Neighborhoods after dark

Lower East Side

Manhattan · 203 licensed night spots

Tenement blocks south of Houston where small bars and late kitchens pack the narrow streets around Orchard, Ludlow and Rivington.

133/km²40 bars/km²4 all-night stn.

East Village

Manhattan · 403 licensed night spots

Avenues A, B, First and Second: more bars than any other neighborhood area in the city, and late-night food on almost every block.

230/km²62 bars/km²2 all-night stn.

Greenwich Village & West Village

Manhattan · 501 licensed night spots

Crooked old streets, Washington Square, jazz rooms and the bars and restaurants of Bleecker and MacDougal.

217/km²39 bars/km²9 all-night stn.

Chelsea & Hudson Yards

Manhattan · 261 licensed night spots

Galleries, the High Line and the restaurant rows of Eighth and Ninth Avenues, with Hudson Yards at the northern end.

95/km²21 bars/km²7 all-night stn.

Times Square & Theater District

Manhattan · 586 licensed night spots

Broadway’s theaters, the lights of Times Square and the most licensed venues of any area in the city.

258/km²40 bars/km²14 all-night stn.

Hell's Kitchen

Manhattan · 278 licensed night spots

Ninth Avenue’s long restaurant row, pre-theater dinners and a busy LGBTQ bar scene, a few blocks west of Broadway.

164/km²37 bars/km²1 all-night stn.

Koreatown, Flatiron & Union Square

Manhattan · 374 licensed night spots

West 32nd Street’s late Korean restaurants and karaoke under the Empire State Building, plus the Flatiron and Union Square.

272/km²49 bars/km²11 all-night stn.

Chinatown & Two Bridges

Manhattan · 113 licensed night spots

Mott, Canal and East Broadway: late dinners, bakeries and banquet halls in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

106/km²18 bars/km²1 all-night stn.

Harlem

Manhattan · 71 licensed night spots

The Apollo, jazz and supper clubs, and the restaurants of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Lenox Avenue.

20/km²5 bars/km²11 all-night stn.

Upper West Side

Manhattan · 314 licensed night spots

Lincoln Center, the restaurants of Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues, and a neighborhood that goes to bed earlier than downtown.

62/km²8 bars/km²9 all-night stn.

Williamsburg

Brooklyn · 454 licensed night spots

The biggest nightlife district outside Manhattan: bars, music venues and rooftops between the waterfront and Grand Street.

61/km²19 bars/km²9 all-night stn.

Greenpoint

Brooklyn · 145 licensed night spots

Manhattan Avenue’s Polish bakeries and bars, quiet brick side streets, and skyline views from the waterfront parks.

44/km²13 bars/km²2 all-night stn.

Bushwick

Brooklyn · 187 licensed night spots

Warehouse parties, street art and DIY venues around the Jefferson Street and Morgan Avenue stops.

40/km²16 bars/km²12 all-night stn.

Bedford-Stuyvesant

Brooklyn · 129 licensed night spots

Brownstone blocks with neighborhood bars and restaurants on Tompkins, Franklin and Fulton.

18/km²7 bars/km²9 all-night stn.

Crown Heights & Prospect Heights

Brooklyn · 142 licensed night spots

Franklin and Vanderbilt Avenues: restaurant and bar strips at the edge of Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum.

34/km²9 bars/km²3 all-night stn.

Park Slope

Brooklyn · 182 licensed night spots

Fifth Avenue’s restaurants and bars below the brownstones, and a quieter Seventh Avenue up the slope.

76/km²14 bars/km²6 all-night stn.

DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights & Downtown Brooklyn

Brooklyn · 157 licensed night spots

Cobbled streets under the bridges, waterfront parks open until 1 a.m., and the restaurants of Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn.

50/km²9 bars/km²12 all-night stn.

Astoria

Queens · 215 licensed night spots

Greek tavernas, beer gardens and late cafés along Ditmars Boulevard, 30th Avenue and Broadway.

26/km²6 bars/km²5 all-night stn.

Long Island City

Queens · 100 licensed night spots

Waterfront towers facing Midtown, Vernon Boulevard’s restaurants, and an easy all-night ride home on the 7.

39/km²8 bars/km²8 all-night stn.

Jackson Heights

Queens · 119 licensed night spots

Roosevelt Avenue under the 7 train: South Asian, Latin American and Himalayan food until late.

33/km²5 bars/km²3 all-night stn.

Flushing

Queens · 137 licensed night spots

Main Street and the food courts of one of New York’s largest Chinatowns, busy into the night.

38/km²6 bars/km²1 all-night stn.

Ridgewood

Queens · 98 licensed night spots

Bushwick’s quieter neighbor: bars on Seneca, Fresh Pond and Myrtle among rows of yellow-brick houses.

25/km²8 bars/km²5 all-night stn.

Mott Haven & Port Morris

Bronx · 40 licensed night spots

The South Bronx’s growing restaurant row on Bruckner Boulevard and East 138th Street, minutes from Manhattan.

11/km²2 bars/km²7 all-night stn.

St. George

Staten Island · 19 licensed night spots

The Staten Island Ferry terminal, a waterfront with the best free view of Lower Manhattan, and the borough’s main civic center.

8/km²2 bars/km²1 all-night stn.

The same numbers, side by side

Night spots: active on-premises licences for bars, restaurants and cabarets (NY State Liquor Authority). Complaints: 311 “loud music/party” reports about commercial premises over the last 12 months. All-night stations: subway stations with trains between 1 and 5 a.m. on weeknights (MTA schedule). Areas are NYC Department of City Planning neighborhood tabulation areas. Method.

Where they are

1. Lower East Side
2. East Village
3. Greenwich Village & West Village
4. Chelsea & Hudson Yards
5. Times Square & Theater District
6. Hell's Kitchen
7. Koreatown, Flatiron & Union Square
8. Chinatown & Two Bridges
9. Harlem
10. Upper West Side
11. Williamsburg
12. Greenpoint
13. Bushwick
14. Bedford-Stuyvesant
15. Crown Heights & Prospect Heights
16. Park Slope
17. DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights & Downtown Brooklyn
18. Astoria
19. Long Island City
20. Jackson Heights
21. Flushing
22. Ridgewood
23. Mott Haven & Port Morris
24. St. George