i am new to new york city, and i was wondering if anyone could list some good lbs in the city, prefferably in the downtown/brooklyn area. thanks!

Downtown Bklyn or Downtown Manhattan? In Downtown Bklyn, check R&A on 5th Ave. in Park Slope. In Downtown Manhattan, Gotham at Church and Canal. In either shop, you can pick up a bike map with a list of bike shops in NYC. Here's a partial list of the LBS' in NYC. https://www.transalt.org/info/bikeshop.html

R&A on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn has an excellent selection of bikes, but I always found the sales help to be a bit stuffy, snobbish, and reluctant to demonstrate the most basic of customer service skills. Which was a shame, because I used to live less than 2 blocks from them!

I now live in northern Manhattan, & currently do 99% of my shopping at a NPLBS (Not-Particularly-Local Bike Shop). Larry's NYC Bikes (formerly Larry & Jeff's, though the sign might still say that) on 2nd Avenue at 87th Street. Yeah, it's not very convenient for me, and probably not for you either if you live in Brooklyn. But the guys who work there are AMAZING in what they'll do for you, before, during, & after a sale. They are saints.