Roomy Flatbush Prewar With Built-in Bookshelves, Two Baths Asks $1.195 Million
With arched doorways perhaps left from the 1920s original interior, this renovated three-bedroom also has new wide-plank oak flooring and an open-plan kitchen and dining room.

Photo via Serhant
A short stroll from Prospect Park, this three-bedroom unit has generous closet space, two full baths, and a renovated interior that includes a wall of built-in bookshelves. There are a few arched doorways perhaps left from the 1920s original interior, but there is new wide-plank oak flooring, and the floor plan has been tweaked for an open-plan kitchen and dining room.
The nine-story building at 416 Ocean Avenue was completed in 1923 and dubbed Bracebridge Hall. An ad that year boasted it had apartments “equal to any on Park Avenue” and described Manhattan as a “narrow strip of struggling humanity” compared with spacious Brooklyn. Builder Allan Black, who had a sideline as a bootlegger which would get him into a bit of tax trouble, hired architect Charles B. Meyer to design the restrained brick building with Classical detailing. Perks for residents included a ballroom, a roof garden, and a marbled foyer. A restaurant on the ground floor was also available for residents who wanted to order meals delivered to their apartments.
This upper-floor unit opens to a long bookshelf-lined hallway leading to the living room. French doors off that hallway provide access to the dining room and kitchen. A small bedroom and bathroom, likely originally a maid’s room, are tucked behind the kitchen. The other two bedrooms are off a shared hallway, accessible via the living room and the dining room, along with another full bath.
Walls, trim, and built-ins are white throughout the unit and some rooms have beamed ceilings, also white.
In the open-plan kitchen and dining space, a large island with cooktop divides the two areas. Stainless steel appliances, including a dishwasher, are combined with gray cabinets and a gray and white tile backsplash. While the oak flooring is in the dining area, the kitchen has a white tile floor.
White tile flooring is also in the narrow bedroom, which is set up as an office. The en suite bath has a jolt of color with grass green tiles on the floor and walls. There is a shower; the other full bath has a tub, the floor plan shows.
There is no lack of storage, with a total of seven closets in the space. If additional storage in the building exists, the listing doesn’t mention it.
The ballroom and roof garden do not appear to have survived, but the 1920s foyer retains its coffered ceiling and other details, old listings show. The building has a part-time doorman, a live-in super, bike storage, and shared laundry. Pied-Ă -terres and gifting of units are allowed. Maintenance for this unit is $1,976 a month.
Serhant’s Abigail Palanca, Crystal Chancey, and Jennifer Chiu have the listing and the unit is priced at $1.195 million. Worth the ask?
[Listing: 416 OCEAN Avenue #74 | Broker: Serhant] GMAP










[Photos via Serhant]
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