35 New York City Photos You Won't Believe Were Taken There

Chances are, when you picture New York City, you’re conjuring up images like this:

Kevin PohTimes Square

Or even for a more serene, outer-borough scene, you’re probably thinking of something like this:

Matthew RutledgePark Slope, Brooklyn

And why not — New York City crams its 8.5 million people (the highest total of any city in the U.S. by more than double) into just 300 square miles, making for a whopping 27,000 people per square mile (more than 10,000 higher than its closest U.S. competitor).

But while there is a New York City — the one you’re picturing — choked by crowds, canopied by skyscrapers, and developed within an inch of its life, there’s another New York City you’re not picturing, one dotted with placid fields, hidden islands, and calm little lanes.

These forgotten corners of the city make America’s most bustling metropolis look more like a New England fishing village, or a quaint suburb, or even a deserted ghost town.

And you needn’t even go to the city’s parks nor to its geographical fringes to find such unexpected environs. Many of New York’s most surprisingly tranquil locales sit side-by-side with some of its most bustling ones.

Below, you won’t find manicured parks that provide a simulacrum of serenity nor will you find deceptive images that keep the urban bustle just out of frame. Instead, you’ll simply find 35 surprising photos you’d never guess were actually taken in New York City:

Cornell Farmhouse, Queens

Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan

Forest Hills, Queens

Broad Channel, Queens

Pomander Walk, Manhattan

Alley Pond Park, Queens

Fort Tilden, Queens

Snug Harbor, Staten Island

Little Red Lighthouse, Manhattan

Ditmas Park, Brooklyn

Randall's Island, Manhattan

Hart Island, Bronx

Seagate, Brooklyn

City Island, Bronx

Bronx River

Arthur Kill, Staten Island

Crocheron Park, Queens

Grove Court, Manhattan

Douglaston, Queens

North Mount Loretto State Forest, Staten Island

Freshkills Park, Staten Island

Heather Garden, Manhattan

Washington Mews, Manhattan

Hunter Island, Bronx

Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens

North Brother Island, Bronx

Kissena Park, Queens

Roosevelt Island, Manhattan

Pelham Bay Park, Bronx

Riverdale, Bronx

Soundview Park, Bronx

Swinburne Island, Staten Island

The Cloisters, Manhattan

William T Davis Wildlife Refuge, Staten Island

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Enjoy these New York City photos? Next, check out the 25 most incredible photographs of New York City. Then, see what the city looked like at its worst in the 1970s and the 1980s.

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