Interesting Question: Does Brooklyn's 'New Park Avenue' Suck?

The crew over at Streets Blog, which normally spends its time on topics like congestion pricing, takes a look at the new Fourth Avenue between Park Slope and Gowanus and decides that, in a word, it pretty much sucks despite the fact that Borough President Marty Markowitz called it "a grand boulevard of the 21st Century." They say the Novo Park Slope "looms fortress-like over the playground next door." The Crest, on the other hand, "greets passersby with man-sized industrial vents." And, Hotel Le Bleu? It "meets the sidewalk with a parking lot fit for a suburban dentist's office." Oh, and there's also discussion of streetscapes, livability, mixed use development and whether the development cycle might peter out before Fourth Avenue has a chance to become the next Park Avenue.
· New York Can Do Better Than the "New Fourth Avenue" [Streets Blog]
· Brooklyn's Fourth Avenue as the Next Park Avenue [Curbed]