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The NY Times' Real Estate section's lead feature was a story called "The Park Slope Parent Trap" (subheadline involved hipsters finding it hell but parents thinking it's heavenly), which is basically the umpteenth article that tries to capture the je ne sais quoi of the overrun-with-children enclave. Here are the approximate things to check off when you know you're a "real" Park Slope parent:
- You don't care who sees you breastfeeding.
- You don't care if you see a mom breastfeeding twins, one at each breast, at Two Boots Pizzeria.
- You're on a quixotic quest to find a better baby carrier.
- You truly feel that Park Slope is just like the East Village.
- All your friends live along the F train.
- A parent and his/her child will chide you for being a jaywalking parent w/baby
- You worry about which place to get coffee, because you're not sure if the other mommies will accept you.
- You have a fair amount of "I live in Park Slope" self-hate.
Somewhat related: In the NY Sun article about two Park Slope fathers who hope for a charter school in the Slope, the PS 321 PTA president Wesley Weisberg said that parents are "thrilled" about the idea of a charter school, "it wasn't like hearing about another new stroller."
Photograph of lost shoe by Atomische
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Park Slope is a bunch of entitled a-holes.
I kept thinking when I was reading the article... what do you want to bet the 14-year-old boy population of Two Boots suddenly increases?
You don't care if you see a mom breastfeeding twins, one at each breast, at Two Boots Pizzeria
It must suck to have triplets.
Or, more precisely, not suck.
park slope versus the upper west side. I think I give park slope the edge cause the moms actually take care of their kids unlike the upper west side where it's all carribbean nannies. If you wanna see the new slavery go to the UWS.
Park Slope isn't that bad, really. Most parents are pretty considerate with their strollers, and the kids are no more bratty than everywhere else in the city.
The self-righteous attitude is pretty annoying, though. Park Slope is a very liberal place, but isn't very tolerant of non-liberal beliefs.
Jen, you wrote this bit with a lot of snark and the poll as well. You live in upper west side, I believe, after envying NY from the safe distance of jersey? Park slope is just upper west side with more trees, less tourists and the people are in general nicer, because they tend to know each other. There is no "self-hate", the only attitude there I see is at gothamist.
I just moved from Chelsea to the Slope about a month ago. The 5th avenue stroller parade is much less entertaining then the boys on the 8th avenue strut but its a nice change as well. Plus, the kids never bother when you're in the bars.
who cares i think its over stated the problem with strollers :p.
Thank God for Park Slope. I've never been there, but I'm glad we have a place to store the breeders.
How 'bout an option for young, no kids, and still loving Park Slope? It's a great neighborhood, yuppie parents or no.
Basically, if you are going to raise a child in NYC, I think that is a pretty selfish thing to do. To keep a kid locked up, like cattle, where they can't just go out and play. Where they have to be watched over at all times, just because you want to be close to your work, because you don't want to take Metro-North, the LIRR, or whatever. Really, sad and selfish. Best to take your family far out of the city, where your child can just go get lost without ending up on a milk carton.
ps is lame
hate the smug self important types
pretty architecture, yes
but oher bk hoods have a lot more character (meaning the people, not the buildings)
I second what #12 says.
There is no better place to raise a child on this earth than New York City. Period.
Art, culture and people who don't all look like you. I'll trade that against a back yard any day of the week.
And the kids on the back of the milk cartons are usually from small towns.
Oh for god's sake. Yes, there are more than your average number of children in Park Slope. But guess what, there are more than your average number of lesbians here too. A gay friend of mine calls it Dyke Slope. I'd much rather deal with the occasional entitled mother with her giant stroller than with the self-important hipster d-bags in Williamsburg or the B&T club on the LES.
Its a beautiful neighborhood with great restaurants.
Try spending some time here before you judge it based on snarky comments on blogs. And no, I don't have children, don't much care for em myself, but I don't lose it everytime I see one on the street like some of you apparently do.
Who says kids in teh suburbs or rural areas don't get "Art, culture and people who don't all look like you."
Perhaps you should venture out of the city and see what it's like, trust me, it ain't all white bread.
