In September 2021, I went to the US Open tennis tournament in New York City for the first time (but certainly not the last). The Open is hosted at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing in the borough of Queens, so I chose to stay in Queens and explore the borough and see a little bit of Brooklyn while I was there. I didn’t even venture into Manhattan at all, having seen all the key tourist points there on past NYC visits, and instead chose to see neighborhoods I had never seen before.
Long Island City (Queens)
I stayed at the Microtel by Wyndham in Long Island City because of its proximity to the 7 subway line which connects directly to Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and Citi Field (home of the Mets). In my hotel search I found that other parts of Queens weren’t as convenient to transportation, and the hotels immediately surrounding the tennis center were obviously booked up or expensive, so I found that staying in LIC was a good balance of affordable and convenient. The hotel itself was decent especially considering I was out all day and only there to crash, but it admittedly did have some seedy activity going on when I was getting back from primetime US Open matches at 1am.
I had driven into NYC from Philly, and parking in the LIC neighborhood was a lot easier than I expected and I was able to find free street parking for most of my stay. I only put my car in a garage for the last night I was there because I had to move it for street cleaning and couldn’t find a new spot – you definitely have to pay attention to the signs for street cleaning.
LIC was a fun neighborhood to explore and had multiple breweries which overwhelmed me since I was only there for a short amount of time. Luckily the weather helped me choose which one to visit – Hurricane Ida hit on my first night in town so I chose LIC Beer Project for a few beers since it was conveniently located a few blocks from my hotel. I still got soaked walking back!
During my last day when I wasn’t going to the Open, I did some sightseeing down along the waterfront at Gantry Plaza State Park, where you can get a panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline across the East River as well as see landmarks like the Long Island and Pepsi Cola signs. I also took a walk to Hunters Point Historic District, a section of 45th Avenue lined with adorable homes built between 1871 and 1890 and well-preserved.
Astoria (Queens)
Because of aforementioned Hurricane Ida, I didn’t spend a lot of time walking around the Astoria neighborhood, but did come here for dinner on my first night in town. Astoria is easily accessible from LIC on the N subway line, and is known for its vast selection of Greek cuisine. I went to dinner at Bahari Estiatorio just off the Broadway subway stop. I had a mouthwatering appetizer of tyrokafteri (spicy feta spread) followed by a hearty and filling mousakas dish (eggplant and potato layered with seasoned beef and topped with béchamel), and loved the atmosphere and hospitality of this restaurant.
Williamsburg (Brooklyn)
On my last day in New York before I headed for home, I decided to make some stops in Brooklyn. I stopped off in the Willamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn to hit Brooklyn Brewery. But first I needed food so I found a cute little coffee shop called Cafe Beit where I had a wrap and iced coffee in their charming outdoor patio area. Then I headed a few blocks over and had an afternoon beer or two at Brooklyn Brewery‘s taproom. I’m a fan of Brooklyn Brewery’s flagship beers that I can get on distribution in Philadelphia, but it was cool to visit the brewery and try some of their seasonal and small batch brews on tap.
DUMBO (Brooklyn)
Having had my afternoon beer, I headed down to DUMBO for a nice walk – this part of Brooklyn has pedestrian access to the Brooklyn Bridge, which I walked in its entirety. From the bridge you can see everything – key buildings in the NYC skyline and even the Statue of Liberty. The DUMBO neighborhood was fun to wander around too – short for “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass,” the trendy DUMBO neighborhood is nestled between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and is full of boutique shops and upscale dining. I did the touristy thing and got my picture taken at the intersection of Washington and Water Streets with the iconic view of the Manhattan Bridge, then wandered down to the Pebble Beach for some gorgeous views of Manhattan.
I had such a fun time seeing parts of New York City that I had never seen before and I’m always in awe of how massive that city it is. I know that I want to go to the US Open again in the future, so next time maybe I’ll pick some more new neighborhoods to explore!
C to Shining C 
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