Ditmas Park, Brooklyn
Brokelyn.com founder Faye Penn used to joke that she leaves neighborhoods just before they take off.
After hopscotching across a few Brooklyn nabes, she finally got it right when she bought a home in Ditmas Park eight years ago.
The Flatbush enclave has seen a boom in hip new businesses along Cortelyou Ave., but still maintains a small-town feel in the city’s most populous borough. 1 “I love coming home. It’s so relaxing,” says Penn. It takes her just 45 minutes to get to midtown. “It’s very friendly. You get to know your neighbors. And we’re also energized by young twenty- and thirtysomethings who keep it fun.” 2 Newkirk Plaza (between Newkirk & Foster Aves.), which opened in 1907, is the oldest open-air shopping mall in the country. The strip sits atop the B/Q Newkirk Ave. express subway stop. Samuel Dorze, 22 months, climbs onto the coinoperated airplane outside the laundermat. 3 Ditmas Park is renowned for its grand, historic Victorian homes, mostly along the sycamore-lined Rugby Road. Many feature wraparound porches and colorful paint jobs. The iconic Rugby Gardens home (317 Rugby Road, at Cortelyou Road) doubles as a bedand-breakfast. “It feels like Mayberry, except we’re really diverse,” says Penn. 4 Britney Palmer flips over the jerk chicken grilling at Fisherman’s Cove (4 Newkirk Plaza, at Newkirk Ave.), which serves Jamaican specialties like escovitch fish. “I like eating food from my culture,” says customer Andrew Stewart. “The seasoning here is very good.” 5 Cortelyou Road is the main commercial strip, with businesses like Toy Space (1410 Cortelyou Road, at
Rugby Road). “My kids can’t walk by here without coming in,” says Penn. They also love the San Remo Pizzeria next door (1408 Cortelyou Road), famous for pies like the fresh tomato and mozzarella, or the “grandma pie” with pesto. 6 Belly up for a bottle of suds and a bouquet inside Sycamore Bar & Flowershop (1118 Cortelyou Road, at Westminster Road). “Sycamore, Castello Plan [1213 Cortelyou Road, between Argyle & Westminster Roads] and Ox Cart Tavern [1301 Newkirk Ave., at Argyle Road] are great date-night places,” says Penn. 7 Cortelyou has become a restaurant row with eateries like the Purple Yam (1314 Cortelyou Road, between Argyle & Rugby Roads), which dishes Filipino fare, and The Farm on Adderley (1108 Cortelyou Road, between Westminster Road & E. 11th St.), which focuses on fresh, seasonal foods. Penn loves Mimi’s Hummus (1209 Cortelyou, between Westminster & Argyle Roads), where “the pitas are pillowy, the cauliflower salad is delicious and the meat hummus is slammin’.” 8 Alexander Belanchuk has been saving soles at Alex’s Shoe Repair (30 Newkirk Plaza, at Foster Ave.) for almost 20 years. “When I see people in pain, I make them shoes that make the pain go away,” says the certified pedorthist. “My work comes from my heart.” He does worry about gentrification pricing him out. “Surviving here is not easy,” he says. “The rent scares me.” 9 La Nueva Union Bakery (1114 Cortelyou Road, at Westminster Road) specializes in Mexican pastries, like sweetbreads (called conchas). “They have colorful cakes great for kids’ parties,” says Penn. She also favors Lark Cafe (1007 Church Ave., at E. 10th St.), where “the coffee is delicious, it’s right near the [Prospect Park] Parade Grounds, and there’s a room set aside for kids.” 10 The neighbors buzz about M. Cole Chilton, managing partner of T.B. Ackerson Wine Merchants (1205 Cortelyou Road, at Westminster Road), who describes his wines as having notes of “dirty socks ... or bloody Band-Aids.” Penn’s kids love him. “It really does smell like that,” laughs Chilton, “but it tastes delicious.” Newkirk Station Wines & Liquors (11 Newkirk Plaza, between Newkirk & Foster Aves.) is Penn’s other go-to stop for bottle service.