The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Meet the New Dross. Same as the Old Dross

And so it begins! People are finally starting to talk about Lefferts Garden (not plural dammit!) in the mainstream media and I no longer get as many blank stares when I say where I'm from (Flatbush they've heard of, but that doesn't pinpoint it very well - particularly given our proximity to the Park, which you must admit, has always given our neighborhood a touch of class). So now that people are saying "oooo, I've heard that's a real up-and-comer," meaning essentially that white people are moving in and houses cost more than a million bucks, the Q has wondered when real signs of the looming makeover might come. And then...out of thin air, comes this, fast on the heels of the K.A. (a/k/a Aladdin) Deli at the NW corner of Woodruff and Flatbush:


In a nod to the old days, they kept the old K.A. poster of foodstuffs, suggesting that falafel and kabobs are on the menu. So...all kidding aside, the new guys are nice. They're from Yemen, they want to make a go of it, and so far the joint is oodles more hygienic than its predecessor. But that sign! Good lord, are those flames from hell licking at that juicy 1/4 lb. burger? And honestly, are they really going to serve char-broiled burgers anyway?

And that stack of pancakes. PANCAKES!!!! I can't wait to see the look on their face when I wander in one morning in my PJs and order a stack of flapjacks!

All to say...things may be changing, but don't count on tapas and wine joints anytime soon. Unless by that you mean a beef patty and some Boone Farm. Shine On You Crazy Flatbush!!

10 comments:

babs said...

Why do you say no plural? The name is Prospect Lefferts Gardens, not Lefferts Garden - it's for Prospect Park, the Lefferts homestead (which was originally on Flatbush at Maple), the Brooklyn Botanic Garden AND our own gardens.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

A-Ha!!! Caught in the Act!! I just KNEW someone would be foolish enough to fall into my trap! And you, Babs, of all people?

I knew y'all had been throwing your own gardens into the name for years! Shame on you!!! What's next, Park Slope calling itself Parks Slope for all those parking spaces? Red Hooks, because people fish there? Bay Ridges, because they prefer Ruffles to Lays? Flat Bushes because of all the shrubbery? For shame!

Anonymous said...

There will be tapas and wine soon, dear blogmeister. Fear not. You heard it here first.

Anonymous said...

I'm always amused by huffy and incessant lamentations of "prospectors" who move to "up and comming" neighborhoods. "Threre's no this, there's no that... this place sucks, that place sucks, this store doesn't carry this, that sign is hideous, wahh wahh wahh..." Beef patties and Boons farm does just fine for folk who can't afford wine and tapas. Yes I'm sure you'd love to live in a more "established" hood, with all your beloved "amenities" and the displacement/gentrification of one of the few remaining working class neighborhoods can't happen soon enough for ya, but for now this is what you got homie, make the best of it till then. Also lighten up on the thinly veiled pseudo-liberal elitist sniping would ya? It seems to be a theme on your blog.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

Holy Cow Oldspeak! You couldn't be further from the mark. This decade-long resident of Clarkson just steps from the new Woodruff Deli would rather poop in his shoes than spend a couple hours being soaked by a whiny tapas joint.

If you can't tell satire from actual kvetching, I don't have much hope for your own blog, where you practice the ACTUAL elitist pseudo-liberal nonsense you claim for me. Cheer up! We'll likely stuff the ballot box for the same candidates.

The things I'd most like to see changed in my neighborhood are less garbage and less violence and crime. Other than that, my Yemeni friends are more than welcome to open as many cookie-cutter bodegas as they like, and I'm more than likely to rib them for their poorly chosen signage. Oh, and I'll probably drop plenty of my pseudo-liberal duckets on $5 pints of elitist ice cream there as well.

babs said...

No, CFB, more along the lines of Carroll Gardens. And Boone's Farm? Seriously? Even my local bulletproof liquor store does way better than that (do they even still make it?).

Clarkson FlatBed said...

Hee hee. Clearly you can see I'm loving this!

Well if Lefferts Gardens is analagous to Carroll Gardens, then the Botanic Garden shouldn't really be considered part of our name. Surely you're not suggesting that our own private plant patches are on par with the mighty BBG?

Bob Marvin said...

Garden, without an "s" just might sound better and yes, the Botanic Garden IS singular (otherwise it might be the "Botanical Gardens" and if you call it that, you're marked as an out of town rube).

Nevertheless, it's been "Gardens" (plural) since PLGNA coined the name in 1968, so I think it's best to leave it alone and keep the plural, euphonious or not, and, while you're at it, don't forget the "Prospect" in front. Respect for history has to count for something.

Anonymous said...

Hey Mea Culpa. I am duly misinformed. But I see the pseudo-liberal elitist sniping on so many other blogsites of non-native Brooklynites, I assumed yours was more of the same. If your intent is harmless ribbing/kvetching as you state, brava. I've been reading your blog for a while now, and while I applaud your desire for less garbage violence, crime and general beautification (as we all do), as a lifelong Brooklyn kid and huge fan of satire; your satire doesn't quite resonate as such with me. Call me a hypersensitive old-timer. I'll keep this info in mind when reading your blog in the future. :-D

Clarkson FlatBed said...

Thanks OldSpeak! I honestly don't mind a good old fashioned back-and-forth on the issues. I just want to make sure that we're clear about where I'm coming from. If this neighborhood can sustain massive increases in the cost of housing with its soul intact, then I believe we will have bucked a trend. I fear that the only kind of change have grown to appreciate is change of the tapas type. And lest I anger some of you Spaniards out there, I mean that figuratively!!

My next post will be more on tapas, since it's so clearly a flash point topic, this tapas.