Deodapper
New York: Brooklyn Heights to Harlem
New York, New York, US · 7 stops · 15.4 mi (25 km) · about 50 min driving · 17 spoken stories
A 50-minute drive through New York's neighborhood food and music history, starting at Brooklyn Heights Promenade and ending at the Apollo Theater. Pass through DUMBO's warehouse streets, Chinatown and Little Italy's dense food blocks, Village Vanguard's jazz basement, and Sylvia's soul food institution in Harlem.
Photo: Isabella Ruffalo-Burgat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
From Brooklyn Heights Promenade to Apollo Theater, Harlem
The stops
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1
Brooklyn Heights Historic District
Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, and the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway or the East River on the west.
“Welcome to Brooklyn Heights, which has a good claim to being America's first suburb.”
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2
DUMBO
Dumbo is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one situated between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River, and another extending eastward from the Manhattan Bridge to the Vinegar Hill area.
“Dumbo sits between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, and the name is a bit of a joke that stuck.”
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3
Manhattan Chinatown
Manhattan's Chinatown is a neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by the Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center to its south, and Tribeca to its west.
“Here we are in Manhattan's Chinatown, tucked between the Lower East Side, Little Italy, the Civic Center and Tribeca.”
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4
Little Italy
lunchLittle Italy is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, once known for its Italian American population. It is bounded on the west by Tribeca and Soho, on the south by Chinatown, on the east by the Bowery and Lower East Side, and on the north by Nolita.
“Little Italy starts in the eighteen eighties, when immigrants from Naples and Sicily settled between East Broadway and Houston.”
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5
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is a 9.75-acre (3.95 ha) public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
“Washington Square Park is just under ten acres, and it's the Village's living room.”
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6
Village Vanguard
The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz music venue in 1957.
“That red awning on Seventh Avenue South is the Village Vanguard, and for jazz lovers it's close to holy ground.”
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7
Sylvia's Restaurant
Sylvia's Restaurant of Harlem, often called Sylvia's Soul Food or just Sylvia's, is a soul food restaurant located at 328 Malcolm X Boulevard, between 126th and 127th Streets, in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City.
“This is Sylvia's, at three twenty-eight Malcolm X Boulevard between one hundred twenty-sixth and one hundred twenty-seventh Streets, and it's the queen of Harlem soul food.”
How it works
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