The following appeared on Vox in an item called Not Overheard in New York:
“No, I don’t care for children or dogs. What? Yes, I’m entirely sure that I live in Park Slope, not Gowanus.”
So, we repeat our rule of thumb, without getting into the entire bit about neighborhood boundaries: If there is a hill, it is Park Slope. If it is flat, then it’s Gowanus. Seriously, though, by our rule of thumb, anything on the west side of Fourth Avenue or beyond is Gowanus. (This accepts the definition of Park Slope as reaching down to the east side of Fourth Avenue.) By some measures, though, mostly advanced by those trying to sell real estate and get more money for it, Park Slope already extends to Third Avenue. We reject this notion, but it’s out there, which is why the Gowanus Holiday Inn Express is called the Park Slope Holiday Inn Express by the hotel chain.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Z. Madison // May 8, 2007 at 7:26 am
I was just arguing with a newbie bklyn resident about this on Sunday. He just moved to 3rd Ave/7th Street and was adament that he lives in Park Slope and wouldn’t hear my Gowanus/Carroll Gardens/Park Slope definitions. Sigh…I gave up.
2 Anonymous // May 8, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Some people feel the need to justify (to their fab-u-lous City friends) that they live in the oh-so-trendy Park Slope versus The icky-smelly, sewage ridden Gowanus Canal.
It just figures that these “newbies” would argue about things of this nature.
Park Slope is on a “Slope”. The Gowanus is, well, flat. There is NO sign of a slope past 4th Ave. And let’s face facts, 3rd. Avenue is in the heart of the Gowanus.
Just deal with it, newbies.