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This Travel App Keeps Locals Brooklyn-Bound

The app categorizes Brooklyn experiences in 12 sections, allowing locals to rediscover their borough again and again
Bed-Stuy Restaurants, BK Reader
Brooklyn Bound helps locals discover new areas and hot spots in the borough. Photo credit: Google Maps

The new mobile app "Brooklyn Bound" breaks down the city's most populous borough, telling New Yorkers where to go for the best entertainment, nightlife, shopping and food.

The app offers curated suggestions of places to eat and drink in Brooklyn, using ratings and feedback from real New Yorkers who shared their opinions on Yelp. The easy-to-use platform maps out the featured locations on Google Maps, enabling users to find fun spots in their vicinity.

Bed-Stuy resident Mark Macias felt inspired to create the app when he began struggling to find new places in neighboring areas to check out. He teamed up with app developer Sarah Bastos who spent weeks researching and visiting Brooklyn hot spots, trying to filter out the good from the bad. 

New mobile app "Brooklyn Bound" breaks down the city's most populous borough, telling New Yorkers where to go for the best entertainment, nightlife, shopping and food.
The app explores five Central Brooklyn neighborhoods.

"Most Brooklyn residents know their neighborhood, but once you get outside your comfort zone, we're all lost when it comes to finding fun, new places," said Macias. "I know Bed-Stuy, but I don't know the best places for drinks in Clinton Hill or Dumbo. Brooklyn Bound helps New Yorkers find the best places for drinks, food, shopping and entertainment within the five most popular neighborhoods in Brooklyn."

The app organizes its content in 12 different categories that range from shopping, best cafes and best views to recreation, seasons, staycation and "meet new people," a section dedicated to those who struggle to make new friends in the city, a challenge Bastos experienced herself.

"We included a section within the app that suggests spots where it's easier to meet new people and even converse with strangers," said Bastos. "These are public places that are typically packed with people with common interests."

Brooklynites on a budget also can benefit from the app with the "free & fun" section. Other fun categories include "Tourist Traps," which helps locals with guests to discover Brooklyn's sights, while the "Lost in BK" section helps people navigate in a new, unfamiliar neighborhood. This section guides explorers who get lost to the main streets with the highest foot traffic.

"Manhattan is fairly easy to navigate: Every street has traffic, shopping and bars," said Bastos. "But Brooklyn can be sparse from street to street, and if you don't know where you're going, you can quickly get lost. I wanted to make sure anyone who was lost in Brooklyn could quickly find the main area for that neighborhood. This section is especially helpful for people who explore a new neighborhood without any specific plans."

Brooklyn Bound differs from other travel apps as it targets audiences of all ages, including singles, families and teens to provide an inclusive experience, the developers said.

If you want to put the app to the test, you can download it for free via iOS App Store and Google Play.




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