Red giant Arcturus is the brightest star North of the Celestial Equator and can be seen in urban skies (like Piscataway, N. J.). But you need a fairly dark sky to see the Northern Crown and the characteristic "kite" pattern of the Herdsman. I frequent this neighborhood because of all the cool double stars that reside here, most of which can be resoved with my modest 90mm scope. Observing double stars keeps me out of trouble.