Stuyvesant Heights, Brooklyn

Finding a place to live in Brooklyn is tricky regarding the variety of aspects to consider. Stuyvesant Heights is definitely a neighborhood worth considering. So we composed a guide describing the main peculiarities of living in Bed-Stuy. We aim to answer the critical question of is Stuyvesant Heights a good neighborhood by revealing the specificities that distinguish that particular space in Brooklyn from others. 

A Few Bits of Stuyvesant Heights History

Stuyvesant Heights, Brooklyn, is a neighborhood with rich history involving passage from farmland to a residential area, racial and ethnic conflicts, and, raising the influential cultural activists. 

Stuyvesant Heights is named after a man who founded and made the first steps to develop these territories – Peter Stuyvesant. From 1640 to 1668, the territories turned into the center of hostelry business and sales, and further, as Brooklyn was becoming more and more energizing, Stuyvesant Heights turned into a shelter for people seeking a constant place to live. 

In 1872 the first line of stone-built houses appeared, and during the next six decades, this part of Brooklyn was home to mostly white people of income above average. The Great Depression changed the situation in Stuyvesant Heights drastically: residents who could no longer afford to maintain their rich houses left them or lowered the prices significantly to sell their property. It invited migrants and black residents to this area of Brooklyn so in 30 years the neighborhood was populated 85% by black residents. 

Due to the considerable racist issues at the time, Stuyvesant Heights was at the center of political-electoral and other related scandals. However, it didn’t stop people living there from developing their culture and giving birth to many legends known from those times till the present day. 

What is Today’s Stuyvesant Heights

Nowadays, Stuyvesant Heights is a territory that constitutes a part of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, northern from central Brooklyn. 

Even though a considerable part of houses remain intact due to local communities, they are maintained carefully corresponding to the modern requirements for sanitary and other norms for safety. Most buildings in Stuyvesant Heights are residential, so it’s a lovely place to live in Brooklyn when you’re a family or not a party person. 

The district is full of cozy places to spend your evening or have lunch. If you wanna get closer to the roots of Brooklyn culture through the food, try the menu of Peaches – a restaurant of soul food and southern USA cuisine. Read about more places to go for dining in Stuyvesant Heights below in this article. 

Regarding the district is not large, you can reach most necessary facilities in up to 40 mins. It makes this part of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn comfortable for most people working people or students. One of the features that compare favorably with the other similar but more lively parts of NY City is that the pedestrian areas are broad and safe to walk comfy whether you are a grown-up or a kid. 

If you’re wondering about is Stuyvesant Heights, Brooklyn safe, it should be mentioned that, as it is everywhere, you would better not walk the streets deep at night, but the general environment is healthy for both children and adults. 

How Much It Costs to Live in Stuyvesant Heights

The pricing highly depends on the furnishing and other amenity options that define comfortability. It can also depend on the part of Stuyvesant Heights you consider more attractive for you, but the difference is not as significant as through the entire Brooklyn. 

For instance, you can find some apartments in the northern Stuyvesant Heights for about $4000, though most of them are within the range of about $2000 a month. If you look for a room in Brooklyn, not an apartment, the sum can be lower – it still varies regarding which options you choose.

What Stuyvesant Heights Offers for Job Seekers

This district in Brooklyn is not as busy as Manhattan neighborhoods from this point of view, though the opportunities for people who wish to find a part-time job in Stuyvesant Heights are still vast. Much depends on the variants you consider appropriate, moreover, the open vacancies in Brooklyn change depending on seasons (for the restaurant business, for example) and other circumstances. 

Ask the Stuyvesant Heights locals directly for detailed info or use sources that present more structured information on this matter. What about people looking for a full-time job, the closer it is to the center of New York’s vivid life, the more options are available. Due to a comfortable transport interchange, it’s possible to get to most parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan without hassle. 

