Bergen and Vanderbilt

VANDERBILT OPEN STREETS is a chill party, day and night, all weekend May to Nov. And it’s 30 steps away

When I was apartment hunting I was focused on immediate neighborhood amenities.  I didn’t want to walk more than a block to reach a bodega, because that would make me less likely to pop out and grab something.   I wanted bars and restaurants close enough to consider MY places, on a thoroughfare that hummed with life.   All those reasons are why I honed in on this apartment when I found it. 

Prospect Heights already appealed to my indecisive nature because with Park Slope on one side and Crown Heights on the other, the neighborhood feels at different times like a version of either.   It’s Park Slopey with less strollers and more cultural diversity, and it’s Crown Heightsy with less hipsters and more neighborhood amenities.  It felt like a place for people who don’t fit easily inside boxes. It felt exactly how I felt.

Similarly, being a freelancer, I couldn’t commit to just one train, and I was drawn to locations that offered an array. I did not fully realize until I moved in, just how luxurious the options would feel.

The stroll to the Q/B station at 7th Ave takes you through the heartbeat of the neighborhood, past the openings and closings of the places that constantly redefine it.

But the 2/3 at Bergen became my favorite commute once they planted a citibike station outside our door.

The 8 minute walk turned into a two minute bike ride (citibike times it) and makes for a seemless transfer. Coming home it feels awesome to park that bike and step right into the building.

It’s these trains, the Q,B,2,3, and also the C that you’ll consider your immediate trains..

What I didn’t expect was how the additional Barclay trains (N/R/4/5/D) would come to feel like my own as well

The Atlantic/Barclay stop is only a 13 minute walk. So if you’re heading home from the city, you may be hoping for a B or a Q but you can settle for whatever comes, especially if you believe that a few extra minutes walking is healthier spent than frustrated on a platform. You will find there’s a surprising comfort in knowing that nearly every train line in the city takes you home. When asked what train line you live off of, your answer is basically all of them.

The corner of bergen and vanderbilt has two bus stops that are worth taking note of because they’re close enough to catch with 90 seconds notice on the bus app. The B65 shoots you down Bergen right to your 2/3 and onto Smith st and the F. The B69 rides you up Vanderbilt, neutralizing the 13 minute walk to the G, stopping at Wegman’s Market and terminating in Dumbo. Not that one ever needs a bus to get to the train, but there are always those lazy, rushed or cold days where a perfect door to train commute is called for.

Vanderbilt and Bergen is also crossed with two excellent bike lanes One rides you swiftly to the park, or off to Williamsburg. The other, the Bergen corridor is a dream to glide down toward cobble hill and the waters edge beyond

Living on Vanderbilt, my perspective on Prospect Park shifted from when I previously lived in Park Slope. When entering from the Slope side, you slip through one of the nondescript entrances, passing mostly families and ball fields, and that colored my impression of the park and the purpose it served. But something changed when I moved. Firstly, walking through the arches in Grand Army Plaza is never not empowering.

The purplish hue that lights them at night is actually breath-taking. With the fountain and the whizzing roundabout, it feels like Europe. Bringing friends-in-town through, it gives them the sense they’re entering something storied, historic and special. The top of the park isn’t saturated with tikes on scooters in the same way. What you see is adulting Brooklynites joyfully treating the field like a beach, sunbathing socializing and imbibing. I always loved this park, but it suddenly started to feel like it was mine when I moved to Prospect Heights.

Claiming ownership to the entrance of the park should make Prospect Heights one of the most noteworthy neighborhoods in Brooklyn. But the truth is, PH’s hard-to-define nature keeps it slightly in the shadows of more well known neighborhoods. However, seismic changes are still yet to come. Here’s the cheat sheet:

The completion of Pacific Park on Vanderbilt will include an expansive public park and path areas, making a very pleasant stroll from Vanderbilt to Atlantic Station. Plus 247,000 square feet of retail inside and out, essentially creating another neighborhood in the neighborhood.

The M-Crown zone creates a new shopping and amenities district from the tip of Vanderbilt into Crown Heights. By changing the zoning to allow for residential buildings and new retail and bike infrastructure this stretch of Atlantic will change over from abandoned buildings and car lots to a highly attractive area to visit. Look to Atlantic avenue in the Brooklyn Heights region to imagine what’s to come.

Also incoming is the vote to extend Grand Army Plaza to connect to the Park. Essentially bringing the park closer to you. The preliminary polling finds this plan wildly popular. Further discussion will happen in 2024.

To conclude with a finer point on this corner; when I’m asked where I live, I’m more likely to say I’m on Vanderbilt, then the less definitive “I live in Prospect Heights” because Vanderbilt itself is its own village. It’s red brick buildings are unique to the city. The streets have gotten cleaner, the retail has scaled up, trending cuter, more designed. Less gritty, but still buzzing with bar patrons, restaurant tables, and sunned-out folks returning from a day in the park. Vanderbilt is the launching point of some of the most beautiful streets in Brooklyn. Or to put it another way, Park Slope may be one of the prettiest neighborhood in America, but it’s true Western Edge is Vanderbilt Avenue. It’s a romantic neighborhood, and there’s nowhere else like it that isn’t adjacent to it. Nearby Washington is a wonderful street too, in a way it’s the LES to Vanderbilt’s West Village. Washington bars, some will say have more of a community vibe because Washington is further off the map and less frequented by non-locals. It has the urban unchisled edge of the early days of East Williamsburg. It’s a great street to have access to, but the amenities of Vanderbilt, the easy stroll to the trains, the essentials on Flatbush Ave, and the flow into Prospect Park and Park Slope clearly make Vanderbilt the heart of the neighborhood. Or as I think of it, a neighborhood all to itself.