Crushing on Brooklyn Heights

You'll find, if you look through the photos I've taken since I moved here, that there are a decent number of pictures of the downtown Manhattan skyline taken from Brooklyn. I took a half dozen more today when I ventured for the first time to Brooklyn Heights. As you can see, the fascination is justified.

Brooklyn Heights, as I understand it, is the first neighborhood really settled as a suburb of Manhattan. And today, the evidence of the well-heeled stock brokers and financial gurus who live there is hard to miss. The streets are lined with Porsches and BMWs, the houses are immaculate and many are being worked on by teams of laborers, and the only adults in evidence were nannies, the afore-mentioned construction crews, and cleaning ladies. All in all, I wouldn't trade it for where I am now, but man...that view.

The promenade that hangs over the BQE is simply an amazing public space. To be able to walk along an elevated path and glimpse the skyline, the Staten Island ferry coming and going, the Statue of Liberty (can you believe I had not ever seen it before I moved here?), and the Brooklyn Bridge is enough for almost anyone to be happy.

In fact, the neighborhood is so ritzy and exclusive that it is the appropriate setting for filming a drama about spoiled rich kids. Or at least, that's what I gather Gossip Girl is about from the people I have heard talking about. Anyway, if anyone would like to see the cast, they will apparently be in Brooklyn Heights on Friday. Tell 'em Dan sent you.

If you're interested in more modest pursuits, Henry Street seems like the place to go for a drink or a bite. If you want the most convenient stop, try the Clark Street station, which is a few blocks from the promenade and right near some good-looking bars and restaurants on Henry Street. As you stroll, you might be able to convince yourself that you, too, are one of the captains of commerce who can actually afford to live there.