"I'll trade that against a back yard any day of the week."
You would, but would your child? I think not. Selfish, selfish!
"Basically, if you are going to raise a child in NYC, I think that is a pretty selfish thing to do. "
How about spending 2-3 hours a day commuting and not seeing your kids during the week, is that selfish.
What about moving out of the city to save money on taxes, isn't that selfish.
And, regarding your first post, i think you mean self-entitled not "entitled", a-hole!
I love you Czech, but I'm sorry, you're wrong... on both counts. I just spent a week in the 'burbs and they look like they haven't changed since the seventies. When kids out there want art, culture, and people who look different, they come to the city, where such things and people are treated like exotics, not part of life.
And I was speaking as a parent, for my child. I resent being labeled as selfish, my friend. On this topic at least, you are misinformed.
#16: you live in park slope, but you diss people visiting the LES as "B&T"? how do YOU get to Manhattan? swim?
i don't know, i was a kid raised in the suburbs, and while not all suburbs are the same in character, even at a rather young age (i would say first realization of this was 7 or so) i hated being so dependent on my parents (or in reality, other parents since my parents were working, spending 1-2 hours commuting in and out of the city) in order to see my friends or go anywhere at all.
when i met other kids at summer camp who grew up in the city, my my how i envied their independence, mobility, and perhaps at an older age, what i realized was a much greater cultural exposure.
and this was during the times when crime rates in the city were much higher than they were today. my mom has recently confided that she wishes that we had stayed in the city, as she would have had more time with us and less stress balancing time at the job and time at home. all in the all, it's really surprising to me that, despite being highly chronicled in literature and film, the myth of the idyllic suburban childhood still lives on.
The level of discourse around here continues to astound.
why do people bother having opinions about a neighborhood they don't actually live in? or raising a child, if they are not actually doing so? seems like people here need to live their own lives, enjoy their own neighborhoods and shut up!!
Hey Reality Czech:
You can raise your kid in bonnies Moravia. I'm here to tell you that NYC is one of the best places to raise kids.
All of my best friends that grew up with me in Bklyn are all well-adjusted, good people who didn't get F'd up like so many suburban and rural kids I know, because they had outlets like some of the best parks, great culture, diversity.
I lived 3 blocks from a 500 acre park and played soccer for 6 years in a league growing up. And my mommy didn't have to drive me to soccer practice. I walked *gasp*! And I took the subway anywhere I needed to go.
Your provincial attitude might work in the kingdoms of Bohemia and Moravia, but perhaps you should have been brought up in Prague so you would understand the benefits of city living to creating great kids.
Ahoj my brother.
There does seem to be a great deal of self-hate in Park Slope. Is that why those people all have such bitter looks on their faces? I was walking along 7th Avenue yesterday. The neighborhood is beautiful, but the people don't reflect that beauty at all. Couples arguing, kids crying, and crazy moms on the offense as they push their strollers into anything (or anyone) that gets in their way.
All of my best friends that grew up with me in Bklyn are all well-adjusted, good people who didn't get F'd up like so many suburban and rural kids I know, because they had outlets like some of the best parks, great culture, diversity.
I don't know if it's better to be within walking distance of everything a city has to offer vs. the space and relative safety of a smaller community. I CAN say that some native NYC-ers will argue the above, and others will say that suburb dwellers lack "street smarts" that develop when growing up around hoodlums. Are you going to claim that everyone who didn't grow up within the 5 boroughs "inferior" because we're fucked up, or not fucked up enough? Which is it?
I overheard a guy other day in the neighborhood on the phone the say, "what's the point of living in New York if there are no New Yorkers left?" Does this mean the next generation of kids who flood the city from the suburbs wil be the spawn of people like this guy, making them targets of mockery from "real" New Yorkers? :)
Art, culture and people who don't all look like you. I'll trade that against a back yard any day of the week.
Just because your cab driver is from Pakistan and the guy that delivers your food is from Ecuador and the woman that cleans your office is from Mexico doesn't make your world multicultural. If you are white and rich and your black and Asian friends are equally rich and went to the same Ivy League school as you you are about as sheltered and naive as someone growing up in Nebraska. Probably more sheltered because the kid in Nebraska probably doesn't have a sense of entitlement.
