"Brooklyn Rocks" a Brooklyn Travel Page by Jgiii

If you come to NYC and don't leave Manhattan, you are doing yourself an injustice. All of the boroughs have something to offer, Brooklyn being the number one. Visit before it's gone. In the 7 years I have lived here I have watched too many beautiful, historical buildings get torn down for ugly, deluxe condos to sprout up in their places. It's quite a travesty as not only are the buildings gone, but the ethnic groups who have lived in these areas for so long get pushed out by rising rents, followed by the artists and pioneers who started the gentrification process. Very soon these parts will be inhabited only by the midtown crowd and the magic that is Brooklyn will be gone.

Brooklyn is much larger than Manhattan and with this you get more neighborhoods, culture and diversity. These neighborhoods are not to miss:

1-Williamsburg/Greenpoint
2-Red Hook
3-Park Slope
4-Fort Green/Clinton Hill
5-Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens/Boerum Hill
6-Coney Island

Sadly, what was so great about some of these places is quickly disappearing. The building of an IKEA in Red Hook will change the quiet, creative vibe that made it so special, the ugly condos taking over the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfront have changed the landscape dramatically for the worse, and word has it that Coney Island may house luxury condos instead of amusements, meaning that the last remaining bits of NYC grit and grime may be gone forever.

Instead of focusing on the negative, I will point out the positives. Greenpoint and Williamsburg are both full of hip bars, restaurants and shops. While the hipster quotient is quite high, so is the much more welcoming laid back, artist vibe. I have lived in Greenpoint since 2001 and hope to stick around for quite a while longer. There are some beautiful brownstone blocks mixed with a wonderful industrial past that fuels the creativity that is so alive here. The strips not to miss are Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg and Franklin Street in Greenpoint.

Red Hook can at times feel like a small fishing village, until the bus squeaks by and a gunshot echoes in the distance. Van Brunt street has become an unlikely strip with some excellent restaurants (Hope and Anchor and The Good Fork being my favorites) but has seen its share of controversy with the building of the IKEA that nobody wanted. I still love to spend a Sunday afternoon wandering around the quiet cobblestone streets, followed by a Tofu Pot Pie at Hope and Anchor.

Park Slope, while filled with Hipster/Yuppie baby carriage pushing parents, is a dining destination that rivals Manhattan and it's beautiful brownstone blocks and proximity to Prospect Park make it even more inviting.

Carroll Gardens, another 'hood made up of brownstones also boasts it's own hip strip, Smith Street, where door to door bars, restaurants and boutiques can keep one busy for days.

Fort Green and Clinton Hill have some of the shadiest and most beautiful blocks in the borough, and they have The Brooklyn Academy of Music (known here as BAM). BAM is home to some of the most cutting edge in theater, dance and music and has a movie theater that screens first run art films and retrospectives.

Lastly, is Coney Island. It doesn't need much of an introduction, come here for the sideshow freaks and a ride on the world famous Cyclone, one of the most frightening wooden roller coasters in the US.

There are many more great neighborhoods in the borough, but if you are on a time limit, it's impossible to see them all. Bushwick, still not fully gentrified, is the best place to find a performance in an unfinished loft, minus the Williamsburg attitude. DUMBO, while horribly gentrified and quite popular with the tourists, has charming cobblestone streets, some good restaurants, bars and shops, and St. Anne's Warehouse, a hip performance venue. Every October DUMBO hosts the Under The Bridge arts festival and while with each year it has become more sanitized and family friendly, it is still worth the trip.

I know I'm complaining about gentrification while at the same time talking about the great restaurants and bars. I guess I'm part of the problem, but at least I don't patronize the Starbucks.

My favorite place to get away from it all is this gem in Sunset Park. Leafy trees, duck ponds, grassy hills and tombstones make this a retreat from the urban jungle that surrounds it. Afterwards take a stroll up to Park Slope for a bite to eat, or stay in Sunset Park and have some of the best authentic Chinese food in Brooklyn's Chinatown.