New York City - Brooklyn 3rd Ave hotel & neighborhood????

Hi all..... looking to extend a biz trip to NYC a few days this week (May 1-5), and there's a dearth of hotel point redemption opportunities in Manhattan (of course---even our fave little Fairfield in Chelsea flower district asks $500 a nite!)

May I ask impressions and advice for the area of Bklyn around 3rd/4th Ave and Union St? There's a Fairfield at 181 3rd Av (at Butler St, about 4 blocks north of Union).....a Hol Inn also near 3rd Av and Butler.....and a Hol Inn Express at 625 Union St, at corner of 4th Av (looks to be right at (R) subway Union St station).

What's the neighborhood like? For comparisons sake, we've been through Park Slope/Prospect Park, and I've walked aroumd the area of Marco Polo restaurant at Union and Court St after taking subway to a nearby station.

We're fine with subways and urban areas......just don't want an area that's all closed up at night......and if we are there, is a trip to Coney Island worthwhile....even just for a stroll on the boardwalk?

many thanks!

I'm not quite sure what exactly you want to know. I'm not really fond of any of these locations for an out of towner going there at night. If pressed, I would pick Union and 4th as the the least objectionable. (I went past Marco Polo about ten days ago. That's a completely different neighborhood.)

I wouldn't consider a trip to Coney Island "worthwhile" barring some special circumstance like going to a minor league baseball game or having some business there. I can understand how you would like to see it but don't expect to be overwhelmed. Perhaps an alternative might be a trip to the nearby Brighton Beach which also has a boardwalk but you'll also get the experience of being in the large Russian neighborhood.

I would not visit Coney Island at night.

Please do feel free to post any other Brooklyn questions you have.

If you go on a warm day, you'll feel the 'warmth' of Coney Island and the beach. Walk on the boardwalk or stroll the beach. The heyday of CI is long past. Playing skeeball or riding the bumper cars + having a frank (hotdog) at Nathan's can be fun.

Walking east from Coney Island (on the boardwalk or the street), you'll come to http://www.nyaquarium.com/ It's small compared with others around the country. As you exit, continue east to Brighton Beach Ave aka Little Odessa. The 'el' is overhead. A few blocks away is M & I international. This is an eastern European food market that loaded with a variety of food. FYI, they have a hot table upstairs that's very reasonable. Visit the bakery before you leave. :o ;)
http://nymag.com/listings/stores/mandi_international_food/

Brighton Beach Ave has lots of stores/restaurants to shop in. Many are Russian oriented. At Coney Island Ave (10 blocks, 1km, 1/2 mile) you have choices. Walk back to the beach. Take the subway back to the city (as we say in Brooklyn). Or, continue heading east on BB Ave and walk towards Manhattan Beach. BB has lots of apartment buildings and older homes (I'm being kind). Manhattan Beach has Million dollar homes that are spread apart (for Brooklyn).

peersteve, enjoy yourself here and ask away.

dh

Thanks LG and dh..... that was a good description.... good to have the local knowledge of where one neighborhood ends and another begins.....and such exact walking tour directins!

Brighton Beach sounds intriguing...... of all our trips to NYC, have never been to the oceanside, so were looking for a boardwalk stroll..... use the Brighton Beach B-Q station?

thanks!

Brighton Beach sounds intriguing...... of all our trips to NYC, have never been to the oceanside, so were looking for a boardwalk stroll..... use the Brighton Beach B-Q station?



You can take the B or the Q to/from Brighton Beach.

The B train ends in Brighton Beach, while the Q continues to Coney Island/Stillwell Ave.

Brighton Beach sounds intriguing...... of all our trips to NYC, have never been to the oceanside, so were looking for a boardwalk stroll..... use the Brighton Beach B-Q station?

thanks!

You're welcome. Yes, I would say the B&Q Brighton Beach stop would be good.

There is a thread somewhere here about the iPhone (and maybe other platforms) app called Embark NYC. You might want to get this for your smart phone.

If there are other questions you have, go ahead.

this may be a case where priceline ends up being a better choice versus using points to stay outside of manhattan. unless we're talking about a wknd where there's a major event going on, good hotels go for ~$125-175 a night via priceline

OP, you said you were staying until May 5. How's the trip going?

OP, you said you were staying until May 5. How's the trip going?

Oh, hi.....thanks for asking.......as you know the weather was gray and drippy......so we stayed in Manhattan asa freebie night opened-up at the Chelsea/Garden District Fairfield.....

New for us was the Columbia Univ area and Grant's Tomb......nice stroll through a quieter area of the island with the views from the bluffs overlooking the Hudson (like at the Cloisters).......did book store brwosing and buying around Columbia and in our wanders thru the Village....just a low-key time!

For future reference, that area is not bad. It's a bit desolate and industrial-feeling, but not dangerous. It wasn't very safe a few years back, and even 5-6 years ago it was different, but not so bad now.

I used to live in the area 3 years ago, so I know a little bit about it. In that area (Union St and surrounding blocks), stay above 3rd Avenue whenever possible. Closer to Atlantic Ave, you can go below 3rd all the way over to Cobble Hill.

I wouldn't recommend it for some polite suburban Midwesterner's FIRST VISIT to New York City, but for a reasonably-seasoned urban traveler, it's just fine.

Next time try http://www.nuhotelbrooklyn.com/

Next time try http://www.nuhotelbrooklyn.com/
+1, very nice place, although right next to the jail :)