Submitted by Eric, Nov 11, 2007 10:52

Morrone says that architecturally speaking, "The "park blocks," between Prospect Park West and Eighth Avenue, though, are where, for most people, Park Slope comes true."
Two problems: first, there are plenty of buildings, and groups of adjacent buildings, on other blocks that are every bit as beautiful as the single-family homes and coops/condos owned by the millionaires between 8th ave and the Park. For an outstanding example, check out the four or five houses on the south side of Garfield Pl. between 5th and 6th Ave.
More important, imagine how ridiculous Montgomery Pl or the other blocks in that section would look if the rest of the sloping blocks down to 4th Ave, or the similar blocks on the other side of Flatbush Ave., didn't make their own contribution to the overall feel of the area. Neighborhoods, and architecture, always define -- and exist within -- a context, and the blocks extending down to 4th Ave. each make such a contribution. We are in the midst of a construction boom along 4th and 5th avenues that is disrupting that context, for which we will probably pay a terrible price. And if Ratner and Bloomberg get their way, Atlantic Yards will create such strains with traffic and overpopulation that the gems on Montgomery Pl. will become insignificant specks of gold rather than the jewels in a larger and more majestic crown that we can still enjoy -- archtecturally speaking -- today.
As for the social life: the people who live throughout the neighborhood are all part of what makes it a special place, whether they are long-time homeowners who bought $15,000 homes in the 60's, young people suffering debillitating rents today, or newly arrived professionals with strollers galore. As with any human community, its "true" nature is as much in its people as in its buildings.

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