A couple of subway stops to the east of Williamsburg on the L train, the ramshackle blocks of Bushwick begin to appear. Today, Bushwick is home to artists and musicians, who’ve packed the hood in search of cheap rents. The neighborhood’s western fringes are dotted with bars and industrial-chic restaurants. This area remains an industrial zone during the day but perks up on weekends when local bars and performance spaces come to life.
Before the hipsters invaded, Bushwick was known as a mixed community of African Americans, as well as Mexican, Ecuadoran, Puerto Rican and Dominican immigrants. It was also an important beer-brewing center in the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries. The stately homes of beer barons still line Bushwick Ave, some in decrepit condition.
