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March 9, 2009

The Times Wraps Its Arms Around Fort Greene

"Fort Greene is Brooklyn’s latest culinary mecca, bewitching foodies with hip, minimalist restaurants. Or it’s a bastion of African-American pride and culture, a historic home to a vibrant community of black families. Or the artistic center of the borough, laying claim as it does to the multifaceted Brooklyn Academy of Music (a k a BAM). Or maybe it’s the new roost of the nouveaux riches, with pricy brownstones and new luxury condominiums dotting its map. What new and old residents have found is that Fort Greene plays all of these roles with grace and aplomb. It is a busy, blooming hybrid whose slate-sidewalk streets somehow retain their serenity. No one is in a hurry — even as newcomers rush in from all corners of the city to live here." — NY Times
Photo by Tracy Collins

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Comments

"Snug in its corner between downtown Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Clinton Hill and the Atlantic Yards area..."

Atlantic Yards area? Give me a break. Looks like the Times is getting ahead of itself.

Now that they've sold off their prized 8th Avenue building to save their sinking ship, don't they feel obligated to put in the usual disclosure, "Ratner is our partner blah blah blah"?

Posted by: NorthHeights at March 9, 2009 10:00 AM

As a fort greene resident, I was happy to see this article in this week's NY Times real estate section. FG has been getting a lot of press lately - I love FG; wouldn't want to live anywhere else in Brooklyn.

Posted by: katiebk at March 9, 2009 10:06 AM

atlantic yards already exists #1. It is a rail yard.

Posted by: jelly donut at March 9, 2009 10:18 AM

katiebk - As someone else who loves FG, I'm not happy at all to see the hood get all this press. Here come the hordes...

Jelly donut - the rail yard is called "Vanderbilt Yards". Atlantic Yards is the name of a real estate project which may or may not ever happen. The nomenclature distinction is a pet peeve of norman oder...

Posted by: bkre at March 9, 2009 10:23 AM

agreed, bkre. as another fg resident, I hate to see all this press.

Posted by: amt230 at March 9, 2009 10:30 AM

Last NYT write up 9/1/02

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/01/realestate/01LIVI.html?ex=1031910708&ei=1&en=a4b623836863018f

Posted by: jawbreaker at March 9, 2009 10:35 AM

"Here come the hordes..."

As desirable as Fort Greene may be, I don't think there are hordes of people buying (or selling) these days.

Posted by: Biff Champion at March 9, 2009 10:53 AM

Come on Park Slopers, what say you?

Posted by: bayridgegirl at March 9, 2009 11:02 AM

Pure infomercial. [Please buy in Fort Greene. Our advertisers are suffering.]

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at March 9, 2009 11:04 AM

AGree with Biff. Press or no press,nothing is going to make hordes of folks come to any neighborhood right now. Folks hoping that their neighborhood gets none or bad press come across a bit as ostriches hoping that because their heads are buried in sand nobody can see them. As a Clinton Hill resident and frequent Fort Greene visitor I welcome good press for our neck of the woods.

Posted by: wasder at March 9, 2009 11:05 AM

"Or maybe it’s the new roost of the nouveaux riches, with pricy brownstones and new luxury condominiums dotting its map. What new and old residents have found is that Fort Greene plays all of these roles with grace and aplomb. It is a busy, blooming hybrid whose slate-sidewalk streets somehow retain their serenity. No one is in a hurry — even as newcomers rush in from all corners of the city to live here." --- Sometimes I want to gag when these NYTimes writers try to be so flowery and poetic.

Posted by: Petebklyn at March 9, 2009 11:12 AM

As a Park Sloper, I'm thrilled about all the press Ft. Greene has gotten. It deserves it, and we have enough people already. I guess it was just the first weekend of nice weather, but 7th and 5th were PACKED on Saturday. I talked to a few shop owners yesterday, and they said that they did excellent business this weekend. Great news all around.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 11:15 AM

> "Come on Park Slopers, what say you?"

I say, by all means, dear hordes, please move to Fort Greene. The Slope need a break from the influx.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 9, 2009 11:15 AM

I must say that I now think Fort Greene is prettier than Park Slope and I grew up thinking PS was the center of the Universe

Posted by: Troy McClure at March 9, 2009 11:19 AM

11217...yes, that is good news for the shops. Philly was packed all weekend and the restaurants were jammed.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 9, 2009 11:24 AM

quote:
I guess it was just the first weekend of nice weather, but 7th and 5th were PACKED on Saturday

LOL you are SO full of it. it was not. i was on both actually this weekend believe it or not. they were NOT packed, at ALL!

i actually went to the park this weekend my with dog!!! woo woo it was funny but gross like i thought it would be.

