Living in Fort Greene – a neighborhood guide for families

Fort Greene is best known for its many tree-lined streets, elegant low-rise housing, neighborhoody restaurants, and Fort Greene Park. It is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the west, Atlantic Avenue and Prospect Heights to the south, and Vanderbilt Avenue and Clinton Hill to the east. Around 35,000 people live in the neighborhood and it is home to Brooklyn Tech, New York’s biggest and most prestigious public high school.

Kid-friendly institutions:

• Fort Greene Park is Brooklyn’s oldest park, and offers a variety of free family-friendly programming throughout the year, from their Young Naturalists nature program for ages 5-13 to Storytime in the Park in the warmer months for little ones, and so much more! The park also has a basketball court, playgrounds, and tennis courts, and great sledding hills in the winter.
• Brooklyn Academy of Music has been for more than 150 years a family cultural center with a variety of programs and events in theater, dance, music, opera, and film. Programming for kids includes their annual MLK Day celebration, BAMkids Film Festival, BAMkids SpringFest, and more workshops, family concerts, and performances. 
• Mark Morris Dance Center offers a variety of dance classes in different styles and levels for children and teens. The School has classes in Jazz, Hip-Hop, Ballet, Modern, and Tap, as well as Music and Singing. They also offer classes for little ones, from newborns to age 6.
• Barclays Center hosts a variety family-friendly events, from Disney on Ice to Harlem Globetrotters to monster truck shows! Barclays is also home to the WNBA champs The New York Liberty!
• Brooklyn Music School offers classes, private lessons, and workshops for children of all ages who want to play an instrument or dive into musical theatre.
• The L10 Arts and Cultural Center is a new hub for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Brooklyn Public Library’s newest branch (the Library for Arts & Culture), the Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts (MoCADA), and 651 Arts, offering a variety of arts programs, workshops, and performances for both children and adults.
• Brooklyn Navy Yard has tours and programs where you can learn about Brooklyn’s maritime history, plus special events and exhibitions.
• Greenlight Bookstore is a beloved local bookstore offering book clubs for tweens and teens, story times, and book signing events. 
• The Center for Fiction is a bookstore and literary center that hosts story times, readings, and workshops for kids.
• UrbanGlass is a center for glassblowing, offering classes, camps, and family workshops in their studio.
• BRIC is a cultural space in the community with contemporary visual and performing arts, media, and civic action programs.
• Dave and Busters arcade is located inside Atlantic Terminal Mall. Also inside Atlantic Mall, you’ll find Chuck E Cheese, a common choice for hosting birthday parties.
• Conveniently located in the epicenter of the neighborhood there’s Edmonds Playground, better known in the community as Camel Park, with great basketball courts!
• Albert J. Parham Playground, adjacent to PS 20, has a small pool open during the summer!
• The small, triangular Cuyler Gore Park is great for small children, with swings, slides, and a sandbox.
• Irondale is  fantastic and affordable youth theater program.
• Space Club is an indoor sensory place space for ages 0 and up with four levels, including both a rooftop and an outdoor deck. There are jungle gyms, huge ball pits with swings and rings hanging overhead, a studio for arts and crafts, a LEGO pit, a bead pit, a huge floor piano, and even a glow-in-the-dark room. Learn more here!
• Hoops Klub is a new indoor basketball hub for children is opening on April 7, near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The facility run by Hoops Academy will offer programs for ages 4 to 14, including lessons, in-house leagues and games, afterschool programs, travel teams, girls-only teams, camps and summer camps. Learn more here!

Best drop-in indoor fun in Brooklyn by neighborhood here.

Kid-friendly restaurants:

• Graziella’s Italian Restaurant offers amazing pizza and a great ice cream variety. It’s a great option for bigger parties and families with strollers.
• Olea is a Mediterranean restaurant. Seating is first come, first served but worth the wait!
• Sushi D offers fresh and consistent quality sushi every time!
• Black Iris is a BYOB Mediterranean restaurant.
  
• Deniz serves Turkish cuisine in the heart of Fort Greene.
• Tacombi offers great Mexican food, and an even better ambiance and decor!
• Doza Royale serves delicious South Indian food. It’s also a great vegetarian/vegan option (Fort Greene/Clinton Hill border). 
• Il Porto pizzeria has a legendary grandma slice on the border of Fort Greene and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. 
• Evelina is an upscale bistro open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, serving Italian and Mediterranean food. High chairs available, and seating both indoors and outdoors.
• Mekong serves delicious and fresh Vietnamese food on the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill border.
• Emack & Bolios serves wicked and unique ice cream flavors.
• Habana Outpost is a casual outdoor spot serving Mexican-Cuban fare. They usually close for the winter, but announced that they have decided to stay open all year round, starting in Winter 2024-25. In the warmer months, they run an outdoor movie program every Sunday night.
• Castro’s is a neighborhood Mexican restaurant on the border of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill serves authentic dishes in a family-friendly atmosphere. In addition to fajitas, burritos, and chile con queso, they also serve fresh-squeezed juices and cocktails for grown-ups.
• Fan Fan Doughnuts is a female and Latina-owned doughnut shop baking everything on-site in small batches. Inventive flavors include la donna (black currant-raspberry with meringue and dried corn flowers), mango lassi, luna limón (lemon), and Mexican cinnamon sugar.
• Thea is on the same street as sister restaurant Theodora. They open at 7am and serve coffee and pastries like Harissa Caramelized Onion Babka, Cinnamon Coffee Conchas, Blueberry Pistachio Pound Cake, plus fresh bread and sandwiches.
• Walter’s is on the corner of Fort Greene Park and serves American classics including burgers and fries for little ones. They have popular outdoor seating in the warmer months.
• DSK Brooklyn is a welcoming German beer garden with pretzels, sausages, and more pub fare. All are welcome, including children, and there is both indoor and outdoor seating and bar games.
• Gotham Market at The Ashland is a hub for a variety of food and drink vendors, from coffee to cocktails to burgers and more! There is open seating, making it convenient for groups with children and strollers.
• Putnam’s Pub is just down the block from Space Club, with room for stroller parking. They have seating indoors and outdoors and serve elevated pub fare for brunch, lunch and dinner.

