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.
David,
Points taken. I fail to believe, however, that it would be impossible to create better schools in poorer areas because the kids are not as well prepared and the parents are less involved than in wealthier neighborhoods.
I also disagree that schools in poor areas get the same degree of funding as those in wealthy areas. There are exceptions (PS 217 in Brooklyn, for example – where 81% of kids are eligible for free lunch – has great resources) but in general you will not find the same equipment/resources/programs in a public school in a wealthy neighborhood as you do in a poor neighborhood.
Dan
Oh please Dan, NYC public schools are not funded by neighborhood taxes – and education isnt withheld based upon skin color or economic status.
Public Schools are good in neighbohoods where a majority people/parents are committed to really educating their kids and are also sending them to the public school.
The majority of kids in the ‘wealthier’ sections come to their 1st day of school far, far ahead of those in these failing areas and that has little to nothing to do with $ or government.
while i agree with you gary, as i just moved from the uws to park slope i do think that there is still some funkiness to be had in ps. while it may have typically been around the 7th ave corridor, it is now down on 5th, 4th, etc. i think in the grand scheme of american life, we are still pretty lucky to live in nyc where you can find some of the much needed funky…we just have to look a little harder now, it seems.
love your hood too, btw.
We are new resident, no kids so no school worries. We chose LG for the great houses near the park and BBG and the Q train. The best part of being here are the neighbors and the good feelings all around. The biggest area for improvement is the same here as in so much of NYC and beyond: keeping kids in school and getting jobs for young people.
Gentrification is happening and will continue, we just hope it goes slowly. Park Slope is close enough for us to get our fill at will. We moved from the UWS of Manhattan, and watched that nabe change from funky to money over 30 years and wanted to get out when it reached its current levels. Everybody wants to be the last person to discover a great thing, it just never works out that way.
Supergirl,
When I first moved to Park Slope in 1970, “gentrification” was already underway, but not too many years before there had been relatively few children (Everett Ortner refers to PS having been “brought back from the dead”). I’m sure good schools FOLLOWED other improvements in PS and throughout brownstone Brooklyn.
PLG rez,
While I guess you’re correct about transportation in PLG v. WT, I personally would rather avoid invidious comparisons between brownstone nabes. I know WT well, having lived around the corner, at 14th Street and “9th Avenue” for a number of years. Its a nice neighborhood and their schools are certainly an attraction. Yes, I DO prefer PLG–otherwise I would have bought in WT–prices were comparable in ’74–but that’s just me
Bob: That linked story was amusing. Almost read like an Onion piece.
It’s funny how obsessed New Yorkers seem with schools. Is this a Baby Boomer trend? I originally come from a small city in Michigan and everyone went to the same high school.
Were the Park Slope schools only good after gentrification or did people move to the Slope originally because of the good schools?
If you see a park official or a city cop nearby, just bring it to their attention. A ticket and a fine will do a world of good.
PLG resident sez……………over 15 years in PLG and still very little traction in the way of retail amenities. It’s a poor area outside of the Landmark district. The schools track poorly. Until the schools improve, really improve PLG will never happen. Simple good schools=good amenities. Nice limestones, beautiful detail. Shots ring out……..duck and cover