleeting thought, because it's hidden.' He went out to look for places where those people are, and he began to find them, with help, in the outer boroughs – in Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Sunset Park. 'When you go there,' Samuels says, 'they appear to be low-density.'

"Yet far more people live there than appear to because many are hiding in illegal conversions of homes designed for fewer people. To get an estimate of how many, Samuels looked to 311 calls about illegal cohabitation. That's a proxy measurement that's going to be higher in areas where higher-income residents are moving in, but that data gives a hint of the hidden."

[Pete from Boston]

This is a map of where pizza guys live?

Now I want pizza.

[Alps]

This is a map of where pizza guys live?

Now I want pizza.

Go to Queens and knock on doors.

[The Nature Boy]

I could pick any borough as the best - except Staten Island. Staten Island is all of the taxes of the city and high prices of the bridges, minus the convenience.

Fair point, but I'm already down on convenience where I live, and yet not getting all the benefits that should accompany it, so I'd be willing to concede a bit more on that point if it gets me a little (lot) more breathing space.

If you're considering Staten Island, you're not doing yourself any favors if you don't consider the rest of the inner suburbs as well (suburb meaning areas with suburban characteristics, which category includes Staten Island).

Not only are there other places with space, but most of them aren't limited to by four notoriously congested choke points to get in or out.

Staten Island seems like a place for people who want to say that they live in New York City but really want to live in suburbia. It's like a compromise.

The biggest advantage to Staten Island would be the Staten Island Ferry, which is great if you work in Manhattan.

[roadman65]

For the best to visit, it would be Manhattan.  It has all the sites and of course Rockefeller Center.

What, you mean Rockefeller Center isn't a site? :-)

For a nice evening on some amusement rides, its Coney Island and the world famous Nathan's.

For culture diversity its Brooklyn.

Coney Island is part of Brooklyn, or did you not mean to distinguish the two?

Yes I know Rockefeller Center is a site, but I used "especially" quite loosely to show its the ultimate of all sites there, not as something different.

Yes, I know Coney Island is Brooklyn, but I wanted to feature the borough's features separate from the features of the one area.