Park Slope is a neighborhood in the western section of Brooklyn, New York. It is bounded by 4th Avenue, Flatbush Avenue and Prospect Park West. The Seventh Avenue and the Fifth Avenue are its primary commercial streets while its east-west side streets are populated by many historic brownstones.
As of 2010 census, there were 42,409 people residing in the area. The median income for a household in the village is $94,155. Elevation is 49 feet.
Edwin Litchfield (1815-1885), a railroad developer almost solely owned the land in neighborhood of Park Slope. In 1860s, the City of Brooklyn purchased his estate and adjoining property to create the famous 526 acre (2 km²) Prospect Park which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
The Litchfield Villa is still in Prospect Park and serves as the Brooklyn Parks Department Headquarters. In the late 1900s Park Slope was known as “the Gold Coast” for the elegant Victorian mansions built along Prospect Park West. Today, many of these buildings are preserved within the 24-block Park Slope Historic District, one of New York’s largest land marked neighborhoods. In 1890 census, it showed that Park Slope was to be the richest community in the United States.
Park Slope has a little bit of everything such as historic brownstones, attractive apartment buildings, a farmer’s market, independently owned businesses, transit, an adjoining park, and active residents, some of whom moved to the area as urban homesteaders when it was being abandoned in the 1960s.
The efforts of the local Fifth Avenue Committee have helped maintain affordable housing for long-time residents and preserve the neighborhood’s economic and social diversity. It is also characterized by its historic buildings, top-rated restaurants, bars, and shops, as well as close access to Prospect Park, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Brooklyn Museum. The Prospect Park is a main attraction of the neighborhood with housing an overabundance of facilities including a zoo, ice-skating rink, boathouse and band shell.
One of the main entrances is at Grand Army Plaza, where to the left of the drive, stands the portrait statue of Stranahan. Beyond the plaza, gravel walks flank the Long Meadow, a rolling grassy hollow, affording an unimpaired view for nearly a mile. Folk festivals and native dances are frequently held on the meadow; and May Day is celebrated here by school children.
Picnic grounds and locker and refreshment houses are on the west; to the east is Swan Lake, a circular pond whose swan boat provides amusement for children in summer. On the other hand, Park Slope is known as one of 10 Great Neighborhoods in America for its architectural and historical features and its diverse mix of residents and businesses, all of which are supported and preserved by its active and involved citizenry. Park Slope also has many beautiful and historic churches of many denominations especially Catholic, as well as many synagogues to serve its large Jewish population.
