Park Slope - Brooklyn, NY Area Guide

More than 500 acres of land and the estate of railroad tycoon Edwin Clark Litchfield were purchased by the city of Brooklyn and turned into Prospect Park, which eventually gave Park Slope its name. The area has a wide variety of cultural attractions including the celebrated Brooklyn Museum, which has an extensive permanent collection that ranges from Egyptian artifacts to contemporary art, and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Residents can take advantage of concerts and events as the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in nearby Fort Greene. Among the yearly local events are the Fifth Avenue Family Festival, the Seventh Heaven Street Festival and the Halloween Parade and Costume Contest. Every Saturday, visitors to the Greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza buy farm-fresh products, listen to music by local artists, watch cooking demonstrations and enjoy all sorts of family-friendly activities.

With restaurants that rival those in Manhattan, many celebrities frequent the Park Slope hot spots. The eclectic array of choices runs the gamut from fine dining to casual fare. Park Slope's nightlife includes local bars and music venues that host a wide variety of entertainment from dance parties to comedy shows. A neighborhood institution, the Gate offers a laid-back vibe, a huge street-level deck, and a huge selection of craft beers.

Most residents can easily explore Park Slope on foot, though some complain about the stroller brigade, a testament to the number of young families who live in the area. While having a car can be convenient for grocery shopping and trips to visit friends and family, limited and highly regulated on-street parking often means having to move the car frequently to avoid fines. Garage spaces are at a premium, with people paying as much as $80,000 to purchase a spot at the neighborhood’s legendary Garage Condominium. Many residents utilize Zipcars and other rental services when they need to get away by car. If you have a car, Park Slope is close to all three bridges that connect Brooklyn to Manhattan — the Brooklyn Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge — as well as the Verrazano Bridge to Staten Island. Ten subway lines at seven different subway stations serve Park Slope, so it’s easy to travel to other parts of the borough and the rest of New York City. The MTA also operates a number of bus routes throughout Brooklyn and several makes stops on the avenues in Park Slope. For those who summer in the Hamptons, the Hampton Jitney has several stops in the neighborhood.

Designed and constructed by Olmstead and Vaux, the urban visionaries who created Central Park, bucolic Prospect Park is the crown jewel of Park Slope. Over 8 million people visit the 585-acre beauty each year. The park has something for everyone including more than a dozen ball fields, a state-of-the-art turf field, seven playgrounds, a year-round tennis center, miles of paths for runners and walkers, a 3.5 mile bridle path for horseback riding, and acres of green space for dogs (with special off-leash hours). The LeFrak Center at Lakeside spans 26 acres and features the Shelby White and Leon Levy Esplanade, and the Chaim Baier Music Island. The Audubon Center, the first in an urban park, gives park visitors the chance to explore the diversity of nature in Prospect Park. The Prospect Park Zoo features nearly 400 animals of more than 100 species in environments mirroring their natural habitats. One of the park’s most popular attractions, the carousel, was carved in 1912 by one of the foremost carousel designers of the time and restored to perfection in 1990.

On the eastern edge of Prospect Park is the majestic Brooklyn Botanical Garden. The 52-acre paradise has a number of gardens within, plant collections and the Steinhardt Conservatory, which houses the C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum.

Renters living in Park Slope pay an average of $2,700/month to rent an apartment, compared to the New York state average of $3,675. City dwellers exploring houses for rent throughout Park Slope can expect to pay anywhere between $3,000 and $11,000/month. For those looking to buy, the average house is valued at $1.4 million, compared to the state average of $405,327.

New York City’s other Fifth Avenue has a treasure trove of boutiques selling everything from vintage clothing to super hero capes. There are a large number of consignment shops and quirky spots for you to discover. A wide variety of stores also line Seventh Avenue. The Park Slope Food Co-op was founded in 1973 by a group of residents looking for healthy food at affordable prices. The Co-op carries a wide variety of conventional and organic products offered to members at a discount of 20 to 40 percent in exchange for a few hours of work every four weeks.