New York City has long been considered the center of the world and for good reason, its home a wide variety of people, religions, and communities. With so many different people in one place The Big Apple has developed a vibrant culture that’s littered all throughout the five boroughs, Brooklyn being no exception.
Brooklyn has recently gone through a redevelopment period that has allowed for the city to begin major construction project. Recently the borough finished construction on its first skyscraper, marking the beginning of a new era for the city.
While Downtown Brooklyn may be remodeling, some parts of Brooklyn hold a long history within its walls, such being the case with Park Slope, one of Brooklyn’s most popular neighborhoods.
Park Slope has long been one of Brooklyn’s most visited neighborhoods and for very good reason. Park Slope is home to amazing restaurants to wine and dine that also feature excellent cuisine from all over the world. Additionally, the neighborhood is littered with both large brand stores and local owned shops that are all worth a visit.
Plus its proximity to Prospect Park means you can always stop by and enjoy a picnic by the grass.
Park Slope also holds events and parades during any season, making it the perfect place to visit during your vacation.
Most of Park Slope’s shopping and dining can done on its main avenues, with some of them even holding bars and grills to enjoy on your tour. Park Slope sells more than just clothes and souvenirs, it even holds flower shops and some local book stores.
Park Slope is home to many lounges and diners where anyone can come in and enjoy a relaxing time. Most diners in the area feature your standard menu, however you may find that some places offer cheap drinks compared to an actual bar. Additionally, Park Slopes main avenues are lined with pubs and bars that provide outside seating making it perfect for enjoying the warm summer weather.
Most of these places can be found on 5th and 7th avenue, with 7th avenue also being home to the New York Methodist Hospital.
Park Slope’s restaurants offer excellent foreign cuisine that range from; Mediterranean, French, Columbian, and even Japanese! You can also find a few Pan-Latin eats and even a Fusion restaurant for anyone trying to expand their taste.
If you do plan on visiting one of Park Slope’s restaurants, keep in mind most of them open after 4 PM
Park Slope is also home to quite a few Mexican spots, along Italian, and even Thai food!
While both of Park Slope’s avenues are packed with restaurants, you’ll the best of them lined on 5th Avenue, so come down and visit!
Park Slope is home to a variety of shopping and dining that makes visiting Brooklyn during your vacation a must. Not to mention a wide range of entertainment opportunities that’ll keep you engaged for hours. Now the only question is how to get to Park Slope, and while you may be tempted to try your luck with the MTA, there’s a much better way.
From Broke to Brownstones: Park Slope is more than its Nightlife.
There’s no doubt that New York City has garnered a reputation for its massive collection of shops, restaurants, bars, and lounges. With so many options it can be hard to choose where to go to next, but might we point your attention to one of the outer boroughs, Brooklyn.
Park Slope is littered with lively bars and restaurants offering top tier foreign cuisine to anyone visiting. Most of these restaurants can be found on Park Slope’s main avenues, 7th Avenue and 5th Avenue.
7th Avenue is lined with sushi spots like Katsuei, Mediterranean food from Miriam, and Fausto’s Italian food that makes any vacation incomplete without a visit to Park Slope. 7th Avenue also has a wide selection of Japanese, Mexican, and even French cuisine!
When did Park Slope Develop?
Park Slope’s brownstones were developed as early as the 19th century, at the time the neighborhood would begin see additions ranging from locomotives to whole parks. These additions would attract wealthy New Yorkers who began to flock to the outer boroughs, like Queens or in this case Brooklyn.
Developers bought the farmland then contracted carpenters and brick workers to craft the brownstones into what you see today. These workers were often foreign immigrants who fled from countries all over the world to find work in New York. You can often see influences of their cultures based on the design of the brownstone.
The original owner, Edwin Clark Litchfield, would sell off this land to multiple buyers during the Civil War.
Brownstone was originally used for stoops on brick townhouses, eventually the materials durability and malleability made it ideal for construction.
If you’re planning on buying a souvenir then look no further than 5th Avenue‘s, Gift Man or OM Gift Shop. 5th Avenue even has its own record store! Fifth Avenue Record Shop.
Park Slope‘s main avenues are lined with a massivecollection of high end clothing stores and boutiques making it a must visit during your vacation.
7th Avenue is also littered with women’s clothing stores like KIWI and Min-K. The BLOK HILL clothing store also features a home goods department BLOK HAUS.
7th Avenue is lined with churches, the most noticeable being the Old First Reformed Church, whose bell tower is easily spotted in the skyline.
What are Brownstones?
A brownstone refers to one house out of a row of houses, typically made of sandstone.
