Libra author, straw hat enthusiast and father of new journalism Truman Capote maintained, “New York is not a city, it’s a world.”
The roughly 340 neighborhoods found within this world, this sprawling, five borough constellation, are defined as much by their physical properties and energetic feel as they are the people who inhabit them.
The fabric of these neighborhoods is ever-shifting, rooted in history, and shaped by the currents of the current moment.
Yet, with the tightening grip of gentrification, the future is a perilous one, as New York faces the worst housing crisis the city has seen in half a century.
According to city data released this month, the portion of available rentals dropped to a staggering 1.4 percent in 2023.
In deference to those who make their lives in a city that makes it increasingly difficult to do so, I asked New Yorkers past and present about what neighborhoods speak to the spirit of each sign, beginning with Big Apple-based astrologer Maryaam Lewis-Herbert, who sees the city as an enterprising, Capricorn sun with a ‘there will be blood’ Aries moon — plus, both Venus and Mars in swashbuckling, expansion-at-all-costs Sagittarius.
Got that? Read on to learn more.
Financial District/Bed Stuy
Aries is ruled by the warmongering, take-no-prisoners, know-no-limits planet Mars — one anonymous Aries claims the Financial District for cardinal fire.
They told The Post: “High stakes, bald ambition, lots of tempers and luxury. Traders embrace the bull as their symbol but maybe the market is actually a ram. Trade wars align well with the Aries archetype.”
NYC comedian Becky Goodman maintains Aries is an unapologetically extra Bed-Stuy baddie.
“BIG Daddy Kane, and the Notorious B.I.G.? This a neighborhood with a BIG a-s-s, fearless reputation,” she told The Post.
“People who live in Bed-Stuy will tell you it’s the most New York; the most fearless, the best energy, the most emotion, the most, the best, the MOST!”
Midtown/Bay Ridge
David Odyssey, a brilliant NYC-based astrologer, writer and Taurus, told The Post that a specific cross-section of Midtown tips a horn to the bull god contingent.
Taurus is an unrepentant glutton — another New Yorker argues the bull is Bay Ridge, on account of the abundance of cheap places to eat.
“For me, it would be Fifth Avenue around 57th Street: Tea at the Plaza, a walk around the park, horse-drawn carriages. The whole area looks primed for the Riddler to attack at any moment. That level of tacky, ostentatious glamour is ripe for Taurean takeover,” he said.
Taurus is an unrepentant glutton — another New Yorker argues the bull is Bay Ridge, on account of the abundance of cheap places to eat.
Soho
Gemini is the sign of swinging high and moving fast, of commerce, communication, and the sacred spirit of curiosity.
“In Soho, there’s the feeling that everything is converging at once and moving a mile a millisecond. Like a Gemini, Soho is coercive and persuasive in its attempt to have what it desires and both sign and neighborhood desire the bustling and the beautiful,” artist, musician, actress, and triple Gemini Nina Pilar told The Post.
“There is no shortage of funny little alleyways or decaying tenements. You never know what you might encounter standing on the corner, but I can guarantee it won’t be boring.”
East Village
Cancer rules the fourth house of the home and is related to the archetype of the mother.
In kind, and during the late 19th and early 20th century, the East Village became home to a wide range of immigrants, making it America’s first foreign language neighborhood.
True to the maternal energy of this cardinal water sign, the East Village has either birthed or fostered a steady stream of scenes, from beats to punks to hippies to homegrown Hare Krishnas.
True to the maternal energy of this cardinal water sign, the East Village has either birthed or fostered a steady stream of scenes, from beats to punks to hippies to homegrown Hare Krishnas.
Sage author and apex Cancer Richard Goodman called the East Village home for many years. To him, the neighborhood is Cancer at its highest expression.
“The East Village is full of nostalgia; Auden lived there, Ginsberg. There’s the Public Theater on Lafayette where so many plays began — like ‘A Chorus Line’ — and were nurtured. I love the vestiges of the past that are there,” he told The Post.
Times Square/Morris Heights
Leo is ruled by the sun — and governs the beating heart of that shameless ham.
“Leo is obviously Times Square,” said comedian Becky Goodman.
“The flashing lights, the sounds, the ball drop? Please — it all screams, ‘PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!’ We get it, Leo,” she said.
“You want to be the center of attention just like Times Square wants to be the center of Manhattan. Tourists think you’re entertaining, but us real New Yorkers? The ones who really know you? We saw you in the 70s. We know what you’re trying to hide and, frankly, we’re over it.”
Due to the seedy, cheap sex peddling past of this electric section of the city, my money says Times Square has a Scorpio moon.
Also, if we consider that Hip Hop was born in the Bronx under the sign of the lion, Morris Heights is Leo territory.
Park Slope
My best pal Layth Sihan is a writer/UX designer and card-carrying Virgo who resides in Bay Ridge but deems Park Slope the Virgo of New York.