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 11:30 AM

agree w/troy. i live in p.s. but am more impressed by the greenery and architectural variety of f.g., and would just as happily live there as p.s. that said, i think it definitely is lacking in certain amenities (chain drug store, decent grocery store) and transportation.

Posted by: goldie at March 9, 2009 11:32 AM

They were most certainly packed for Park Slope. Every restaurant on 7th Avenue was nearly full. They've been empty for months.

As I said, I talked to about 4 shop owners yesterday and they said they had their best weekend in months.

How would you know what is and is not packed when you've lived here since July?

No it wasn't Times Square, but for PS this was packed.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 11:35 AM

11217...I thought about this yesterday with the throngs of people out in Philly. If this decent weather continues and people get out and spend money for a few weeks since they've been struck with a svere case of cabin fever over the past few weeks plus the stock market depression, there's likely to be a pop in some spending and/or sentiment numbers. This could be the catalyst that rallies the market.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 9, 2009 11:42 AM

7th Avenue was definitely hopping on Saturday. 5th as well. Bar Toto on 6th was packed, so we opted for brunch at Bar Tano, their outpost on 3rd Avenue (which was nearly deserted).

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 9, 2009 11:43 AM

11217 you are SUCH a boloney pony it's not even funny. ugh. why do you try so hard to hype up park slope so much? it was NOT packed at all, i witnessed it first hand most of the weekend, finally deciding to get out of the apt for a change. rinky dinky shops with things people dont need are empty. restaurants are empty. (during the day) i dont know about night. bars are probably okay tho.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 11:44 AM

Apologies for slopejacking this thread.

Dave - do you really believe one weekend of descent shopper turnout is going to right this sinking ship?

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 9, 2009 11:44 AM

Rob,

1. Others here are commenting on it besides me.

2. You've said before that you don't leave a 5 block radius of your house so how the hell would you know what's packed and what's not?

3. I think store owners know better than you how they're doing financially.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 11:46 AM

quote:

How would you know what is and is not packed when you've lived here since July?

uh cuz everything looked empty?

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 11:47 AM

Sorry, no more Park Slope talk.

This is Ft. Greene's moment in the sun.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 11:48 AM

well have fun with those storeowners 11217 who seem to do nothing but sit on their macbooks in empty stores all along 5th. sorry but i do walk up and down 5th every single day at all hours. and it's dead as a doornail. you are the biggest park slope pimp on this board! you make stuff up. you did not talk to shop owners this weekend about their business. that is ridiculous. oh wait maybe you did. i bet 500 of your friends just bought condos or co-ops in the neighborhood too. grrrr you make me so angry sometimes

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 11:50 AM

Whoops, I meant "decent" and not "descent."

Freudian slip, I reckon.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled Fort Greene programming.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 9, 2009 11:52 AM

"atlantic yards already exists #1. It is a rail yard."

it correct. that rail yard is called Vanderbilt Rail Yard. nobody would have called it Vanderbilt Yards or Atlantic Yards before Ratner proposed his project.

so #1 is correct.

Posted by: brokeland at March 9, 2009 11:54 AM

I do, in fact talk to the shop owners who I know from living here, (and yes, shopping!) over the last couple years. I enjoy talking to them, getting to know their names and asking them how business is doing...

Doesn't say much about you that it makes you angry that someone would be saying nice things about the neighborhood you live in.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 11:55 AM

i went into a bunch of antique/extensive junk shops on altantic ave on sunday and it wasnt that crowded but there was a good amount of people out.

however I somehow found myself at Patio on saturday and it was a shitshow.

Posted by: Santa at March 9, 2009 11:57 AM

yeah well the thing is i dont like most of the shops in the neighborhood i live in. i dont care if they close down. i dont care if they ran out of mommy and daddy's money to design hideous necklackes to sell to people who dont want that crap. im a de-gentrifier. deal with it. im totally turning into the what these days i feel it! but oh well, it's in the air. people are tired of the new new york.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 11:58 AM

gotta back 11217 up on this one. 7th ave was HOPPIN' on saturday.

as was De Kalb in FG. have to say though, walked down the park block of s. oxford having heard it was one of the prettiest blocks in nyc, and there is a hugly row of buildings on the west side of the street, halfway down the block.

