Crown Heights, Brooklyn

Once one of New York City's most upscale then one of its most dangerous neighborhoods, Crown Heights is now one of the city's most diverse and affordable suburbs. This unique neighborhood covers an area of about two square miles and includes a historic district that is protected from development. While there used to be dangerous levels of tension between the neighborhood's Jewish and Caribbean communities, resident coalitions have worked together to improve relations between these two groups. An influx of young white professionals has also added to the town's diversity. Another factor that attracts new residents is the town's lush greenery: there are plenty of parks and trees are everywhere in this family-friendly town. Public transportation options are convenient and diverse. There are also lots of shops on busy streets like Franklin Avenue and the neighborhood has a multitude of interesting museums and cultural sites. The Brooklyn Children's Museum is especially popular. The crime rate has dropped as the town has improved. Real estate prices in Crown Heights are very low; an increase in condo development and a wave of foreclosures has pushed prices down and created more affordable housing options. The public school district that serves Crown Heights is excellent. The elementary and middle schools are almost all wonderful. As for the high schools, Medgar Evers High School is great, and Clara Barton is pretty good too.

Crown Heights is not somewhere I'd personally like to spend a lot of time, but I do have friends who live here in order to enjoy the low low rents offered in the neighborhood. It's not so bad a place, and parts of it (where there are old one-family homes and plenty of trees) are actually kind of beautiful. That said, the area borders on Brownsville - a less-than-awesome neighborhood - and doesn't exactly offer an upscale dining or shopping experience. Instead, what you find in Crown Heights are a lot of fast food restaurants and mall-type clothings stores of the cheaper variety (Rainbow comes to mind).

There is absolutely nothing trendy about Crown Heights, but it's not far from Prospect Heights, which has become much cooler in the past few years, and it's a short ride to Cobble Hill and Boreum Hill, which are pretty established cool places. (Of course, potential residents should keep in mind that while there are awesome Brooklyn neighborhoods east of Crown Heights, there are some pretty bad ones directly west.)

Crown Heights is an up-and-coming neighborhood in Brooklyn, bordered by Downtown Brooklyn, Flatbush, Brownsville, and Bedford-Stuyvesant. It is cut through by a large boulevard called Eastern Parkway, which has several lanes in each direction and is lined with trees on both sides. The fact that this used to be a posh neighborhood and residential center for some of Manhattan's upper middle class families can be seen in the elegant brownstone buildings that line Eastern Parkway. Before the second world war, Crown Heights was a premier neighborhood, with many cultural institutions and parks to offer. More recently, Crown Heights has historically been the site of violent racial tensions during the 60's and 70's. As late as 1991, the notorious Crown Heights Riot brought to the surface long-standing resentments among the neighborhood's two dominant resident populations: Hasidic Jews and African-Americans of mainly Caribbean origin.

Today Crown Heights is a mix of extremes in many ways. It has beautiful architecture alongside vacant, run-down buildings. It has a variety of people, shops, and worship centers, from Lubavitch Hasidim to brightly dressed Afro-Caribbeans. In the last few years, property values have risen and gentrification is slowly starting to be felt. There is still a high level of poverty here, but for the most part, crime levels have steadily decreased. Crown Heights is the site of the yearly West Indian Carnival, a colorful event that stretches from Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza. Millions of people participate in the festivities each year. The mix of people who live in this neighborhood includes older residents, college students, and new immigrants, who all live side by side. In 2008, some racial tension again flared up in the neighborhood, but it was relatively mild compared to the riots in the 1990's.

Crown Heights is not exactly the kind of place you would escort your grandmother from out of town, but as far as residencies go it's not a bad place. It's rather inexpensive, as it is far from being the Upper East Side, but I would pack up and move here if it came down to it. It's close to Park Slope, which is a nice neighborhood for shopping and going out.

As far as shopping and eating in this area, don't expect much unless you are a huge proponent of Popeye's and Footlocker. However, there are highlights to be had - just as in every New York neighborhood. There are many Caribbean eateries, and many cater to vegans, though I doubt there are a ton living in the area. Crown Heights is one of those neighborhoods that is slowly being gentrified as residents are outpriced from neighborhoods like Park Slope, so cafes and bars are beginning to spring up.