Park Slope is now home to a number of brownstones that took inspiration from different cultures and styles. You may see examples of Italianate, Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival, and even Renaissance Revival within the neighborhood.
Brownstones were built while horse carriage was still prevalent so they often featured stoops ascending to the entrance of the parlor floor in order to avoid manure on the street level. The ground floor is usually a few steps down from the street level and was typically used by servants.
Sadly some of these Brownstones are being demolished to make way for modern, cookie-cutter houses.
What are the best prices for a car/limo service to Park Slope?
The best prices to or from Park Slope will vary depending on where your hotel may be located, if you are coming in from Manhattan the best prices for a limo service are as follows;
Vehicle Class
Uptown – Park Slope
Midtown – Park Slope
Downtown – Park Slope
LUX Sedan
$166.35
$149.29
$129.38
LUX SUV 6
$197.93
$176.26
$150.97
LUX SUV 7
$216.22
$192.24
$164.27
Premium SUV
$237.43
$217.56
$217.56
Prices may vary depending on specific locations.
What are the best prices for a car/limo service to Park Slope from outer boroughs?
Park Slope’s collection of vintage shops, unique restaurants, and lively nightlife make any visit worthwhile regardless at what time you may arrive. If you come at night, the slope is filled with bars and lounges letting you kick back and enjoy the evening.
Park Slope is packed with all sorts of activities making taking a tour worth while, and if you’re a nature person you’ll be happy to know Prospect Park is just a walk up the avenue, so book a limo to Park Slope today!
If you decide to take a taxi to Park Slope during the morning then you’ll be greeted with a wide selection of cafes and brunch locations to spice up the morning.
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.
covering an area of 586 acres, Prospect Park is one of the biggest in Brooklyn and continues to show how beautiful nature can be even among the urban environment in Brooklyn. Prospect Park is surrounded by 5 different neighborhoods, it’s adjacent to the Brooklyn Museum and even contains its own botanical garden on top of also being right next to the Brooklyn Public Library. Needless to say Prospect Park holds more than its fair share of activities for its visitors to do!
One of the many small waterways scattered around Prospect Park
Prospect Park is an urban park that was established between 1867 – 1873 however the park itself was actually proposed 8 years prior in 1859 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Interestingly enough both Olmsted and Vaux where the same people who also helped design NYC most famous park, Central Park itself. Throughout the next decade and a half the park under went numerous redesigns and refurbishments in order to both modernize the park and clean it up. redesigns included the addition of the Prospect Park Zoo, a picnic house, a concert grove, The Boathouse, and even the Litchfield Villa. The Prospect Park also host constant outdoor Concerts and Parades during the summer. 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.
The Lafrak Center at Prospect Park during winter
Prospect Park has an area of 526 acres in central Brooklyn and consists of waterways, ravines, lakes, and watercourses. The waterways in Prospect Park are actually apart of a singular man made watercourse that leads throughout the park. The watercourse makes use of the preexisting ponds and the lowland out-wash plains in order to make a drainage around the waterway itself. The waterway is also lined with vegetation around the borders that absorb precipitation and help water flow. interestingly enough, two thirds of the lake evaporates annually, however the water is restored throughout the rainy season.
Prospect Park Lake
The Prospect Park Lake is artificial and covers about 60 acres of the park itself. The lake itself holds over 20 different species of fish and even several different islands inside the lake. visitors are also allowed to kayak and use pedal boats in the lake and sometimes even fish, however the lake does hold a catch and release policy. Prospect Park also has 146 acres of Ravines and a long meadow that goes down the western side of Prospect Park.
Prospect Park is also filled with landmarks and structures that scattered around the land. The entrance to Prospect Park is one of these major landmarks, two columns outside the entrance of Bartel-Pritchard Square. Grand Army Plaza also contains The Soldiers’ and The Sailors’ Arch, a large arch that is located on an oval in the middle of the park. The park also holds many monuments and statues, such as the Mozart Monument, a bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, Dongan Oak monument, and many more scattered around the park.
Prospect Park may not be as big or as famous as Central Park but that does not mean that it does not have its own visual spectacles or entertainment opportunities. The natural landscapes in the park combined with the monuments and man made structures make it a sight to see for any visitors who wish to be blown away by the marvelous beauty of the park. Visitors who prefer to take a more active role when it comes to entertainment can attend any one of the parades and concerts held at the park or even bring friends to some of the soccer fields or basketball courts in order to stay on the active side. Overall Prospect Park is a perfect place for any visitor who wants to experience what Brooklyn has to offer, and luckily for you My Destiny Limo can take you there today!
