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BROOKLYN
The neighborhoods around Fulton Ferry Landing are among the oldest in all of New York City, and Brooklyn Heights became a popular residential community soon after Fulton's ferries turned Brooklynites into regular commuters.
A walk along peaceful Willow Street is an architectural treat and Grace Court Alley, once used as a stable alley for fancy homes on Remsen Street, is a lovely mews.
Pierrepont Street is graced with some of the city's most beautiful residences including Brooklyn's History Museum. Garden Place, Sidney Place, and Hunts Lane are also lovely to stroll. D.U.M.B.O. (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) and Vinegar Hills are the areas that attract artists and just about anyone else in search of loft-like spaces and views.
Imposing views along the Promenade, Montague Street with sweet cafes and shops, the great Starbucks alternative, Ozzie's and the St. Ann Center for Restoration and the Arts with its 60 famous stained glass windows (the first ever made in the US). Patsy Grimaldi's (Zagats calls it pizza heaven) on Old Fulton and the River Café on Water Street for 'best romantic.'
Prospect Heights' revitalization is going strong, particularly among the younger set. While less than a quarter of a square mile in size, this pioneering community is a mix of beautifully crafted turn-of-the-century brownstones and elegant 1920s apartment buildings. Joining the blue-collar old- timers in the area along with a large Caribbean contingency who arrived in the 1980s, the recent influx of professionals are enthusiastically restoring classic buildings and calling the neighborhood their own.
A first-rate location that's convenient to all of Brooklyn's finest cultural and recreational institutions: The Brooklyn Museum, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Nearby Prospect Park and the weekend farmer's market at Grand Army Plaza draw a huge crowds. The Garden Café set in a townhouse on Vanderbilt Avenue is topnotch and the somewhat 60's New Prospect Café on Flatbush and Tom's since 1936 for incredible breakfasts and honest-to-goodness egg creams on Washington.
Developed after the completion of Prospect Park in the 1870s, Park Slope is primarily residential, with countless row houses and apartment buildings, the neighborhood is divided into three smaller communities, North Slope, Center Slope and South Slope. The population is typically young professionals attracted by the proximity to Manhattan and the low cost of housing. The commercial districts lie along 7th Avenue and on 5th Avenue, especially south of 9th Street. Experts agree that the defining moment here was 1995, when most of the wonderful Victorian and Romanesque Revival brownstones went over the million dollar mark and what used to be considered a terrific area for middle-income families nowadays seems more fitting for Wall Street types. Seventh Avenue was once the outermost border of desirable Park Slope, but of late the boundary has reached Fifth.
Boating on Lake Prospect or riding the historic carousel in Prospect Park. The Brooklyn Museum, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden a stone's throw away and the thriving business district with restaurants and stores lining Seventh Avenue and it nearby streets.
Fashionable with professionals and families of all backgrounds and races, Fort Greene is home to countless happy commuters who get to surround themselves with some of the city's best parkland, to say nothing of some of the finest brownstones built in the 19th century. Today, artists and other creative greats call it home, including filmmaker Spike Lee, whose production companies are headquartered on DeKalb Avenue. Literally up the hill is the graceful 19th-century residential area named for New York Governor DeWitt Clinton. Home to Pratt Institute, Clinton Hill is a neighborhood of beautifully restored brownstones and mansions, built along wide, tree-lined boulevards and charming side streets. Also known as the 'brownstone belt' this quarter is home to many city landmarks, including the Emmanuel Baptist Church and the Steele-Skinner House, both on Lafayette Avenue, as well as the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew and the Royal Castle Apartments on Clinton Avenue.
The nation's oldest performing arts center - the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and the nation's oldest park - Fort Greene Park. An eclectic group of restaurants like the Bedouin Express on South Portland and Locanda Vini & Olii on Gates Avenue. Shopping along DeKalb and Adelphi at bargain emporiums like L & H and Eps attracts locals and tourists,alike.
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