I am not a New York City native. After I visited often and later shared an apartment there, I realized that most of the over 8 million residents of Manhattan are from other places. Like the natives, they know that with its simple grid system, New York is easy to find one's way around (easier than any city in the capital region), and that, for the most part, it is as safe as your hometown.

New Yorkers will tell you that their town is just that; a town of neighborhoods. The best way to get to know "the City," as everyone there calls it, is to get out into the neighborhoods and explore.

That's what we aim to do with our series and weekly segment, "The Neighborhoods of New York:" Uptown, Downtown, East Side, West Side. From Harlem to Battery Park, we will hit the places from the obscure to the famous, from the simple to the flamboyant. Places you can visit and feel not like a tourist but like a neighbor.

Thousands of our viewers visit Manhattan each year. We want your trips to be comfortable and exciting in ways you might have never imagined. Maybe our segments will encourage you to make your first visit to "the city that never sleeps."

Below are lists of places we have visited. We will be adding to it each week. Please feel free to make suggestions. When you visit one of the places we suggested, let them know you saw them here on WRGB Online.