Brooklyn Heights OR Park Slope?
If houses cost the *SAME* in Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope, which neighborhood would you prefer to live in? (serious question!) Also, does anyone know why the retail offerings on Montague are so slim?
If houses cost the *SAME* in Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope, which neighborhood would you prefer to live in? (serious question!)
Also, does anyone know why the retail offerings on Montague are so slim?
Brooklyn Heights. I also agree with the East side/West side comparison. Brooklyn Heights feels quieter and also seems a little less skewed toward young families/ school aged kids. There is less retail in Brooklyn Heights and much less in the way of food etc. So maybe that gives you a flavor. I like Brooklyn Heights for all the transportation choices. When I lived there, I traveled by subway, at all times of night and could go to Lincoln Center and come home by subway. I wouldn’t do that on the goddamned C train now where I live, though Fort Greene has its own charms. I prefer the more tucked in feeling of Brooklyn Heights.
I pretty much agree with all these comments. Plus let us not forget the amazing Park Slope food coop where one can be abused and get the best, fresh, never frozen Alaska salmon for $10 a pound ($30 elsewhere).
BoerumResident has it right: if your life is primarily in Manhattan, Brooklyn Heights is for you. If you have a family or plan to start one and want a more family-friendly-oriented neighborhood, then Park Slope is the one to go with. It has the park (duh), a reasonable selection of good public schools, and a whole lotta families. Then again, BH can be family-friendly, too, especially if you are connected to the private school scene. So, there’s a longer-term economic consideration, too, if you are family-minded.
I tend to think Brooklyn Heights : Upper East Side. Park Slope : Upper West Side. Anyone agree with me?
I lived in Brooklyn Heights for years. I still think that the north Heights (the fruit tree streets, Middagh, and Poplar) has some of the prettiest blocks anywhere. In terms of restauarants, the Heights has never had that great a selection, but Henry’s End is fabulous and has been there for years. Montague Street isn’t worth it and will never be the same without Armandos, but I think living there has never been about going out to a different restaurant every night — people have a more home-centered life.
Similarly, it was never about the public schools. No Heights kids ever went to public school until real estate prices got so insane. With St. Ann’s, Packer Collegiate, Brooklyn Friends, etc., all in the Heights, it just wasn’t something people thought of.
But PS 8 has made huge progress in recent years, as more “middle class” students are coming back (a la what happened to PS 321). It did get an F on its recent NYC report card, but these reports are so controversial I wouldn’t really trust them. Check out the comments on insideschools.org for more info.
Personally, I prefer the Heights to Park Slope — it’s a smaller neighborhood and feels more intimate and the convenience of all those subway trains can’t be beat. I think part of what makes some Park Slope people act so snobby and entitled is overcompensation for their not living in the Heights.
I think Park Slope is a little bit more down to earth than Brooklyn Heights… I like Brooklyn Heights but it feels like a chunk of the UES broke off and floated down the east river. Brooklyn Heights I do not find to be a friendly neighborhood at all. Park Slope is a little better, a little when it comes to hospitality. I like the Queen Anne Architecture of PS also but that is just my taste. Brooklyn Heights is the oldest Brownstone neighborhood in Brooklyn but I like the later styles.
I lived in North PS as you people say for 6 years and it was great when I first came but as time goes on I see it becoming more like Brooklyn Heights every day. Six, seven yers ago when you made eye contact with some you would say hello people would respond but today if you say hello to someone in Park Slope they look at you like you have egg on your face…. Park Slope and Brooklyn Height both are not really all that bad if you are that type of bourgeoisie person.
There’s a theatre on 14th in PS. Six screens or something. Not great, but not terrible.
I hate to repeat what so many have already said, but it really does depend on your personality. Things to consider:
–There are more subway lines going through BH
–There are more & better supermarkets in PS
–There aren’t really any parks in BH, so if you have kids/dog you have to go down to cobble hill or up the the cadman plaza park.
–PS has more restaurant options, but if you are in south BH, you can always go to cobble hill which has a lot of restaurants
–There are 2 movie threatres in BH, 1 mainstream on Court, 1 indie on way up on Henry street. Is there a threatre in PS?
So as you can see, it really depends on what matters to you.
My comments about the Park Slope commute assumed that a) you were not commuting to wall street from BH, and b) You live in the north slope area and can use the B/Q without having to transfer.
I work a block away from the 34th St. B/Q stop, and live five blocks from the 7th Ave B/Q stop in Park Slope. It’s at most five minutes longer than it would be from BH, and it’s probably faster on most days since I don’t ever have to transfer and can take whichever train comes first.
Yeh, if you’re going to lower manhattan, BH is way faster than Park Slope. And if you’re looking to move to center/south slope, and are stuck on the F, that slows things down too.
It really depends what your priorities are. I see BH as older and stodgier, but there are some of the most charming residential blocks in the entire city are near the Brooklyn Bridge (mostly brownstones, very expensive). The pre-war buildings up Montague near the promenade have high monthly fees but offer a very civilized lifestyle with lots of conveniences. The local elementary school, PS 8, has a failing grade from the Board of Ed.
Park Slope is younger, has much better shopping/dining offerings, and is more varied in housing stock. You’ll definitely get more bang for your buck; the one downside is the longer commute to Manhattan – depending on which part of the Slope you live in.