Transportation

Greenpoint locals live and die by the G train, which stops at Greenpoint and Nassau Avenues. Until recently it was the most scholarly line in the whole system: thirty-minute waits even during rush hour provided plenty of time to plow through the entire Murakami canon. But the current population surge has forced the city to address the ’hood’s commuting woes, and the train schedule is on the right track—expect a 30- to 40-minute commute to midtown from the Nassau and Greenpoint Avenue stations if you transfer to the E/V line at Court Square. But the G can still run like molasses on the weekends; hoof it 15 minutes to the Bedford Avenue L stop (also a risky bet on Saturdays), or take advantage of area buses. Your best bets are the B61, which connects Manhattan Avenue with Williamsburg, and the B43, which travels south all the way to Crown Heights. The B24 takes the less direct BQE to the ’Burg, and the B48 meets the L, J and M lines at Lorimer Street before continuing to Prospect Heights.

Your guide to Greenpoint:

• Eating and drinking: Manhattan Avenue is still the main drag, but a slew of new places have opened on Franklin Street.
• Clubs and venues: Old-school Slavic clubs pack in the locals, but there are a couple of joints that pull in outsiders.
• Shopping and services: There’s still a healthy nexus of 99-cent stores and Polish pharmacies, but a new crop of tony boutiques is emerging.
• Transportation
• Public space
• Real estate

• Greenpoint's future: How a sewer line, an oil spill and Magic Johnson will help shape the years to come.