Snug in its corner between downtown Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Clinton Hill and the Atlantic Yards area, Fort Greene retains more than its share of stunningly intact brownstone blocks. Many include houses rich in embellishments and detail, supported by a pride in ownership that remains steadfast even as brownstones change hands.
The blocks that end at Fort Greene Park — especially South Oxford Street and South Portland Avenue — often dominate best-block lists, and well-kept houses there are usually surpassed in price only by those on Washington Park, a street that runs along the park.
Interspersed among its brownstone blocks, the neighborhood supports four main drags, each with a distinct character. DeKalb Avenue attracts attention for its food, drawing raves for the pork-happy menu at the General Greene and the affordable but refined prix fixe at Ici. Myrtle Avenue, to the north, has its share of laundromats and bodegas, but also Cajun-fried turkey at Jive Turkey and Chez Lola’s Mussels a-Go-Go night.
Lafayette Avenue, while mostly residential, supports a few bars and restaurants along with Stuart & Wright, a boutique in the shell of an old dry cleaner. And Fulton Street, long home to excellent Southern and soul-food restaurants, is gaining fresh life in businesses like Greene Grape Provisions, a grocery offshoot of a wine store up the street, where locals pick up vegan cupcakes.
In the center of it all is Fort Greene Park, where play structures buzz with children, and trails are well trod by athletes from Brooklyn Technical High School. The park remains somewhat threadbare despite recent improvements; the Fort Greene Park Conservancy is seeking sponsors and donations to help with restoration.
At its southern and northern ends, Fort Greene is without the protection of its two historic districts, as occasionally revealed by new glass-and-steel condominium projects. These have names like Greene House, Verdi and Clermont Greene; it seems almost as if local statute demanded such plays on the word.
