Bedford-Stuyvesant’s name comes from two historic places. The village of Bedford was established in the 17th century and was the backdrop for some important moments in the Revolutionary War, though nothing remains of it today. (It was centered around the present-day intersection of Bedford and Fulton.) The “Stuyvesant” comes from Stuyvesant Heights, long an area of farms and now a smaller neighborhood within Bed-Stuy, along its southern edge. Weeksville (located either in Crown Heights or Bed-Stuy, depending on whose borders you follow) was founded as a free-black community in the 19th century. Bed-Stuy’s role as a center of African-American life dates mostly from the 20th century, when the Great Migration and rising rents in Harlem led African-Americans to settle in Bed-Stuy. Recent decades have seen a new chapter begin, as Caribbean immigrants as well as those priced out of Brooklyn’s more expensive neighborhoods are rediscovering Bed-Stuy.

Fulton Street, along the southern edge of Bed-Stuy, is the area’s primary shopping street, though much of it is dominated by big-box stores. Since Bed-Stuy covers a huge swath of Brooklyn, you can head to several areas when you are looking for unusual boutiques or new restaurants. They are largely centered around Bedford (near Lafayette) and Tompkins avenues, and to a somewhat lesser degree, Nostrand (which runs parallel to Bedford) and Marcus Garvey Boulevard (mostly on the blocks in the southeast corner of Bed-Stuy). The dining scene reflects Bed-Stuy’s changing demographics. Peaches and Peaches HotHouse are institutions serving Southern cuisine; Grandchamps (a Haitian restaurant), Bed-Stuy Fish Fry, and a number of hole-in-the-wall Trinidadian options are Caribbean favorites. Beyond those, there’s an abundance of restaurants serving everything from tacos to tortellini, with more opening every month.