6. Upstate New York in Brooklyn

Utica Avenue street sign

Heading southwest down to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is a cluster of seven consecutive north-south avenues that all share names with cities in Upstate New York, and driving east down the Eastern Parkway, you’ll find city names that are progressively further from Brooklyn. Beginning with Kingston Avenue furthest west, named for the county seat of Ulster County, the avenue names follow a path north up the Hudson River, reaching the namesakes for Albany and Troy Avenues. From there, the path turns west at the fork with the Mohawk River to get to Schenectady and then Utica Avenues. Ditching the river path, the last two street names honor the second and third most populous cities in New York State: Buffalo and Rochester, respectively. Rochester Avenue comes first, however, if you’re driving east, since Rochester is roughly 50 miles closer to New York City than Buffalo.

A map of streets in Brooklyn
 Image via Mapbox