Condoburg (condominium + Williamsburg)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, experienced gentrification in the early 2000s, with many developments and higher rents. Graffiti on the 80 Metropolitan project sign changed "Williamsburg" to…
Cop Killa Queenz (Queens)
Queens is one of the five boroughs of New York City; it has the largest area and the second-largest population. The rap nickname of Queens is "Cop Killa Queenz/Queens" (or just…
Crack Hill (Park Hill, Staten Island)
The Park Hill neighborhood of Staten Island was known for its crime in the 1980s and 1990s. The nickname "Crack Hill" has been cited in print since at least 1988. Park Hill has also been…
Crew Gardens (Kew Gardens)
Kew Gardens in Queens is close to both LaGuardia and JFK airports. Many airline personnel (flight attendants and pilots) live in Kew Gardens; by at least 2000, the nickname "Crew Gardens"…
Crime Heights (Crown Heights, Brooklyn)
Crown Heights in Brooklyn is still known to most people for the three-day "Crown Heights Riots" of August 1991. The name "Crime Heights" became attached to "Crown…
Crime Square or Crimes Square (crime + Times Square)
The Times Square area of New York City began deteriorating in the 1950s; in the 1970s, the area was a center for pornography and crime. The nickname "Crime Square" was suggested as early…
Crooklyn
"Brooklyn," in hip-hop language. It's not a particularly flattering nickname. Spike Lee's 1994 film with this title probably didn't coin the name, but certainly popularized…
Crystal District
The Crystal District is Madison Avenue, between 58th and 63rd Streets, where a conglomeration of stores sell crystal decorative objects and jewellery. The name was coined by New York City's…
Curry Hill (curry + Murray Hill)
The Indian restaurant "Curry in a Hurry," at Lexington Avenue and 28th Street, helped give rise to the neighborhood nickname "Curry Hill." The neighborhood is just south of…
Dark Zone (area without electrical power)
Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in the evening of October 29, 2012. The Con Ed power company experienced many problems and power went out over lower Manhattan for several days. Manhattan below…
Dead Hook (Red Hook)
Red Hook was an industrial dock area of Brooklyn, but it suffered from years of disuse in the second half of the 20th century. In the 2000s, gentrification came to Red Hook in the form of a new…
Diamond District (Diamond & Jewelry Way)
In 1982, 47th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues was designated "Diamond & Jewelry Way." Diamond and jewelry stores started moving to 47th Street just after World War II. All those…
Diaper District
A "diaper district" is a neighborhood that is filled with many new families (especially those including diaper-age children). The New York (NY) Times coined the name "Diaper…
Dimes Square (Canal and Division Streets, Chinatown)
Dimes Square (Dimes + Times Square) is an area in the Chinatown/Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, at Canal and Division Streets. The restaurant Dimes opened at 49 Canal Street in 2015.…
Dirty Bronx
"Dirty Bronx" is a hip-hop name for the Bronx that has been cited in print since at leas 2004. "Dirty" can mean unclean, but it also means dangerous or violent. Wikipedia: The…
DisAster Place or DisAstor Place (Astor Place)
Manhattan's Astor Place is named after John Jacob Astor (July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848), then New York City's wealthiest resident. THe Astor Place Opera House was opened on November…
Disneyland for Wall Street (Manhattan)
Disneyland (a Disney theme park in Anaheim, California) is often used as a metonym for "fantasy land." Michael Krieger, of the Liberty Blitzkrieg website, described Manhattan as…
DoBro (Downtown Brooklyn)
"DoBro" is a neighborhood nickname for "Downtown Brooklyn." The nickname has been used in the Brooklyn Downtown Star since at least February 2006. Brooklyn Downtown StarDateline…
Dorm District (Yorkville, Manhattan)
Yorkville (on the east side of Manhattan) has been called the "Dorm District" because of the many students who reside there. Yorkville's Wikipedia entry mentions that these students…
Dormitory of New York (Brooklyn)
Entry in progress -- B.P. "Brooklyn is the bedroom of New York" is a similar saying. Wikipedia: BrooklynBrooklyn (/ˈbrʊklɪn/) is the most populous borough of New York City, with a…