New York Times

When Big Blue left upstate New York, economic pain ensued. But the large complexes left behind are ideally suited for large-scale production and shipping, local officials say.

New and expanded soundstages across the city will help reshape neighborhoods and turn New York into a Hollywood of the east.

There aren’t many of them, but some buyers and renters are coming to New York even while thousands have left to escape the coronavirus.

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — As Equilibrium Brewery opened for business here on a recent Saturday morning, fans were already lined up outside for a fresh batch of its hazy-colored ales.

The travelers, who came from Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, snapped up as many cans and bottles as they could buy, at $16 a four-pack. After a sip or two by tailgates, some headed out in search of a meal, their tourist dollars funneled into a downtown betting on a rebound.

In Alphabet City, a stylishly scruffy part of Manhattan’s East Village, civic pride sometimes comes with a dose of gallows humor.

A couple of decades ago, when violent crime related to drug-dealing was a concern, especially on the easternmost blocks, both arrivals and longtime residents seemed to take the problems in stride. The “A” in Avenue A stood for “alive,” according to a popular saying, while Avenue “B” was for “breathing,” Avenue “C” for “comatose” and Avenue “D” for “dead.”

Today, in a spiffier era, that guide might need an update.

EVERY summer, hundreds of thousands of people visit Woods Hole, Mass., a Cape Cod port town with secluded beaches, warm Gulf Stream waters, prime fishing and a charming main street. Typical length of stay: about half an hour.

Some (the ones who race into town, tires screeching, lurch to a stop and jump out of their cars in a panic) are gone in five minutes.

It’s not that lovers of summer are recoiling from Woods Hole — house prices there now average $700,000, and one opulent place on the water sold last year for more than $10 million. It’s simply that most people are on the way to the pricier, higher-cachet Martha’s Vineyard. Woods Hole is where they park the car and catch the ferry.