Clinton Hill:Lefferts Place okay to move to?
Looking at a top-floor 1 br in a brownstone on Lefferts. Want to get some opinions on the block/area before making a stupid decision. Franklin “C” station seems terrible. The Classon/Wash “C” is two blocks away. Any advice? It seems Princess Lefferts Hotel is across the street and is a flophouse. Any opinions out there?
Looking at a top-floor 1 br in a brownstone on Lefferts. Want to get some opinions on the block/area before making a stupid decision. Franklin “C” station seems terrible. The Classon/Wash “C” is two blocks away. Any advice? It seems Princess Lefferts Hotel is across the street and is a flophouse. Any opinions out there?
10:09 is absolutely right. i live in Flatbush near the church ave stop on the Q. Now that IS a ghetto – no one could argue. when i’m finally willing to sacrfice a huge spacious apartment in order to live closer to nice restaurants and boutiques, i’ll look to Clinton Hill. It would be a step up.
But just for the record, in all of 3 years living in Flatbush, I’ve never experienced crime first hand. no matter where you live, it’s about being street smart. my current neighborhood is devoid of irritating yuppies wearing ipod headphones at 3am. my neighbors are curteous and hard-working adults. it’s a place that is unconsciously communiy centered, not in the annoying coop/community garden way that you find in upscale BK hoods.
Wow, I never expected these responses to be so angry.
I’m not from NY, I’m from Atlanta and am no stranger to crime in neighborhoods. However, I am an attractive blonde who isn’t familiar with all the areas of Brooklyn. I want to give all the neighborhoods their fair due and have no intention of choosing based on income of it’s citizens. I was hoping to avoid living in a studio but with my salary I can’t afford a $2000/month apartment.
I am interested in starting a family. I want to feel safe. Having drug deals happening under my window while I’m nursing a child doesn’t seem right.
Thank you all for your honest opinions.
Brownstoner, your choice of photo to represent Lefferts Place is misleading … the shot you have taken is of probably the least attractive corner of the entire three blocks … why this choice?
In any event, even this scruffy corner displays the great promise of the block … most of those brownstones have great potential, and will eventually be restored, as other homes on the block have already been
Across from these brownstones between Classon and Franklin is a wonderful pre-Civil War mansion on a double-sized lot that has recently been restored … it sits beautifully between a cherry tree and a magnolia … someone thinks that Lefferts Place is worth investing in big time … voting with their $
I can tell you that all three blocks have very active block associations … there are many families that have lived in these brownstones for generations … there is a neighborhood feeling which has been lost in most other parts
Why are all you people insulting Clinton Hill?
With regards to crime, I was born in Brooklyn and have lived on St. James and Lefferts for the past three years. I’ve never been mugged, shot, harassed, etc. and I’m not the biggest white guy in the neighborhood. Then again, I think you need to use your street smarts. Crime happens all over New York and you just have to be aware of your surroundings. I’ve been harassed more while living in the East Village than in Brooklyn.
The only real crimes that you hear gentrifiers complaining about is some teenagers trying to steal an iPod. If you make yourself a mark then people are going to take advantage of you. This is nothing new to any neighborhood and while you could certainly argue that you should not have to live that way, as a New Yorker you should. Most likely you spend more time in other neighborhoods than your own and being cautious is always a good idea. There is some crime that happens in the day, but this is true all over the place.
With regards to drug dealers and your assorted thugs in the neighborhood, they really don’t bother people unless you give them a reason to (ie making yourself an easy target, have a problem staring at them, etc.). It’s pretty common sense though.
With regards to the hotel on Lefferts, it was closed by the police as they were running a prostitution ring out of there so if that does bother you, then you have your reason not to move in there.
