Prospect Heights

A small neighborhood bordered by several larger ones, Prospect Heights feels like Brooklyn in microcosm. Historic brownstones and longtime attractions such as the Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Botanic Garden anchor the neighborhood physically and psychically, while the Barclays Center sports and entertainment arena, which debuted in 2012, looms large as a harbinger of further expansion. Since the early 2000s, Prospect Heights has progressed from Park Slope's sleepy northeastern satellite into an appealing, magnetic enclave with a distinct identity. A 21-block historic district, north of Grand Army Plaza between Flatbush and Washington avenues (the neighborhood's western and eastern borders) has helped keep development in Prospect Heights relatively modest, attractive, and largely chain-free. Both Washington Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue, the main drags, are lined with shops, restaurants, and bars. The Barclays Center dominates the neighborhood's northwestern corner, but so far the blockbuster venue and its events haven't spoiled the neighborhood's overall mellow vibe, and touches like the Barclays's 135,000-square-foot rooftop garden, installed in 2015, represent an attempt to integrate the behemoth into the surrounding environment. With hundreds of arena-affiliated housing units being built or on the way, though, it remains to be seen how long the status quo will be maintained.