What's your favorite New York neighborhood?

[Pat Coyle]

Indianapolis is nice, but there's something magical about Soho in the Springtime. The streets are alive. The buildings have so much character...the open air cafes, the characters, the parks filled with people, the hustle and bustle of the City the Never Sleeps. But Soho is just one slice of the Big Apple. Every neighborhood has its own distinct flavor. Yet they're all distinctly New York. What's your favorite neighborhood or NYC experience? And is there anything in Indy that comes close? Share your thoughts here

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[Tom Davis]

My most memorable New York experiences have all been on foot, it is such a fascinating place to walk through. I was fortunate enough to be able to do the NYC Marathon in 2001, about two months after 9/11. You have to win a lottery to get into it. My wife had won an entry and I hadn't, but we figured I could join her somewhere right after the Verrazano Narrows Bridge not far from the beginning, but after 9/11, many people decided they didn't want to go. Somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody that I knew and who actually had an official race number, let me borrow his driver's license which was needed to pick up your number and timing chip etc. Of course, he was about ten years younger than me and we didn't look a thing alike, but somehow, when I walked up to the check point to and handed the gatekeeper his Driver's License, the guy, though he kept looking at the ID photo, then at me, and back at the photo, and back at me, acted like he believed me when I told him "it's an old picture" and I was able to pick up the stuff I needed to really be in the marathon. It was an honor to be in that marathon, so many people had photos of the missing pinned to their shirts and we went by so many fire stations where they would cheer us while we cheered them even louder. And the crowds were great; I think it was one of the first major events after 9/11, a sign that despite the pain and loss, life was going to go on.

A couple of nights before the race my son and I, who was then in high school, walked the entire perimeter of the blocked off scar of the World Trade Center. We did not cross any barricades, but because it really was the middle of the night, we pretty much had the place to ourselves and came upon what was apparently a spot that was designated to the memory of the flight crews--fifty to a hundred feet of stuffed animals, flower bouquets, and other memorials stacked three feet high. We knew we were on sacred ground.

Those are memorable moments, but not the kind you consider favorite. That would probably we the solitary walk I made this fall from Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, a magical place itself, but apart from the magic of New York, all the way back to the southern edge of Central Park. It was fascinating to watch the neighborhoods melt into one another, starting with a middle class Brooklyn where I got great spaghetti in a corner deli, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, blocks of Chinatown giving way Bedford Stuvesant and then what seemed like miles of overgrown old apartment buildings becoming hospitals and United Nations and then the tonier neighborhoods closer to Central Park.

Then there was the time my wife and I rented bikes to ride around Central Park and we decided to cross the street to ride by the Dakota to see where John was shot and just as we walked our bikes past the entry way, out comes Yoko.

[Don Torrance]

I am a Hoosier native now living in Brooklyn. My feelings for NY cannot even be put into words. The most distinct & authentic NY trait is the melting pot of people who make up this city. Every block in this city is different, neighborhoods blend together yet at times are distinct & separate. Community transportation forces you to leave the comfortable, convenience of motor vehicle transportation and teaches you how to live in community with others. If I move back to Indiana one day, I hope to create an Ark & fill it with two of everyone. Lord knows Indianapolis could use some flavor.

[Jeren Touch-Werner]

After 14 years in the suburb of Indy I am moving to Downtown Indy in the search of that magic of the city's pulse, the heartbeat of the city through the people's smiles, tenderness in the air, fast paced peace inebriating the air; I AM NOT ASKING FOR MUCH - for just this much. Many smiles. My best memory of New York?... Walking through Manhattan for about 75 minutes fast paced; to get to Chelsea Art District, and then diving inside the infinity of the art galleries allowing it all to swallow me up until the very last inch of excitement inside me ready to gulp up the last of the air available in my lungs. Then I dive off to the vast land of peace inside me bearing the glimpses of the seen and experienced art as I quietly stroll back to my hotel through all Manhattan now the walk is a close to a hundred minutes of measured silence in my heart through the soles of my feet...

[Erik Deckers]

Do you have a place to move yet? Mass Ave is way cool, and if you're looking for fast-pace in the heart of the city, it's a great place to be.

