PLG: Pump Up The Volume, Dance, Dance
Despite the best efforts of our resident troll (who gets more insane every day), all signs point to boom times in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Of the five houses listed currently on Brown Harris Stevens, for example, three are in contract (including this place that has been on the market forever) and another (the Ocean Avenue…
Despite the best efforts of our resident troll (who gets more insane every day), all signs point to boom times in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Of the five houses listed currently on Brown Harris Stevens, for example, three are in contract (including this place that has been on the market forever) and another (the Ocean Avenue house featured in OHP two weeks ago) is tied up in a bidding war somewhere between 5 and 10 percent over ask. One reader who hit a bunch of the open houses this weekend said they were crawling with young couples priced out of Clinton Hill and Fort Greene and drooling at the comparatively low prices and proximity to the park. (New York Magazine was way out in front of this one back in ’05.) If you’re a long-term believer in Brooklyn, it’s hard to see how you can go wrong with PLG. But…are prices outpacing the reality of infrastructure, amenities, etc. or is the rest of the world just waking up and coming to its senses? (We would encourage people to sign in for discussions on this one as our little PLG toad will most likely be firing away full throttle in his best efforts to disrupt civil discourse.)
Photo from Planet PLG 2006 house tour slide show.
People are so crazy about PS321 that I have thought of doing what I need to do to get a variance (lie wheedle). But I do wonder if this is a case of overhype? Just curious if you don’t feel like you …
Thanks nothing. Mr. Brownstoner and everyone who visits this site are all obsessed with home values and sales stats on historic houses in Brooklyn. Have you ever been to this site before? OBSESSED. So that would includes info on schools and amenities and anything that influences home values. Schools are brought up all the time here, whenever the value of a neighborhood or house is discussed. Get used to it.
Anon.4:13,
Re: “hip renters”, I think one reason that amenities have lagged in PLG is that most renovation-type activity has been centered on Lefferts Manor (NO renters) and the rest of the PLG HD and surrounding brownstone blocks (FEW renters). The recent changes in the apartment buildings should provide a customer base for greatly improved amenities over the next few years.
Thank you 4:19pm. I couldn’t have said it better myself!
“And the topic of schools is more important to home values than cornices, as someone said. So it’s a relevant topic.”
see…but this is not a website about home values, my friend. this is a website about brownstones and people who love them. thus all the articles on homes. get it now??
while schools may play a factor in this, sure…talking about cornices, architecture, and the actual homes IS the reason for this board. try the park slope message board for more details on schools.
in case you haven’t noticed, mr. bronwnstoner writes about homes, not ps321.
thanks.
The “hip renters” in PLG are all on Ocean and Lincoln. The problem is Flatbush. Even Bob Marvin will agree that there has been no real change in the make-up of the residents of the apartment buildings on Flatbush Ave. Those buildings are far too run-down and derelict to attract even the hipest hipster.
No one said that OT’s posts weren’t informative. Please read the post you’re replying to.
I think Occasional Teacher’s posts have been informative. And the topic of schools is more important to home values than cornices, as someone said. So it’s a relevant topic.
On PLG, I agree the amenities are terrible. There’s really no debate there. But it’s also very true that with hip renters come amenities. Those are the people who gentrified 5th Avenue in Park Slope, which used to be a dump. It’s all about the young hip renters shopping, eating and drinking.
I looked in Lefferts Manor because we have freinds there. I loved the people and the houses, and I decided that I could live with the lack of amenities. But after spending a lot of time there and talking a lot to our friends who live there, I decided that there were two aspects of the area I could not live with. One is Flatbush avenue, the noise, the filth, and the people hanging on the corners. Even if better amenities come, the people living along Flatbush won’t change. I just don’t want to deal with that on a regular basis. Two is the isolation. Our friends, who have lived there for years, talked about feeling trapped on a tiny island and not being able to get off except by subway or car. Again, not for me. I understand why some like the area, but it is way too edgy and removed for me.