Park Slope

Park Slope is a family-friendly Brooklyn neighborhood named for its location on the western slope of Prospect Park. This beautifully landscaped park opened in 1863. Many of Park Slope’s gorgeous Victorian mansions and elegant rowhouses were built soon after. More than 2,500 buildings built between 1862 and 1902 are included in the 40-block Park Slope Historic District, making this the largest landmark preservation district in New York City.

 

Park Slope’s tree-lined streets feature an enticing mix of spacious historic brownstones and grand townhouses. Housing options include spacious apartments in low and mid-rise pre-war co-ops and spectacular turn-of-the-century mansions.

 

Park Slope has a genteel residential atmosphere on streets surrounding Brooklyn’s signature green space. Designed by Central Park’s landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, this 90-acre park is Brooklyn’s signature green space. While much of the neighborhood feels blissfully quiet, there are also a few bustling commercial streets offering an eclectic mix of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bookstores, and boutiques. Nearby attractions include the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and two branches of the Brooklyn Public Library. These institutions attract many academics, intellectuals, and creatives to this refined corner of Brooklyn.

 

Fifth and Seventh Avenues run for the length of the Park Slope neighborhood, offering a wide-ranging choice of popular local eateries. Authentic Israeli restaurant Miriam is a brunch favorite. The flavorful dishes here are prepared with seasonal ingredients, many of which are imported directly from Israel. Al Di La Trattoria offers refined Northern Italian cuisine in an elegant old-world space decorated with velvet drapes and chandeliers. 

 

Other options for Italian dining include romantic Convivium Osteria and laidback La Villa. You can also dine on flavorful Pan-Latin cuisine and cocktails at Bogota Latin Bistro, inventive variations on Vietnamese fare at Bricolage, platters of outstanding Ethiopian eats at Ghenet, and delicious Japanese noodle bowls at Naruto Ramen. Brooklyn’s most famous culinary offering is its pizza.

 

Park Slope is also home to three strong contenders for the hotly disputed accolade of Brooklyn’s best pizzeria: Artichoke Basille’s Pizza, Patsy’s Pizzeria, and Two Boots. Park Slope Food Coop is one of the neighborhood’s most unique food purveyors. One of the nation’s oldest and most active food coops, Park Slope Food Coop’s 17,000 members can pick up a great selection of organic local produce, grass-fed meat, and gourmet cheeses in exchange for volunteering.

 

Park Slope’s proximity to Prospect Park has been a major draw since the park opened to the public in the 19th Century. Prospect Park shares a similarly important role in Brooklyn as Central Park has in Manhattan. Prospect Park was also laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the famed landscape architects largely responsible for Central Park’s iconic layout. Spanning an area of 90 acres, this beautiful green space’s many attractions include the hilltop 19th Century Italianate Litchfield Villa, a boathouse situated on Brooklyn’s only lake, the Concert Grove Pavilion used for outdoor performances, and Prospect Park Zoo. Several other major attractions are located at the park’s periphery. With a collection of 1.5 million art pieces and 560,000 square feet of floor space, the Brooklyn Museum is the third largest museum in all New York City. Other attractions bordering Prospect Park include the picturesque oval entranceway of Grand Army Plaza and gorgeous plant displays of the 52-acre Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

 

Park Slope is served by the New York City Department of Education and offers its students an abundance of academic opportunities, including: