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.

Monday, June 24, 2013

The Haunted House of Clarkson - Is FOR SALE! (ghosts sold separately)

Since the Q moved to Clarkson a decade ago, the fabulous Haunted House near the corner of Bedford has remained a distinct fascination. Ah, there it is:


Not long after moving here, I asked the folks in the weird front addition to the house to let me in...strangely they obliged. It was one of most Magnificent Ambersons moments of my life to date. Read all about the house here.

It's back on the market. Here's the deets. Why not pony up the $3 million and sink another couple mill into it, and then you can really live like a Lion of Lefferts, plus you'll be within spitting distance of Gandhi and that bullet proof liquor store. Magnificent, indeed! More pics below...

Thanks Matt P. for the heads up on this one. Something about biking in the Himalayas really helped hone his internet radar.










22 comments:

Bob Marvin said...

IIRC my old copy of the AIA Guide to NYC cites this house as an example of "berserk eclecticism" I really hope it ends up being restored.

Anonymous said...

So that's all you get from the Times, an un announced visitor, appalling.

Anonymous said...

Yes, please let somebody restore this! It's breathtaking up close, but also sad in its current state.

Anonymous said...

At least one broker is marketing this property as a "developers tear down for $3.25 million. It's highly doubtful that somebody pays around $3 million for this property without plans to tear it down and construct something much larger. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't become a hideous Fedders building. Of course, anything that a developer builds will be completely out of place for the block either way.

Anonymous said...

The owner of this house is a horrible person. First to let the house decay then try to sell it to developers to tear down simply to get maximum profits from the house he let fall apart. What a dillweed.

Anonymous said...

The owner also stated he's not interested in landmarking the house either. Sad.

Anonymous said...

It really is a "one-of-a-kind" home. It would be sad to see it go. But that lot is very valuable to a developer. The 1940s picture shows the porch the way it is supposed to be. That is my favorite property in PLG.

Anonymous said...

They're literally asking somewhere around $800/sq ft. What a joke!

Anonymous said...

$800/SF is the new normal in Brooklyn townhouses. Try to find a place in Park Slope for less than $1,200/SF. Good luck to you sir!!

These are the type of real estate posts I like to see on this blog. Keep it up. And you may want to create a post on the highest ever closing price recently in Lefferts Manor for $1.85M. It helps to generate more affluent buyer interest to our neighborhood.

Please keep us posted on what the final sale price is for this Clarkson house!!

peter said...

The asking price is really based on its value as a development site, I think.

babs said...

That $1.85 million house, BTW (which is on contract, not closed), measures 3720 sf, meaning it sold for just overv$497/sf. A fully-renovated, stone house in Lefferts Manor.

Looks more like $500/sf is the new normal around here - for one of the finest houses in the neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

anon 9:41 a.m.: we all know you want this to be a real-estate price-boosting blog, a point you've made several times in the past few weeks. Just give it a rest. It's tone-deaf and crass. Go over to Brownstoner, you'll fit right in.

Anonymous said...

I think anon9:41 is onto something actually. More real estate posts that tout the big sales and other positive news like that will hopefully inspire more people to buy into PLG which is really what is going to make this neighborhood safe for everyone who wants to live here. Because its certainly not going to change unless more money comes into the neighborhood.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

I'm suspecting you might be the same anon, anon. But lest your point go un-rebutted, let me just say that your "solution" is an incredibly blunt tool to fix a very, very targeted and specific problem. A lot of people get washed down the drain with the scum, follow?

If we want this to be a neighborhood that regular working people can afford, and where gramma doesn't get kicked out on her ass, and where landlords abide by the law, and those needing assistance can find it with dignity AND a low crime rate...then we'll be living the promise of NYC and we'll be an example to the world.

Or, we could just let fat wallets take care of everything and kiss our self-respect good-bye.

Anonymous said...

If anon 2:48 isn't anon 9:41, they sure subscribe to the same magazines. Besides, if you want to take the REALLY cynical approach to neighborhood improvement, the wishful thinking that rich people will solve our problems is not borne out by reality. There have been about 30 houses in our neighborhood that have traded hands for more than a million dollars in the last decade. Lefferts Gardens has about 50,000 people, give or take. Those 30 wealthy families, even if you multiplied their number by ten (almost impossible, given the very low turnover of houses in the neighborhood) will never represent more than a tiny fraction of the PLG population. Not nearly enough critical mass to bring the bars and restaurants and fancy cheese you hope for. I don't know how good you are at math or economics, anons, but if you want your vision of a swank and gentrified Lefferts Gardens to come to fruition, you have to go for the numbers. Buy a whole apartment building, disenroll it from section 8, force/bribe/neglect your rent-stabilized or subsidized tenants out, renovate a bit, jack up the prices, market to young white professionals and recent college grads, rinse, lather, repeat. Congratulations: you are now a Bloombergian social engineer.

So that's it: forget your piddling $1.8 million sale. They probably have kids and a car and do all their shopping over in the Slope. What you want is a thousand market-rate apartments to turn over, each with a bunch of recent college grads and young professional couples with disposable incomes. Then your cynical fantasy of a fully gentrified PLG will be realized.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Tim, you're a good person. Thanks for all you do. And for the decent points that you make.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:25 PM, not a good person, a GREAT person!

The Snob said...

This. Really appreciate the anti-Brownstoner vibe. What separates PLG right now from the rest of the "brownstone belt" is that there still is a core of people who value their community over resale prices. Even in the Manor -- they would have cable TV by now if they were just looking at real estate. Next topic, please?

Anonymous said...

Oh, I really, really wish that I had a few million in my pocket right now.

Anonymous said...

This house should be a museum. Too sad.

peter said...

It can probably be landmarked against the owner's wishes, if somebody in the community were motivated to the work.

Anonymous said...

Before the front add-on was installed c. 1970, there were 3 large stained glass windows there.