Spring is here, and with the weather getting warmer there’s no better time to explore New York City than right now! New York is packed with activities, ranging from; wining, dining, shopping, and countless entertainment opportunities likely to keep you engaged for hours.
Manhattan is packed with fantastic places to visit, The Empire State, Times Square, and even Central Park, but what if you want to enjoy a different side of New York? well then look no further than Brooklyn’sProspect Park!
Prospect Park is a beautiful place to visit, packed with plenty of natural sceneries to enjoy and even its own library and botanical garden!
Prospect Park covers over 500 acres of land in Brooklyn and is home to a wide collection of waterways, ravines, lakes, paths, playgrounds, BBQ spots, and even stages. The park also features a number of bike trails, concert halls, picnic spots, and much more for anyone looking to visit Prospect Park.
Prospect Park has also added new recreational facilities ranging from, basketball courts, soccer fields, and a tennis center. The park is also home to an ice skating ring during the winter making it the perfect place to visit during any season!
You can also check out The Boathouse, where you can rent out a kayak or a pedal boat to cruise around the Prospect Park Lake.
Prospect Park is a beautiful place to visit, with amazing natural sceneries that make it an ideal place for a picnic. The park is also home to a few street car vendors selling pretzels, sodas, and even hotdogs however if you’re looking for something more then don’t fret!
Plus you can even pickup some reading material for your picnic from one of the various bookstores available in Park Slope.
Overall Prospect Park is a fantastic place to visit, their collection of natural sceneries, wide range of picnic spots, and entertainment opportunities will leave you coming back for more. In fact wit so much to do in the park your only question should be how to get to Prospect Park.
You may initially look towards public transit like the MTA’s train or bus routes, but those options are hardly reliable, not to mention completely unsafe. So then what is the best way to get to Prospect Park? a limo or car service of course!
Summer is just around the corner, and with the weather getting warmer New York City is the perfect visiting spot for any vacation. New York is packed with shopping, dining, and entertainment likely to keep any visitor engaged for hours, and there’s no better place to experience this then in Downtown Brooklyn!
Downtown Brooklyn has recently experienced a rise in popularity, largely thanks to its new assortment of shopping, dining, and outside activities that make any visit downtown a memorable one. Additionally Downtown Brooklyn has a seen boom in high-rises and commercial office spaces, so don’t be surprised to find towering skyscrapers when visiting the city.
Despite it’s sudden rise Downtown Brooklyn is still home a variety of local shops and street vendors, so be sure to say hi to the residents of the city!
What to do in Downtown Brooklyn.
Downtown Brooklyn is packed with restaurants, shopping, and endless entertainment scattered all throughout the city. You can even enjoy dining outside were you may even find a few street performers dancing on the sidewalk. Overall Downtown Brooklyn is the perfect visiting spot for your vacation. Now the only question left is how to get to Downtown Brooklyn, and while you may be tempted to take the MTA, there’s a much better way.
Spring is here! and with the weather finally getting warmer its time to get out of the house and enjoy everything the city has to offer. There’s no better place to have fun in the sun than in Downtown Brooklyn, their collection of shopping, dining, and outdoor entertainment makes it an ideal visiting spot for your spring vacation!
You’ll often find residents and visitors packing the streets and plazas, enjoying music and watching street performers. There are also a number of pop-up shops that will be set up during the mornings.
Downtown Brooklyn is packed with entertainment ranging from street performers, artists, and even vendors! Additional flowers are planted along the streets and plaza’s will even fill up with dancers. This can make for a beautiful sight for first time visitors as they can experience Downtown Brooklyn’s vibrant culture first hand. On top of that the area features a great deal of local dining in case you get hungry during your visit.
Spring is finally here! and there’s no better way to spend it than in the great outdoors! New York has been waiting out the cold for a while and with spring finally making an appearance you’ll find that the city has come alive. Cart vendors, outdoor dining, street performers, pop-up shops, and even farmers markets can be found scattered all throughout the city.
This now includes Downtown Brooklyn, who’s recent redevelopment projects have finally completed, leading to a boom in culture within its plaza.
Downtown Brooklyn is now home to a number of vendors, street performers, and pop-up shops of its own, making it an ideal visit for your vacation.
How Do I Get to Downtown Brooklyn?
Downtown Brooklyn’s collection of outdoor activities and entertainment options can lead to quite a few memorable moments during your tour. In fact with so much to do in the town your only concern should be how to get to Downtown Brooklyn. You may be tempted to try your luck with public transit but those options aren’t exactly safe. So then what’s the best method of transportation to Downtown Brooklyn.
