Prospect Park

Yes, Brooklyn residents also have a park!

Ever since the city gave us the new option of taking the G train down to Prospect Park, I've been visiting much more often - when the weather allows, anyway. I've never made it to the zoo they have in there, but the park provides an amazing getaway from the crowded city with the Prospect Park Lake and the Great Lawn near the 9th Street entrance on the Park Slope side of things.

An ex-boyfriend of mine lived near the park in Lefferts Gardens, and we used to stroll to the greenmarket in Grand Army Plaza to stock up on fresh eggs, milk and aromatherapy product from Lavender by the Bay. In the height of the season, I think the greenmarket here is even better than the one in McCarren Park, which is saying quite a lot.

The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (free entry on Tuesdays and Sunday!) are located here, and are one of my favorite places in all of New York City to visit when the cherry trees are blooming. (Even when the cherry blossoms aren't around, BBG is great - they have summer herb sales, and some breathtaking examples of bonsai.)

On weekends the roadways that cut through the park are closed off - with the exception of Flatbush Ave, which really doesn't ever die down, traffic-wise. Bikers and runners are just about always in Prospect Park, but when roadways are closed off on summer weekends people come out in droves to stroll through the park, so beware the crowds.

If you’re willing to make the commute (and many people are simply just forced to commute), this neighborhood is relatively close the twenty-something hot spots in Brooklyn. This is actually as far away from Manhattan as I’d be willing to go if I were looking for a new apartment. The park itself (of the same name) is really beautiful when there is grass on the ground and leaves on the trees – every neighborhood really needs a spot where residents can get away from all of the concrete, and Prospect Park has one of the better options as far as that goes.