TONY: So. Portland Best Brownstone Block. Period.
In a surprise upset, South Portland Avenue was awarded the #1 ranking in Time Out NY’s Best Blocks issue. Ever since Charles Lockwood anointed it the best brownstone block in the city, it’s had a special place in consciousness of Brooklynites and architecture freaks, but, as much as we dig it, we were surprised that…
In a surprise upset, South Portland Avenue was awarded the #1 ranking in Time Out NY’s Best Blocks issue. Ever since Charles Lockwood anointed it the best brownstone block in the city, it’s had a special place in consciousness of Brooklynites and architecture freaks, but, as much as we dig it, we were surprised that it was able to take the top spot in the seven-factor model employed by TONY. Guess it’s just another sign of Fort Greene’s rise to city-wide prominence. Other Brooklyn blocks in the Top 10: Montgomery Place between Prospect Park West and Eighth Avenue, Park Slope (6); Coffey Street between Conover and Ferris Streets, Red Hook (8); Columbia Heights between Clark and Pierrepont Streets, Brooklyn Heights (18); and 11th Street between Prospect Park West and Eighth Avenue, Park Slope (20). Any glaring omissions that you can see?
The Rankings: 1-10 [TimeOutNY]
Tompkins Place in between Kane and Degraw in cobble hill
Best block in Best neighborhood. Don’t live there but wish i did.
dean and Pacific have too much traffic and noise to make it because many cars take it as an alternative to Atlantic ave.although I will admit those are stunning blocks. But the traffic probably hurt their rankings.
Where is Cobble Hill/Boerum Hill in all of this? I say Dean or Pacific St. between Hoyt and Bond.
I live on Coffey Street between Ferris and Conover Street and I must admit it’s like living in Brigadoon – a cute little street that appears out of nowhere. However,it is a bit premature to name it one of the top ten blocks in NYC. There’s not even an active block association and some of the homes are very rundown- like they don’t have windows! Thanks anyway TONY.
arnelo
while I do have issues with AY, and the shadows the buildings will cast, the shadow sweep diagram can be misleading. It is a sweep over a period of time on the shortest day of the year when the shadows will be the longest, so it is not representative of what it will be like. You could get the impression that all of Fort Greene will be in shadow all the time.
I’m not saying I’m happy with the shadow issues, I’m not, but broad generalizations are sometimes made.
Check out http://www.nolandgrab.org and you will see that this block will be in shadow most of the year if Atlantic Yards billion dollar boondoggle gets built
I think TONY has done a real service by picking nice representative blocks in many NON-Manhattan neighborhoods. It would be silly to take their designations literally–as many have pointed out there are other equally nice or nicer blocks in each area–but I’m impressed that out of the way areas, like the Longwood HD in the Bronx and the Hunters Point HD in L.I.C., made their list. (Of course, I’m sorry that no blocks in MY nabe were listed–my vote would be for Midwood bet. Flatbush & Bedford–but that’s a minor disappointment).
First time I set foot on South Portland was last year, winter time, late evening, coming out of the Lafayette stop and walking north towards the park. Now I’m a longtime New Yorker, but I swear I heard myself gasp before saying, out loud and to no one in particular, “This is the most beautiful block in New York.”
Whether it’s those trees, those high stoops, the wide sidewalks or the slight incline towards the park gates, with the park all hilly and high up behind the walls, there’s something spectacular about that street.
And yeah, it helps that it’s one stop from Manhattan by 2 subway lines (among 6 others in the area), that there are increasingly good restaurants around and that 2 bridges into manhattan are 5 minutes away by bike.
I’m totally not surprised, and commend TONY for actually having reporters scout enough to discover it, tucked away as it is behind the traffic hell of flatbush.
Forgot #31, Clinton Avenue between Myrtle and Park Avenues, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.