“It’s busy and established, but quirky and bookish. It’s got all the Brooklyn trimmings of fancy restaurants and multi-million dollar brownstones without feeling intimidating,” Sihan told The Post.
“The neighborhood is a smart, organized, and socially inclined Virgo who is in the middle of it all, but standing just to the left of anything over the top.”
Upper West Side/Rockaway
Ruled by Venus, planet of aesthetics and ease, Libra is soothed by beauty and unsettled by the ugly.
In the spirit of pretty, Tommy, a mononymed Libra from Queens tells The Post, “Libras need a combination of nature and comfort, peace and tranquility, with a view of the water or a park.”
Tommy says Libra is the Upper West Side facing Central Park if you’re a rich b—h — and Rockaway overlooking the ocean if you’re not.
Lower East Side
Scorpio is a threshold sign that rules the reproductive organs and the eighth house of sex, death, secrets, vengeance and transformation.
True to form, in the 17th century what is now known as the Lower East Side was first the blood-soaked site of the Corlears Hook Massacre. The area was described as “a resort for the lewd and abandoned of both sexes,” with “streets abounding every night with preconcerted groups of thieves and prostitutes.”
“Scorpios are not Midtown people.”
Appalling to normies — absolute psychic bait to scorpions.
Today, a pair of city dwelling Scorpions, floral artists Kelsey Williams and Ariana Montalvo told The Post they claim the Lower East Side as their urban underworld because, “it’s grungy and dark and artists, good music and restaurants are there.”
Both are quick to note that, “Scorpios are not Midtown people.”
Red Hook
Artist, musician, Brooklyn-dwelling quintuple Sagittarius king Jonny Connell cites Red Hook as the neighborhood most in line with the pirate/poet, soap box spouting, DIY, freedom-huffing, optimist leaning, home is the open road/sea archetype of the archer.
“Red Hook still feels like an old maritime town; cobblestones and warehouses, empty lots and like three bars,” Connell told The Post.
“There are motorcycles everywhere and you can still find parking. Atlantic Basin is where the schooner Clipper City sleeps surrounded by the project boats of its crew. Every Halloween there’s a Bike Kill when a punk collective drops off all these crazy-ass Frankenstein bikes and anyone can ride ’em. It’s the last free haven in Brooklyn.”
Get it while you can.
Greenpoint/Dumbo
Located at the tippy-top of the birth chart, sea goats rule the tenth house of aspirations. In kind, Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in Brooklyn.
Capricorn is the sign of the holy grind — they like things to be difficult so they can measure their mettle against the challenge.
According to aforementioned Scorpio floral artist Ariana Montalvo, Capricorn is Greenpoint.
“It’s hard to get to because the train sucks, but once you get there everything opens up and it’s a great neighborhood,” she said.
Hard-won wonder — a Cap poem.
Brooklyn-bred software designer Joi Rogers argues that DumBo is the original sea goat.
“Dumbo equals views without noise. A place that used to be rat-infested, and is now one of the most expensive neighborhoods in all of Brooklyn. Cobblestone streets, and brick façades, romantic and iconic it’s a place to fall in love and a place to fall out of love,” she told The Post.
Capricorn loves a come-up, a carousel and a long-game real estate investment, Rogers said.
Can dig.
Roosevelt Island/East Williamsburg
Aquarius identifies with the archetype of the weary outsider and the vantage of the ivory tower.
In kind, Roosevelt Island is home to the remnants of an insane asylum and a 19th-century lighthouse that offers wide-angle views of the city beyond.
“Aquarians don’t like labels, and there’s no label for Roosevelt Island. Is it part of Manhattan? Yes. Does it feel like Manhattan? F–k no. It feels like a town repopulated after an apocalypse,” comedian Becky Goodman said.
“Simultaneously unique and boring, Aquarius has a reputation for detachedness, and Roosevelt Island is completely detached.”
As a counterpoint, apex Aquarius Greta Wilson considers East Williamsburg the water bearer of New York.
She told The Post: “Aquariuses need space and East Williamsburg has warehouses perfect for starting a ceramics studio or hosting an experimental DJ set that’s just car accident sounds slowed down.”
“Aquariuses love anonymity, and half of these old industrial spaces don’t even have door numbers so no one will be able to locate your apartment. Aquariuses love to keep people guessing, and New Yorkers have spent the better part of a decade arguing about whether East Williamsburg is even a real place.”
Williamsburg
Poet, editor, general luminary and holder of a Pisces moon, Skye Jackson has lived a half-life in New York City. She counts Williamsburg as the neighborhood of the fish.
Pisces is ruled by Neptune, the murky planet of fantasy, escape, effervescent drinks and hard drugs.
“Williamsburg is the land of dreams, delulu, and daddy’s credit card.”
“Williamsburg is the land of dreams, delulu, and daddy’s credit card,” Jackson told The Post.
According to Joi Rogers: “Williamsburg, like Pisces, is all hype, no substance. “
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girl’s guide” to strip clubs, and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.
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