Bedford-Stuyvesant is New York City’s largest African American district – it's where Notorious BIG grew up and film director Spike Lee shot Do the Right Thing . The neighborhood sprawls across central Brooklyn between Flushing and Atlantic Aves and incorporates everything from picturesque row houses to bleak public-housing projects. South of Atlantic Ave, you’ll find Crown Heights, a neighborhood of African Caribbean and African American residents, who throw a resplendent West Indian Day parade (held every year on Labor Day).
The Stuyvesant Heights Historic District (corner Lewis Ave and Decatur St; subway A/C to Utica Ave), located near Bed-Stuy’s southern limits, vies with Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope for most gorgeous late-19th-century brownstones.
Parts of these neighborhoods bordering Bushwick and East New York can get sketchy. If you're keen on adventuring, ask around before setting out.