Posted by: 11215 at March 9, 2009 12:00 PM

No, Snark. It has to continue for another week or two. Looks like the weather will hold out though. One weekend will not change anything. But if some spending numbers come in unexpectedly high that's going to be the catalyst that the market is looking for.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 9, 2009 12:00 PM

People have been waiting for this break in the weather for a long time. There's a lot of depressed people out there and we all know why.

I hear that there's an inordinately high number of depressed people in Ft. Greene :)

I actually had never heard of Ft. greene before I moved to brooklyn!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 9, 2009 12:06 PM

11215 - S. Portland, not S. Oxford, between DeKalb and Lafayette is the block you've heard about. You walked down a different street.

Posted by: 1842 at March 9, 2009 12:08 PM

One more thing then I'm done.

I'm not into comics, but for those of you that are, a REALLY COOL looking comics store just opened up on Bergen between Flatbush and 5th in that row of brightly colored storefronts.

Brownstoner should do a little blurb about it.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 12:11 PM

You know, Rob, I gotta say I am bewildered by your choice to live in Park Slope.

You hate the stores, you hate the restaurants, you even hate the park.

These are the things that everybody else is paying to be near.

You could really save a lot of money if you lived in a less gentrified neighborhood.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 9, 2009 12:11 PM

new comic book store opened up on bergen street. Its mostly graphic novel stuff and extremely clean. just to stay off topic.

Posted by: Santa at March 9, 2009 12:11 PM

Too funny that we just posted about the exact same thing at the same time, Santa.

Both equally off topic. Sorry all.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 12:14 PM

are there still poor people in ft greene? i mean besides the walt whitman houses.

Posted by: Jimmy Legs at March 9, 2009 12:15 PM

HA! i just passed that comic book store actually on bergen!!!! (it didnt look open tho yet, was it? i was on the other side)
i was there this weekend (my ex moved to bergen and vanderbuilt into that line of fedders townhouses that are like a block long). i must say i liked it tho! the construction was crappy as hell and it was weird having wall to wall carpeting (tho i liked that back in the day in old school apt living), but not a bad area.

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 12:18 PM

I went to a friends party in bed stuy of the myrtle stop on the J and I think Rob should live there. Nothing cute and no parks and no bullshit. They had a pretty large apartment on the top two floors of a skinny brownstone with apparently 6 people living in it.

do it up

Posted by: Santa at March 9, 2009 12:20 PM

quote:
You know, Rob, I gotta say I am bewildered by your choice to live in Park Slope.

You could really save a lot of money if you lived in a less gentrified neighborhood.

i live in park slope cuz it's not ghetto and i was sick of the ghetto even tho i bring the ghetto sorta kinda with me wherever i go anyway. i like my current living situation and i can pay that much and have a roommate or i can have my own apt in a crappy ghetto neighborhood and im just not in the mood to live that way anymore. so ill happily be the most ghetto newbie in park slope and proud of it. you think people who are not like you and make as much money as you should move to the bronx and brownsville and stuff. sorry newflash we can live wherever we want. and that includes precious park slope.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 12:24 PM

i dont care where you live but there are plenty of "non-ghetto" areas of brooklyn and queens which are much cheaper than park slope. And im pretty sure you have commented where you live and there are even cheaper areas of park slope that you would like better.

also for the record I cant pay anywhere near the price to split a 2 bedroom in anywhere that's desirable park slope.

Posted by: Santa at March 9, 2009 12:30 PM

ROb,

you have such a persecution complex it makes me want to hunt you down and move all your stuff to Greenwich COnn

Posted by: Troy McClure at March 9, 2009 12:34 PM

Hey rob, get over yourself.

I'm not saying you should move.

I'm saying I am just confused by your desire to spend a premium to live in a neighborhood you so obviously dislike.

You could split a place in Sunset Park for half the price, and you would probably like it better.

That's all I'm saying.

Now go see a shrink or something, sheesh.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 9, 2009 12:40 PM

I'm more confused as to why Rob is actually HOPING that business owners in Park Slope (some of which have been here for DECADES!) go out of business and become unemployed.

