Affordable Living by the Park
PLG is among the last of the neighborhoods that border Prospect Park
where average working people can still (almost) afford to live.
Although prices here have skyrocketed over the past 5 years - along
with the rest of Brooklyn - the starting point was lower than the
borough's more affluent neighborhoods.
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Homes in Lefferts Manor |
That lower price tag,
however, comes with concessions - there are none
of the higher-end boutiques, bars and restaurants that populate Park
Slope, Prospect Heights and Brooklyn Heights.
The
commercial offerings in PLG reflect the demographics - PLG is
increasingly mixed in terms of race and class but is still at heart
a lower middle-class Caribbean neighborhood. You'll have no trouble
finding decent Caribbean or Latino food, passable outer-borough
Chinese, 99-cents stores, barbers, salons, nails places and a
smattering of national franchise fast-food joints. You won't find
much else.
While some residents are perfectly happy with the way things are,
many wish they didn't have to go outside the neighborhood for decent
wine, books, organic food, imported cheeses and all of the other
higher-end products so easily had "across the park".
It
wouldn't be fair to characterize residents who pine for
change as the "evil forces of gentrification" who dream of
turning PLG into a clone of Park Slope (although that charge is leveled
every now and again on the
neighborhood blog).
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Maple
Street |
In
reality, PLUS, the main group working for improved services, is made
up of a multi-racial group of long-time residents and newcomers who deeply love the neighborhood and
aren't
out to disenfranchise anyone. Anyone who doubts that should attend
a PLUS meeting before casting stones.
So,
what does all this have to do with real estate you ask? Well, the
housing scene in the neighborhood reflects its economic
divides. Americans don't like to acknowledge class divisions, but
we of Planet PLG we are not in the business of propagating
myths. For people with money, the neighborhood offers some truly
amazing houses. For example...
Lefferts
Manor - history by the park
Because
having a neighborhood with a long name like "Prospect Lefferts
Gardens" wasn't confusing enough, someone decided to call the
historic district within the neighborhood "Lefferts
Manor". Houses here run the gamut of styles from Romanesque Revival,
Neo-renaissance, Neo-georgian, Neo-federal and Tudor Rivival.
Whatever the style, these are amazing homes that rival those found
in Brooklyn's premier brownstone neighborhoods. The historic
district is small, so turnover on these homes is low - if you're
interested, get in touch with a local realtor and ask to be called if
something comes on the market. Streets to check out include:
Lincoln, Maple, Midwood, Lefferts and Rutland between Flatbush and Rogers
Avenues. Be aware that homes in the Lefferts Manor historic district are all legal
one-family residences so don't count on rental income to help pay
your mortgage.
On the other hand, the two blocks of Lefferts Avenue and Sterling
Street between Bedford and Nostrand Avenues, while not part of
Lefferts Manor, are part of the Prospect Lefferts
Garden Historic District (you still with me?). As a result, 2-family
homes are allowed on these streets. Many thanks to a reader for pointing
this out.
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Ocean
Avenue:
The park as your front yard
On the slightly more affordable side,
some of the big
apartment buildings that line Ocean Avenue offer newly renovated
apartments with hardwood floors and decent fixtures. If
an affordable space across from the Park's
best stuff sounds good to you, get moving fast - demand for
these buildings is picking up now that the neighborhood's fame is
spreading.
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Ocean
Avenue |
Ocean Avenue is
a prime location for people who commute
into Manhattan; the Q, B, and S trains stop at Prospect Park and
you can catch the Q train at Parkside Avenue.
Occasionally one of the gorgeous limestones or more modest brick
homes across the park on Ocean Avenue come on the market - act quick
because turnover is almost non-existent and these properties are
very hard to come by.
Cheaper
digs
If
you're on a limited budget check out the apartments and Lincoln Road,
above the stores on Flatbush
Avenue, or further south in the neighborhood on Winthrop, Parkside,
or Clarkson. Prices are always in flux and we haven't been on the market for while in PLG so please feel free to send me updates on good housing deals in the neighborhood.
PLG
House Tour
Each year in June get a glimpse of the insides of the neighborhood's
most elegant homes by signing up for PLG's house tour - the second oldest
of its kind in Brooklyn. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 on
the day of the tour - contact 718-462-0024 or
718-284-6210 for
more information. |
Lefferts
Avenue
Lefferts Avenue
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