Lots of shopping here - from shoes to fresh Polish Kielbasa. They tell me that there used to be a magnificent movie theater called the Meserole where a Genovese stands today. Looks like a sign of the times when wealthy ship builders worked the docks of Greenpoint doing things like building Civil War ships like The Monitor. I suppose that all of this healthy living thing put them out of business too. Even the great Gallo wine and Schaefer Beer factories that once graced the docks are now another Greenpoint memory.
Folks still hang out at the docks.
This is probably one of the things that make Greenpoint a hip place to live - outer boro living, yet 20 minutes from Manhattan via the L and G trains. This particular pier is directly across from Manhattans 23rd Street, but you can see a clear shot from WTC to well uptown - a cool place to see the old Empire State building turn out its lights. It's been there for years on Nassau Avenue and McGuinness Boulevard. McGuinness used to be named Oakland Street back in the late 50's - early 60's, but was renamed to honor the family of Pete McGuinness, a local Greenpoint politician. It is now a main artery from The BQE to The Polaski bridge where the locals go to shop at Key Food, sip Dunkin' Donuts, and shoot pool.