Welcome to one of the biggest parks in Brooklyn: Prospect Park!
Prospect Park covers over 500 acres of land and is home to a collection of waterways, ravines, lakes, paths, playgrounds, BBQ spots, and even stages!
The park is also filled with landmarks and structures scattered throughout the area, including the two columns outside the entrance of Bartel-Pritchard Square.
Prospect Park is also home to a few bicycle paths for anyone wanting to bike throughout the park.
Prospect Park may not be as big or as famous as Central Park but that does not mean that it doesn’t have its own visual spectacles or entertainment opportunities. Prospect Park’s redesigns have led to the addition of the Prospect Park Zoo, a picnic house, a concert grove, The Boathouse, and even the Litchfield Villa. The new modernization of the park also added new facilities such as basketball courts, baseball fields, soccer fields, The Prospect Park Tennis Center, and even an ice skating ring for winter.
Prospect Park was established during the late 1860’s and was designed by the same people who designed Central Park. Throughout the years the park would undergo numerous redesigns and refurbishments in order to both modernize the park and clean it up. A new waterway would be built through the park, making use of the preexisting ponds and lowland out-wash plains in order to make a drainage. Today, the park is the sight of beautiful natural sceneries that are worth a visit.
Visitors can even rent a kayak or a pedal boat to take a cruise around the Prospect Park Lake.
What if I want something to eat?
Prospect Park might have a few street cart vendors selling pretzels, sodas, and even hotdogs but if you’re looking to explore more food options than you’re better off going up to Park Slope.
Prospect Park has an entrance leading into Park Slope, there you’ll find the area littered with lively bars and restaurants offering top tier foreign cuisine. Whether you’re looking to sit down and eat or take your food to go you’ll definitely want to visitPark Slope.
You can even make a quick stop at Barnes & Noble or one of the local bookstores to enjoy some reading during your picnic.
Even during the winter Prospect Park offers fantastic activities for those visiting. Despite the weather you’ll still find plenty of residents taking a stroll through the park or even jogging and biking. Prospect Park also opens up their ice rink during this time, so be sure to pop on down to the park!
Prospect Park has beautiful sights, and with its wide selection of entertainment opportunities it’s a perfect spot for enjoying a picnic. In fact your only concern should be how to get to Prospect Park. While you may be tempted to take the train or the bus, those options are not only grimy, they’re also unsafe. If you want to know the best way to get to Prospect Park than look no further than New York’s extensive car service’s!
Ordering a limo/car service may seem to excessive for just going to the park, however now a days the experience is both affordable and unforgettable. It’s also no secret that traveling with your own chauffeur is an experience like no other, So why not book that experience today?
What are the rates for a limo or car service to or from Prospect Park?
Welcome to Brooklyn’s most desirable neighborhoods to live in! Park Slope is not only one of New York’s wealthiest neighborhoods but is also full of activities for visitors to enjoy. While most of New York City is going through a redevelopment period, Brooklyn has managed to maintain some of its old brownstone architecture. This is large in part because of the efforts of conservationists in the area. Park Slope is lined with brownstone houses and apartment buildings that were built as far back as the 1880’s. Most of these old buildings were renovated during the 1960’s and are now home to over 60,000 people in the neighborhood.
Today, the neighborhood is littered with top-rated restaurants, lively bars, and many different kinds of shops. Park Slope’s collection of clothing stores and foreign cuisine make it excellent for a vacation. The neighborhood features many kinds of restaurants some of which are exclusively women owned! If you truly want to experience Park Slope at its best, come down during a holiday. Whether it’s Halloween, Christmas or just a nice sunny day, you’ll find the neighborhood is always lively with vibrant culture.
The area that is now Brooklyn was originally settled by the Canarsee, a former Native American tribe. In the late 1630’s, early European settlers purchased the area and used it as farmland for the next two centuries. However the area still remained largely undeveloped, soon the land would be split up, sold, and turned into more farmland. During the 1830’s Brooklyn would be incorporated as a city and the Park Slope area saw a few key additions. Large parts of Brooklyn were actually owned by lawyer and land developer Edwin Clark Litchfield. Litchfield purchased these tracts of land back when they were used for farming, he would then sell them off during the Civil War. During the 1860s Park Slope would be further developed thanks to the addition of Prospect Park.
