Residents of DUMBO are already organizing against the proposed $300 million redevelopment of the Brooklyn waterfront that extends for a few deserted cobblestone blocks between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. But even if the plan, which includes a hotel, a multiplex, a health club, stores, and, worst of all, parking garages, is ultimately rejected, neighborhood activists need look no farther than the six-week-old French café Le Gamin (1 Main Street; 718-722-2979) for signs that their once-industrial neighborhood is going the way of seventies-era SoHo. Not that the spacious café, located on the ground floor of a new loft conversion, is anything fancy. In atmosphere and clientele, it's the polar opposite of its Brooklyn Bridge counterpart, The River Café, whose picturesque landscaping, valet parking, and dress code make it a special-occasion haven -- not exactly the sort of place where French expats might gather for a game of fooseball, as they do on the huge, split-level premises of Le Gamin. After you take in the expanse of the city-agency parking lot across the street, your view extends to the hulking bridges and the cityscape beyond. Maybe the bread isn't exactly oven-fresh, and the iced chocolat froid is tepid, but the crêpes, both savory and sweet, are luscious, and the coffee's good. There's a rack of semi-current magazines to peruse, and not a bridesmaid in sight.

Soak up the pre-gentrified atmosphere afterward with a stroll through Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, an anomalous greensward that extends under the Brooklyn Bridge all the way into the River Café's driveway, which is where you'll find all the bridesmaids. Or, for the tastiest, cheapest outdoor meal in the area -- with the most unobstructed water view -- skip the cafés and order a brick-oven pizza to go from the legendary Grimaldi's (19 Old Fulton Street; 718-858-4300) around the corner. Claim a bench or a plot of grass and have a picnic, Brooklyn-style.

Even if the voyage lasts just fifteen minutes, as the one does from East 34th Street to Water's Edge in Long Island City (44th Drive and East River; 718-482-0033), a ferry ride feels like an instant vacation. This one happens to be free if you're having dinner, or even just drinks, on the slightly stodgy premises, where the American menu is livelier than the mature clientele. But if you make the trip, take a detour for a sunset drink at the Fila Sports Club around the corner. During the week, and on weekends after five, the tennis center's outdoor bar and grill, Doubbles (44-02 Vernon Boulevard; 718-937-3001), is open to the public and offers, if not exactly gourmet fare, a lovely view of Roosevelt Island, the Queensboro Bridge, the United Nations complex, and midtown Manhattan. Make your way past the resort-worthy swimming pool, the clay courts, and the country-clubbish bar to the plastic tables set up on a lush green lawn. Stick with beer or a cocktail, and save your appetite for the New American menu next door.

The New York Waterway ferry across the Hudson is even faster than its East River equivalent: six, seven minutes tops from 38th Street to Port Imperial, the hub for Weehawken commuters and the home of Arthur's Landing, owned by trucking magnate Arthur Imperatore Sr. (who, incidentally, also owns the ferries, the shuttle buses, and most of the surrounding real estate) (1 Pershing Road, Weehawken, New Jersey; 201-867-0777). When the boat docks, you walk through a pristinely landscaped park, fragrant with flowers (did we mention Imperatore's nursery?), past a marina where a family of ducks occupies an empty slip. The glass-walled restaurant has been a date mecca for ten years, as much for the spectacularly romantic setting and picture-postcard view of Manhattan as for the pricey American food. But if you're not willing to pay a value-added vista tariff, you can snag a seat at the bar, which shares the dining room's glass-walled view, without a reservation and order a burger or fried calamari off the cheaper bar menu. Or better yet, have cocktails even closer to the water's edge outside on the terrace, where all the bar stools face Manhattan. You won't find a better deal on prime waterfront real estate anywhere.

Nick's Lobster (2777 Flatbush Avenue; 718-253-7117) is the kind of fish market and family-style restaurant you'd expect to find in Maine or Montauk, not downstream from Kings Plaza Shopping Center in southeastern Brooklyn. Fish-delivery trucks are parked outside; inside, huge lobsters lumber around their crowded tanks. A canopied deck carpeted with Astroturf and outfitted with checked tablecloths and plastic chairs overlooks Mill Basin, a narrow body of water that empties out into Jamaica Bay. Lower, for one summer night, your Le Bernardin-trained seafood standards and order -- as everyone else does -- lobster with corn and steak fries off the no-frills fish menu, and a pitcher of Miller. Sit as close to the railing (and as far from Flatbush Avenue) as possible, soak up the salt air, and contemplate all that coastal quiet -- until the next Jet Skier comes blasting by.