Those kids growing up in the city with rich parents are tomorrows assholes. Frankly, I'd raise a kid as far from these parents as humanly possible.
lame generalizations, Robot.
Sorry folks, but I grew up in suburbia where my parents never had to drive me anywhere, I walked or rode my bike, and this since I was 12. I also had a paper routwe, something unknown to you city folks, I also did a lot of yard work to earn money, again something many of you just don't get to do. My parents did leave the city when I was born as they didn't want me raised somewhere I couldn't roam free. As for living 3 blocks from a 500 acre park, you are one of the few, most city kids don't live that close to any park, and most parents wouldn't even let their kids walk that far to any park. Where I grew up we had plenty of parks, but the greenery wasn't just limited to parks, we had forests, fields, trails, that you just don't have in the city. Furthermore, my parents did take me to the city and it's museums often. Nowadays a child can get culture from TV and the internet, as well as museums. So, unless you feel that you can justify your selfish reasons to raise a child in the city by saying they get more culture and art, which is not true, and which is dependent on the individual child anyways.
The only thing more predictable than Park Slope hating on Gothamist is bike hating on Gothamist.
"What about moving out of the city to save money on taxes, isn't that selfish."
Now here is a real smart guy. Dumbass, taxes are a lot more in the suburbs than in the city! Property taxes are nothing in NYC.
Actually, Reality Czech, most city kids do get jobs, just as suburban ones do. You can babysit, work retail or tutor anywhere. We also grow up to be a lot more independent, self-confident and mature than our suburban counterparts. When I was in college, the idiot kids who were drinking themselves into comas, hanging out windows and getting themselves into stupid situations were invariably the sheltered suburban ones. As to the safety issue, cities have statistically less kidnappings than the 'burbs and kids here grow up with a lot more street smarts to avoid danger.
As for the whole "backyard to run free" nonsense, newsflash: lots and lots of people in NYC have HOUSES, complete with backyards. Even in Manhattan a lot of buildings have yards or play areas. Parks? Try Riverside, Flushing Meadows, Prospect, shall we go on? I had plenty of places to play and ride my bike as a kid.
You might think it's selfish to raise a child in the city. That's your opinion. It's not fact.
"You can babysit, work retail or tutor anywhere." Yeah right, maybe YOU can, smarty, but this just ain't for the average kid. Work retail? Right, at 12 years old, give me a break.
"cities have statistically less kidnappings than the 'burbs and kids here grow up with a lot more street smarts to avoid danger."
Yeah, that because your parents watched over you every move you made.
"newsflash: lots and lots of people in NYC have HOUSES, complete with backyards."
Really, all those houses on PArk ave. All those houses on Fifth ave. Look, I understand you;re being defensive, but really, you need to wake up to reality. Defend it all you want, you are being selfish. That is my opinion, but guess what? I am right and you are wrong.
Reality Czech, how's about you lighten up a little. Insulting people, and posting smart-aleck comments every 20 minutes doesn't add to the conversation.
It just makes you seem like an entitled a-hole.
CARRIBBEAN NANNIES are a menace. I can't believe how many black ladies pushing white kids in strollers are on the upper west side. It's fucking scary. It's like social darwinism at it's finest.
Hey, Reality Czech, you're not right. You have your opinion, it's not fact. To your points:
1. You seemed to imply city kids couldn't get jobs. I proved otherwise. 12 year old city kids can babysit, tutor, whatever.
2. Actually my parents didn't watch every move I made. I was a latchkey kid, I took the subway by myself, went to the store by myself and learned to survive.
3. Park Avenue buildings have substantial play areas. So do all those chic brownstones. They're in the back. Not to mention the park's a short walk away.
4. I'm not a parent, so I don't know what I'm supposed to "be selfish" about. I did grow up in the city, though, and I feel I had a much better childhood than my friends from the 'burbs. Since I had a full academic scholarship to college, I now make six figures, I have a wonderful marriage and a pretty damn good life, I guess their way worked for me, eh?
