New York City

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:26 am

The city of New York is divided into 5 Boroughs (Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and The Bronx)

What do you call the sub divisions of those Boroughs?
e.g. East Harlem, Central Harlem, Manhattanville, Hamilton Heights, Claremont Village, etc.

Are they referred to as villages, districts, neighbourhoods or what?

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:42 am

Quote:

New York City is comprised of five boroughs, an unusual form of government used to administer the five constituent counties that make up the city. Throughout the boroughs there are hundreds of distinct neighborhoods, many with a definable history and character to call their own.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City

I don't know if the NYers really call them 'neighborhoods.' I think they just refer to the names themselves.

'Precinct' is used for some contexts.

[edit:] thinking about it, 'neighborhood' is often used for ethnic areas in NYC.

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:52 am

Thanks KD,
I have seen that and would therefore use the term 'neighbourhoods' but have seen and heard reference to 'community districts' and 'villages'.
I need to know how New Yorkers refer to those smaller named areas.

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 18313

I think KD is right that they just use the name of the specific area they are mentioning, as in "upper east side" etc.
Also, an american wouldn't spell neighborhood with a u in it. (if you're trying to impersonate one).

Edit: I guess they are neighborhoods, but I still think local residents refer to them by name:
http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=429

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:08 am

Sorry about the spelling (neighbourhood for the US neighborhood) but in Belarus we learn English English Smile

I'm not actually trying to outsmart anyone with this. I just need to know how a New Yorker would describe, for instance, Central Harlem. Would he say the village of; the neighborhood of, or the whatever of Central Harlem?

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:25 am

Depends on the context. When I was out in the States, I heard people talking of their local neighbourhood. But the context is all important.

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:55 am

I've been to NYC many times and my grandmother lived there all her life and I don't think I have never heard anyone refer to them as neighborhoods. They call the other parts by their location: Upper East Side, Central Park West...

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:17 pm

New Yorkers will refer to those areas as neighborhoods. You won't hear a New Yorker refer to anything other than a police station as a precinct.

If I'm telling someone to meet me, I'd just say SoHo or Midtown. If you're asking someone where they live, you'd ask "what neighborhood"

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

^^ Agreed.

The only "village" is "The Village" as in Greenwich Village (but there's also the "West Village" and "East Village" to further define things).

Then you get into "districts", like the "Meat Packing District", "Financial District", "Diamond District" or the "Garment District".

And "Houston" street is pronounced "HOW-ston". Hence "SoHo" -- "south of Houston".

TriBeCa = "triangle below Canal [Street]"

Oh, one could go on and on..... Wink

*** BANNED *** Joined: 30 Dec 2007 Posts: 164

Just keep clear of ABC Lower Manhatten
And the streets north of central park
Be careful of express routes on the subway,they may miss your stop and drop you off where you dont want to go

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:04 am

Thank you folks.
I thought that I'd asked a simple and straightforward question asking what the sub divisions of the New York Boroughs were referred to as.
However, you've offered me much more information than that Smile

.

I'll stick with 'neighborhood' as the answer to my original question . . . . . . . . unless a New Yorker comes along and offers a different opinion.

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:59 pm

Breddan Butter wrote:

unless a New Yorker comes along and offers a different opinion.

Sounds like you know New Yorkers a little better than you've let on.