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.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Look Out East Flatbush - Here "We" Come

Happy for them; still, surprised the NY Times is on the case
They're usually behind by a year or two.
That's Linda Jaquez's picture
Never in a million years...but hey if you want a house you gotta start looking outside the "box."

NY Times On House Hunting in E Flatbush


22 comments:

Alex said...

They are behind by a year or two, believe it or not.

Bob Marvin said...

At least they don't claim that Martense Street in in PLG.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

dude. PLG is SO over.

Jacob said...

If you aren't a zillionaire and you want a house, yes, PLG is over.

Bob Marvin said...

Nonsense; it's the center of the universe :-)

babs said...

I have seen Martense St called PLG by more than one real estate listing, but these people didn't even buy there - they wound up all the way over by Holy Cross Cemetery, where you need a car to get around - no nearby subways, and buses are less-than-reliable. I just wonder how far out people are willing to go? If I had to drive everywhere AND it took over an hour to get to Manhattan, I think I'd move to the 'burbs. Insane.

BrooklynAve said...

I live by holy cross and it's only a 7 minute walk to the subway. For us middle class folk who are tired of paying rent and want to own, East Flatbush is one of the few options we have left. Plus, East Flatbush rules.

BrooklynAve said...

Also, babs, I can get to grand central in 45 minutes

Anonymous said...

Seriouslly Babs... 5 min of internet sleuthing would tell you that this is almost certainly the house: http://www.zillow.com/homes/1122-Brooklyn-Ave-Brooklyn-NY-11203_rb/

So, 6 blocks from the 2/5 train. And probably a 25 min walk to the B/Q. And very close to the B35 and B44 busses.

Its not insane. Its a nice area that you can still get a place for under $500k.

Jacob said...

Martense St is a perfectly fine street that doesn't need to be referred to as anything other than Flatbush, thank you very much. That house was one of a row of 26 Frank S Lowe designed 2-family limestones, originally identical to many in PLG, Kensington, and Windsor Terrace, but on enormous 130 ft-deep lots.
And yes, the family ended up on the cemetery, Brooklyn Ave, I believe, which is really not that far away. You have to get out to the E40s or past Ave J for the "have to have a car" thing to really play out. There is still quite a large area with rows of beautiful blocks and houses.
It's a bargain PLG! Check out East 25th st between Clarendon and D, 1 family Benjamin Dreisler limestones identical to Clarkson, 1/3 the price. Or East 26th near Flatbush junction, giant 1890s Queen Anne houses on huge lots, 1/3 the price of Ditmas Park.
Besides, the further you are from Manhattan, the closer you are to the beach. :)

babs said...

I love Martense St., and agree that the name Flatbush is fine. As for getting to Grand Central in 45 minutes I'd love to know at what time of day and how long you usually have to wait for the train. Those 2/5 trains are the worst - I lived near the Sterling St stop for 11 years and they were the absolute worst part of living there - so crowded at rush hours in the morning that you'd often have to let a few trains pass before being able to force your way on, then the interminable and unexplained wait at President St. And let's not even talk about waiting on average 12 - 15 minutes for a train during non-rush hours. I had to plan on at least an hour at best (counting leaving my house and walking to the station - if you're talking from the moment the train doors close at your stop until they open at Grand Central I might believe you). I'm now five minutes to the Q/B and they are such a pleasure, even at rush hour, that I am amazed every day. And a 6 (long) block walk to the 2/5 or 25 minutes to the B/Q does not sound good to me, but thank goodness it does to some people.

roxv said...

yup, there's a sweetspot on the west side of the cemetary where the walk to the 2/5 train is still about 5-8 minutes, and garages are plentiful. this particular row of houses has a little alley with garages in the back. and if you read it, you can see they already had a car while living in PLG. and i agree with jacob--where i am in flatbush i'm just as close to the beach as i am to greenpoint, and only a 3 minute bike ride to the park!

roxv said...

also i'm not so sure the NYT really is on the case-- i know of many people who match the er, description of these two that moved to the are within the past 2 years. yes, east of nostrand!

Anonymous said...

we are all really glad you're wealthy enough to not live over here babs - keep your gruffness in PLG

Jacob said...

C'mon Babs. Nobody likes a 6 block walk to the subway. What they like is a house under $500k. Can you get that on that Q train?
Most people only get to buy once, and they can only buy what they can afford. $500k in 1970 money probably got you into Gramercy. Killer commute to Grand Central. Every decade put you further out. It's a little unfair for people who bought 10, 20, 30 years ago (or even 5 years ago!) to say "it's too far out" or "my subway is better". :)
As to how far out will people go, they'll go within a ten minute walk to the last subway stop, which is Flatbush Junction. Unless they don't care about commuting to Grand Central because they work from home or commute to office towers in Downtown Brooklyn.

babs said...

Yeah, no car (or even know how to drive) and no bike (afraid of it in NYC, and no space to keep one), so I'm pretty stuck. East of Nostrand is OK, just not east of Brooklyn Ave.

Liz said...

Interesting. When I lived on the 2/5 for 7 years it was fast and convenient. Now I'm a (10 minute!) walk to the B/Q and I swear I'm late for work due to problems in the train at least once per week.

babs said...

And I'm "wealthy" enough to be able to afford a rent-stabilized studio rental, which I am so happy to have finally found after years of living in an unregulated rental in a two-family house, where I could clearly see the writing of unaffordability creeping up the wall. I don't have $500K for a house, and as I'm only one person, I'd probably prefer a smaller space, more conveniently located, if I did have that kind of money.

Anonymous said...

So your just a snot...

Clarkson FlatBed said...

I'm not sure I would use the word "snot." Though I love that you did. You don't hear that word nearly enough.

What I like about Babs is I've never known her to sugar coat or equivocate. She is what she is and is not ashamed to share it.

A breath of fresh air, actually. The sort of fresh air you can only experience with a nose devoid of snot.

babs said...

And my nose has been (and is still is, relatively) full of snot. Just getting over the absolute worst cold I've had in years, which left me with nothing to do but blow my nose and Google "snot." What I found out was pretty scary - a healthy person produces about 1.5 liters of the stuff every day, which just slides down the back of your throat without your noticing, keeping everything smoothly lubricated all the way down. When you're sick, obviously, there's LOTS more of it. I felt like I was in one of Ms. Carmen's Kiddie Science classes! Speaking of which, have you seen the cool new totes they're selling? All to provide FREE and low-cost science workshops for kids who might otherwise get NO science education (because our public schools are woefully deficient here & elsewhere): http://inktothepeople.com/totes-for-science (Sorry, I had to get that plug in).

And I am, yes, enough of a snot to know (and care about) the difference between "your" and "you're" (as well as between "its" and "it's", even if would-be President Trump (the horror!) doesn't)...

Anonymous said...

would anyone care to wager if babs can ever not have the last word on something?

babs - sometimes your opinions are wrong. maybe you could come to terms with that privately rather than arguing with everyone here and on the lefferts facebook group?

maybe? maybe there are experiences outside of your own? maybe you misspell things on occasion? maybe Trump will make you his running mate?