The good, the bad, and the brownstones

Rocio and Samara at a gift shop in Park Slope.

by Rocio Delgado

A few weeks ago, I went to Park Slope in Brooklyn with my teacher and classmates. It was fun walking with them in Manhattan in order to get to the 3 or the 4 train. We got off at Prospect Park 30 minutes later and started our adventure visiting the Brooklyn Public Library, specifically the Central branch. The place was amazing, with plenty of space for studying and one exhibit of pictures of different kinds of bridges in the New York area. The wooden floors, the high ceilings, and the wide stairs together created a majestic view inside the library.

After our visit to the library, we started to wander around the Park Slope neighborhood and something that caught my eye was the row houses there. They were made of brown stones and looked organized. However, although I liked the organization and neatness of Park Slope, I prefer the crowded and exciting environment of Astoria in Queens, where you can find a variety of restaurants with different types of cuisine. Most of them will make your mouth water for a very reasonable price. Although the quality is the same in Park Slope, the dishes are ridiculously expensive.

I noticed the price problem in Park Slope is not just with food, it is the entire neighborhood. For example, I came into a gift shop with a couple of classmates just to look around, and one piece of jewelry was valued at $65; it is easier to find the same in Astoria stores for half the price.

If there was something that I really enjoyed in Park Slope, it was the sense of solitude and the peaceful environment. It is definitively a good place to live if you can afford it.

Exploring Park Slope

The whole gang at the Brooklyn Public Library at the start of our walk around Park Slope.

Last week, the Explore NYC class started at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, where we checked out the library's temporary art exhibit of New York City bridges. After a quick tour up the narrow escalator to the second floor, across the balcony, and into one of the library's enormous reading rooms, we headed out to walk around Park Slope.


We saw the grand homes along Prospect Park, the quiet, tree-lined streets and their brownstone buildings, which are ubiquitous in this area, and the variety of small shops, boutiques, and cafes on 5th and 7th avenues.


We've begun to write about our experience. Stay tuned, and come back and see what we've written!



In front of a brownstone on a typical Park Slope street.



Doing a little shopping on 7th Avenue.