First there were dinosaurs; then a montage of gangsters eating spaghetti and stabbing stuff with "Gimme Shelter" playing in the background; then the Ramones and some breakdancing; all culminating in a gentrified paradise that smells like brunch and has countless ratchet ATMs that spit your money into the street.
The last point aside, as narratives for a city, you can do worse. There are apparently towns on this planet where hip-hop wasn't invented and Fania Records and Madball and Basquiat never existed.
Greenpoint
A tree-lined utopia past McCarren Park, Greenpoint borders Williamsburg. It hasn't fallen under the dominium of the high-rise builders as of yet. This is where young media professionals meet local teens with heroin problems and tattoos of questionable politics who get a little shouty. Enjoy the view of the sky. Go get some pierogies.
See the complete VICE Guide to New York.
[Cover photo via Kgwo1972]
