Flatbush

A renovation of the East Flatbush Library has transformed it into a light-filled and modern space that will inspire visitors of all ages. After undergoing a complete renovation by architecture firm LevenBetts, the East Flatbush Library reopened to visitors this week. Located at 9612 Church Street, the revitalized library has achieved LEED silver status and features an innovative facade, windows, and skylights which fill the previously dimly-lit facility with abundant natural light.
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Architecture And Design

Green-Wood Cemetery’s $34M welcome center that wraps around historic greenhouse breaks ground

All renderings courtesy of Architecture Research Office (ARO)

May 24, 2023

Green-Wood Cemetery’s $34M welcome center that wraps around historic greenhouse breaks ground

Construction has begun on a new welcome center that will teach visitors about Green-Wood Cemetery's rich history. Located across from the cemetery's main entrance on 25th Street and Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn, the new $34 million Education and Welcome Center will feature two exhibition galleries for Green-Wood's art and archival collections, host educational events and programs, and serve as a hub for scholarly research, staff offices, and meeting and event spaces. The new building, which will be built around the historic Weir Greenhouse, will be completed by June 2025.
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Architecture And Design

Apply for 22 mixed-income apartments in the heart of Flatbush, from $1,576/month

Rendering courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development

May 12, 2023

Apply for 22 mixed-income apartments in the heart of Flatbush, from $1,576/month

Applications are being accepted for 22 mixed-income units at a new residential development in Brooklyn. Located at 1457 Flatbush Avenue, the development offers residents spacious and modern apartments with an expansive amenity suite. New Yorkers earning 80 and 130 percent of the area median income, or between $57,429 for a single person and $156,130 for a household of three, can apply for the units, which range from $1,576/month studios to $3,126/month one-bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

Community-created memorial honoring New Yorkers lost to Covid on view at Green-Wood Cemetery

All photos courtesy of Green-Wood Cemetery

May 4, 2023

Community-created memorial honoring New Yorkers lost to Covid on view at Green-Wood Cemetery

A massive new public art memorial at Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery honors lives lost during the Covid-19 pandemic. Curated by Naming The Lost Memorials and City Lore, the "The Many Losses from Covid-19" memorial is made up of personalized tributes to the 79,000 New Yorkers lost to the virus, as well as those suffering from long Covid. Created by 20 local community groups, the month-long display will be located alongside the cemetery's historic wrought-iron fence near the main entrance at Fifth Avenue and 25th Street.
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Events & Things To Do

Photo Credit: Allyson Lubow

March 1, 2023

This $2M Ditmas Park two-family home is historic and updated, with four-car parking and a yard

This two-family house at 986 Ocean Avenue in Ditmas Park is updated and ready for living and rental income as a triplex with an upper duplex unit, all while retaining its early-20th-century charm. Asking $1,999,000, the 4,305-square-foot home is in the heart of Victorian Flatbush, surrounded by the neighborhood's lovely architecture as well as its restaurants, bars, cafes, and shops. With plenty of covetable yard space, the home has the added bonus of space for four cars, with two driveway parking spots and a two-car garage.
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Distinctive Homes

Everything’s big in this $3.75M Ditmas Park home, from the porch to the yard, driveway and garage

Photo credit: Allyson Lubow

January 20, 2023

Everything’s big in this $3.75M Ditmas Park home, from the porch to the yard, driveway and garage

This three-story house on a corner lot in historic Ditmas Park offers a perfect way to enjoy a lush yard, a sprawling wrap-around porch, a long driveway, and a spacious garage while living in the middle of bustling Brooklyn. Inside, you'll find 7,480 square feet of living space with eight bedrooms and a finished basement, all with historic details beautifully preserved and renovated for 21st-century living. Built in 1909, the Flatbush townhouse is asking $3,750,000.
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Distinctive Homes

Photo courtesy of Whitney Cox

January 13, 2023

Tours of Brooklyn’s historic Kings Theatre are back

Tours of Brooklyn's historic Kings Theatre are back. Over the course of the 75-minute tour, guests will be transported nearly 100 years into the past, learning about the opulent theater's history and striking architecture. Highlights include insight into the theater's baroque stylings and a closer look at the Robert Morgan Wonder Organ. Tours will be hosted on February 18 at 1 p.m., March 11 at 1 p.m., and for the first time, a weekday tour on Tuesday, March 21 at 7 p.m.
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Lottery opens for 45 mixed-income rentals a block from Green-Wood Cemetery, from $1,473/month

Image courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

December 23, 2022

Lottery opens for 45 mixed-income rentals a block from Green-Wood Cemetery, from $1,473/month

A housing lottery opened this week for 45 mixed-income units at a new residential development in Brooklyn. Located at 875 4th Avenue in Greenwood, the luxury rental rises eight stories and has 150 apartments. New Yorkers earning 80 and 130 percent of the area median income, or between $53,863 for a single person and $187,330 for a household of five people, can apply for the apartments, priced from $1,473/month studios to $2,975/month two bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

