By Latasha Watson
New Yorkers might think they know everything, but ask them about Brooklyn, and you’ll probably hear silence.
As a life-long Brooklynite, I can tell you when it comes to my borough, Manhattanites need a guidebook to get around.
Brooklyn is more than the land of graffiti. It’s full of charm, personality, trendsetters, characters and even history, depending on where you go. It’s also the largest borough, which most New Yorkers don’t even know.
Here is a breakdown of the different neighborhoods – Your Guide to Brooklyn.
Williamsburg – More hip than Manhattan
Williamsburg is the area that is too cool for school. This neighborhood provides what’s new happening in Brooklyn.
People go to Williamsburg for the latest trends such as clothes. It’s full of vintage and thrift shops and even old local record stores. Most of the restaurants and bars have an incredible music scene.
Williamsburg is the place to go if you love music. It’s packed with music venues.
Clinton Hill
Clinton Hill is the diverse neighborhood. I grew up in this neighborhood so I’m partial to it.
The locals are mixed with young professionals, hipsters, artist, taxi drivers, travelers, college students. And name any culture, it is here.
There are two infamous colleges resting in this section, Art school Pratt Institute, and the Medical/ Business school St. Joseph College.
Not to only mention the people but the food in amazing as well. Of course, the restaurants are also diverse.
Fort Green – Neighbors Clinton Hill
Some people never know when they are exiting or entering Fort Green and vise versa. This neighborhood is packed with restaurants and cafés bringing in many people around New York to visit just for it diverse food choices.
From Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Italian, to African and many more Fort Green is the heart of connecting people together for the love of food.
Fort Greene- like Clinton Hill – is filled with Brownstones. It’s also the home BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) one of the places in NY to see great performance art and home of famous film producer Spike Lee, as the area can be seen in his film “Crooklyn”.
Fort Green Park is a great place to take your dog for a walk. It’s also a great first date spot where you can walk and get to know someone outside.
Park Slope – Scenic and Picturesque
Park Slope is best described as a picture on a post card. The scenery of this neighborhood is beautiful. So many trees, parks, and cafes on every corner, this location is the best place to maybe raise children.
If you visit Park Slope, you will see children and strollers everywhere. That’s because the neighborhood is very family friendly with local restaurants and cafes.
Yes this sounds similar to the last three neighborhoods but the difference about Park Slope is it charm and the hills. Brooklyn is not know for hills. But in Park Slope, you will find small hills to drive or walk n which makes it perfect to go out for a great exercise.
Park Slope is also known for Prospect Park, which is Brooklyn’s largest park. In other locations you might hear loud music or chatter but in Park Slope, everything seems more quiet and peaceful which brings out the calmness in Brooklyn.
Bed Stuy brings Urban to Brooklyn
Bedford-Stuyvesant aka Bed-Stuy brings the urban scene to Brooklyn.
This location is filled with music history of talents such as Notorious B.I.G (Biggie Smalls) and Jay Z. Click here to see some Biggie Small’s favorite places he used to visit.
Bed-Stuy is known for its brilliant architect, which makes it one of the oldest areas in Brooklyn. Every detail in the buildings can be seen today as well as the churches.
Throughout Bedford-Stuyvesant there can be seen many Church’s that uplifts the voices of Gospel music. With the history of Black culture music and architect, Bed-Stuy is one of the greatest places in Brooklyn the media love to shoot films and create stories.
Coney Island is for Tourists
Coney Island is Brooklyn’s best tourist attraction. You have the beach, carnival rides, and a boardwalk in the summer. Coney Island is known to give the people what they want, which is to have fun.
One of the only amusement parks to still have the oldest roller coaster called The Cyclone. Not only The Cyclone continue to have the spot light, Coney Island is highly known for the famous hotdog venue “Nathans”.
Nathans hotdogs taste like no other, which is why especially during warm weather the line of this venue is incredible long, but the long is wroth to wait.
The Neighborhood of Dumbo
This neighborhood is rest right near the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge, which is the perfect location to reach the city faster. Dumbo stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.
This neighborhood is best known for its old brick ground as car drive by and the famous pizzeria Grimaldi. Grimaldi’s Pizzeria has delicious pizza that the cheese really melts in your mouth. The wait for this pizza is about 30 minutes to an hour as the line reach’s the end of the block.
Believe me the wait is worth it even on a cold near end winter day. To have a perfect view looking over into the city Dumbo is the perfect place to visit and to have just a little insight of the old mix with the new.
