A Newcomer and an Old-timer Explain Why They Love South Park Slope -- New York Magazine

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My Slope, Your Slope

(Photo: Hannah Whitaker. Map by Jason Lee.)

The Old-timer: Peter Choma
Age: 63
Profession: Vice-president of a financial company.
Resides: Two-family house on Prospect Avenue near Fifth Avenue, with the “prettiest yard on the block.”
Years in the Neighborhood: 55, “give or take a year or two.”
“My father bought this house in 1976, and I inherited it when he died, in 1992. I was raised just down the block. When I was a kid, it was a nice neighborhood, then things got rough. Now you have all these people from Manhattan moving here, girls living twenty to a room. Who wants to live like that? But I’ll tell you something—these days, if you own a house on my block, you don’t have to work.”

(Photo: Hannah Whitaker)

13. Eagle Provisions
628 Fifth Ave., nr. 18th St. 718-499-0026
“It has all these delicacy foods. I’m very good to Peter Choma— if I want it, I buy it. It’s where I get my cold cuts and pickles. I know the owners, and the service is always excellent.”

14. Milan Restaurant
710 Fifth Ave., at 22nd St.; 718-788-7384
“Veal cutlets, big salads, potato soup, very nice people, home-style cooking. I eat like a horse even though I’ve weighed the exact same since I was 16.”

15. The Bagel Factory
612 Fifth Ave., at 17th St. 718-768-0461
“I like my coffee to have more kick to it. Here, it really is good.”

16. EZ Clean and White
565 Fifth Ave., nr. 16th St. 718-768-5371
“I drop off my laundry once a week and pick it up the next night. I could sit in there on a Saturday afternoon, but who wants to do that? So I pay an extra dollar or two, big deal.”

(Photo: Hannah Whitaker)

17. Lenny’s Pizza
594 Fifth Ave., nr. Prospect Ave. 718-788-8928
“It’s been here for 30 or 40 years. I go maybe once a week, only because it’s convenient.”

18. Met Foods
595 Fifth Ave., nr. 16th St. 718-499-5248
“It’s where I run my daily errands: milk, bread, basic necessities. It’s been there for years, husband-and-wife owners—they’re old school.”

(Photo: Hannah Whitaker)

19. Time Galleries
562 Fifth Ave., nr. 16th St. 718-788-8300
“I’ve gotten some antique tables here, a chandelier, clocks. They buy whole estates. Besides this, there’s not much in the way of shopping around here—unless you want to look like a hoochie mama.”

20. Park Slope Plumbing Supplies
601 Fifth Ave., at Prospect Ave. 718-832-0400
“In my house, I do all the plumbing and electrical work myself. I helped my father a lot when I was young, learned from him.”

21. Jasmine’s Floral Design
543 Fifth Ave., nr. 15th St. 718-369-7323
“I’ll buy flowers here for my mother, my daughter. It’s nothing to brag about, but it’s nice for a local place.”

(Photo: Hannah Whitaker)

22. Holy Family Parish
205 14th St., nr. Fourth Ave., entrance on 13th St.; 718-768-9471
“I went to grammar school here. The school’s closed now, but I go to church maybe monthly. I don’t see that many younger people; religion’s a problem with that generation.”

(Photo: Hannah Whitaker)

23. Neergaard Pharmacies
454 Fifth Ave., nr. 10th St. 718-768-0600
“It’s been in the neighborhood since I was a kid. Everything from crutches to pills.”