GettingtoKnowYou: hey mama

1. Name: kristen couse

2. Blog alias: hey mama 3. When did you move to Clinton Hill, and how did you end up here? my husband and i decided it was time to move out of our loft in bushwick and buy a place about 5 years ago. we started looking in cobble hill/carroll gardens and quickly realized that we couldn't afford anything decent there, so the real estate pages basically led us out here to fort greene/clinton hill/bed-stuy.

4. Rent or own? we bought a fantastic three-story brick townhouse that needs a lot of cosmetic work but has a bunch of original details—and a backyard.

5. Hometown: i've lived in ny state my whole life but have moved around a lot: i was born in nyack, but also spent parts of my childhood in piermont, new city, central valley, middletown, and cold spring.

6. Years in NYC: moved to manhattan in 98, then out to brooklyn in 99 and never looked back....

7. Favorite place to eat in the hood: oh man that's tough. i think i'll have to go with the first place i ever ate in clinton hill, back before i ever thought i'd moved here, when i got off the g train and said "where the hell am i?": locanda vini & olii. but i'd have to give cafe martino a close second.

8. Favorite thing about Clinton Hill: that it really feels like a small town in the middle of a big city.

9. Biggest neighborhood gripe: the ugly ugly buildings that are popping up all over the place. if i see one more pink brick or fedders air conditioner....

10. What would you like to see most in the nabe? a really great food market.

11. Favorite street in Clinton Hill, and why: not to be prejudiced, but.... i love my street, clifton place. there are tons of trees, and a variety of buildings---from the brownstones between grand and st. james to the ping-pong factory on the corner of classon---that are all great in their own right. plus there are always a good group of cats living at the elder housing complex between classon and grand who will come out and say hi, which is a plus in my book.

12. If you were a flavor of ice cream, what would be and why? i'll say lemon sorbet: a little sweet, a little tart.