Brooklyn Heights, First 'Burb

With its new parks and playgrounds, a promenade offering sweeping views and Greek Revival and Italianate row houses that date to the 19th century, Brooklyn Heights is a homey haven in the middle of busy New York.

Brooklyn Heights was once home to large landowning families whose names now grace local streets (Hicks, Livingston and Pierrepont are just a few examples). The area became an early bedroom community after 1814, when Robert Fulton's steam-propelled ferry gave commuters a quick route across the East River to Manhattan.

Early residents of the neighborhood, which the Brooklyn Heights Association calls "New York's first suburb," included Seth Low, a president of Columbia University and a mayor of New York.

Today the tony neighborhood's fancy row houses—some complete with garages—are popular with families. Several nearby subway lines offer easy access to Manhattan. In addition, the Long Island Rail Road is close by.

The Brooklyn Heights Promenade, a walkway stretching for a third of a mile above the thundering Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and overlooking the East River, opened in 1950 and remains a popular spot. The promenade offers sweeping views of Lower Manhattan and Midtown, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

There is some new development in the area. The largest and most notable: The condominiums at One Brooklyn Bridge Park, on the East River. Once filled with printing presses, the building, located at 360 Furman Street, is nearly half sold. Prices start at $480,000 for a studio loft.

Nearby is Pier 6, a popular new section of Brooklyn Bridge Park. The seven-acre section includes a more than 1½-acre playground with a "sandbox village" and, particularly useful in the summer, an elaborate water park for kids.

When complete, the full 85-acre park will replace abandoned piers, former parking lots and storage sheds with lawns, esplanades and water access.

Other sections already open in Brooklyn Bridge Park include Pier 1, a six-acre section with a promenade and 2½ acres of lawn; and the Cove, which lies between the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. It offers direct access to the East River and includes a habitat for birds, fish and crabs..

Schools: Schools in Brooklyn Heights are part of District 13. The district's schools include the Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy VII Middle School and the Brooklyn Community High School for Communication, Arts and Media, an arts-focused school that opened in 2007.

In 2009, 76.2% of students in District 13 received a proficient score on the math exam, and 65.1% of students received a proficient score on the English Language Arts exam. In 2006, the results were 48.2% for math and 43% for reading.

Nearby private schools include Brooklyn Friends School, a co-ed Quaker school established in 1867 that is located in Downtown Brooklyn, and the nonsectarian Berkeley Carroll School in Park Slope. Brooklyn Heights itself hosts the St. Ann's School and the Packer Collegiate Institute.

Dining: Montague Street is the main commercial thoroughfare in Brooklyn Heights, offering a variety of dining options like Nanatori, a Japanese restaurant, as well as Lantern Thai Kitchen, Taze Mediterranean Turkish Cuisine and Amin Indian Restaurant.

For Italian food, try La Traviata or Armando's. For a relaxed spot away from the crowds on Montague, visit Jack the Horse Tavern at the corner of Cranberry and Hicks streets.

11 Schermerhorn St., No. 2RE (Pictured Above)

This one-bedroom, one-bathroom co-op at the Montana has high ceilings, wood floors and a renovated kitchen with stainless-steel appliances. The building doesn't have a doorman but does have storage in the basement, as well as a laundry room and bike storage.

Price: $499,000

Listing agent: Vicki Negron of Corcoran

Open House: Sunday, Aug, 1, 1:30-2:30 p.m.