Open House Picks
Boerum Hill 152 Dean Street Prudential Douglas Elliman Sunday 12-2pm $2,300,000 GMAP P*Shark Carroll Gardens 327 President Street Brown Harris Stevens Sunday 2-4pm $1,700,000 GMAP P*Shark Discussed Here Lefferts Manor 118 Rutland Road Brown Harris Stevens Sunday 1-3pm $1,595,000 GMAP P*Shark Prospect Lefferts Gardens 140 Lincoln Road Aguayo & Huebener Sunday 2-4pm $1,250,000 GMAP P*Shark
Boerum Hill
152 Dean Street
Prudential Douglas Elliman
Sunday 12-2pm
$2,300,000
GMAP P*Shark
Carroll Gardens
327 President Street
Brown Harris Stevens
Sunday 2-4pm
$1,700,000 GMAP P*Shark
Discussed Here
Lefferts Manor
118 Rutland Road
Brown Harris Stevens
Sunday 1-3pm
$1,595,000
GMAP P*Shark
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
140 Lincoln Road
Aguayo & Huebener
Sunday 2-4pm
$1,250,000
GMAP P*Shark
Bob M,
You make a good point about PLG prices having always been 1/2 of the price of Park Slope. But here’s the problem. Since the 1970s, amenities in Park Slope have improved — as you say yourself — exponentially better than those in PLG. But the ratio of prices has stayed about the same. [Yes, PLG has the park, museums, gardens, etc., but those are the same now as they were 30 years ago, more or less, right?]
Buying in PLG, or in another neighborhood where you are hoping for better amenities, has always to an extent meant taking a certain risk (that amenities improved) in exchange for reward (that you’ll have bought in cheap). But now — because prices have gone up so much while amenities have not — you’re essentially being asked to bet more money on eventual improvments than you used to.
I’m only focusing on PLG and PS because you used those examples, but I think the same is the case in several lower-amenity Bklyn neighborhoods, which in the last couple years, have increased in prices by much greater percentages than the more “established” neighborhoods. In other words, the relative “discount” that you used to get for buying in a nabe with fewer amenities is shrinking.
[And I know “amenities” is a loaded word. Let’s just say it means “those features that make someone want to pay a lot of $ to live somewhere.”]
I guess all this is just a hazard of a hot market, but it’s something for a house hunter to consider.
We spend time in the suburbs visiting friends, and I grew up in the NYC suburbs. As soon as I was 12, I spent every last dime on the bus to Manhattan. The sense of suburban anomie was overwhelming… I’m sometimes tempted by the open spaces and educational choices, since my kids are still young (they are begging for a swimming pool), but the prospect of raising teenagers in suburbia leaves me cold. It sounds like some people have found a good balance in PLG. We certainly feel that way in Ditmas Park, and I have to say, the schools in Ditmas Park (if your kids are reasonably bright) have a lot to offer, and it doesn’t that’s not just true for the elementary years. Midwood HS produces more Westinghouse scholars in the entire nation (and that includes Scarsdale HS!).
The only time I want to get away is in high summer, but who doesn’t. So we’re thinking of purchasing a summer home in upstate NY. Of course once the kids are teenagers, they will never want to go there…
Anonymous,
N.Westchester is beautiful–I wish you luck. It wouldn’t be right for me, but everyone has to do what they consider best for themselves and their families.
Bob, my parents bought a Brooklyn brownstone in 1965, so I wouldn’t say only crazies were doing that in the 70’s. And yes, the burbs aren’t for everyone, and I couldn’t live in any of the suburban burbs near the city either. But after a year of expeditions and staying with friends who have left the city, we’ve decided that the nothern part of Westchester is just right for us. Beautiful countryside, a sense of or ruralness, many parks and nature preserves, but great schools, good restaurants and cafes, an art center with loads of galleries nearby, and a number of good art museums. And NYC 45 minutes away. As a city kid, I want my own kids to have a better balance in their lives. Fortunately, a lovely house up there can be had for just over a million, which nowadays is a bargain.
And to Anon 4:06–when I said that I want my kids to be able run around outside, I didn’t mean on the sidewalk or in a 20 by 40 backyard. That’s not running around.
To anon 9:09, my comment was about one particular corner. All I know about it is that we were warned away from it in 2001 by friends who live in LM and that they recently told us that the problems are the same. They say they usually walk on another street in order to avoid the corner. But I have no firsthand knowledge of it all. And in no way was I making a blanket statement about the area.
Finally, to Brownstoner, no problem about deleting the original post. Cleaning up all that spam must be a headache!
Re: “Noisy corners on Flatbush Ave. bordering PLG/Lefferts Manor:
They may still be noisy, but there has been a staggeringly positive trajectory in noise and loitering reduction on these corners over the past five years. I watch it daily, as I own one of these “corner” houses. Part of the reason for these improvements… Lefferts Manor has an active Neighborhod Association that partners with the 71st Precinct to address these quality of life issues. Yes, Flatbush sure ain’t Park Slope, but having live on a corner almost ten years now, the subtle improvements are profound. This safer environment had to preceed any amenity improvements.
Anon.3:11,
Whether Lefferts Manor or ANY other brownstone nabe is WORTH the current high prices is something I can’t really answer.
Lefferts Manor houses have been about 1/2 Park Slope prices ever since i moved here and I think the lack of amenities like upscale shopping is a major reason for this.
I respect your decision to eventually move to the suburbs–that would be intolerable for me personally, but, to each his own. When I bought my house in 1974 brownstones were only being bought by “crazy” people like me–“normal” people wanted to live in the suburbs. The price of the “back to the city’ movement’s success was that brownstones are now part of the “regular” real estate market and the suburbs are a viable alternative.
Sorry about the comment deletion. We have to delete so much comment spam that sometimes we inadvertently delete real comments in the process. It’s one of the really fun parts of running a blog!
I agree that most of the area is relatively quiet. But we all know that the corner 3:11 is refering to has serious loitering and noise issues. Why not admit that? The comment wasn’t that the area was noisy–it was referring to one corner. We can’t try to boost the area unless we’re going be honest and acknowledge the problems.
PLG is relatively quiet, and you’re right, it’s much quieter than Park Slope. My wife and I were also just talking about how CROWDED Park Slope has become. We went there for dinner last Tuesday night and the crunch was unbearable. We were always in someone’s way, or someone was in our way. There was never quite enough room for everyone to walk comfortably on the sidewalk. It would make PS a much less attractive destination for me if I were looking to buy a place.