Clay St Between McGuinness Blvd and Manhattan Ave

Returning to Brooklyn today, we find ourselves on this quiet, typical side street in Greenpoint. The rows of older apartments are interrupted every couple of feet by either a new development, or stalled construction. Despite that, the plethora of idiosyncratic details that you can find are quite charming.

There's plenty of trees and plants along the way, though very little as far as commercial presence goes.  Unless you're simply looking to take a walk, there isn't much reason for you to be up this way.

Manhattan Ave Between Greenpoint Ave and Calyer St

The main drag in Greenpoint, Manhattan Avenue is a busy, crowded street filled with a wide array of stores, buildings, and neighborhood institutions. Dominated by polish signs and hipster shops, the two worlds collide with surprising elegance. Even on the overcast day I visited, the street popped with different colors and pictures. 

RV's holding everything from health-related services to lawyers lined the block as the churches and banks sat closed and empty (this was a Saturday afternoon). The startling variety is what sticks out the most after you leave – it's as if you've walked down a real world version of Disney's Main Street.

Newton Creek Nature Walk

Opened two years ago, this unlikely stretch of waterfront provides some pretty interesting views as you meander down its path. Existing between a historically polluted body of water and a heavily industrialized part of Brooklyn, it's a very strange thing to wander into the Newton Creek Nature Walk.

Walking up to the main entrance, you're greeted with a tangle of stainless steel tubes that lead into a concrete bridge.  At this point you wont be experiencing much nature, rather you'll just be slowly enclosed by the structures that make up this area. The long path that follows takes you by several pieces of heavy machinery, as well as some very large buildings. However, in the distance you can see the creek, which opens up into an unprotected walkway to the water.

Much like the High Line, which I visited earlier this year for the blog, there's a certain variety in how the Nature Creek is designed. With plants and structures changing it up and paths turning  around several corners, there's little chance of getting bored as you explore what's next.

All-in-all, it's a pretty surprising thing to find in this part of town. What I particularly liked was that it didn't attempt to hide what's around you. The Nature Walk integrated the surrounding structures; allowing the plant life to play off them in a very interesting juxtaposition of industry and nature.

Clay St Between McGuinness Blvd and Paidge Ave

Just east of the Pulaski Bridge in the industrial section of Greenpoint, this short and barren street comes to life with it's massive wall of street art. Two sides of a rather unassuming building are completely covered with a myriad of colors and styles. Meanwhile, across the street some rather plain-looking (though, still nice) lofts sit untouched by paint.

Continuing along, the block turns into your typical row of chain link-enclosed parking lots and garages. All around you can see buildings peeking out above the squat structures in the foreground. 

India St Between Franklin St and Manhattan Ave

This quiet street near the upper-most reaches of Brooklyn shows some subtle signs of redevelopment amongst the rows of houses and apartments. While most of the buildings on this block are humble, character-filled and timeless, the occasional new condo development strikes you right back down to reality.

Something I find rather jarring when encountering brand new buildings isn't their architecture (I'll leave it to other, far smarter people to judge the impact of such design on a neighborhood) but the lack of trees on the sidewalk in front. It makes sense, since to get construction moving they have to remove any obstacles– but the result is a barren block of treeless street.  If anything, it serves to make the older buildings, with their lush greenery, look much better.