There's a reason Dyker Heights, Brooklyn feels like a swanky suburb. When it was originally developed in the late 19th century, it was marketed as exactly that, a community of stately mansions within commuting distance of the hustle and bustle of the city. Sandwiched in between the more commercial areas of Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, the neighborhood is primarily residential and is well known for its extravagant Christmas displays, which attract a slew of locals and tourists every holiday season. But whether you visit in December or at another time of year, Dyker Heights is a lovely area to stroll through with its large single-family homes and manicured lawns. It's hard to believe you're in NYC.

While you won't find a ton of family attractions in the area, there are a few cool spots for kids, including Dyker Beach Park, CityParks Junior Golf Center, a BounceU and a bunch of delicious restaurants, bakeries and markets. Since Dyker Heights is overwhelmingly Italian, it's a great place to pick up pizza, pasta and fancy pastries. One downside: It's quite a walk from the nearest subway stops (the N or the D, depending on where you're going).

Throughout November, we'll be covering all the things there are to do, see and eat in the nabe. For the purposes of our posts, our boundaries are Interstate 278 to 14th Avenue, 65th Street to Shore Parkway. Here are our top 20 things to do on a visit to Dyker Heights.

Oh, Sandy...what a week!  Much of Fairfield County is struggling with no power, limited resources and road access, and perhaps, most difficult of all, NO SCHOOL!!!!  With 5 days of no school down, and most likely several more to follow, my kids - and I - are starting to climb the walls.  

Now that we can safely leave our immediate neighborhood, we'll be hitting some of our favorite spots.  Below I've listed some parks, playgrounds and museums that are open, as well as some that have closed until they are restored to full operations. Our hearts go out to those who have lost more than power and a few trees in this storm. Life goes on and we hope that this list can provide a semblance of normalcy for those who are in desperate need of it.

All week, everything we've posted on our site and on our Facebook page has had something to do with Hurricane Sandy. What to do at home during the storm, what's open after the storm and how to help local victims. It's been exhausting and frustrating and devastating for everyone, to varying degrees. So many people are still in such dire need, and some are members of the Mommy Poppins family.

Our regional sites have been very quiet due to the hurricane. Most of our bloggers in New Jersey, on Long Island and in Connecticut are still without power, and some aren't even able to return to their homes. As the extent of the damage sinks in, we find ourselves with no words, so we're going to quote Shari, one of our New Jersey peeps: "Our thoughts and prayers are with you... I am writing this from a friend's home in Weehawken after having evacuated our home in Hoboken. I know that many of you are in a similar position and some, much worse. All the Mommy Poppins family send their thoughts and prayers to our readers and our entire state." To everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy in NYC and beyond, we are constantly thinking of you.

Here's what else we covered on our NYC site this week:

As you can see, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy our site has been pretty slim this week. Some of our bloggers were lucky enough to emerge from the storm unscathed, but many are dealing with lengthy power outages and at least one blogger has sustained significant damage to her home. Most of Long Island is still without power and I'm hoping you are all safe, and that the worst you are coping with is an intense overload of board games.

We aren't posting about events this weekend, as most businesses and areas are still without power at this time. If the power comes back up, please share news with us on fun things to do in our comments section, or on our Facebook page. I've included a few links below to help weather the wait. Please be safe everyone.

I am writing this from a friend's home in Weehawken after having evacuated our home in Hoboken. I know that many of you are in a similar position and some, much worse. All the Mommy Poppins family send their thoughts and prayers to our readers and our entire state. Obviously, there are very few venues that are even open this weekend, so we will not be posting our weekend events, but here is one of our most popular articles for stuck-in-the-house craziness, 99 Sensory Activities for Kids. For those who wanted to enter our Barefoot Books giveaway, we will extend the deadline to subscribe for another week. Please check our Facebook page for updates and we'll see you soon. You know we love you, NJ.

New York City is, slowly but surely, starting to recover. Buses hit the streets on Wednesday and subways started rolling again in parts of the city today (bonus: public transportation is FREE on Thursday and Friday. You can see a map of which subways are running on the MTA website.) And although public schools are closed through Friday, restaurants, culture spots and other places are beginning to reopen—save for businesses in neighborhoods that were hard hit by the storm like Coney Island, the Rockaways, much of Staten Island and downtown Manhattan, which is still without power. Even as life gets back to normal for much of NYC, it's important to remember our neighbors in need. Something we should all keep in mind, even as we start getting out and about again.

Since schools are out for the rest of the week, many kid-centric spots are offering special activities on Thursday and Friday. Here's where to take the family through the end of the week.

Our weekend roundup of events includes concerts by Vanessa Trien in Arlington and the Boston Children’s Chorus in Boston; magic shows with Bonaparte in Natick and Scott Jameson in Brookline; and the first Christmas Festival of the season. Read on for details, and remember, you can find more things to do by checking out our Events Calendar.

Our thoughts are with those who are living without power or cleaning up the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Although several Boston-area towns have had to “reschedule” Halloween, most children have donned their costumes, hit the streets and sorted through their loot by now. If the sheer volume of candy freaks you out, we have some ways make it disappear.

And while we’re finding it a bit hard to believe that end-of-year holiday activities are gearing up so closely on the heels of Halloween, our Events Calendar is starting to fill up with things to do for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve. Tickets to some of the more popular events go quickly, so it’s worth exploring the Mayor’s Holiday Special website, which offers half-price tickets to many holiday shows all over Greater Boston and is a great resource if you’re interested in saving some money and still seeing some of the best shows around.

Enjoy the extra hour of sleep on Sunday with Daylight Saving Time!

This is one of those weekends when it's going to be tough to plan. (Heck, it's hard to plan the next two days! Public schools are officially closed Thursday and Friday.) As of this writing, power is still out in downtown Manhattan, much of Staten Island and parts of the other boroughs; subways aren't running (but some will be as of Thursday) and buses are limited; all NYC parks are closed; and many of our neighbors are trying to piece their lives back together after suffering devastating losses, all due to Hurricane Sandy.

After spending so much time cooped up this week, we all want to go out and start enjoying our city again, but it's probably going to be a bittersweet experience. If you're looking to assist New Yorkers in need after Sandy, read our post about ways you can help locally. There are even volunteering opportunities this weekend to help clean up NYC parks (must be age 12 and up though).

All of our best bets for the weekend are below. As always, you can find additional options in our Event Calendar. That said, before you head out to any of these happenings, check the events' official websites as details may change depending on the residual effects of the storm.