Williamsburg

Williamsburg, on the East River, has been a manufacturing district, a Hasidic Jewish and Latino community, an arts scene and a destination for restaurants, music venues and waterfront parks. Its 2005 rezoning opened the waterfront to residential towers.

Williamsburg has been several neighbourhoods at once. In the nineteenth century the waterfront was lined with sugar refineries, breweries and factories, and the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903 drew thousands of new residents from the Lower East Side. Over the twentieth century Italian, Polish, Puerto Rican and Dominican families settled here, and after the Second World War the Hasidic community of South Williamsburg grew into one of the largest in the country.

Since the late 1990s the northern blocks around Bedford Avenue have become a centre of independent music, fashion, art and food, and the 2005 rezoning of the waterfront brought residential towers and new public space. Domino Park, built on the site of the old Domino Sugar refinery and opened in 2018, keeps pieces of the industrial machinery as part of its design and offers wide views of the Manhattan skyline.

Getting around is straightforward. The L train runs under Bedford Avenue and connects with the G, J, M and Z lines, the NYC Ferry serves the waterfront, and the Williamsburg Bridge has a bike and pedestrian path. On weekends the neighbourhood hosts food markets and outdoor events, and music venues such as the Music Hall of Williamsburg and Brooklyn Bowl keep the area busy at night.

Williamsburg is a neighbourhood of strong contrasts, with Hasidic families, long-time Latino residents, artists and newer arrivals living a few blocks from each other, sometimes with different views on development and rising rents. Visitors are asked to be respectful, particularly in South Williamsburg, where modest dress and quiet behaviour on residential streets are appreciated. Check each venue’s hours before you go.