tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post2262577185706155871..comments2024-02-19T05:18:27.849-05:00Comments on <center>the Q at Parkside</center>: Here We Go Again...Clarkson FlatBedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463744536115119388noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-60970049358303236432014-03-12T23:08:22.507-04:002014-03-12T23:08:22.507-04:00I think a lot of the confusion came from the colum...I think a lot of the confusion came from the column you wrote last year where you announced that the neighborhood had changed its name.<br /><br />Many people just saw the headline or read the first paragraph and misunderstood that you were joking.Sethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12696161435787029985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-13222381317391368362014-03-12T23:07:34.740-04:002014-03-12T23:07:34.740-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Sethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12696161435787029985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-19442011134751005592014-03-12T18:05:30.711-04:002014-03-12T18:05:30.711-04:00I love Leopards Gardens! I love Leopards Gardens! momonwinthrophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14041443847630133091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-45379673037379968752014-03-12T16:34:16.823-04:002014-03-12T16:34:16.823-04:00Or perhaps we could go with the suggestion a frien...Or perhaps we could go with the suggestion a friend of mine once came up with:<br /><br />Le FartsAlexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00792646871333738725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-67362257639517441682014-03-12T14:54:59.788-04:002014-03-12T14:54:59.788-04:00per SB's brilliant suggestion, I move to renam...per SB's brilliant suggestion, I move to rename the neighborhood "Leopards Gardens."boleroidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708372961699391290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-44364753656980727162014-03-12T14:37:53.519-04:002014-03-12T14:37:53.519-04:00My dear sir, "Lefferts" is hardly silly!...My dear sir, "Lefferts" is hardly silly! No more so than "Midtown," "Chelsea" or "Harlem." Heard of them?Clarkson FlatBedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13463744536115119388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-1712590171459872502014-03-12T14:01:23.092-04:002014-03-12T14:01:23.092-04:00Neighborhood names in NYC are particularly open to...Neighborhood names in NYC are particularly open to change. Chicago, where I grew up, the neighborhood boundaries and names are codified by the city. DC where I moved from gets very specific about their names. But New York? Most of the neighborhoods south of Prospect Heights were just called South Brooklyn. The East Village was called the Lower East Side (and the Lower West Side is long gone.) <br /><br />I don't have any quarrels with PLG. Or the full name, but Lefferts is silly. Why must we b short? Also while my neighborhood is actually Wingate (not PLG), I prefer the old name Pig Town or even just referring to it as South Crown Heights. We've added new neighborhoods to what were once much larger areas. The Crown Heights branch of the BPL is 3 blocks south of Empire. So..Christopher1974https://www.blogger.com/profile/10082503041642567957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-37803544156419529612014-03-12T13:09:26.275-04:002014-03-12T13:09:26.275-04:00"Prospect Gardens" is the only variation..."Prospect Gardens" is the only variation of our neighborhoods name I haven't heard before. FWIW I usually say the full triple name or "Prospect Lefferts", unless I'm feeling snooty; then I say "Lefferts Manor". My son, who was born and raised here always says "Flatbush: when asked where he came from; I guess that enhances his street cred.<br /><br />Obviously there's no right or wrong here and I doubt that any single version will stick, as desirable as that might be.Bob Marvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12734112800580467028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-29898062486027990192014-03-12T12:48:15.282-04:002014-03-12T12:48:15.282-04:00It is indeed a mouthful. Like SB, I always say Pro...It is indeed a mouthful. Like SB, I always say Prospect Gardens-easy, to the point!<br />I can’t stand when someone looks puzzled or says where is that? I find it annoying. We should stick to one designation.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15786999246869265809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-11691181396858684942014-03-12T12:12:14.766-04:002014-03-12T12:12:14.766-04:00I have been using the name Prospect Gardens to ref...I have been using the name Prospect Gardens to refer to the neighborhood since I moved here over a year ago. The name is much less of a mouthful and virtually "explains" exactly where the neighborhood sits geographically. It also helps avoid the inevitable "where is that" "never heard of it" or "leopards what?" that I hear whenever I say "Lefferts Garden" or "Prospect Lefferts". SBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06160827446478923952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-89912357281290424732014-03-12T11:30:43.936-04:002014-03-12T11:30:43.936-04:00Tim,
