The Neighborhoods - Wrapped
Since I started The Neighborhoods a little over two and a half years ago, I’ve rarely stopped to take stock of what I’ve covered or where I’ve been. Usually, the second I hit “send” on a newsletter, I’m already thinking about which neighborhood comes next.
When people ask how much longer the project will take, or even the seemingly simple question of how many neighborhoods there are in New York, I still don’t have a great answer. I started with a working estimate of around 350 neighborhoods, though I suspect the final number will be somewhat lower. The only time I’ll really know is when I’m finished, which I can say, with some degree of confidence, will be before the end of the decade. Hopefully.
With that in mind, I thought this week would be a good opportunity to look back at the neighborhoods of 2025. Is this partly an excuse not to head out into the city when, at the time of writing, the “real feel” is flirting with single digits? Possibly. But it also feels like a useful pause, a way to solidify some of the connections that have surfaced throughout this survey.
This year I visited 44 neighborhoods and sent out 90 emails, which, I realize, is bordering on excessive. The discrepancy between neighborhoods visited and emails sent can be chalked up to the Monday “bonus” edition that I send to paid subscribers, essentially another edit of photos, occasionally accompanied by a historical tidbit or anecdote.
To keep things fresh, I like to cover neighborhoods in a consistent rotation by borough: Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan. The first five neighborhoods in this year’s QBBSM (pronounced CUBISM) cycle were Maspeth, Vinegar Hill, Soundview, Charleston (where I nearly lost a boot and my sanity on the edge of the Arthur Kill) and TriBeCa.
MANHATTAN
The other Manhattan neighborhoods I covered this year were Lincoln Square, Marble Hill (the Manhattan neighborhood that is actually in The Bronx), Turtle Bay, Alphabet City, Civic Center, the Meatpacking District and Times Square, which was the place to be last night as long as you had a steady supply of Depends.
QUEENS
In Queens, I wrote about Arverne, Ramblersville and Hamilton Beach, Middle Village, College Point, Sunnyside, and Woodhaven, where I visited the city’s oldest bar and learned why the borough has the most confusing street names in the entire city.
I also checked out Fresh Meadows, home to “The most Teutonic of bagels,” and Bellerose Manor, where I got to wander the hall of the amazing Living Museum, part of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center.
BROOKLYN
The Brooklyn neighborhoods I covered this year were Bensonhurst, Crown Heights, Greenpoint, Red Hook, Brownsville, Sunset Park, Marine Park, and Prospect Heights.
For part of my Sunset Park visit I was accompanied by Anne Kadet who later wrote a profile of me for her fantastic Cafe Anne newsletter. The piece, where she compared me to a hyper-curious dog, was one of the highlights of my year on Substack.
THE BRONX
This year’s Bronx neighborhoods included Norwood, Concourse, Morris Heights, Woodlawn, Pelham Bay, Edenwald, and East Tremont.
One of the more interesting places I visited this year was Hart Island, which has served as the city’s potter’s field since 1869 and is home to over one million former New York City residents making it simultaneously the most crowded and quietest of the city’s neighborhoods.
STATEN ISLAND
And last but not least, the “forgotten borough” of Staten Island where I visited Tompkinsville, Bulls Head, New Dorp, New Brighton, Bloomfield, Dongan Hills, New Springville and Richmond Valley, the source of my favorite bit of NYC trivia. The neighborhood is home to Outerbridge Crossing, the bridge connecting Staten Island to New Jersey which was named after the first chairman of the Port Authority, Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge.
OTHER NEWS
Other things The Neighborhoods related that happened this year:
I received an O’Shaughnessy Ventures Fellowship
I exhibited at The Future Fair, Chelsea, NYC with 3 Walls.
The first physical copy of the newsletter (Vol 1.) made it to print.
And, most recently, I made a website featuring all my field recordings to date.
ODDS AND ENDS
Ever since 153 BCE, when Rome shifted the start of the consular year to January 1, the date has been associated with new beginnings. Prior to the change, March 1 had marked the start of the year, but it was deemed necessary to move the date earlier so elected officials could take office sooner and get on with the work of governing an expanding empire. How Rome’s political class felt about being prematurely summoned from the luxury of their Campanian villas, where they dined on freshly fricasseed flamingo tongue washed down by endless goblets of honeyed wine, we can only guess. Conveniently, January had already been named for Janus, the god of beginnings, transitions, and doorways, so the symbolism was baked in.
January 1 is also known as the Feast of the Circumcision, though, for obvious reasons, that holiday never achieved quite the same popularity.
Here is some video footage from last year’s neighborhoods:
The music in that video was from a record I released this year with my friend Aaron Fisher. If you want to hear more, here is a link to Bandcamp and Apple Music
What better way to celebrate the New Year than with a glass of champagne? Here is one time Eltingtville resident and Neighborhoods favorite Steven Seagall to show you how:
I’m excited to continue this project in 2026 and feel so lucky to have an audience that is interested enough to follow along! All of this wouldn’t be possible without all of you have subscribed to the newsletter and have offered your support and comments and feedback over the years. Thank you and Happy New Year!
Not obsessive at all! I recently came across this Martin Scorsese quote in Warren Zane's book about Springsteen, and it's so true: “Your job is to get your audience to care about your obsessions.” Keep up the amazing work!
You do great work, Rob. Keep going! Happy 2026!