WELCOME TO CityNeighborhoods.nyc!
This website is your portal into the rich tapestry that is New York City. The city is, truly, a patchwork quilt of neighborhoods that are diverse and vibrant. And as of August 2023, I have visited, walked, and photographed every single one of the nearly 370 neighborhoods that make up the five boroughs of NYC. This means that, for each of these neighborhoods, you will find a web page, photographs, and a write up. Use the navigation tools above to browse by borough or use this map to see each where neighborhood is and find a link to its page: https://tinyurl.com/NYC-Neighborhoods-Map
The History of CityNeighborhoods.NYC
This project began in 2014 with a goal to visit every neighborhood in Manhattan and photograph what I saw as I visited - to capture the essence of each neighborhood. To date, I have completed my tour of Manhattan, visiting nearly every block, every street, and every avenue on the island. The result is over 10,000 photographs that (hopefully) show the spirit, diversity and beauty of the most popular borough in New York City.
As of 2022 my focus has turned to the outer boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The first goal was to set foot in every neighborhood throughout these two iconic boroughs. This task was completed in April 2023. And what about The Bronx and Staten Island? I completed their tours in July and August, 2023, respectively.
In the future, I will be returning to each of these outer borough neighborhoods to more fully explore each one. Also be on the lookout for more photos and videos from photoshoots that have yet to be processed!
About The Neighborhoods
Q: So what makes a neighborhood in New York City?
A: No one really knows for sure.
Very few of the neighborhood borders are definite. Occasionally you’ll find boundaries along major thoroughfares or transportation lines. And oftentimes the results depend on who you ask (or which website you read). But more often than not, the boundaries are more like guidelines, than actual rules. For the purposes of this project, I relied heavily on the information from emporis.com, wikipedia, and my own experiences as I explore the various blocks in each neighborhood. (This is why, for example, I chose to separate Richmond Hill from Richmond Hill East). All-in-all, it's like one giant game of Tetris, with no absolute wrong or right. Mostly, I decided to try and have as much differentiation as possible - which is why, for example, I make the distinction between, say, Alphabet City and the East Village, the archaic Bloomingdale District and the Upper West Side, as well as City Line, Highland Park and Cypress Hills.
I created this map to reflect my research … but if you have any feedback, I’d love to know!
About the Photographer
Hi there!
*waves*
By (work) day, I am a teacher in the New York City public schools. I live (and work) in Queens. And I am also an aspiring author (I've written one Young Adult fantasy manuscript and am currently drafting a second). I'm currently in the process of querying literary agents.
If it sounds like I have a busy life, well, that's because I do. I like to keep active and be creative. This cityneighborhoods.nyc project has become a passion and something akin to a life's work. I look forward to continuing my excursions into Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island … and returning to Manhattan to document its many changes.
Thank you for taking the time to visit. Please be sure to check out the full image galleries here.
- Samuel Walters, September 2023