I had it all straight in my head after livin...Tim,<br /><br />I had it all straight in my head after living here a mere 20 years :-)Bob Marvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12734112800580467028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-63811429070610976642014-03-12T11:02:43.524-04:002014-03-12T11:02:43.524-04:00Adrian: Thanks for the thoughtful response. Person...Adrian: Thanks for the thoughtful response. Personally, I think the word "gardens" is so overused as to be meaningless. And if we're dumping Lefferts, maybe we should just call it Garden Gardens?<br /><br />I appreciate the not wanting to glorify slavery. Although were we to rename everything with the name of a former slaveholder, we'd have quite a time finding replacements. But hey, I'm all for change!<br /><br />And Bob: YOU may not be confused. And after having lived here awhile a reasonable person might not be confused. But let me tell you, the rest of world has NO IDEA what we're talking about. The neighborhood name should be clear and instantly recognizable. "Prospect Park East" for instance. Simple. Tells you where it is. But with so many variations kicking around, I'm surprised I know how to find it home each night.Clarkson FlatBedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13463744536115119388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-10306405778122147882014-03-12T09:46:56.414-04:002014-03-12T09:46:56.414-04:00Of course the name could simply be truncated to Pr...Of course the name could simply be truncated to Prospect Gardens (or Prospect Garden, for those who thing there are not sufficient "Gardens" to justify the final "s." This would avoid honoring the slave-holding Lefferts family, which is elsewhere recognized in the Lefferts Avenue, Lefferts Place and Lefferts Boulevard street names. Adrianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08649760273829165071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-28292358907063310912014-03-12T09:36:13.424-04:002014-03-12T09:36:13.424-04:00As I've said before, I have no quarrel with th...As I've said before, I have no quarrel with the use of "Lefferts" as long as it's understood to be a shorthand expression for the whole mouthful "Prospect Lefferts Gardens" which, awkward as it is, has almost a half century of use behind it.<br /><br />I don't know where Forgotten NY got that truncated set of boundaries; the expansion from Hawthorne to Clarkson to the south took place before I bought my house in 1974, and the western boundary went from Flatbush to Ocean a year or two after that. AFAIK PLGNA defined the northern boundary as Empire and the eastern boundary as New York Ave from day one. People DO get confused between the boundaries of PLG/Lefferts, as a whole, Lefferts Manor, and the PLG Historic District, but it's not THAT complicated.Bob Marvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12734112800580467028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1541468051247516447.post-87269005498356248752014-03-12T09:09:57.647-04:002014-03-12T09:09:57.647-04:00I want to vigorously weigh in against truncating t...I want to vigorously weigh in against truncating the neighborhood name to simply "Lefferts." There is no doubt that "Prospect-Lefferts Gardens" is a mouthful, but there are numerous other New York neighborhoods with "Gardens" appended to the name that have stood the test of time and are quite easy to say. So let the name be "Lefferts Gardens."<br /><br />Brooklyn has Carroll Gardens. Queens has Springfield Gardens, Kew Gardens, Forest Hill Gardens, Sunnyside Gardens, and Oak Hill Gardens. Carroll Gardens' name derives from the large front yards in front of many of its brownstones, and the Queens neighborhoods appear to take their names from the "Garden City Movement." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_city_movement <br /><br />None of these neighborhoods are distinctly more "gardeny" than ours, which borders on the verdant Botanic Gardens and Prospect Park, and which additionally contains sufficient tree-lined streets and attractive home landscaping to justify the name. "Lefferts" by itself is perfunctory and abrupt, with no hint of the green appeal of the place, and gives too much weight to the name of the slaveholding family that once controlled the land. http://www.brooklynhistory.org/exhibitions/lefferts/slavery-in-brooklyn/ <br /><br />If "Lefferts" is going to be in the name, let it be balanced by "Gardens."Adrianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08649760273829165071noreply@blogger.com