Crown Heights is located in west central Brooklyn and surrounded by other communities like Bedford-Stuyvesant, Prospect Heights, and East Flatbush to name a few. The main thoroughfare in Crown Heights is the Eastern Parkway.

The area is full of diversity and rich in ethnicity. Residents from every religious and ethnic background live together in Crown Heights. Crown Heights is recognized for its annual West Indian Carnival and West Indian Carnival Parade, also known as “The Labor Day Parade.” The parade is full of culture and a fun event to watch. The parade route travels along Eastern Parkway, from Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza.

There are several landmarks and attractions in Crown Heights that provide much to do in regards to culture and academics. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Jewish Children’s Museum, World’s First Children’s Library, Brooklyn Public Library (Eastern Parkway branch), and Medgar Ever College are all located in Crown Heights and offer many workshops, events, and tours.

Transportation around the area is well serviced. Subway and train access is available for the neighborhood’s residents, with stations at Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum (2 and 3), Franklin Avenue (4 and 5), and Nostrand Avenue (A and C) to name a few. Bus lines also serve Crown Heights.

Crown Heights is a nice neighborhood nestled in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, New York. With its diverse population, distinct homes, and tree-lined streets, Crown Heights is an esteemed home to its 150,000 or more residents. Crown Heights is a premier neighborhood in Brooklyn and a wonderful place to reside, visit, or photograph.

Crown Heights is home to an extremely diverse population, mainly of Afro-Carribean dissent. There is also a dynamic Jewish community in this neighborhood. The unique and lively population have heavily impacted the restaurants, shopping, and businesses in the area, not to mention adding an interesting and upbeat atmosphere to the neighborhood. The beautiful, multi-colored brownstones and picturesque environment offer both residents and visitors a classic homage to Brooklyn living.

The history of this neighborhood is steeped in the tradition of community, promise, and traditional New York City urban living. As Brooklyn was originally populated by the pastoral Lenape Native Americans eventually to be sold and restructured by mainly Dutch immigrants, Crown Heights was the sight of vast upward change, through times of struggle. Classically home to upper and middle class residents, Crown Heights, since the mid-nineteenth century, has been viewed as a prosperous neighborhood. Riots as well as a change in demographics in the mid-twentieth century brought an end to the heyday of this beautiful neighborhood, with an increase in low-income housing, crime and poverty, not to mention racial tensions increasing drastically since the 1960's. The result was a dichotomy in offerings for the residents of Crown Heights, with an apparent difference of culture and taste between the classes.

Despite these tumultuous times, Crown Heights is still a wonderful place to live for its residents, its diversity adding to its original flare, as crime is currently on a sharp decline. The Brooklyn Museum and the beautiful Brooklyn Botanical Gardens are located here, not to mention the beautiful Eastern Parkway, all perfect representations of the great culture, talent, and beauty of its residents. Annual celebrations, including the West-Indian American Day Parade, cite the fantastic culture still living and thriving here today.

More about Crown Heights:

Transportation: The MTA 2, 3, 4, 5 subways trains service the Crown Heights neighborhood, as well as the B14, B17, and B46 buses.

Real Estate:
Housing in the Crown Heights areas varies in price, though you’ll find that most one bedroom or two bedroom units are no less than $300,000.

Sightseeing:
Brooklyn Museum - 200 Eastern Pkwy.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden - 900 Washington Ave.


Dining
The Islands is a great getaway if a trip to Jamaica is desired without having to check any bags - 803 Washington Ave.
Abigail Café & Wine Bar: the name says it all - 807 Classon Ave.
Secrets Restaurant & Lounge - 724 Nostrand Ave

Shopping
About Time Boutique - 736A Franklin Ave.
Walter Rossi, Inc., a wonderful handmade furniture store - 1306 Union St.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gift Shop - 1000 Washington Ave.

For some strange reason, this random neighborhood in the middle of Brooklyn is very, very vegan friendly. Being a vegan, I can pretty much vouch for New York as generally pretty supportive of vegans – but there seems to be a plethora of them here. However – this isn’t exactly a neighborhood that you’d want to be a tourist in after daylight hours, or possibly even at all. That being said, the neighborhood is full of Caribbean vegan places, though they tend to be very small and usually feature bullet-proof windows. My recommendation would be for D’Ital –though you should get your food and make a run for it.