Have a Rest and Relax – Nearby Leisure in Brooklyn

Spending free time in Brooklyn’s neighborhood Stuyvesant Heights is quite variable about possibilities for families, child-free couples, or single people. Taking outdoor activities only, the following locations are the best:

• for parents, playgrounds at Decatur and MacDonough Streets (next to local primary schools) can be interesting;
• mentioning other greenery zones in Stuyvesant Heights, Fulton Park is one of the many places to take your time and breath a bit of fresh air;
• go to the east, and in 10 mins you’ll find a Jackie Robinson Park Playground next to the same name tennis courts between the Chauncey and Marion St;
• a couple of minutes from there, more southern, there is Harmony Park with comfortable sits and tables for fans of outdoor board games;
• ten more mins to the South through Brooklyn, and St. John’s Park in the Crown Heights neighborhood offers even more composite space for active leisure.

As you look at the nearby facilities for your or your kids’ active pastime, you find more and more convenient options throughout Brooklyn. Though, it’s not limited to just outdoors where to spend your free time with pleasure.

Where Stuyvesant Heights Offers to Entertain and Dine

Almost every street in Brooklyn’s Stuyvesant Heights has someplace to visit. It includes diverse cuisine restaurants, warm bars, and cozy coffee shops all having atmospheres and concepts to admire and being brilliant at serving. 

Exploring the Mama Fox, BarRoom at Dick and Jane’s, Nana Ramen, and Royal Rib House NYC at Malcolm X Boulevard solely will demonstrate how multifarious the eating culture here is. 

Passing to the other Stuyvesant Heights venues, Brownstone Jazz is the quintessence of the black cultural spirit in Brooklyn. It is located in the Central Brooklyn Landmarked Historical Community and carries the atmosphere of intimately close guest seating. The music here is a blend of early 20th-century jazz and nowadays’ representation of the old-as-gold ideas. The performers use the means melancholic piano, impassioned saxophone, and deep rhythms of bass and trap drums. 

What Is Stuyvesant Heights Unique For

Stuyvesant Heights and other parts of the Bed-Stuy neighborhood, Brooklyn can be characterized by the strong black culture progressing and finding its best embodiments in both individual creative work and collective effort. 

For example, there’s a community in Brooklyn that aims to protect the cultural and architectural value of low-rise houses named Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Inc. The community also invites people to get acquainted with the beauty of originally built housing through annual tours through Stuyvesant Heights, live or online as the pandemic situation allows for.

One of the other architectural pieces in Brooklyn that were one of the richest residences at the time – Akwaaba Mansion – works as a hotel. The house is famous for being exploited since the area was inhabited by middle-class to rich white families before the Great Depression hit.

Another historical landmark of Brooklyn is Hancock Street where the famous deal of Martha Place (1899) was investigated. The crime story tells about a woman who killed her stepdaughter and tried to finish her husband using an axe. The intrigue is about the proofs and the source of information – the husband – who caused Martha executed in the electric chair. 

The history is the fundamental point that makes Stuyvesant Heights, Brooklyn unique, and it’s definitely worth it to get acquainted closer to the region’s past.

Going To, From, and Through Stuyvesant Heights

Whether you need to get to other parts of Brooklyn or other boroughs, Stuyvesant Heights offers a variety of options:

• Bus stops are on nearly every quarter, where depending on the direction, you can use buses No. B7, B15, B25, B26, B46, B47 and others. Consider that the streets that border with the nearest neighborhoods of Brooklyn have broader municipal transport connections.
• Metro lining offers two options. The A line connects Brooklyn with Manhattan from one side (goes transit through the whole island) and Rockaway Beach / Far Rockaway, Queens from the other side. The Nassau St Local line goes through Bed-Stuy from Financial District, Manhattan to Jamaica, Queens.

Car owners will also find the Stuyvesant Heights routing suitable, the only potential issue is a place to park. 

Keeping in mind all the aspects when trying to find a convenient residence is a deal, but whatever criteria you have, it’s always better to keep updated on the latest guides about the neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Looking at Stuyvesant Heights for the first time you may find it a little too quiet, but this impression dissipates as you look a bit closer.