The reason I like the neighborhood is that it’s a nice reflection of New York City – people of multiple income levels living together in a mostly friendly environment. And there are people who actually live in Brooklyn and look out for trouble. But if you were looking for some safer and more vanilla options then, sure move to Carrol Gardens or Park Slope which is nicer, safer, whiter. But they also possess elements that made me eventually leave the East Village – a bunch of frat boys getting trashed watching football games, too many lame bars, and little respect for anyone who isn’t trying to gentrify the neighborhood.
To me Clinton Hill feels more Brooklyn and more New York than many other places. It is both urban and suburban, hipster and hip-hop, black and white, priviledged and poor, safe and edgy, trendy and hood. Unlike Park Slope or Carrol Garden, but much like Fort Greene and Prospect Heigths, it is hard to paint the neighborhood with one stroke of the brush because it has many different looks. The common thread to Clinton Hill is its maginificent brownstones, diverse residents, and its true feeling of community.
While Clinton Hill is not Park Slope, it is definitely not the “ghetto.” Ghettos rarely have trendy cafes (i.e., Pillows, Frank White, Outpost, Brown Betty Cafe), Zagat highly rated restaurants (i.e., Locanda Vini e Olli, Luz, Chez Lola), fun bars (i.e., Ropes, Mirrors on Grand, Rustik, Reign Lounge) or funky shopping options (i.e., Dope Jams, Karen’s Body Beautiful, RePop, Blue Bass Vintage).
The fact that there are so many new establishments and transplants from other parts of the city and country speak volumes to the neighborhood’s charm and attraction.
5:30- will you marry me? Oh yeah… another great amenity in the neighborhood. Our residents have 78% better senses of humor. It’s a fact http://www.wherefunnypeoplelive.com.
you people who live in Clinton hill dont get it yet. it aint gonna happen in clinton Hill! you live in the ghetto
Well, I love my neighborhood and (maybe I’m just bias) but my block is my favorite block in my favorite neighborhood. And my neighbors are terrific. Oh- and Outpost is my favorite café hang out in all of Brooklyn.
I’ve been on lefferts for 5 years. Great people. It’s beautiful. A/C is really close. (oh-it’s like an extra two blocks to the Nostrand stop… I do that sometimes because that’s express and 3 stops to the city.
It’s weird… brooklynites never really know how to get from one neighborhood to the other… but… so you know… I go to prospect Park all the time… it’s a 5 minute bike ride and a 15 minute walk… Any of the north prospect heights places on Vanderbilt or Underhill are really close…. As is all of the North slope. So North 5th ave too… that’s also walking distance.
Your also abut a 15 minute walk from Atlantic terminal which I do sometimes on nice days or if I’m going to the upper east.
And if you drive or take cabs Classon Ave is a strait shot to the bridges and Williamsburg… and way way closer then the slope.
I find the services in the immediate area very functional. The Y on Bedford is the best gym I ever joined in Brooklyn. The local 24 hour deli guys are super cool and nice. The best deli café on Atlantic will deliver you a $2 egg and cheese sandwich in about 2.5 minutes. Jesse’s is my favorite nail place… there’s a post office right on fulton which is as terrible as any other branch but not worse. And the MET Super market is really practical and useful.
So I guess it’s about finding a neighborhood that meets your immediate needs and then one that you feel good in. For me… I like the vibe here… I like the influence of pratt… the eccentrics, the diversity… I like the way I still feel like I live in NY… I find my neighbors helpful in over the top ways when needed or necessary… but also respectful of my anonymity and distinctly not petty and controlling and nosey… and that’s my vibe… so that works for me.
I am a very middle aged woman whose son lives in that last block of Lefferts place closest to Franklin (technically bed sty I think) When he first moved it I was nervous. We live and he grew up an east coast city so it was not just total culture shock. I have just come to love his neighborhood and think it is mostly filled with a mix of people some with money and some without. I think a major fear on this site is of people without bucks. If a neighborhood is artistic poor than it seems it has many fewer negatives than a street that is working (or less) poor. The murders around Christmas were horrible but if you think living a mile away from them really makes you safer then i think you have a serious flaw in your vision of living in a city.