Hate Park Slope all you want, but that's just plain effed up.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 12:45 PM

Troy, you are a funny dude!

Posted by: East New York at March 9, 2009 12:51 PM

Just wondering if this article isn't just part of a plot by the Times to promote a neighborhood that they are planning on test-driving with their "neighborhood blog" idea.

Posted by: iz at March 9, 2009 12:56 PM

I'm struggling to see why anyone would say FG is better than Park slope. Don't get me wrong, they are both good but Park Slope has so much more going for it. More bars, more stores, better park, better transportation etc etc

As for Rob and all his slope hateration - you got issues dude ! Too many negative waves.

Posted by: 10thStreetReno at March 9, 2009 1:01 PM

yeah - I have to back the others up. I went out on Saturday afternoon actually when the clouds were rolling in and my stretch of 7th avenue 9th - 16th was hopping. People were mainly in the food shops (naidres,Grab,Parco,Hancos) but people were definetely out.
I love Ft. Greene and think it's beautiful,also it has the best cake shop in the land - Cakeman!!!

Posted by: gemini10 at March 9, 2009 1:01 PM

11217 i dont want anyone to be jobless duh, but i think certain stores are just lame. and as to why i pay a "premium" to live in park slope, well um i dont know. it's the perfect commute to work, it's a super safe neighborhood, and i just like it. why does someone have to care about the crappy retail in the neighborhood? yeah i know retail makes things safer, but still... crappy retail is crappy retail and everything on 5th avenue is pure schlock (sp?) no one needs the kind of crap they sell. all any block needs is a deli, pharmacy, bodega, and laundrymat. i know i could move to a gazillion neighborhoods that are cheaper and match my expectations but i cant do that and dont want to do that.

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 1:02 PM

i dont hate park slope! i love it! why would i live there if i hated it!!?! i just dont care for the things that most people think make it wonderland. jeez

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 1:04 PM

I actually agree with you, Rob, about most of the little boutiques on 5th Avenue. I find them largely useless. I do, however, like having a large array of bars and restaurants close at hand. And I love being close to the park even if I do not go there as often as I would like.

My point was only that I thought you would be equally happy - if not more happy - in other neighborhoods that are significantly cheaper.

But you can't or don't want to do that, so my suggestion is moot.

This concludes this test of the Emergency Snarkcast System.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 9, 2009 1:13 PM

I was talking to a neighbor recently about how great it was living in Fort Greene, and she corrected me and told me we lived in Clinton Hill. If that's true, Fort Greene really isn't very big.

The Times surprised me with all the talk of cutting edge cuisine in Fort Greene though. I mean the restaurants are all cute here, verging dangerously close to twee sometimes, but still cute, but really, are they groundbreakingly different from any other twee restaurants in any other twee neighborhoods?

As for the shopping in That Other Place That Shall Not Be Named, I'm glad everyone had a chance to stock up on ecologically correct children's toys, Tibetan scarves, bagels and Dansko shoes. When the hyperinflation comes, you all will be set.

Posted by: Heather at March 9, 2009 1:16 PM

gemini,

do you know the name of the cd shop on 7th around 13th St or so?

They are the only cd shop I know of in the area and I have to find out if they have a CD I'm looking for before I trek there from the northern part of PS

Posted by: Troy McClure at March 9, 2009 1:17 PM

Music Matters is the name I think

Posted by: gemini10 at March 9, 2009 1:20 PM

"I find them largely useless."

Even the meteorite store?

Posted by: East New York at March 9, 2009 1:21 PM

agree with you snark, im sure i could be equally happy in other hoods that are cheaper, but it just didnt work out that way. not everyone always has a say in where they live believe it or not.

and i did utilize the park this weekend with my dog and it was nice. tho i still dont get why people scream and rave over it. it's a pretty dirty park and eh i dont know. im not one who should comment on parks, maybe it is a great park or something.

and im sure somewhere along the line ill be scooped out of park slope based on life's circumstances anyway so my my comments about the neighborhood probably dont mean much anyway.

im not a park slope hater. i love it! i just dont act like it's the garden of eden cuz it's not and it shouldnt be that. and to the person who told me to move to sunset park. nuh-uh. that would probably mean not getting a seat on the train or something. i do not stand on trains!

