21 Park Place between Carlton and Vanderbilt Avenues, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

Another top-notch brownstone and tree-lined Brooklyn strip; it’s also close to burgeoning, hip Vanderbilt Avenue, so you’re never at a loss for a freshly baked muffin or a cool bar. If you need a dose of Flatbush volume, that’s just a quick stroll away.

22 Horton Street between City Island Avenue and Eastchester Bay, City Island, Bronx

Tucked away near the tip of City Island, the hard-to-reach, unlikely locale where Da Bronx meets Nantucket, this street is graced by trees and saltbox houses. The terminus on Eastchester Bay provides stunning sunsets over the boat-filled water. Bonus: +2 points for the spectacular view and for that quirky Ye Olde New England feel. Penalty: -1 point for being so damn far away from every-thing else in the city.

23 3rd Place between Court and Smith Streets, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

This part of 3rd Place owes its pastoral charm to the bounty of front yards, many of them decorated with Christian statuary. If you’re not feeling pious, head to friendly neighborhood bar Abilene, around the corner on Court Street. Bonus: +1 point for those unusual front yards.

24 Bank Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets, West Village

Cobblestones, trees, a community-oriented feel, old Greek Revival row houses and just a block from the Hudson River Park—what more could you want in a West Village street? Not much, except cheaper rents.

25 Duane Street between Greenwich and Hudson Streets, Tribeca

Duane Park is the leafy centerpiece of this much-admired (and thus highly expensive) triangle of beautifully converted buildings, set near an abundance of restaurants, galleries and design stores—and an easy walk from Hudson River Park.

26 East 10th Street between Avenues A and B, East Village

Bookended by two cafés, this street has an unexpected European flair and borders on Tompkins Square Park. Bonus: + 1 point for historic hipness.

27 Indian Road between 215th and 218th Streets, Inwood

On one of the more beautiful sites in the city, this block overlooks Inwood Hill Park, where the woodland is unspoiled and rocky cliffs lead down to Spuyten Duyvil. Bonus: +1 point for the scintillating view of bluffs and fields.

28 Stuyvesant Street between Second and Third Avenues, East Village

This street, one of the classiest in the EV, follows the carriage road that led to Governor Peter Stuyvesant’s home. Today the block has a new, energetic identity, with parts of a growing “Japantown” on its western edge. Bonus: +1 point for St. Marks in-the-Bowery Church; Penalty: -1 point for NYU’s encroachment and the closing of the Second Avenue Deli.

29 West 72nd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, Upper West Side

An iconic New York block, this famed spot is surrounded by legendary apartment buildings and borders on the restaurant-infested Columbus Avenue. The Dakota lords over the eastern end, across from Central Park’s placid Strawberry Fields.

30 Beechknoll Place between Borage and Park End Places, Forest Hills Gardens, Queens

The red-roofed row houses on this leafy block are part of a private planned community modeled after a quintessential English village. Forest Hills Gardens can feel iso-lated, but it’s really only 20 minutes from midtown.

THE KEY:

Aesthetics: Design, cleanliness and the overall condition of housing
Amenities: Restaurants, dry cleaning, etc.
Green factor: Not only trees and parks, but waterfront access
Noise and traffic
Public transit: Proximity to public transportation and the length of a trip to midtown
New York-ocity: The feeling of an only-in-New York spot
Affordability: A relative term, defined by by median sale and rental prices in the immediate vicinity