New York would experience a population boom during the late 1800’s. With many residents flooding the outside boroughs, Brooklyn became one of the United States’ most populous county’s. During this boom Brooklyn would begin to see a variety of Brownstone buildings constructed throughout the borough
Once the park was developed horse-drawn rail cars would help bring many wealthy New Yorkers into the neighborhood. In the early 19th century transit improved in the area and most of the roads in Flatbush and Jamaica would be widened. Locomotives would be added to Brooklyn thanks to the development of the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad, however this did little to increase residential growth. Park Slope’s proximity to Prospect Park and easy access, thanks to public transit, made it a favorite amongst wealthy individuals visitingNew York. Brooklyn would eventually be added into what is now the City of Greater New York back in 1898.
It was in the late 1940’s that Park Slope would see another population increase, largely due to Colonel Daniel Richards. Richards made many proposals to the New York Legislature in an effort to renovate Park Slope. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge further helped in the development of the neighborhood, allowing residents easier transit into Manhattan. while before the only way to get in was through having a driver take you to Park Slope, that soon changed. This meant many wealthy and upper-middle class residents moved out of Park Slope and into the outer neighborhoods. Most of the previous residents would move to places like Westchester County and even New Jersey. The residents that chose to stay within the city would move to places like Greenpoint and most famously the Upper East Side.
Eventually the adoption of the automobile allowed Manhattan to gain socio economic dominance over the rest of New York City. With New York experiencing a population boom Park slope began to renovate its Victorian mansions into apartment complexes and houses.
This caused the neighborhood to become much more working class and led to the development of more upscale apartment buildings. With automobiles becoming more commercially viable, you could even take a taxi to the neighborhood. Many of the previous residents moved out of the area with only a portion of the wealthier residents remaining in the neighborhood. Eventually in the 1950’s the neighborhood would consist of mainly working class Italian Americans and Irish Americans. Then in the 1960’s Park Slope would see an influx of Black and Latino residents, many of the previous white residents would move out into suburbs during this time. The neighborhood would face violent hate crimes due to the influx of different cultures. In the early 1970’s the neighborhood would begin a renovation trend that helped Park Slope regain its desirable status.
Many young professionals began to buy up the housing stock and brownstones in order to renovate and restructure them.
Rooming houses would be converted into duplexes and family homes during this time with many of them given landmark status thanks to preservationists in the neighborhood. This led to the beginning of a gentrification boom in the late 1970’s and it would increase in the 1980’s. Sadly, New York would see a massive crime wave during this time, with muggings and shootings occurring in Park Slope daily. The increase of gentrification in the 80’s and 90’s has caused Park Slope to return to its status as one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Largely thanks to many upper middle-class families being pushed out of Manhattan and into the outer borough.
Today the neighborhood has retained its historic brownstone architecture while still keeping up with trends of the time.
Park Slope is filled with greenery, sidewalks are tree-lined, and most buildings have a front garden. Residents are some of the friendliest in the city and will welcome you with open arms into their neighborhood. Park Slope’s main streets are lined with restaurants, and cafes, most of them being found on 7th avenue and 5th avenue.
If you decide to take a stroll down 7th avenue you’ll also notice that the avenue is lined with churches with the most noticeable one being the Old First Reformed Church. 7th avenue may be the more traditional street of Park Slope but it is still lined with upbeat shops and restaurants for visitors to enjoy.
Further down you’ll come across 5th avenue, a street packed with upbeat bars, unique restaurants and all sorts of shops for anyone visiting. If you need to get some work done then you’ll be happy to know that 5th Avenue has plenty of cafes for you to sit in.
There are also all types of cuisine for anyone looking to experience something different, whether that be Colombian food, an Oyster Bar, or maybe just an old fashioned steak house! Both avenues are packed with places to dine, it may not hurt to take transportation down to Park Slope to try different cuisines. Thrift stores, record shops, and many other shops are also plentiful in the avenue, with new stores popping up every day. There are also a number of boutiques and vintage clothing shops scattered around the area. You can find many different types of stores in 5th avenue, however it is also home to many historic buildings as well.
Park Slope is also home to a few local event venues, the most well known being Union Hall. The hall is a 5,000 Square foot venue used for music events and comedy shows and features an indoor restaurant and bar. You’ll also find that Union Hall has outdoor seating in the gardens, and even a fireplace!
This combined with the hall’s small library can make for a cozy spot for anyone looking to relax with a book in hand. Union Hall also hosts events for the holidays, so if you’re taking a vacation to New York take a car service down to Park Slope and get a feel for the local events!