If you really feel a kid's entire existence is tied into the ability to do lawn work, have a park route and live in white-bread suburbia, well, I feel badly for you.
#28 on my #25:
Those aren't generalizations, that's what I witnessed/experienced on 7th Avenue yesterday. Honestly! (Maybe only two offensive stroller moms, but at least two.) Horrible! Not a pleasant place for a stroll, not at all.
I will say 5th Avenue isn't so bad.
I grew up in NYC in the late 70's and early 80's, and I'm really glad that I did. I know there isn't much of a middle class left here now, but there used to be, and plenty of the kids I grew up turned out to be some of the smartest, coolest, most well adjusted folks that I've met to date. I'm not saying that growing up in NYC is the only way to raise a great kid, but I think if you use the city to your advantage it has a lot to offer for raising a family.
The only point in my life I haven't lived in NYC, was the five years I spent away at college. When I started school there was no question that I was much more of an adult than my peers. One definite advantage of growing up in NYC is you are going out and interacting with all types of different people, and being exposed to a wide variety of situation: some positive, some negative. Either way, you mature quickly and can handle yourself around adults from a young age. Plus, since you've been drinking at the Palladium or the Limelight since you were 14, you tend to miss out on that whole freshman year blackout drunk bad decision phase.
Sure, people love to pick on the Slope, but it's an easy target. True, it does have an overwhelming percentage of loud mouthed do-gooder transplants,but if I was raising kids I'd seriously think about raising them in Park Slope (If I could afford it). The main problem with the neighborhood is that it has become so insanely expensive that it has turned into a strictly upper class place for wealthy young families.
park slope is for gays. There I said it. GAYS! Windsor Terrace is where it's at
I grew up in the Suburbs. We had black people, asians, latinos, etc (although this was in California). I loved it.
We played hide and go seek and tag on our street, as well as soccer, water balloon fights, etc. I sailed paper boats down my gutter. I rode my bike peacefully in the middle of every street in my neighborhood.
And yes, I also had a paper-route!
I loved the fresh air, the hiking, the trick or treating, and I still was close to a major city (SF - 20 mins away)to go to museums.
We also had sushi (gasp!) and any other kind of food you could order.
The suburbs are awesome.
I feel like New York has never had such inter-neighborhood animosity! It seems to be driven by class issues and the ridiculous cost of living here... maybe I'm wrong. It makes me sad.
Anyway, I live in the greater Slope area. I'm on the outskirts, so my rent is cheap. It's nice. Occasionally I find the local parents a little funny, but I think it's fantastic to raise kids near such an amazing park... And the area is actually pretty diverse.
I like the bars and restaurants. I like that there are spendy places on seventh and the dollar stores on fifth. I like walking to work up the quiet streets. I like that I can not only walk to the park, but the Brooklyn Museum and the Botanical Garden.
http://www.pokemonelite2000.com/ani079.gif
o hay guyz.. i herd park slope haz lots of kidz!
Park Slope hate is mildly amusing, but it's a decent place all in all. Less pretense than a lot of Williamsburg, lots of good food options and a big park nearby. It is a bit overcrowded, but I just avoid the North and Center parts if I'm not feeling like dealing with people.
"Reality Czech, how's about you lighten up a little. Insulting people, and posting smart-aleck comments every 20 minutes doesn't add to the conversation.
It just makes you seem like an entitled a-hole."
I am entitled - entitled to view my opinion like each and every one of you here.
reality czech: i spent my first 18 years a prisoner of the suburbs--and totally self-conscious of my non-white background. on top of that, my paranoid parents would never let me out of the house bc we were targets of racist acts. trust me, it sucked, and my life here in the city is heaven in comparison. whenever i step out of my apartment (with a backyard) here in boerum hill, i am in awe of how lucky my daughter is to grow up in a place where she will never think of her ethnicity as a negative. this city is a good place to cultivate her esteem, on top of her street smarts, and everything else the city has to offer that will make her a well-rounded, aware, engaged person.