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Southwest Brooklyn is a part of Brooklyn, New York City that encompasses the neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Borough Park, Kensington, Parkville, Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and Bath Beach.

Understand

  • Sunset Park is often called New York City's little Puerto Rico and Brooklyn's Chinatown and is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City. It is just less than 20 minutes away from Downtown Brooklyn. Sunset Park is a place for all families to come and shop, and locals can be seen running errands in the heart of the neighborhood along 5th Avenue between 60th and 44th Streets. Its hilly terrain gives magnificent views of Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan, Staten Island, Jersey City and the nearby Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Besides the Hispanic part of the neighborhood filled with families of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican and other backgrounds, the Chinese also put Sunset Park on the map with its countless Chinese restaurants found on 8th Avenue between 60th and 40th Streets.
  • Borough Park has the biggest Chasidic Jewish community in the city. You will see lots of kosher foods on sale, and shops that are closed every Friday night and Saturday but open on Sunday, due to religious rules. If these things are unfamiliar to you, a trip to Borough Park may be worthwhile.
  • Kensington is south of Prospect Park. It is the most diverse neighborhood in Brooklyn and is one of the most diverse in the United States. It is one of the "up and coming" neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Many new trendy restaurants and boutiques have opened, making this neighborhood a hotspot. It is served by the F and G trains at Church Avenue, and the Q train at Beverly Road and Cortelyou Road.
  • Bay Ridge has traditionally been a residential Irish-Italian-Norwegian neighborhood, but has had an influx of Arab, Asian and Russian families. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge connects to here from Staten Island, and Fort Hamilton, a United States Army Base, is here as well. There is a great variety of good values in food to be had in this neighborhood, especially on 3rd Avenue. The neighborhood is also one of the top bar areas in the non-downtown area of Brooklyn.
  • Bensonhurst used to be Italian as far as the eye could see, but it now is home to Albanian, Pakistani, Korean, Chinese, Mexican, and many Eastern European immigrants. Nonetheless, it is still the center of Brooklyn's Italian community and is one of the best-known Italian-American neighborhoods in the United States. The train runs above ground and it is a lively place with an Old New York feel. Many of the best "unknown" restaurants in Brooklyn (known locally but often ignored by the Manhattan-based establishment) can be found in Bensonhurst. Get there by taking the D train to 18th or 20th Avenues or Bay Parkway.

Get in

Map
40°37′32″N 74°0′21″W
Map of Brooklyn/Southwest Brooklyn

By subway

For Green-Wood Cemetery itself, the best trains to take are either the D to 9th Avenue or the F to Fort Hamilton Parkway.

The D serves the center of the district, including Borough Park and Bensonhurst before continuing to Coney Island, while the N serves Dyker Heights after splitting off from the R in Sunset Park. The R terminates in Bay Ridge.

By bus

The X27/X37 and X28/X38 express buses also serve this area.

By car

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge takes you to Bay Ridge from Staten Island. I-278 (Gowanus Expressway to Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) and the Belt Parkway can get you here from other parts of Brooklyn, as well as Queens and Manhattan (via the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges, as well as other bridges and tunnels).

See

Monument to the victims of the Brooklyn Theater fire of December 5, 1876 in Green-Wood Cemetery
  • 1 Green-Wood Cemetery, main entrance at 500 25th St (along 5th Ave; Subway:  R  train to 25th St), ☏ +1 718 768-7300, . 8AM-5PM daily. Free. 
  • 2 Owl's Head Park, Shore Rd, 68 St, Colonial Rd (B64 bus or walk from  R  Bay Ridge Ave station). The park is good for a walk, and you can follow the path toward the water which takes you to the pier and a bunch of park stuff along the water towards the Verrazano Bridge. Those are all really refreshing walks. Free. 
  • 3 Harbor Defense Museum, 230 Sheridan Loop (on Fort Hamilton; Subway:  R  train to 95th St, then walk along 4th Ave to 101st St, then turn left and walk one block to the fort entrance. The MP at the guardhouse will direct you to the museum), ☏ +1 718 630-4349. M-F 10AM-4PM, Sa 10AM-2PM. A collection of military artifacts relating to the defense of America's harbors located inside still-working Fort Hamilton. Since the museum is located within an active US Army post, foreign visitors are not permitted. All visitors must have an ID. Free. 
  • 4 Christmas Lights at Dyker Heights. About 10 blocks, centered around the "Candy Cane House" on 84th and 12th. During the holiday season the locals bring up the most spectacular decorations-- do a Flickr or Google image search yourself and see! There's the house with the giant snowman, the house with the giant nutcrackers, the house with Winnie and Shrek, and the Toyland house with the animatronic reindeer. Go on a Friday or Saturday night, between 7 and 10. It'll put the Christmas spirit in you. 
  • 5 Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 526 59th St (enter on 5th Ave;  N  R  to 59th St), ☏ +1 718 492-9200. If you like you churches large and impressive, OLPH is not to be missed. This Roman Catholic basilica is bigger and more ornate than Brooklyn's cathedral near downtown. Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Q4867364) on Wikidata Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Brooklyn) on Wikipedia (updated Nov 2020)

Do

Buy

  • 1 Fei Long Market, 6301 8th Ave (at 63rd St;  N  to 8th Ave), ☏ +1 718 680-0118. 8AM–7:30PM daily. An absolutely massive shop selling all manner of Chinese ingredients, including a very good produce section. Can be extremely crowded, though, so go in the off hours. 