The main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is also located on Park Slope, specifically on Grand Army Plaza. Original construction of the Central Library began in 1912 along with construction of Grand Army Plaza. Completion of the Central Library would be slowed due to political infighting and would remain in limbo until the 1930’s. The project would be picked back up by different architects and would be redesigned into an art deco style. The building would be completed in the late 1940’s and the second floor in 1955.
The Central Library now employs 300 employees and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. The Library now offers many programs and services including meeting rooms, passport services, and even technological classes. The Central Library also houses an auditorium with over a hundred seats called the Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture. The facilities auditorium hosts lectures, readings, musicals, and even performances, along with a number of outdoor events during the summer.
Park Slope has gone through many changes yet has managed to retain its desirable status. its historic architecture makes it an excellent example of pre-war brownstone and brick buildings. You can experience all types of cuisine just by walking down the avenue, with some streets being packed with restaurants. Other streets are littered with boutiques, vintage stores and even thrift stores! Though if you just want to sit down with a book, you’ll love Park Slope’s cafe’s, and libraries. Park Slope will always have an event to enjoy, so take a limo down to Brooklyn, and enjoy visitingPark Slope.
Welcome to Downtown Brooklyn! one of the oldest cities in the United States and yet despite its history it’s a new city compared to the bustling Manhattan. As of 2010, Brooklyn houses over 2 million residents who all commute, live, and work in Downtown Brooklyn. The neighborhood is located Northwest of the Brooklyn Borough and has become New York City’s central tech hub over the years. Currently, Downtown Brooklyn contains 3 separate malls, its own arena, new high rise buildings, its own industrial zone along with plenty of schools to choose from and even has a couple of well known buildings in the area. This means that Downtown Brooklyn is currently filled with shops for visitors and even a stadium, this makes it an excellent choice for your next vacation! Two of its main buildings are the Williamsburgh Savings Bank and the MetroTech Center complex. One of the main reason that Brooklyn has began its ascension into the business side of New York is through how close Brooklyn is to Lower Manhattan. Downtown Brooklyn is one of the first neighborhoods you can go into right out of Manhattan, this has helped propel Brooklyn into the third largest central business district in New York City, this was later confirmed by a report done by the Regional Plan Association. The man who helped with Brooklyn’s new rise to dominance is Howard Golden, who believed that Downtown Brooklyn should work together with Manhattan because of its proximity.
Until about 1814, the Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights are would remain sparsely populated. This would come to change due to a man named Robert Fulton, Who also believed in what Howard Golden did, helped Brooklyn rise to what it is today. To start, Brooklyn was made into a suburban area at first, though it would eventually become a new commercial center in the city. During the 1850’s certain Brooklyn churches went against slavery, some would even act as a safehouse in order to help the Underground Railroad movement. The 19th century growth of the Port of New York caused shipping to influence the City of Brooklyn. This led to Brooklyn being initially used as the manufacturing district of New York City, it would become filled with different warehouses and factories. This was a direct influence of the construction of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridge, and helped further Brooklyn’s rise in business. There was a complete revamp of the area following World War 2, this was done to widen its streets, add major housing projects and allowed the Brooklyn Bridge to be modernized. During the late 1960’s a plan was completed by the city that was made in order to help Brooklyn have more commercial and office spaces available. The City Planning Commission then stated, “Downtown Brooklyn’s economy is vital to the borough and important to the entire metropolitan region.”.
Ariel view of Downtown Brooklyn during the middle of the day.
after Robert Fulton transformed the neighborhood to a commercial hub, Brooklyn was no longer meant for residential living, at first, this meant that a massive rezoning of the Downtown Brooklyn area had to be done. However the rezoning took a very long time to come through and was only really done in 2004, despite this it has allowed for more denser residential areas to develop. The area has seen the arrival of new condominium towers, townhouses, and office conversions and has led to more than 30,000 new residents to move into Downtown Brooklyn. The city was also seeking to improve the connections between downtown and the neighborhoods of Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and Fort Greene. In March 2012 the area was going through heavy remodeling, 2 years later an affordable housing plan was put into place with over 400 new units put into place.
Downtown Brooklyn now features multiple well known shops, Most of which are located near the acclaimed Barclay’s Center. Which is smacked in the middle of Downtown Brooklyn. The area will also sometimes hosts pop up events for tourist visiting.
Downtown Brooklyn hosts holiday pop-up shops and diners, the most recent of which is being set up for the month of December. Whether that be the Borough Hall market that’ll last until the 26th, or Santa visiting until the 18, there’s something for every visit.
