Brooklyn VS. Manhattan: TONY Smackdown

This week's issue of Time Out New York devotes some serious pages to the age-old argument, which borough is better?  Brooklyn or Manhattan.

We're talking charts, graphs, a quiz, and a bonafide battle royale between two TONY staffers, one who's a lifelong Manhattanite, and one who's a recent Brooklyn convert. 

Billie Cohen, TONY's Deputy Editor, writes:

"I moved to Brooklyn 17 months ago from the West Village, where I'd lived for a dozen years.  The reason wasn't money (well, not only money), it was love.  My boyfriend's love for Brooklyn.  A fourth-generation Park Sloper, he wasn't about to be a traitor to his borough, and as for me, I had no soft spot for the prostitutes who parked their cars in front of my building while they did their business."

Wait, prostitutes own cars?  I guess I picked the wrong profession.  Regardless of whether or not various West Village hookers can drive a stick shift (that's what she said), both sides have valid points.  But, come on, let's face it: if you're reading this blog, we know what side of the Bridge you're on.  Am I right?  AM I RIGHT?

But what really pisses me off about this debate, are the dbags who think that the people who live in Brooklyn only moved here only to save money, and the minute they strike it rich, they'll be packing up and heading back to the big ole badass island of Manhattan.

Puhleaze.

I don't think any of us chose to live in Park Slope so we could save money (although the issue's "Borough By the Numbers" piece showed that Steve's CTown on 9th street had the cheapest Cheerios and toilet paper out of four BK/Manhattan supermarkets surveyed). 

It's because we love it, right?

So check out the debate here, and if you're someone who constantly needs validation of your choices, take the quiz to figure out which borough you truly belong in.