Greenwich Village

Understand

Greenwich Village was once a large industrial park; later, it was colonized by radicals, bohemians, beatniks, artists, and literary greats squatting in abandoned factories. High rents exclude most of their ilk today (their countercultural counterparts are NYU students with parental support) but the Village still has its charm.

Greenwich Village, home to a vibrant artistic and literary community in the 1950s, occupies the space between Houston Street and 14th Street. The central portion surrounds Washington Square Park and includes much of NYU's large campus and a thriving B&T (bridge & tunnel - a pejorative term) nightlife scene on MacDougal Street. West of University Place are many historic and attractive brownstones and some of the city's best restaurants and bars. The area's traditional avant garde reputation - it was a major center of the gay rights movement in the 1970s, for example - has somewhat faded as yuppies and movie stars move in.

Greenwich Village is also the main setting for the TV series Friends as Monica's apartment has a Grove St. address, and there are numerous references to nearby areas such as Bleecker St. and SoHo (although the series was actually filmed in the Warner Brother studios in Los Angeles).

Note that the "East Village" was not historically part of Greenwich Village and is still considered by many New Yorkers to be part of the Lower East Side, but the term "West Village" is synonymous with Greenwich Village, or at least that part of the neighborhood that is west of 6th Av. or so. In the 19th century, Greenwich Village's eastern portion was better known as Washington Square. Washington Square Park remains a neighborhood landmark, but the terms "The Village," "Greenwich Village," and "West Village" are practically interchangeable.

Get in

By subway

Greenwich Village is served by many subway lines:

• The 1, 2, and 3 lines run under 7th Avenue, with the 1 stopping at Christopher Street—Stonewall station (next to the picturesque Sheridan Square) and all three stopping at 14th Street (a passageway allows free transfer to 14th St./6th Av. station).
• The A, B, C, D, E, F, and M lines stop in the middle of the Village at the West 4th Street station (at the intersection of West 4th Street and 6th Avenue), with the A, C, and E serving 14th St. and 8th Av. station and the F and M lines serving 14th St. and 6th Av. station (a passageway at 14th St./6th Av. allows free transfer to 14th St./7th Av. station).
• The R and W line runs under Broadway, along with the N at night and on weekends, serving the 8th Street NYU and Union Square stations on the edge of the neighborhood.
• The L line runs under 14th Street, stopping at the 14th St./6th Av., 14th St./8th Av., and Union Square stations.
• The 4, 5, 6, and Q lines also serve Union Square.

By PATH

The PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) train, a subway-style transit system, is convenient and inexpensive for going to points on 6th Av. up to 33 St. (one block east of Penn Station) and to Hoboken and Journal Square in New Jersey. One can transfer from Journal Square to the PATH line that terminates at Newark - Penn Station (not to be confused with New York's Penn Station), and get from there to Newark Airport by local Newark bus. Within Greenwich Village, the PATH stops at Christopher St. between Hudson and Greenwich Sts. and at both 9th St. and 14th St. at 6th Avenue.

By bus

The double-decker tour buses whisk their way up 6th Av., but why not take an MTA bus, get off, and do your own tour?

In this neighborhood, the following uptown/downtown buses operate:

• The M20 goes uptown on Hudson St. and 8th Av., downtown on 7th Av.
• The M5 and M6 go uptown on 6th Av.. The M6 goes downtown on Broadway, the M5 on 5th Av. to 8th St., then east on 8th and downtown on Broadway to its terminus on Houston St.
• The M3 goes uptown on University Place and downtown on 5th Av.
• The M2 goes uptown on 4th Av. and downtown on 5th Av.
• The M11 goes uptown on Greenwich St. and downtown on Hudson St. to and from Abingdon Square.
• There is also the M7, which has its downtown terminus on 14th St. and Broadway, just south of Union Square.

There are also crosstown buses:

• The M14 goes across 14th St.
• The M8 goes west on 9th and Christopher Sts., east on 10th and 8th Sts.

The M14 is by far the most frequent at all hours. There is also a crosstown bus on Houston St., the M21, but it runs fairly infrequently and tends to get backed up in traffic, so it is not recommended if there is a good alternative. The M21 does not run between approximately midnight and 6AM See the MTA website for more information.

On foot

If you are close enough to walk to the Village, do it. Walking is the best way to experience the character of neighborhoods in Manhattan and the contrast and continuity between them.

By bicycle

The park along the Hudson River has a popular bike path. Many people also ride along city streets in this neighborhood, many of which are pretty quiet side streets.

Get around

It is possible to take some of the aforementioned buses along the avenues in the Village, but there are so many side streets that are worth wandering on and cannot be accessed by public transit. Walking is really optimal, or you can cycle. Cabs are numerous throughout the neighborhood, too.

Respect

The Village thrives on French tourists, honeymooners from Texas, and day-trippers from uptown and all around the region. Having lots of people around all the time makes it feel safer, and the residents appreciate that. Most will happily take your picture, give you directions, and advise you about where to eat, etc. At the same time, the Village isn't an amusement park. The people who live there are generally rather sedate, and they cannot be on perpetual holiday. Most need a good night's sleep so they can get up for work in the morning. Have a heart: Don't make a lot of noise, or do anything else in public that you wouldn't want someone to do in front of your house!