One’s subway stop forms a core part of everyday identity. Those traveling to the final stations on the Brooklyn lines tend to feel both pride and dread.

I work at a bar that was recently named best neighborhood bar in N.Y.C. by the NY Times Magazine. While I agree that it deserves the title, I am not exactly sure which neighborhood it belongs to—South Slope? Greenwood Heights? Sunset Park? I thus felt compelled to dive into some bars deeply intertwined with their own distinct neighborhood (Sheepshead Bay).

Growing up near Coney Island, a good tan was a key ingredient of popularity among white kids.

Residents of the close-knit beach communities in and around Sheepshead Bay interact with the water that surrounds them in myriad ways. Many fish, others set sail, a few kite-surf—while a handful of hearty souls sleep on their boats year-round. All who frequent Brooklyn’s marinas hold a distinct sense of ownership over one of the last unspoiled landscapes in the city.

Most barbecues around Brooklyn take place in inconspicuous backyards, with friends and neighbors keeping to themselves amidst the smoky aroma of grilled meats. In Manhattan Beach, though, crowds come to grill and mingle along the beach, conjuring up huge weekend food fests for everyone around to see, smell, and, if you’re lucky, taste.

No matter what her ethnic background, a girl growing up in Bensonhurst coats the outer layer of her personality with strength, sass, and neighborhood pride. The girls of Bensonhurst exude genuine intensity in almost everything they do.

As the sun starts to heat up the streets of Bensonhurst, men share in a collective nostalgia fortified by the afternoons they spend together.

The idea of Brooklyn as an adjective is both an annoyance and a necessity for those who are from here, because when you find an extraordinarily Brooklyn place you want to be able to refer to it as such and try to keep it that way for as long as possible. Brooklyn, as a descriptor, is a place and attitude built by history and maintained by community.

The common language of Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay might make you think you’re in Russia. But as the restaurants of these neighborhoods reflect, the area is much more a Little Soviet Union by the Sea.

The streets of Brighton Beach are, among many other things, a runway of winter style. Under the shadows of the elevated B/Q train parades a vibrant safari of vermilion lipstick, glossy leather boots, and banded fur.