Prospect - Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn: a neighborhood to watch
Prospect - Lefferts Gardens is a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, located on the eastern border of Prospect Park and south of Crown Heights. This area is often called by its residents as “Brooklyn’s best-kept secret”. Relatively lower cost of living and convenient location created the area's reputation as “the last affordable Brooklyn neighborhood with park views”(NY Post).
The Market
Mostly known for its historic homes and architecture, the neighborhood remains impressively preserved to this day. PLG offers some of the finest, well-maintained houses designed in the late 19th- and early 20th-century. Picture-perfect row houses and brownstones can be found on Sterling Street, Lincoln Road, Lefferts Avenue, Maple Street, Fenimore Street and Rutland Road. Other areas of Prospect - Lefferts Gardens offer a mixture of single-family and multi-family homes as well as larger apartment houses.
As the neighborhood’s population grows - new residential developments are rising among low-rise brick buildings and historic row houses. Some of the new developments include The Lefferts House, five-story building located at 195 Hawthorne Street, now offers 1 and 2 bedroom condo apartments for sale (built in 2017); a seven-story residential building at 520 Parkside Avenue and (50 rental units will be created) and an eight-story 28-unit building at 111 Clarkson Avenue. 382 and 392 Lefferts Avenue are the brand new, luxury, elevator buildings, located near the 2 & 5 trains at Sterling Street.
Pricing
The area offers residential experience with the slightly lower cost of living than nearby neighborhoods. The Compass website recently showed 24 properties listed for sale, ranging from $308,000 for a one-bedroom co-op in a prewar building to $3,350,000 for a 4-bedroom historic brick mansion.
"As for rentals, studios range from about $1,450 to $2,300 a month, one-bedrooms from about $1,700 to $2,800, two-bedrooms from about $2,000 to $3,800 and three-bedrooms from about $2,200 to $4,000," said Lena Simpson, real estate broker at Compass.
Commute
PLG's residents enjoy the neighborhood’s convenience to downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan. You will find subway stops for three express trains. The Q train stops at Parkside Avenue and Prospect Park. So it takes about a half-hour to get to Midtown Manhattan. The S, which runs only in Brooklyn, stops at the Prospect Park station as well. There you can also catch the B train, which runs there part-time. Bus transportation is available at Winthrop Street and Sterling Street stations.
Restaurants and Entertainment
The main commercial places are Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues, where new trendy cafés and hip bars are opening and attracting more visitors. Restaurants include Parkside, Midwood Flats, and Olmsted. PLG’s residents enjoy biking, proximity to the park, restaurants and memberships at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Brooklyn Museum.
