Laguardia Pl, Greenwich Village

Laguardia starts off with a horrific looking building that is, of course, NYU. It has a glass roof and appalling, Fahrenheit 451 stairs. It used to some school for geniuses where a bunch of soon to be famous writers lived in the early 1900's. What a shocker, NYU tore it down. I hope those people haunt them, but I digress . . . . Across the street is another NYU building: the main NYU library. It tries to look old to fit in with the neighborhood aesthetic, but it's pretty new. Apparently, NYU students that want to do themselves in have a penchant for throwing themselves off the top floor to land in the foyer. How's that for dramatic?
One NYU story I do love, is that the massive housing complex it built at Washington Square Village is what prompted the neighborhood preservation movement. You can't miss this building. Every time I walk through it or by it, I feel like I'm heading in to a hospital. It is so ugly and doesn't match anything else in the neighborhood. There are a couple of little restaurants and shops on this street, but it is pretty much NYU dominated. The good news is that you can't rent a place here, though. And, that's good news because who wants to pay that much to live in Greenwich only to be surrounded by 18 year olds?

With construction and redesign afoot in Washington Square Park, it is somewhat in flux. Add in the surges of New York University students in between classes and there is a motion to the park. Not that this is new, having had roles from military parade grounds to pauper burial grounds, this has always been an interesting spot. Nowadays, it regularly plays host to street hustler chess players, acoustic guitar and jazz buskers, light saber battlers and hula hoop aficionados. Always interesting!

There isn’t really much going on down on Laguardia (other than the standard businesses that cater to college students) – it’s a pretty quiet street, and an ideal place to live if you want to be close to a younger crowd without actually being in the middle of the crowd. It’s close to the park, and it’s generally a picturesque street.

Among the famous streets of the Greenwich Village, La Guardia Place is the less crowded. This is what I call a ‘functional’ street. Almost everything one needs is there: A post office, a print shop, a laundy, etc. There are also some interesting places. The Center of Architecture constantly shows great exhibitions, and if you get hungry, right after the exhibition, you can walk to the Japanese restaurant right next door.

These few blocks on a north-south street running between Houston and Washington Square Park are a peaceful, relatively quiet respite, especially compared to the usual frat boy bedlam that reigns a couple of blocks west, in the bars of the Village. This is in particular true now that the infamous Senor Swanky's has closed. What remains are a few low-key gems for those foodies willing to llok around. Bruno's is an Italian bakery and coffee shop that turns out incredibly flaky cookies and pastries; we return time and time again, however, for the remarkable assortment of cakes (it's become a hallowed birthday tradition where I work). Nearby, Marumi's is a quiet, understated place to catch excellent sushi for a great price; a step above your average local sushi joint, ask to sit in their cozy covered garden in the back.

This quaint little square between Bleecker Street and Washington Square Park is home to almost all of the amenities that a typical NYU student will need during their collegiate stay. On the Washington Square Park side, the street is hugged by NYU’s Bobst library, a towering, and somewhat haunting red brick building, and the Kimmel arts and student center. On this block however, you will also find the Associated Supermarkets, which reliably stocks various international products, especially from Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This is one of the most reliable places in the city to purchase Passover friendly foods. Furthermore, LaGuardia place has a host of bars and cute restaurants that are always friendly to sit in during a sunny summer day.

So you know it's full of college students. It depends on your perspective whether that's a good or bad thing. When I went, I liked it. It does have a lot of decent places to eat nearby (Cuba is one block over on Thompson), but I was there for the NYU Business and Law bookstore. Meh, it has books. I thought it was the site of the Poe house NYU demolished, but it wasn't. That's on w 3rd.

Oh, and skip the Duane Reade just up Becker. It's a mess and service is terrible..

The strip of LaGuardia Place between Bleecker and Houston happens to contain my favorite bakery in all of NYC--Bruno's. It's like finding yourself in a lovely European cafe all of a sudden. Try the favori (chocolate hazelnut mousse with chocolate ganache on top). Sigh! It's the perfect after dinner location since it stays open pretty late for a bakery. So you can enjoy your latte while waiting for your comedy show to start. The whole area is pretty hopping so avoid living there if that isn't your scene.