Schools: Sought after public elementary schools are P.S. 11 on Waverly Avenue and P.S. 20 on Adelphi Street, both pre-k-6. For the 7th and 8th grades there is I.S. 113 on Carlton Avenue. Private schools are Queen of All Saints School (k-8) and Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School (Rudolph Guliani graduated here). St. Joseph's College on Clinton Avenue focuses on business and health management. It also runs the well regarded Dillon Child Study Center for preschoolers.
H.S430, Brooklyn Technical High School, the famous "Brooklyn Tech" on Fort Greene Place, is a public high school that specializes in engineering, math and science. It is one of the best magnet schools in the US. Admission is by competitive examination, only New York City residents can apply. The school counts two Nobel laureates amongst its long list of famous alumni.
Pratt Institute in Clinton Hill is one of the leading art, design and architecture schools in the US with more than 4000 students. It was founded in 1887 by industrialist Charles Pratt, an early pioneer of the oil industry (Astral Oil in Greenpoint, Brooklyn was one the first refineries in the US). Pratt has a long list of famous alumni. Its campus occupies 25-acres between Myrtle Avenue and Willoughby Street and there are quite a number of student residences outside the campus. Note the large sculptures on its campus.
Neighborhood Blogs &Web Sites we like:
Clinton Hill Blog - blogger in Clinton Hill
Eating Clinton Hill - foodie blogger in Clinton Hill
Fort Greene Association - neighborhood association
Fort Greene Snap - Strategic Neighborhood Action Partnership
PACC - Pratt Area Community Council
Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership - Revitalization of Myrtle Avenue
SONY - The South Of the Navy Yard Artists Community
Shopping: With gentrification shopping has improved tremendously. Myrtle and DeKalb Avenues are the main shopping streets. As a rule, the closer you are to Downtown Brooklyn the more shops. Fort Greene is well served with shops, Clinton Hill less so. Some Clinton Hill residents see this as an advantage though - it is quieter there. On the southern edge of Fort Greene, where Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues intersect is the new Atlantic Terminal Shopping Center. It is technically part of Fort Greene, albeit not really a part of the neighborhood proper. Another option is Downtown Brooklyn's Fulton Mall, which only a 15 - 25 minute walk away. Fulton Mall is very busy and not exactly our cup of tea though.
Eating Out: Here is a selection of restaurants from Zagats, New York Times and New York Magazine. For the latest food news check New York Magazine's blog, Grub Street or some of the neighborhood blogs we listed above.
The top rated are:
Locanda Vini & Olii, Italian (Tuscan) 129 Gates Ave., (Cambridge Pl.), Tel: 718-622-9202
Luz, Nuevo Latino, 177 Vanderbilt Ave.,(bet. Myrtle Ave. & Willoughby St.), Tel: 718-246-4000
Loulou, French, 222 DeKalb Ave. (bet. Adelphi St. & Clermont Ave.), Tel: 718-246-0633
Olea, Mediterranean, 171 Lafayette Ave. (Adelphi St.), Tel: 718-643-7003
Ici, American-French, 246 DeKalb Ave. (bet. Clermont & Vanderbilt Aves.), Tel: 718-789-2778, also great brunch place
Chez Oskar, American, 211 DeKalb Ave. (Adelphi St.), Tel: 718-852-6250, much beloved old timer, great brunches too
Scopello, Italian-Sicilian, 63 Lafayette Ave. (bet. Fulton & S. Elliot Pl.), Tel: 718-852-1100 - near BAM
Thomas Beisl, Austrian, 25 Lafayette Ave. (bet.Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.), Tel: 718-222-5800 - like in Vienna and right opposite BAM
A few good, yet economical places:
Zaytoons, Middle Eastern, 472 Myrtle Ave. (bet. Hall St. & Washington Ave.), Tel: 718-623-552
Rice, Eclectic, 166 DeKalb Ave. (Cumberland St.), Tel: 718-858-2700
Bonita, Mexican, 243 DeKalb Ave. (Vanderbilt Ave.), Tel: 718-622-53
post your comments herelast updated: October 15, 2008