100 Reasons Why Brooklyn Lives Up To The Hype

IMAGE VIA PARK SLOPE LENS

Back on New Year's in 2009, we did a 209 reasons Brooklyn is so badass list, and I swear to fucking gawd it almost killed me. That was almost like the beginning AND the end of FIPS. Do you ppl know how hard that shit is to compile?? Anyway, thankfully Gothamist seems to have a staff of way more patient and qualified reporters than I, cause their list of 100 reasons Brooklyn is so cool totally rocks my socks off.

Read the whole damn thing over thar, but here are a few of my faves Park Slope-y ones:

99. Bierkraft: At this Park Slope gourmet beer store you can choose from 1,000 beers, as well as 14 fresh beers and two casks on tap for growler fills or pints on the premises. There is also a wide array of artisan cheeses, chocolates, and charcuterie.

78. The Bell House and Union Hall: Owned by the same folks, these two beautiful venues put on some of the most interesting events in town. The former, located in Gowanus, has the bigger performance space, and is where you'll go for Beefsteak food parties, Twin Peaks nights, and indie rock shows. Union Hall in Park Slope features indoor bocce, an open-air courtyard, a fireplace, and a small downstairs performance space where funnyman Eugene Mirman holds court and where we once saw Andrew Bird perform.

73. Food Co-Op: For many, the Park Slope Coop represents all that is obnoxious about Park Slope: self-righteousness, combined with too many strollers, Trustafarians, and sanctimonious health food fanatics. While these might be actual facets of the 40-year old Coop, it is nonetheless a thriving community fixture that boasts more than 14,000 members and provides coop eaters/shoppers/workers with fantastic local, organic food and sustainably imported goods. It's also one of the oldest and largest in the nation.

59. Free Valet Bike Parking: The cycling boom does create complications: when everyone rides their bike to the same place, sometimes there's literally no suitable spot to lock up. Enter Transportation Alternatives, which for several years now has been offering free valet bike parking at some of Brooklyn's hottest events. You'll find them all summer long at Celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park Bandshell, as well as the movie series in Brooklyn Bridge Park, certain Sundays at the Brooklyn Flea, and even a Mets game in August at Citi—oh wait, that's outside our jurisdiction.

52. Superhero Store: Dave Eggers is a literary powerhouse who also happens to be a literacy activist. His organization 826 National provides free tutoring sessions to children and teens in eight cities, and New York is one of them. The Superhero Supply Store, located on 5th Avenue in Park Slope, has been staffed by 800 volunteers since it opened in 2004, and reportedly served 2,094 youths in the 2008-2009 school year. And it actually does sell superhero supplies.

30. Fun for All Ages: In many Brooklyn neighborhoods, it’s easy for adults to feel completely outnumbered by babies. The strollers, playgrounds, toy shops, childrens’ barbershops, and packets of organic pureed vegetables are ubiquitous. Pretty much every eatery has high-chairs and kids’ menus on hand, "grown-up" bookstores host storytimes, there are sing-a-longs at bars and cafes, and many yoga studios offer classes for babies and toddlers. Even decadent party-central Williamsburg has the indoor Klub 4 Kids (which is probably more responsible than just letting them crawl around the floor at Kokie's).

27. Grand Army Plaza: The Champs-Elysees as it leads to the Arc de Triomphe is lined with luxury shops, fancy-pants cafes, and impeccably manicured greenery. But toss in some grit and subtract the glitz, and the stroll on Eastern Parkway to Grand Army Plaza starts to resemble that famous Parisian promenade. The passage from Crown Heights to Prospect Heights/Park Slope includes the Brooklyn Public Library, that hideous glass building, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and shady paths to walk, jog or bike on.

24. Brownstones:You can certainly find brownstones in many neighborhoods of New York City, but the quintessential building material has become more associated with Brooklyn than anywhere else. That's partly due to the easy alliteration of "Brownstone Brooklyn," but let's face it, there are a lot of these beauties clustered around this fine borough. So we're claiming them for Brooklyn, even though Do the Right Thing's Buggin' Out would probably like to know, "Who told you to buy a brownstone on my block on my side of the street?!... Motherfuck gentrification!"

10. Prospect Park: It's been said that Central Park designers Fredrick Olmsted and Calvert Vaux were disappointed with their first park and felt that Prospect Park fully realized their vision. Made up of sprawling green space, lush trees and flowers, winding pathways, playgrounds, a carousel, a zoo, a bandshell, a picnic house, and athletic fields, Prospect Park is a sanctuary for the entire borough, and is located at the intersection of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Lefferts Garden, and Windsor Terrace.

And duh, my favey fave favorite tip has to be No. 3 from Gothamist publisher Jake Dobkin himself (an original Park Sloper, yo):

3. Attitude: Brooklyn's still got plenty! Asked for input on this listicle, Gothamist publisher and Brooklyn-born lifer Jake Dobkin told us, "I refuse to engage in this level of pandering. If I have to explain to someone why Brooklyn is better, they don't deserve to fucking live here."

Yeah...what he said.

Read about why you should feel all self-important for living in the BK on Gothamist.