Open House Picks

“Anonymous at October 16, 2005 10:57 PM” put the problems with PLG/LM perfectly. It isn’t really a question of if the nabe is livable (which is definitely debatable, but obviously a matter of personal prefence and choice), but rather a question of the wisdom of shelling out that kind of money to live there. As often stated, the area has practically no places to hang out or shop, and is plagued by people hanging out and being noisy. The Midwood house is a stone’s throw from Flatbush, and no matter where one lives in the tiny enclave, you have to cross Flatbush and walk by huge apartment buildings on Lincoln in order to get to the subway, park, or anywhere else.

As the market “softens” homes in established areas will retain their value, but those in edgy nabes without decent amenities will be hit hard. That is exactly what happened the last time, and it will happen again.

Drug dealing issues aside (which is a problem in many neighborhoods, not just PLG) I think the biggest concern with the price of the PLG house is the lack of neighborhood amenities described by posters above. I am not casting aspersions on anyone who lives in PLG, but it is tough to pay that much for a house and not have many places to go within walking distance in the neighborhood where you can sit down and have something to eat or a cup of coffee etc., read a book, go to a clean grocery store. I do not live in PLG, but have been there many times and spent a fair amount of time there day and night to get a feel for the neighborhood when I was shopping for a brownstone. It is pretty, but it is an island surrounded my not so nice areas. Also, a previous posted said that hanging out on the sidewalk and blasting loud music from your car stereo is a “cultural” behavior often seen in PLG. Some people may consider that to be part of their culture (and I’m not making a judgement on that point – to each his own), but to others it can be a quality of life issue from a noise perspective. All that considered, despite how well maintained and pretty some of the PLG houses are, I think that it will be difficult getting the $1.4 million dollar price for this location. Like they always say, location, location, location. It’s why a shell in a sought after neighborhood with plenty of shops, stores and restaurants goes for over $1 million.

By the way just to add a couple of facts, 30 Midwood is 20 feet wide and over 50 deep.

Anon 7:21p

The Prospect-Lefferts Garden Historic District includes the 8 blocks of Lefferts Manor as well as 2 blocks each of Lefferts Ave and Sterling Street btwn Bedford & Nostrand Aves.

I don’t live near Nostrand and Sterling; it’s where I get the train. And there’s no crack house there (or anywhere that I know of in the area), just dealers who hang out on the corner and in the fried chicken store.

There is no Lefferts Manor historic district — the historic district is Prospect Lefferts Gardens and includes Lefferts Manor but also surrounding blocks, including Lefferts Ave. between Rogers and Nostrand where I live (and where houses are selling for upwards of $500K) and Sterling St. between Rogers and Nostrand, so those crack dealers are not on the periphery of the nabe, but right in it. Check it out: http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/maps/prospect_lefferts_gardens.pdf

In addition to Mike’s International, there are several sit-down restaurants in the neighborhood, including Culpepper’s on Nostrand, however 1) they all close around 8 pm, and 2) they all serve some version of Jamaican or Carribean cuisine, reflecting the predominant etnic makeup of the neighborhood. Now I like Jamaican food, but not all the time, and I’m never home from work before 8 o’clock, so these choices are out for me.

Mike’s is probably the snazziest of the lot; it’s also on Flatbush Ave., a bit if a hike for those of us living not “in the Manor”. And the Manor is surrounded by the rest of PLG, so if you really think that you’re going to be fine in your $1.4 million house just because your block is nice, you must plan on never leaving the house.

And some of the residents may seem scary and loud to outsiders, but it’s really just a cultural thing — like the habit of hanging out on the street while blasting music from one’s car radio or cd player, which seems to be pretty common around here, too. Nobody means any harm, but it can be off-putting at first.

And to get to Prospect Park to admire the fall foliage, you’ve got to walk by a fair number of relatively sleazy rental buildings on Lincoln Rd., or on Flatbush Ave.

Personally, I’d take several good restaurants and some shops other than 99 cent stores over fall foliage any day.