Fort Greene: City's Best Nabe?
Trying to crown one neighborhood as New York City’s best is kind of a silly exercise, but if you were to concentrate on the criteria of culture, community, diversity and architecture, there certainly is a good case to be made for Fort Greene. “In all my days and nights of walking neighborhoods and asking people…
Trying to crown one neighborhood as New York City’s best is kind of a silly exercise, but if you were to concentrate on the criteria of culture, community, diversity and architecture, there certainly is a good case to be made for Fort Greene. “In all my days and nights of walking neighborhoods and asking people why they live where they live, I have never encountered a place that has this much heart, soul and pride,” write Daily News correspondent Jason Sheftell. “More than ever, I found people who said they could never live anywhere else but right here.” Unfortunately for those just hearing about Fort Greene’s charms, the days of finding a real estate deal are long gone (though they may return soon enough!), but it’s still worth it. (The writer naively claims that the Brooklyn nabe is as expensive as the West Village. Not!) People here do not like any fakeness in their neighborhood and they pay higher rents for that, said Denis DuPreez, co-owner of the Dekalb Avenue restaurant Madiba. We have beauty, and we have the good people. It’s hard to argue with that.
Fort Greene: The best neighborhood in New York? [NYDN]
Photo by atomische.com
oops- apologies for misspellings. That’s what happens when i rush.
I’m glad you love ft. Greene so much- I’m just tired of the competition between neighborhoods- suffice it to say that every nighborhood offers something, I thought the last quote “we have the good people” was a hoot. Like only good people are in Ft. Greene? I’m not going to bash the neighborhood- I love Ft. greene. I love plenty of other Brooklyn neighborhoods, especially my own. I guess i don’t feel the need to enhance mine at the expense of others. In fact i don’t understand why pepole can’t just love their neighborhood for what it is, not for how they think it compares.
“We have beauty, and we have the good people.†We also have rising crime and human bodies being found in cardboard boxes in neighborhood parks. No thanks.
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/41/31_41_mm_c-hill_crime.html
Well, not that we need easily ridiculed publicity, but I have to say that for us, Fort Greene is just right. It’s the right scale, has an active community crossing many age, cultural, orientatin, and ethnic lines and, people need to realize, it has been a place where, for decades and still today, so-called “mixed” couples can feel at home and comfortable. Living in other parts of the NYC you might not have the same experience–from the horse’s mouth. This has been a big plus for us over the many decades.
The public transportation is absolutely excellent and no one should be arguing that point. The proximity to BAM’s theatres/cinemas is a real plus for us. The shopping has improved vastly over the years. Parking is easy (esp. right now…). People are friendly. The green market is very cozy and friendly. There are many, many playgrounds. The area is generally pretty and quiet but not way off the beaten track in the least. And, yes, over these last years, there are lots of new dining options, some of which are good. I dislike Smith St. to be honest. The feeling of the street and the difficulty in parking in that area is stressful and I’d rather have a nice, easy-going place to have dinner at a short walk from the house.
I cannot tell you how nice it is in the summer to stroll down to the LIRR and be able to catch a train all the way out to the East End to go to Shelter Island to visit friends and NEVER get in a car. That said, I suppose anyone living within walking distance of the Atlantic Terminal could say the same thing.
Look, I’m a Fort Greene booster…but I felt I had to have my say. I’m not saying other neighborhoods are not wonderful. I’m just saying that for those of us who call Fort Greene home, we tend to really, really like it. It’s like the village that you don’t want to leave. Park Slope has lots of shops and amenities, and of course, coveted public schools if your kids are that age, but it feels much more “big city” than Fort Greene.
Brooklyn Heights feels non-villagey, although more consolidated and prettier, richer, etc…it feels like a morgue sometimes.
The other areas mentioned above may be more expensive than Fort Greene but none of them feels quite so homey and villagesque. In fact, some areas feel a bit like Hoboken with the level of young professionals trapsing back and forth. It kind of lowers the neighborhoodiness for me.
ms bg
Thanks for asking him, ENY. No one ever thinks they are “ready”. That’s not the point. People love works in progress, since most people are always at that point. No one has perfection. The tour highlights the way people live, their ties to the community, the architecture, as well as fabulously (or not) renovated homes. We’ll keep trying!
“How you like me now, biatches!”
We pretty much still think you’re an idiotic, anti-semetic douchebag, but thanks for asking!
How you like me now, biatches!
“And look, he is paying solicitous attention to a tres ordinaire Caucasian lady.”
She’s his tenant.
Agree with DaveinBedStuy about that hottie guy on the stoop. And look, he is paying solicitous attention to a tres ordinaire Caucasian lady. The hell with the damn schools, I’m moving to Fort Greene!