Welcome to Brooklyn!
Alt Legal Team | February 28, 2020
Alt Legal is thrilled to welcome you to Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the first-ever Alt Legal Connect conference! Williamsburg is a hip and fast-changing formerly industrial neighborhood in North Brooklyn. It’s full of trendy spots alongside old factories and historic spaces. It’s also our home turf, so we have lots of recommendations for you.
Transportation
Subway: Hotel Indigo is located just a block from the Lorimer St – Metropolitan Ave stop on the L and G lines. To get to and from Manhattan, your best bet will probably be to take the L, but you can also take the G, which runs north-south through Brooklyn to Queens to access other lines into Manhattan.
Uber and Lyft: Rideshare is very accessible and fairly inexpensive given the conference’s outer-borough location. A trip within North Brooklyn should cost around $10.
Air: If you’re flying into LaGuardia, rideshare or cab for about $25 will be the easiest way to get to and from the hotel. Flying into JFK means you’re free to take the subway or LIRR commuter rail. Both are fairly easy to access from the conference hotel. You can also rideshare from JFK, but expect to pay around $45 or more for the ridge. Newark Airport (EWR) is a bit farther, but a combination of New Jersey Transit and subways will get you to the hotel, or expect to pay upwards of $100 at all times.
Car: We do not recommend driving; however, parking should be available close to the hotel.
Cafes & Breakfast
Cafe at Hotel Indigo: Lounge-style seating and all-day barista.
Sweatshop: Australian-style cafe, flat whites, cold brew, and avocado toast.
The West: Specialty coffee and seasonal cocktails in rustic surrounds.
Daymoves: Café run by the Four Horsemen’s team, featuring massive blue speakers and chill vibes.
Devoción: Farm-to-table Colombian coffee in a bright space, including a plant wall.
Bakeri: Scandinavian pastries, breads, and brunch.
Bagelsmith: Classic New York bagels close to the hotel.
Little Choc Apothecary: All-vegan spot for savory and sweet crepes, coffee, and more.
Restaurants
Lilia: Grown-up new school Italian seafood and pasta in a bright, airy space. Reservations (almost certainly) required, or be prepared to wait.
Cafe Mogador: Classic comforting and homey spot for Moroccan food. Merguez sausage, couscous, and tagines.
Kings County Imperial: Real Chinese flavors alongside reimagined American Chinese dishes. Craft cocktails offered.
Le Crocodile: Classy French-American brasserie in the Wythe hotel. Four kinds of pâté, fresh seafood, and frites.
Fette Sau: Dry-rub barbecue rated among the best in New York. Beer and barbecue with an industrial vibe.
Best Pizza: A classic New York slice rated among the top in the city.
Emmy Squared: Detroit-style square pizzas, double-stack burgers, salads, and sandwiches.
Bamonte’s: Old-school red-sauce Italian founded in 1900. Featured in The Sopranos (no website, phone: (718) 384-8831).
Okonomi / Yuji Ramen: Japanese breakfast and seafood ramen made with local ingredients.
The Four Horsemen: Michelin-starred wine bar run by LCD frontman James Murphy.
Gottlieb’s: Kosher meat sandwiches and Eastern European comfort food.
Champ’s Diner: All-vegan spot for classic diner food and baked goods. Expect long waits.
Bars
Barcade: Neighborhood spot with craft beers and arcade games.
Baby’s All Right: Nightlife hotspot with live music and bar food.
Westlight: Rooftop bar with skyline views in the William Vale Hotel.
Union Pool: Classic rowdy venue in a former pool supply store.
Fresh Kills Bar: Riffs on classic drinks in elegant surroundings. Drinks are $10 during happy hour.
The Commodore: Divey bar with paper placemats, Southern food, and cheap drinks.
St Mazie: Live jazz and a basement supper club with relaxed vibes.
Sights and Activities
Within Williamsburg
Domino Park: A quarter mile of East River shoreline standing where Domino Sugar’s refinery stood, including salvaged industrial equipment.
The Mini Mall: Vintage clothes, new and used books, and a tattoo parlor off an enclosed corridor on Bedford Ave.
The Williamsburg Bridge: For some exercise and great views, run, walk, or CitiBike across this 1.5 mile expanse over the East River.
The Rest of the City
The Museum of Modern Art: Newly expanded, MoMA is worth seeing not just for Van Gogh’s Starry Night but for the rotating exhibitions. Don’t miss the show honoring minimalist pioneer Donald Judd, which opens March 1.
The High Line: Set on an old elevated train line, this linear park transformed Manhattan’s west side into a hotbed of extremely expensive real estate in contemporary architecture amid galleries. Don’t miss Chelsea Market at the south end featuring cheap eats and shopping or, for a more luxury-oriented experience, Hudson Yards to the north.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Among the world’s largest museums, the Met features everything from an ancient Egyptian temple to Renaissance Italian masterpieces to a Frank Lloyd Wright living room.
Other Brooklyn Neighborhoods
Dumbo: Scenic waterside neighborhood below the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. Visit at sunset for the best skyline views and stop by Juliana’s for some of the best Neapolitan pizza around.
Brooklyn Heights: The oldest neighborhood in Brooklyn, this area features amazing skyline views from the Promenade and the rowhouses of Brooklyn’s 19th-century elite.
Bushwick: Accessible via L train to the hotel, this neighborhood features Mexican bodegas (try Santa Ana Deli’s tacos árabes by Maria Hernandez Park), street art and warehouse galleries, and top-notch pizza (Roberta’s should not be missed).
Prospect Park: A large park designed by Frederick Law Olmstead (who also drew up the plans for Central Park, Boston’s Emerald Necklace, and the University of California, Berkeley), this park features verdant, wide-open lawns, waterways, and a zoo. Nearby find the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Museum.