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 1:21 PM

Can someone please please tell me why that "Superhero" store remains open year after year after year on 5th avenue
at first one would think - oh it's a hardware store, but upon closer inspection one day I actually read the storename and the ads in the windows for things like:
superhero glue, tights,capes,webs

Posted by: gemini10 at March 9, 2009 1:32 PM

Brooklyn Superhero Supply

826NYC is a nonprofit organization (located in Park Slope, Brooklyn) dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Services are structured around the belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success. With this in mind 826NYC provides free drop-in tutoring, after-school workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications. Drawing from a volunteer base of over 1,000, which includes many teachers, writers and journalism professionals, 826NYC unites eager students with eager helpers. There are also 826 National chapters in San Francisco (826 Valencia), LA (826LA), Seattle (826 Seattle), Chicago (826CHI), and Ann Arbor (826 Michigan).

826NYC is located in a "secret lair" behind The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company [1], a store similar in eccentricity to 826 Valencia’s storefront pirate shop, and which sells capes, grappling hooks, utility belts (new and vintage), masks, tights, deflector bracelets, bottles of chaos and anti-gravity, secret identity kits, and more. Visitors to the store can try out capes for free in a cape-testing wind tunnel (essentially a series of fans on a pedestal). The store sells new and back issues of Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, The Believer,Wholphin, and other McSweeney's publications. The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. also carries a complete stock of publications written and edited by students at 826NYC including Trapped: The Encyclopedia of Escape, Sonny Paine, and issues 1 and 2 of The 826NYC Review. The store front is literally a front for the charitable organization, with all sales going to the organization. The store employs volunteers.

The design of the store features many tongue-in-cheek signs and features, and the staff treat their products as real super-hero supplies, and visitors as real super-heroes. The secret lair to the student learning and activity center lies behind a swinging bookcase.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 1:37 PM

quote:

Can someone please please tell me why that "Superhero" store remains open year after year after year on 5th avenue
I actually read the storename and the ads in the windows for things like:
superhero glue, tights,capes,webs

well 11217 needs to shop somewhere, doesn't he?! ha xoxo 11217 JK

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 1:38 PM

see? lol

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 1:43 PM

It's a charity, dumbass.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 1:44 PM

11217 - am really shocked I had no idea it was a non for-profit
very interesting

Posted by: gemini10 at March 9, 2009 1:44 PM

Sorry that was rude of me, but you're really pushing my buttons today.

It's not a store if you would actually read what I wrote.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 1:47 PM

11217, were you on that walking tour in park slope on sunday around... i want to say around noon or 1ish.. this woman was yapping off about a thrift/consignment shop (it has shoes in the window...) and there were about 10-15 people with notepads in their hands taking notes. they were blocking the entire walkable area of the block and so obvlious to everything. i was bringing my dog back home and then saw another guy with a dog who was trying to get his dog to talk to this other guys dog who wanted no part of it, meanwhile i was trying to get my dog thru and it was like insane. so i think you MIGHT be right. i guess 5th ave was kinda packed this weekend now that i think about it.

*r*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at March 9, 2009 1:53 PM

Gah, I give up. You all DO know this is one reason some people dislike your neighborhood?

Posted by: Heather at March 9, 2009 1:58 PM

That's such an asinine comment, Heather.

Are we all justified in hating Ft. Greene because "PropJoe" lives there then?

Stupid.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 2:05 PM

Rob is an affable person who likes to play the contrarian, that's all.

Fort Greene is pretty, but the restaurants aren't anything special.

Except Habana Outpost.

Posted by: mopar at March 9, 2009 2:24 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this thread supposed to be about Fort Greene? Not Park Slope...

Posted by: ftgreene at March 9, 2009 2:55 PM

So start talking about Ft. Greene, "ftgreene."

It's lovely. What else you wanna know? Or would you care to add anything, perhaps?

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 2:58 PM

What's up with the reference of Fort Greene being called "Philly" by Daveinbedstuy? Philly is nothing close to Fort Green or any part of Brooklyn for that Matter......

Posted by: siIluvBK at March 9, 2009 3:18 PM

I was trying to, but perhaps it was hard to hear over the din.

As I said, I thought it was interesting that they noted Fort Greene's restaurants. My question: do any of them (General Greene et al) deliver?

Posted by: Heather at March 9, 2009 3:20 PM

We went to an open house of a 2-bedroom coop on Lafayette Avenue yesterday just on a lark. I thought we had arrived at Grand Central Station!

