House of the Day: 39 Buckingham Road
It’s a good time of year for selling a house in Victorian Flatbush. It’s hard to walk around the historic, suburban-feeling oasis without being charmed. So the wind is at the back of this new listing at 39 Buckingham Road. It’s not the snazziest house in the neighborhood, but it has plenty of original charm…
It’s a good time of year for selling a house in Victorian Flatbush. It’s hard to walk around the historic, suburban-feeling oasis without being charmed. So the wind is at the back of this new listing at 39 Buckingham Road. It’s not the snazziest house in the neighborhood, but it has plenty of original charm (dig that beamed ceiling!) and looks to be in decent shape. And it can be yours for less than a million bucks. (One dollar less, but who’s counting?) Think $999,999 will get the job done?
39 Buckingham Road [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark
The pro’s and con’s of this block (next to my own) are pretty fairly laid out above, but no way is it a “terrible” block. The problem spot in the Parade Grounds (which seemed to be a series of Unfortunate Events rather than, say, a known drug locale or the like) has been addressed with an exuberant overgrowth of police patrols; just last nite at 8 I watched as a NYPD cruiser firmly sent a couple of naughty-artful-dodger types on their way home from hanging out, in a scene worthy of Little Rascals.
Just to recap, the “pros” of NoProPaSo (“North of Prospect Park South,” the name I fooled the New York Times into taking seriously):
–ridiculously close to the park and tennis
–ridiculously close to the Q and B
–easy walk to yuppie heaven on Cortelyou
–enormous houses with driveways
–no snooty landmarking crap to deal with. (Not that there’s anythng wrong with that)
–great neighborhood association and extraordinarily kind and welcoming neighbors!
And the ‘cons’:
–hemmed in by some big apt bldgs (yeah, like you wouldn’t be in Manhattan, huh?)
–Church Ave. sucks after hours and ain’t too great during business hours, either
–Caton between us and the subway is a tad sketchy.
–and, nobody mentioned, but: heavy truck traffic on Caton Avenue.
This particular house, btw, is adorable and gorgeous.
What about the Caledonian Hospital luxury condo development a few blocks from here? That can not be ignored in talking about this neighborhood. Maybe don’t buy this house if you want top location now but with its housing stock and good transportation (mere 2 blocks from the Q) I think this area is well worth looking at if you’re in it for the long haul and are willing to get involved with community building and making improvements. I very strongly believe if Brooklyn as a whole keeps on the path it’s going the most important factor in the next several years will be its access to a quick commute to Manhattan. Also there’s a brand new, great organic market I keep hearing about on Church here. That said the price wanted for this house is too ambitious.
Nice woodwork and cute outside.
Location doesn’t bother me at all. Super close to the park and the subway and the retail basics on Church Avenue. As far as I can tell, the recent violence on Parade Place was between acquaintences, so thre’s no indication that you’re particularly likely to be a random crime victim here.
I dunno, BHS. That’s my neighborhood (I live on Caton) and I’ve used the Church Ave. Q train stop twice a day for the last 10 years. While the shopping is great on Church, we’ve had several shootings in the area in recent months, mostly near the parade grounds, and Church Ave late at night is dicey (I was chased down 18th street not too long ago on my way home from work). People paying a million bucks for a big Victorian are going to want to be a couple blocks south in the enclave (and are more likely to shop on Cortelyou anyway).
It’s a supercute house, but as others have noted, it’s not my preferred part of the neighborhood.
Church Avenue is bad. You definitely feel a little lonely walking after dark on that stretch.
But I think there’s a tradeoff for being closer to subway and park. I personally would want to live south of Church. Great, great house, though.
I disagree that the further south of church you are the better. As I said the north part of PPS is REALLY nice, and PPS in general is one of the nicest areas in Victorian Flatbush, including the stuff further south. Being close to Church means you are near a busy street, but also the subway is really lose, the park is really close, and there’s a new high-end organic supermarket on Church, less than 2 blocks from this block. If you were a few blocks south of Church you might be walking a lot further for groceries, or driving. Trade-offs. But it’s not as simple as “near Church Ave is bad”. And personally, I think the produce, pharmacy, meat and fish shopping on Church Ave on the way home from the subway makes it more livable than other affordable neighborhoods where there is nothing decent for miles and you’re having to get groceries before you leave Manhattan.
I saw this house a couple of months ago. A huge problem is that the wood floors on the second floor are comically uneven. Think rolling hills.
Also, yes, the backyard is right up against an ugly high-rise apartment building.
Otherwise, the house does have some great details.