Thanks to its low-key, residential atmosphere — a charming dose of suburbia within New York City — it’s no wonder many people find Midwood, Brooklyn, an attractive place to live. Located in south-central Brooklyn, this quiet neighborhood is a peaceful area with wildly affordable real estate, a few bustling commerce centers, and easy access to Manhattan. What Are the Housing Options in Midwood, Brooklyn? Here you will find lots of detached homes and older co-ops with generous floor plans and affordable price points. As of December 2021, the median sales asking price in Midwood, Brooklyn was $632,000, with a median rental price of $2,116 — an absolute bargain compared with the median asking sales and rental prices for the rest of Brooklyn, which are $925,000 and $2,675, respectively. Expect plenty of greenery and driveways too. What Is There to do in Midwood, Brooklyn? Despite its residential feel, Midwood’s main thoroughfares — notably Avenue J and Coney Island Avenue — boast just about every restaurant and shop that residents could need, says Rebekah Carver, including an array of kosher restaurants, florists, clothing shops, and beyond. For some of the city’s absolute best pizza, don’t miss Di Fara, known for their mouthwatering slices and pies. Other neighborhood staples are Mechy’s Gourmet, a kosher-style deli and restaurant, and Jerusalem Steakhouse II, known for their generous portions of Israel-style grub. Beyond the culinary offerings, Midwood is also fortunate enough to be located right near lively Brooklyn College, which means locals can take advantage of the Center for the Performing Arts’ productions. #midwood

The name, Midwood, derives from the Middle Dutch word, Midwout (middle woods; Modern Dutch: Midwoud), the name the settlers of New Netherland called the area of dense woodland midway between the towns of Boswyck (Bushwick) and Breuckelen (Brooklyn). Jan Snedeker, Jan Stryker, and Tommys Swartwout solicited from Director-General Stuyvesant the right of settling together on a level area of wilderness (black bosch, the flat bush), adjacent to the outlying farms at Breukelen and Nieuw Amersfoort. Through Swartwout's suggestion, the settlement has named the village of Midwout or Midwood. In April 1655, Stuyvesant and the Council of New Netherland appointed Swartwout a schepen (magistrate), to serve with Snedeker and Adriaen Hegeman as the Court of Midwout. Later, it became part of old Flatbush, situated between the towns of Gravesend and Flatlands. The settlement was begun by the Dutch in 1652; they later gave way to the English, who conquered it in 1664, but the area remained rural and undeveloped for the most part until its annexation to the City of Brooklyn in the 1890s. It became more developed in the 1920s when large middle-class housing tracts and apartment buildings were built. Many Midwood residents moved to the suburbs in the 1970s, and the neighborhood and its commercial districts declined. Drawn by its quiet middle-class ambiance, new residents began pouring into Midwood during the 1980s; many of them were recently landed immigrants from all over the world. In a short time, Midwood was transformed, from a predominantly Jewish neighborhood with a smattering of Irish-Americans and German-Americans to a remarkably polyglot section of the borough of Brooklyn. #midwood

Within Midwood itself, it would be pretty difficult to find unless you’re going to friends’ house parties. Everybody mostly tends to go to: • The Sheepshead Bay canal (Emmons Ave) - which has A LOT going on. Sheepshead Bay itself also has a lot of places, but think of Emmons Ave as Sheepshead Bay’s “strip”. • Bensonhurst. Some places there are Living Room on 24th & 86th - which is mostly Russian and Albanian - although there is another very authentic Hispanic club right across the street from it; both places have a lot going on and tend to get pretty rowdy. Another big place is on 65th & Bay Pkwy, but I don’t remember the name. You can also find some small & big lounges on Bath Ave. • Coney Island Ave has a few large restaurants. • Brighton Beach - lots going on. It’s like a miniature Manhattan. • The closest places to Midwood itself that I can think of are Down House on Ave U & McDonald Ave, and Monaco on Ave N (I think) & also McDonald Ave. Both are very heavily Russian/Eastern European. YMMV with the last two bullet items if you don’t belong to any of those ethnic groups. You may or may not feel like a fish out of the water. Some people do, some don’t - just a heads up!