Our overview of kid-friendly restaurants in Brooklyn by neighborhood here.

Restaurants for a date night out:

• LaRina Pastificio & Vino | This modern Italian eatery and handmade pasta shop is led by Chef Silvia Barban, a former Top Chef contestant. The menu combines traditional Italian flavors with creative twists, featuring dishes like smoked spaghetti with Calabrian chiles, garlic, and hazelnuts, along with various stuffed pastas. The cozy atmosphere and outdoor patio with live jazz in the warmer months make it a perfect spot for date nights. In addition to dining, LaRina also serves as a retail counter for cheeses, fresh pasta, and Italian products.
• Black Iris | Black Iris is a Mediterranean restaurant on the border of Fort Greene & Clinton Hill that has been serving the neighborhood for over 30 years. The menu includes fresh pita, mezze, falafel, kebabs, slow-roasted lamb, plus wine and cocktails. You can dine indoors or on their sidewalk patio. Or, cozy up at their inviting bar!
• Café Paulette | Steps away from Fort Greene Park, Café Paulette is a charming French-inspired bistro with a curated selection of natural wines. The dinner menu features classics like steak tartare, mussels, and steak frites. Cozy up in their red leather booths or on their heated patio. They have live jazz on Tuesday nights overlooking the park during the warmer months.
• Evelina | Evelina is an upscale bistro in Fort Greene serving Italian and Mediterranean fare. The space is stylish and dimly lit, and the menu includes small plates, pasta, and wood-fired mains. They also serve great cocktails, beer, and wine.
• Ms. Ada | Ms. Ada is a neighborhood gem, led by Israeli-born Chef/Owner Tomer Blechman. The restaurant showcases modern Mediterranean cuisine with a twist, using locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. The backyard garden supplies fresh herbs for both the dishes and cocktails, and is open year-round, complete with space heaters to keep you warm in the winter. Ms. Ada’s sister restaurant is neighboring Theodora, which specializes in open-fire cooking.
• Mango Bay | This Afro-Caribbean restaurant is located in a two-story brownstone, with outdoor seating on a balcony and in their courtyard in the warmer months. Highlights of the menu include ackee and saltfish egg rolls, pomegranate glazed pork ribs, panko-fried Cornish hen, braised oxtail, and mango curry. They also serve Caribbean-inspired cocktails with tropical flavors.
• Third Falcon | Fort Greene’s newest fine dining destination Third Falcon serves French food inspired by the cuisine of Brittany and Normandy with ingredients coming from local NY farms. The chef Cali Faulkner previously cooked at Crown Shy, Oxalis, and Eleven Madison Park in NYC, and Verjus in Paris.
• Theodora | Theodora specializes in open-fire cooking, with Mediterranean dishes like wood-fired pita, monkfish liver ‘nduja hummus, and plenty of seafood cooked over the flames. Theodora’s sister restaurant is the popular Mediterranean/Israeli restaurant Miss Ada in Fort Greene. Read more here! 
• Roman’s | Roman’s serves seasonal Italian and American cuisine. The menu is constantly changing, including appetizers like arancini and an antipasti plate, vegetable dishes, yummy pastas, and a few entrees. One of the highlights is the bread, supplied by She Wolf Bakery. Great cocktails and wine as well!
• Sailor | This neighborhood bistro on a charming Fort Greene corner is led by Chef April Bloomfield, and the menu is centered mostly around seafood. There’s only about 10 seats in this intimate restaurant, and the food is excellent. Highlights include the smoked arctic char pâté, mussel toast, smoked pork shoulder, roasted chicken, and profiteroles for dessert.

Our overview of romantic restaurants in Brooklyn by neighborhood here.

What you should not miss in Fort Greene:

• Fort Greene Farmers Market, where the community and families gather every Saturday, year-round, to mingle and shop for everything from micro-greens to fresh seafood.
• BAM, the 150-year-old family cultural center offering a variety of programs and events in theater, dance, music, opera, and film for all ages.
• Pratt Sculpture Park is a must-see sculpture park inside Pratt College, located on the border of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

Schools in Fort Greene:

• Public schools: District 13 PS 20 and PS 46 are Fort Greene’s zoned elementary schools
• Charter schools: Compass Charter School and Community Roots Charter School are two District 13 Charter Schools located in the neighborhood
• Preschools: Collective Kind, La Petite Colline, Discovery Pitstop, Aozora Community, Growth Mindset Learning Lab, and Explorers Academy

For more information about schools, download our school guides here.

Affording Fort Greene (data by Peter Riolo | Compass):

• The median two-bedroom rent per month was $5,000 in 2024
• The median two-bedroom home sale in Fort Greene was $1.3M in 2024

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Updated: May 2025.

Photos: Julienne Schaer