The crowds that showed up were remarkable! It was a nice apartment with a skylight in the bathroom, not too badly renovated and the apartment was nice. It looked like the renovation was done sometime in the 90's. It had 5 good-sized to huge closets. Very nice at $590K and $700-something for the maintenance/taxes which included heat and hot water of course.

We went to a couple of other open houses including the not well advertised open house of the unfinished condos on Cumberland next to the "Sanctuary". I very much liked them I have to say...as mod goes...but we realized the adhesives and other construction products were a little overwhelming at this point. I hope the fumes dissapate quickly. We looked at most of the apartments but had to hightail it out of there.

I think they've sold four of the eight units from what they said. Very nice project in the end. Living nearby and having seen the apartments next door at the Sanctuary, I was pleasantly surprised.

The warm weather brought out a lot of people! There was lots of activity this weekend!

Did anyone notice the New York Times article did not mention BAM Harvey (part of BAM but not in the Renaissance Revival), the Brooklyn Music School, the new Irondale Theatre, 80 Arts on Hanson, the S. Oxford Space...even Frank's?

There are also community gardens, playgrounds galore, Green Spaces (a green business incubator) on Flatbush, and, yes...the mall with Pathmark, Target, etc.?

There are historic churches, nursing homes and senior apartments (in the heart of the neighborhood)...

For what it's worth, we even have "Manhattan views" depending on your house/apartment...

The article might have mentioned in passing Tish James, the FG Association and the FG Park Conservancy. There are house tours, garden tours and even a big FGA holiday party. I'm not sure if many other neighborhoods in our area can boast a similar open-door, the entire neighborhood welcome, holiday party. Aside from the year-round green market with summertime craft vendors, the park also has big music events as well as fun things like the Halloween open-to-all festival.

The green market has one of the City's only composting efforts linking residents to the community gardens--completely a grassroots effort.

And, also up for consideration: the Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Food Coop group that is moving along and the existing CSAs that many residents participate in.

I don't reel the article did the restaurants enough of a plug. There's lot's of variety. We just got a new Turkish place; there's an Ethiopian place; a slew of nice wine shops right now; several better food shops...

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at March 9, 2009 3:35 PM

Yes, BrooklynGreene, I noticed it too. For all the hyped diversity, the Times article seemed mostly interested in the parts of Fort Greene that didn't exist five or ten years ago, and not the historic. The general tone seemed to be, "Look! Another Smith Street!"

Posted by: Heather at March 9, 2009 3:43 PM

rob is someone who should really stop making pronouncements about which he knows nothing- especially about the Bronx. You've been attacking a lot of people lately, rob. I have no idea what your probelm is but it's time to get over it.

Posted by: bxgrl at March 9, 2009 3:48 PM

General Greene is disgusting and also overpriced. (I never say this about restaurants.) I went there once and the sliced steak was inedible. I think it was spoiled. The other dishes weren't very good either, although they weren't spoiled. And everything was sized like tapas but very pricey. One person would have to order four or five dishes. (I don't eat much either.) There are so many better restaurants for the money.

I've been to a few other Fort Greene restaurants and wasn't overwhelmed by any of them. Ici, the bbq place (Peaches is better), one of the French ones on Dekalb that's been there a long time, and Bonita.

The only one I really love is Habana Outpost. Is there some gem I have missed?

Posted by: mopar at March 9, 2009 3:53 PM

lol.

Nice discussion about Fort Greene.

Posted by: northsloperenter at March 9, 2009 4:04 PM

I like Madiba, but it's good to know am not missing anything in the General Greene hype.

I like Speakeasy too... but I suspect that is considered Clinton Hill.

Posted by: Heather at March 9, 2009 4:06 PM

Well folks we were very happy with the coverage FG got and agree wholeheartedly it is one of the best places to live in Brooklyn or New York. We still lack a few amenities like a well stocked pharmacy and cheap grocery but in terms of transportation this is it....13 subway lines, the LIRR, and tons of bus lines...yep #1
We also had Saturday off this weekend (rare:) and spent some time in the park and restaurants here in FG...tons of people out but no DIBS not enough to turn the economy around anytime soon; wishful thinking is fine though!
Now while FG Park is not PP we love it all the same. It was loaded with people especially children. The newish sitting areas near the Civil War monument was nicely done and it was great to see all the kiddies running around with their dogs:)

BrooklynGreene we see what you are saying about the Times article being inadequate but we think this is due to space constraints...too much content to squeeze in you know. How is the Turkish Place?