Eat

Row houses as far as the eye can see on 72nd St. in Bay Ridge
  • 1 8th Avenue (Third Chinatown) ( N  to 8th Ave). Stretching from 50th Street to 62nd Street, the avenue holds its own against Canal Street and Flushing. Fancy gourmet restaurants to alleyway noodle shops, Malaysian to Vietnamese and fare from every Chinese province, the neighborhood has it all. The area is particularly known as a nexus for immigrants from Fujian province. (updated Nov 2020)

Bay Ridge

The neighborhood's main thoroughfares are 3rd Ave, 5th Ave and 86th Street. Whether you're looking for shops, cafes, restaurants or nightlife you can probably find it on one of those streets.

  • 2 Bay Thai, 6735 3rd Ave ( R  to Bay Ridge Ave), ☏ +1 917 905-2993. 11:15AM–9PM (closed M). Rich Thai food. (updated Nov 2020)
  • 3 Brooklyn Harvest Market, 8102 3rd Ave ( R  to 77th St), ☏ +1 718 567-8600. 7AM–10PM daily. This is the place to get groceries; it's a grocery store with organic and otherwise fancy foods. (updated Nov 2020)
  • 4 Gino's Restaurant, 7414 5th Ave ( R  to 77th St), ☏ +1 718 748-1698, . Tu–Th 11AM–10PM, F Sa 11AM–11PM, Su 11AM–9:30PM, closed M. Popular local Italian restaurant with great pasta. (updated Nov 2020)
  • 5 Hazar Turkish Kebab, 7224 5th Ave ( R  to Bay Ridge Ave). 11AM–10PM daily. A good kabob place. (updated Nov 2020)
  • 6 Kathy's Dumplings, 7924 3rd Ave ( R  to 77th St), ☏ +1 718 833-7000. Su–Th 10:30AM–9:30 PM, F Sa 10:30 AM–10PM. Good dumplings. (updated Nov 2020)
  • 7 Paneantico Bakery Cafe, 9124 3rd Ave ( R  to Bay Ridge–95th St), ☏ +1 718 680-2347, . 7AM–10PM daily. Amazing Italian sandwiches and a great bakery, too. (updated Nov 2020)
  • 8 Rocky's & Nicky's Pizzeria, 6824 Colonial Rd ( R  to Bay Ridge Ave). 11AM–11PM daily. Pizza place with good slices. (updated Nov 2020)
  • 9 Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant, 7315 3rd Ave ( R  to 77th St). M–Sa noon–11PM, Su noon–10:30 PM. A really good Indian place. $10–15. (updated Nov 2020)
  • 10 Tanoreen, 7523 3rd Ave ( R ), ☏ +1 718 748-5600. Noon–10PM (closed Su). Palestinian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean cuisine by chef Rawia Bishara. They started in a smaller ten-table location nearby in 1998, but good word-of-mouth and press led them to move to this larger location. Don't miss out on the flavorful appetizers/meze (hot and cold) and the succulent entrees. It'll be hard, but try to leave room for the yummy desserts. $25–40. (updated Nov 2020)

Bensonhurst

  • 11 Il Colosseo, 7704 18th Ave, ☏ +1 718 234-3663. Daily noon-9PM. Old-school Italian-American food. Made with fresh, quality ingredients, and delicious. Antipasti:$8-14.50; salads: $6-8.50; pasta: $10-17; risotti: $12-16.50; meat: $18.50-24; chicken: $13-15; seafood: $18.50-24; wood-burning brick-oven pizza: $7-15; desserts: $4-10. 
  • 12 Villabate Alba, 7001 18th Ave, ☏ +1 718 331-8430, . M-Sa 7AM-9PM; Su 7AM-8PM; holiday hours 7AM-6PM. Wonderfully delicious Italian pastries - particularly Sicilian ones - and helpful, unaffected service. No place to sit, so get some items to go. Very inexpensive, too: A couple of pastries will cost you about $5.50. 

Drink

Looking west across Parkville Avenue at St. Rose of Lima Church
  • 1 Salty Dog Bar & Grill, 7509 3rd Ave ( R  to 77th St), ☏ +1 718 238-0030, . Sports bar and grill in an old firehouse. DJ & Karaoke on Wednesdays, DJ & Password Ladies Night on Thursdays, as well as a DJ & Dance Floor on Fridays and Saturdays. Sporting events shown on multiple flat-screen TVs. (updated Nov 2020)

Sleep

  • 1 Best Western Gregory Hotel, 8315 4th Ave (at 84th St in Bay Ridge,  R  to 86th St), ☏ +1 718 238-3737. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: Noon. Free high speed internet access. Free continental breakfast. Lobby bar serves drinks from 5:00pm to 10:00pm daily. Meeting & conference facilities and business services. $119–238. 
  • 2 Park House Hotel Brooklyn, 1206 48th St ( D  to 50th St), ☏ +1 718 871-8100, . Check-in: No Saturday check-ins. "Kosher Suite Hotel" in Borough Park. A complimentary breakfast buffet is offered daily except Saturdays and Jewish Holidays. $211–236. (updated Nov 2020)

Connect

Kensington Branch, Brooklyn Public Library

Go next

Routes through Southwest Brooklyn
Midtown Manhattan ← Downtown Brooklyn ←  N  S  → Coney Island
Downtown Brooklyn ← Prospect Park ←  N  S  → Coney Island
Downtown Brooklyn ← Prospect Park ←  N  S  → END
Queens ← Downtown Brooklyn ←  N  W  → Staten Island → Elizabeth


This district travel guide to Southwest Brooklyn is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.


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