[Daniel Andrew Young]

I went to NYC by myself in June, 2004 (five days), 2005 (seven days), and 2007 (five days). I must have some deeply personal, spiritual connection to Manhattan. I had dreamed about it and wanted to find the place I was in the dream to see if it was real. I haven't found it yet, but so much of what I experienced there had a dream-like quality to it. One really fun thing was bumping into D-list celebrities: standing on a corner next to actress Elizabeth Berkley on Broadway; Tony Danza in Central Park, shooting a segment for his short-lived talk show. The next year it was singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb outside Danny's piano bar on W. 48th(?), and NYPD Blue's Gordon Clapp on 8th Avenue. Kinda silly, I know. Anyway, I was looking for arts, poetry & music-related places and activities the first trip, and got lucky. I came across a branch library near Lincoln Center, in Riverside, with a flyer taped up in the window about a poetry open reading the next day, so I went and got to meet some cool people and do a reading. One was a poet/jazz-singer (like myself) who had a gig that night at a vegetarian restaurant on Avenue A, way down in the East Village. She sang standards (like me) and was very good. I met some of her friends, all poets and artists, and had some wonderful conversations. I found out about an open Mic the next day up around 96th and Broadway, where I could sign up and sing two songs with a jazz trio. Again, met nice people, got to sing. The place was Cleopatra's Needle, nice bar, Middle-Eastern food. I went back there every trip, it was always a good time. Also got to do poetry readings in a few other places: Cornelia Street Cafe in the Village, the Nightingale Lounge, the Back Fence Pub (very close to the famed Cafe Wha?), I think on 4th Street. I always buy the one-week Metro pass for subways and buses, and go all over. I went to Rockefeller Center on a beautiful sunny day and took pictures. The first year I tried to go to David Letterman's Late Show (Ed Sullivan) Theatre but it was the week after the Indy 500 so Dave was in Indy when I was in NYC. Last time (2007) it was all about trying to hit some jazz clubs, and I finally made it down to Wall Street and the WTC site. I took pics there, and at the Metropolitan Museum. I walked across Central Park, and walked through Washington Square Park, where musicians were jamming. I'm leaving out huge chunks of my stories, there was so much going on. I was in the subways a lot, hustling through the stations, feeding on the energy. Musicians in the subway stations... Probably the best thing was that it was easier to meet people there than here. I got more acceptance and appreciation for my talent there in a few days than I've gotten in Indy in twenty years. Love it love it love it...

[kim koch]

I went down to Greewich Village and walked sample food . I had quite a good time several years ago.

[Curt Alexander]

As a New Yorker (though I haven't lived there for 25 years, I still consider myself a member of the club), it's hard for me to narrow that.
I'm flexible, so any time I go into a certain area, I enjoy myself. Midtown is great, but I'm always surprised at how peaceful things can be in such a highly populated area just by turning down a certain street? That could be SOHO, Greenwich Village or most anywhere to the north.
As a former "Rocky Horror" attendee, the village has a particular pull, but I'm happy almost anywhere as long as I can stumble into a great pizza place or bakery.
I'm glad Joe included the distinction that NYC/Manhattan is just "the city" to the locals - it makes me feel like yelling at an aggressive cabbie.

[Teresa Downham]

Ok Curt - now you got me wanting to go back to NY and yell at some cabbies. After reading everyone's comments, I think it might be time to get my 3 kids out of Indiana for a vacation to the City! I don't think they have even ever ridden in a cab.

[David Barnhardt]

Washington Square home of NYU and Bleaker street [Bleaker Street Deli] People in NYC are more helpful than people in downtown Indy. If you are friendly they respond two fold.
With my own eyes I watched a man walk up bleaker street into a store, go to the rear and change into his work clothing, come out of the store go down about 1/2 block and sit down with his sign and cup, [seems this is job] at the end of the day changes back to his regular clothing and go home. I was told that the tourists provide him a great living. WHAT A COUNTRY WE HAVE, opportunity is everywhere just look for it!

[Teresa Downham]

We lived in NJ for about 5 years and were able to spend lots of time in NYC. Coming from small New Haven, Indiana it was incredible to walk the streets and see the big city. Growing up, does anyone remember the city scenes/shots on Sesame Street and think how foreign that looked???? I would say one of my favorite experiences is riding the Staten Island Ferry at night. Standing at the back of the ferry and looking at the beautiful skyline all lit up. It was the classic movie shot that has been used hundreds of times. Another good memory was spending New Year's Eve in Times Square. Sure it was 300,000 of your closest friends packed in a street with no public restrooms but it is an experience that you can tell your grandkids about.

[Pam Riggins]

My most surprising experience in NYC was the Easter Parade. It consisted of people from every walk of life dressed up in their finest, or silliest, Easter apparel with hats like you have never seen before, walking the parade route downtown Manhatten!

I must say it was simply delightful to be downtown Indy on Wednesday afternoon as the city bustled with people outdoors, whether for lunch or school field trips, or race fans wandering the city, or just people like me downtown for appointments.

[Stephen Schaf]

It's an interesting question. Each of the "boroughs" as they are called has quite different experiences. I must say, my time spent in NYC has quite honestly made me most fond of Brooklyn Heights. I love Manhattan, but I've rarely found opportunity to experience true rest and peace on the island. The residential, real life experience of Brooklyn, the culture and the stunning views of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge all give BH a great charm for me. It shall always hold a great place in my memory--even during a blizzard.