Williamsburg is still the coolest New York neighbourhood – this is why
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I stayed in Bushwick in deepest Brooklyn this summer. It still felt a little sketchy late at night, although there was the usual hipster creep: super-fun, bulb-lit bar Carmelo’s on DeKalb Avenue, Milk & Pull coffee on Irving Street.
The Bushwick Collective (what even is a collective?) was a ramshackle scrapyard turned alfresco bar, art and games outfit on Troutman Street. I went to next-door upmarket fish restaurant Sea Wolf and stared down some graffiti while drinking frosé.
Bushwick is so hip it even has a truncated nickname: ’Schwick. Ugh. As a 32-year-old who likes sitting down and going to bed at 10, I felt 109 years old.
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It’s probably how I’d have felt in Williamsburg a decade ago. This neighbourhood, on the East River, was one of the first to kickstart Brooklyn’s metamorphosis from gritty to glam, attracting a bunch of Manhattanites across the Williamsburg Bridge for its cheaper rents and bigger spaces. Since November 2012, house prices have jumped from $575,000 (£4,36,905.12) to almost $900,000 (£6,83,851.50) in September 2018, according to Zillow. Neither bohemians nor hipsters live here any longer: they can’t afford it.
Where to hang
Geographically, Williamsburg has much on its side. It faces the East River, overlooking the bombastic skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan. The streets are clean and wide, pounded by joggers, young families and dog walkers (I stalked a great dane/dalmatian cross down Wythe Avenue one morning).
Where to stay
The Hoxton, three years in the making, had some serious competition along Wythe Avenue.
Opposite the Hoxton is the Williamsburg Hotel (complete with rooftop water tower that’s being developed into a bar), while further down is the Wythe and the William Vale, known for its swaggering, 60ft rooftop pool. (One journalist I met in Williamsburg told me her friends were hanging out on the roof all summer. Well, I’m not surprised.)
Eat and drink
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Williamsburg
Basically, where to brunch. There’s Sunday in Brooklyn, an irreverent spot where the menu has a French bulldog on the front and the 3D pancakes are ordered for Instagram only. Then there’s Cafe Colette, one block down from the Hoxton, which has a handful of metal tables outside that are consistently packed. Palm fronds and wooden stools inside give it a slightly tropical vibe – although the chocolate French toast and poached eggs are definitely home-comfort hangover food. Brooklyn favourite Five Leaves, on the north corner of McCarren Park, has a laid-back Aussie feel – come early at the weekend or risk waiting an hour for your eggs and bottomless coffee.
Essentials
Getting there
Virgin Atlantic offers up to eight flights per day between London Heathrow and New York JFK, with fares starting from £320 for travel this winter, including taxes and fees.
Staying there
Rooms at The Hoxton start from $159 ((£120.83) plus taxes, which includes a daily breakfast bag.
The William Vale has rooms from $445 ((£338.18) a night plus tax. The hotel is offering a Fall Retreat package, which gives 10 per cent off your stay plus a swag bag worth $250 (£189.99) (valid until 1 Dec).
Visiting there
For more information, visit nycgo.com
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