Mopar its funny we went to General Greene on Sat. evening and the food was very good to excellent. We had to wait for 30minutes but the missus was pleased with everything...a rarity. Paid $60 including wine plus tips for 2 people...not great but ok by NYC standards no? BTW we are not fans of Habanna Outpost...see it's a perception thing really.

Posted by: pierre de taille at March 9, 2009 4:47 PM

And yet, bxgirl - when I made the same criticism of Rob a couple of days ago - you jumped down my throat and called me the biggest jerk on brownstoner. Well, welcome to the "Rob should just STFU" club. Plenty of room.

Posted by: Make My Heights the P Heights at March 9, 2009 4:55 PM

Speaking of Ft Green restaurants - I've been meaning to stop into Red Bamboo on Dekalb for a while now, but haven't gotten around to it. Is it any good?

Posted by: Make My Heights the P Heights at March 9, 2009 4:58 PM

Do not like General Greene either. So overrated. I had a really bland and totally uninteresting meal there.

James is FAR better, in my opinion.

The only Ft. Greene restaurant I really love is Ici. But I've only had their brunch.

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 5:11 PM

Well, I'm glad they don't normally serve spoiled food at General Greene. Maybe they've dropped their prices or increased portion size.

I think our bill was $50 for two with three dishes and no alcohol. The three dishes combined were barely enough for one person. It would have been $120 if we'd ordered as much as we usually do. We are not big eaters and normally prefer small portions but this was ridiculous. This was back when they'd first opened, so maybe they just had an off night.

Posted by: mopar at March 9, 2009 5:14 PM

11217 - Is that a thumb up for James? A friend of mine lives down the block, and we've been meaning to try it.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 9, 2009 5:23 PM

HUGE thumbs up for James!

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 5:24 PM

Excellent, thanks, time to give it a whirl.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 9, 2009 5:27 PM

Wow, another perfectly good thread hijacked. Anywho - good for Fort Greene. Really nice neighborhood. I enjoy my visits there. If only I was in a sound financial position when I was in the 3rd Grade, maybe I could have snatched one of those brownstones for a song.

Has that little crime wave they seemed to be having subsided at all? Not trying to be a troll, just curious as it seemed during a month span there was a shooting or something.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at March 9, 2009 5:32 PM

dirty--not too much action of late on the heinous crime front. Hoping it stays that way.

Posted by: wasder at March 9, 2009 5:40 PM

The ratio of great restaurants/bars/vendors to bad ones in Park Slope is about 100:1. So many half-assed, uninteresting places, it's literally exhausting trying to find a good place to eat -- you have to walk blocks and blocks and blocks and wade through a hundred identical Thai and "french" joints. In Fort Greene, pretty much every eating or drinking establishment that's opened in the past few years is delicious by comparison, I'd say 2 out of 3 are great, and all within a really small radius. It's just a tighter, higher quality community of vendors with a more personal and interesting take. You might not like General Greene or SMoke Joint or Brooklyn Public House or 67 Burger or Bitter Sweet or Thirst or Smooch or 7 Greene or Havana Outpost or that delicious new Ethiopian (too new to remember the name yet) or Greene Grape or Bonita, but these are all idiosyncratic, all owner-run (often, owner -server'ed), all warm and inventive places that you won't find elsewhere, each with its own take on food and booze and happy to experiment in the kitchen and marketplace. THe fact that all these places are within literally a ten block radius is just incomparable to anywhere else in the city. I don't know how ti happened, but I want to congratulate and thank every one of those brave and energetic entrepreneurs who stuck their neck out for what is trully a fun culinary experience. It might be that many of them were chefs at fancy places in Manhattan and could afford to open their own place in FG because the scale is smaller and costs lower, which is something I've gathered from talking to some of the owners. Also, many of them know each other and support one another -- also very unique, because it's usually a very competitive business. Anyway, congrats again and thanks again. You deserve the crowds I saw this weekend, and I don't even mind the drunk yuppie fools spilling onto the sidewalk as long as these places get to continue their great work.