The Downtown Brooklyn area contains multiple municipal buildings, halls, and courthouses along with a handful of schools to choose from. The Borough Hall at times is used as a farmers market and contains fresh produce from farmers around the New York area. Downtown Brooklyn also has multiple options for shopping, dining, and drinking with almost 200 options in bars and restaurants. Multiple 7-eleven’s, Multiple pizza shops, a variety of coffee shops and bakeries, and a lot of different Asian cuisine and burger places to choose from. Downtown Brooklyn also has multiple apparel and beauty shops to choose from along with a few art exhibits to enjoy. Adidas, Banana Republic, Burlington, H&M, GAP, Macy’s, Nordstrom Rack, Target, and even Uniqlo making a visit more than worth it. Downtown Brooklyn is also home to a few malls and even art exhibits for anyone looking for some inspiration.
Downtown Brooklyn has recently been adding many statues honoring people. Most recent of which is a 9 foot sculpture of The Notorious B.I.G.! The artist molded both bronze and steel to create a mural that honors both African American sculpting styles and the hip-hop artist himself. The mural can be easily seen when taking a taxi into the city.
City Point is a mix of both residential and commercial use for the Downtown Brooklyn area and it was completed as recently as 2020. City Point contains multiple books stores, apparel shops, and restaurants to choose from along with its own movie theater and even weekly giveaways. The mall had technically been established in 2004 but it wasn’t until an influx of tourist visitingBrooklyn that paved way for the opening of the mall back in 2015. This helped the neighborhood build a stronger community thanks to the explosion of vibrant culture in the area. While City Point is Downtown Brooklyn’s newest mall it’s not its biggest, that title belongs to Atlantic Terminal Mall. Atlantic Terminal Mall is a combination of two shopping malls into one which is why there appears to be two entrances. Both Malls are connected via an enclosed bridge from a Target inside. In addition, Atlantic Terminal Mall is also an office building and part of the ticket office of the Long Island Rail Road. The Downtown Brooklyn area was also approved for another rezoning project which allowed for the revamp of the Fulton Mall. The area is a walkable transit mall that has been around since the 1980’s and redesigned for the commercial and residential influx. The Fulton Mall was revamped once again during the mid 2000’s and now holds Macy’s, H&M, Gap, GameStop, Foot Locker, and Finish Line. The Fulton area is also going through its own revamp with the construction of the 625 Fulton, which aims to create in additional 79 floor mixed-use skyscraper. In total the mall contains over 230 stores and even has its own dedicated bus lanes, at the center is a mall and an open space known as Albee Square.
Shopping and dining are not the only options available to the public for entertainment. The Downtown Brooklyn area is also home to the Barclays Center, a multi-purpose indoor arena. The arena is home of the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Liberty basketball teams and also hosts concerts, conventions and other entertainment events. on occasion, the stadium will host graduations for its nearby universities and colleges. The Barclays Center was also a part of an over 4 billion dollar future business and residential complex. The arena was brought forward by Bruce Ratner, and despite it being stuck in development hell for almost a decade prior, the arena finally opened to public during September 2012. However if you’re looking for something more modest you can also visit the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). BAM is a performing arts venue, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performances. The venue was originally located in the Brooklyn Heights and its first performance was in the early 1860’s. The facility was burned down in the early 1900’s which led to the facility being moved to Fort Greene and from 1906 to 1908 a series of openings would occur for the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Some areas in the neighborhood seem to be empty, this is due to the city of Brooklyn rapidly expanding.
Downtown Brooklyn also hosts the New York Transit Museum, which displays historical artifacts of New York City; subway, buses, and commuter rail systems in the greater New York City metropolitan region. The museum is located within a subway station which was originally called Court Street and on July 4, 1976, the New York City Transit Exhibit was opened in the decommissioned underground station as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration. Old subway cars as well as models and other exhibits are displayed in the museum, it had originally not been planned to be opened this long but so many people enjoyed the display that it remained. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority had acquired the museum during the mid 1990’s which helped expand the museum’s display of trains. While it seems that Downtown Brooklyn went through a major remodeling that changed the landscape entirely, it still holds some of its old industrial roots.
In the Northeastern corner of the neighborhood there is an area called Bridge Plaza. Previously connected to Vinegar Hill, it is a now an isolated region of Brooklyn that is a mix of garages and auto shops with a few warehouses scattered around the area. This was the effect of both the construction of the BQE and the surrounding area only allowing industrial zoning. Bridge Plaza is known for having a notable home (167 Concord Street) which is famous for being the only “pretty” house in that area.
