Myrtle Ave between Clermont and Vanderbilt Aves, Fort Greene, Brooklyn
1 If you need a sweatshirt, shampoo, action figures or party lights (who doesn't need party lights?), you can get each of them (and more) for less than a fiver at R.C. Discount Corp (394–398 Myrtle Ave, 718-243-9165). "Three to four years ago it was almost 80 percent black, maybe 20 percent white and Hispanic," manager Ralph Askenazi says of the neighborhood. These days, as the makeup of the area has changed, so has his stock. "We carry more brand names, like Joe Boxer and Hanes."
2 At Kiini Ibura Jewelry (388 Myrtle Ave, 718-858-5195), designer Melody Burns makes "big, bulky, asymmetrical" accessories from sterling silver and semiprecious stones (earrings $30–$75). "[Business in the recession] has been up and down, but I'm holding on—a new customer always picks up your spirits," she says, adding that she's lucky to be in a good location: "There are a variety of people in the neighborhood. It's free-spirited and open."
3 After training as a lawyer in Paris and modeling for Cacharel, Senegal native Amadou Gueye moved to New York a decade ago to work in the Garment District. His colorful clothing line, Très Elegante (386 Myrtle Ave, 718-522-9850), has been made on-site since 2002, back when his monthly rent here on what he calls "Murder Avenue" was $2,000—now it's $4,800. The distinctive pieces hug the curves of churchgoers, gospel singers and stars like Hustle & Flow's Paula Jai Parker.
4 "Most people here know me," says Susan Chen, owner of Century 21 Nail Salon (383 Myrtle Ave, 718-596-1383). She chose this location on the advice of friends seven years ago, and her squeaky-clean shop has been popular with locals ever since. "Black people, they like acrylic tips, with designs—flowers," she says. "White girls ask for simple, white lines—French [manicures]."
5 "I can't get whiting where I live in Las Vegas—I love it so much," says Diane Graham, 55, as she picks up a fish sandwich ($4.25) at Duncan's Fish Market (385 Myrtle Ave, 718-923-1115). She left the neighborhood (and the city) eight years ago, when Duncan's was in the space where Subway is now, two doors down. Since then it's moved and expanded, adding a soul-food menu that includes fried chicken and homemade macaroni salad. "This neighborhood has changed a lot," Graham says. "It's more cultural than it was, like a little Manhattan."
6 Bohemian-chic bistro Chez Lola (387 Myrtle Ave, 718-858-1484) feels more Left Bank than Fort Greene, with a high tin ceiling, handmade paper lanterns and antique kitchen tools hanging from warm orange walls. The French-inflected menu caters to regulars, with upscale comfort food like a crisp Alsatian pizza with bacon, onions and goat cheese ($10), a spicy salmon burger ($12) and all-you-can-eat mussels on Thursday nights ($12). There's also a rustic garden in the back for warm-weather cocktails (try the Minnie on Myrtle: Absolut Ruby Red, lemon juice and mint; $7), plus live jazz on Monday and Wednesday nights. "Just when we opened in '06, the cops chased down a robber and pinned him against our window with their car—and the customers were right there inside," says Chez Lola's co-owner Charlotta Janssen, who lives upstairs. "This street feels how DeKalb Avenue felt in '98: a little bit gangster, a little bit students and lots of characters. Like, [this guy] Larry is kind of the mayor. He sweeps the sidewalk with an old cereal box and wears lots of gold chains; he's always smiling and singing ‘You're Always on My Mind.'?"—Rebecca Dalzell
Block buzz
Last summer, a car crashed into the front of Benhadi Supermarket (382 Myrtle Ave, 718-222-3176), which neighbors still call Hala Hala, after its former name, but there was little damage.
This spring the cement wall beside the Gulf station will be draped with rotating murals by local painters for artist-run project the Great Wall of Brooklyn (greatwallofbrooklyn.org).
Antique-style lampposts, installed in 2004 by the city and the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership (myrtleavenue.org), were a "visible sign that things were starting to improve, and created a buzz on the avenue," says MARP executive director Michael Blaise Backer. That initiative, along with new trees and street cleaners, helped lower vacancy rates from about 20 percent in 1999 to 9 percent today.
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