Posted by: iz at March 9, 2009 5:59 PM

Ugh. I hate it when I do that (not reread before posting). I meant 1:100 obviously, considering the tilt of my argument. Though I DO LOVE Blue Marble icecream, in park slope!!

Posted by: iz at March 9, 2009 6:00 PM

11217 and Snark, stop with that pretending you're two different people routine that sam got all wise to last week.

;-)

Posted by: Biff Champion at March 9, 2009 6:05 PM

Whoops, the jig's up!

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 9, 2009 6:43 PM

Let's not forget LouLou, and No. 7, Epoca, Marquet, Night of the Cookers, Scopella, the Austrian place across from BAM, Cafe Lafayette, Pequeno, Kif...Black Iris...One Greene (which was started as Sushi One), Olea...there are more, Cake Man Raven; and more bar/wine based: Mullane's, Stone Home Wine Bar (more food oriented), Moe's and Blue Moon for the younger set, and no one mentioned Junior's...not that it's right "in" FG or really that exciting now. And...lest we ignore another place that has weathered the changes: Hua Long...for what that's worth.

I forgot to mention that blocks in FG have won "Greenest Blook in Brooklyn" over the last years.

Again, I have to reiterate that the open house for the 2-bedroom 590,000 apartment was mobbed. I was astounded. Plus, it was a hike up four knee-crunching flights so you really had to want to see the place and make the effort.

Posted by: BrooklynGreene at March 9, 2009 9:07 PM

Blue Marble is on Underhill in Prospect Heights, or on Atlantic in Boerum Hill. Or have they opened a third? In any case, I love them too!

Posted by: babs at March 9, 2009 10:13 PM

thanks to the fortgreeners for all their helpful postings! i'm looking to buy this year and have narrowed down my search to fort greene and prospect heights. i'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on how the two neighborhoods compare? i'm very drawn to fort greene but my sense is that prospect heights might be a better investment because it has more room for growth than fg. am i off the mark?

Posted by: brooklyncurious at March 9, 2009 10:48 PM

An entire article on Fort Greene and not a single mention of my Alma Mater; Brooklyn Tech?
What gives?
How can you miss that giant antenna?
It's good enough for Nobel Prize winners, Astronauts and Billionaires, it should rate a mention in a NYTimes article.

Posted by: Legion at March 9, 2009 10:51 PM

And I quote:

"In the center of it all is Fort Greene Park, where play structures buzz with children, and trails are well trod by athletes from Brooklyn Technical High School"

Posted by: 11217 at March 9, 2009 11:09 PM

Brooklyncurious you've made excellent choices with FG & PH. Now we are biased but the missus used to live in PH so we've visited enough to say it has nothing on FG. We are not sure what you mean by "growth potential" but if you mean new development or the chance of an increase in population density then FG is hands down ahead.
Remember there is very little new development in all of PH while here we have massive condo projects along the Myrtle Ave corridor i.e. Toren, Avalon, Clermont, etc. These new developments will have difficulty selling in the next few years but will bring in more people and services when they go rental within the next year or so.
Did you mean growth as in long term real estate value? That will be difficult to predict given the economic climate but both neighborhoods are so well established that you probably can't go wrong if you are thinking long term .i.e. 5 to 10 years....

Posted by: pierre de taille at March 9, 2009 11:28 PM

Babs, thanks for the correction on Blue Marble. I guess I was stretching the map a little so I could say something nice about PS . . .

Posted by: iz at March 10, 2009 8:31 AM

Brooklyn Curious - I think you're right on the mark. FG is definitely a more desireable neighbrohood now. The housing stock is generally nice, there are more cool shops and restaurants, and FOrt Green Park is one of my faves in the city. Prices are a bit lower in Prospect Heights. Vanderbilt, Underhill and Washington have started to sprout up a cool collection of stores and restaurants, but still have a way to go. Given the current economic climate, I'd say that it'll take alot longer than I had originally hoped. Depending on where specifically you are in PH or FG subway access could be better in either neighborhood. PLus PH is closer to prospect park. I would say that in 5-8 PH will be were FG is today. By then, FG will fully park slopified. Good luck. There's no bad choice, they are both great neighborhoods. You might also look at Clinton Hill, which is similar to PH, with less subway access.

Posted by: Make My Heights the P Heights at March 10, 2009 10:49 AM

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March 9, 2009

The Times Wraps Its Arms Around Fort Greene

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