POPULAR Flatbush BUILDINGS

2112 Dorchester Road 2112 Dorchester Road

794 Flatbush Avenue 794 Flatbush Avenue

123 Linden Boulevard 123 Linden Boulevard

800 Flatbush Avenue 800 Flatbush Avenue

2417 Albemarle Road 2417 Albemarle Road

160 Clarkson Avenue 160 Clarkson Avenue

222 East 17th Street 222 East 17th Street

1544 Nostrand Avenue 1544 Nostrand Avenue

242 Newkirk Avenue 242 Newkirk Avenue

17 East 17th Street 17 East 17th Street

50 Clarkson Avenue 50 Clarkson Avenue

830 Flatbush Avenue 830 Flatbush Avenue

1815 Foster Avenue 1815 Foster Avenue

271 Lenox Road 271 Lenox Road

520 Argyle Road 520 Argyle Road

235 Stratford Road 235 Stratford Road

1921 Cortelyou Road 1921 Cortelyou Road

236 Stratford Road 236 Stratford Road

601 East 19th Street 601 East 19th Street

447 Rugby Road 447 Rugby Road

NYC designates Flatbush block with distinctive ‘Kinko houses’ as historic district

Photo of Parkside Avenue courtesy of LPC

December 14, 2022

NYC designates Flatbush block with distinctive ‘Kinko houses’ as historic district

Brooklyn gained another historic district this week. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to designate the Melrose Parkside Historic District, which includes a collection of 38 intact single and two-family homes built by two renowned Brooklyn architects, Benjamin Driesler and Axel S. Hedman. Located on Parkside Avenue between Flatbush and Bedford Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, the row of homes has a "distinctive appearance and sense of place," deriving from the two architects' use of "then popular Neoclassical vocabulary in their designs to harmonize three different types of residences," according to the commission.
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Policy

10 things you didn’t know about Green-Wood Cemetery

Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

October 6, 2022

10 things you didn’t know about Green-Wood Cemetery

By Lucie Levine

What do Jean-Michel Basquiat, F.A.O Schwarz, Horace Greeley, Samuel Morse, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Boss Tweed, Peter Cooper, Leonard Bernstein, and Susan Smith McKinney-Steward have in common? All these notable New Yorkers are spending eternity in Brooklyn, specifically Green-Wood Cemetery, the stunning 478-acre "rural cemetery" that’s home to 560,000 “permanent residents” (and about as many truly spectacular mausoleums.) Since the best secrets are the ones you take to the grave, come dig up the dirt on Green-Wood, and read on for 10 things you didn’t know about Brooklyn’s most sensational cemetery.
Take it to the grave!

History

For $3M, this colorful storybook cottage in Prospect Park South has two sunrooms

Photo courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

September 8, 2022

For $3M, this colorful storybook cottage in Prospect Park South has two sunrooms

The surrounding Prospect Park South neighborhood is filled with charming freestanding Victorian homes, and the buttercup-yellow beauty at 215 Marlborough Road is certainly among them. Lovingly preserved and updated, historic and turnkey, the three-story, 3,400-square-foot home, asking $2,995,000, is a dream come true for anyone seeking a confection of colorful details. With a pitched roof, gothic arches, arched windows, two sun porches, and landscaped gardens anchored by a mature hydrangea bush, its storybook charm is undeniable. On the practical side, a wide driveway, a two-car garage, and timeless, updated interiors mean an easy move-in.
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Distinctive Homes

Luxury Flatbush rental launches lottery for 26 middle-income units, priced from $2,100/month

Rendering courtesy of Hill West Architects

August 18, 2022

Luxury Flatbush rental launches lottery for 26 middle-income units, priced from $2,100/month

A housing lottery opened for 26 middle-income units at a new residential development in Brooklyn. Located at 160 Clarkson Avenue, the building offers prospective tenants brand new, luxury apartments on the border of Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Flatbush, just a few blocks from Prospect Park. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income, or between $72,000 for a single person and $187,330 for a household of five, can apply for the apartments, priced at $2,100/month for one-bedroom apartments and $2,500/month for two bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

Flatbush block with distinctive homes designed by famous Brooklyn architects may be landmarked

Photo of Parkside Avenue courtesy of LPC

August 9, 2022

Flatbush block with distinctive homes designed by famous Brooklyn architects may be landmarked

A tree-lined block in Brooklyn with architecturally distinctive homes may become the city's newest historic district. The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Tuesday voted to calendar the Melrose Parkside Historic District, which consists of 38 intact single and two-family row houses built by two of Brooklyn's most renowned architects, Benjamin Driesler and Axel S. Hedman. Located on Parkside Avenue between Flatbush and Bedford Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, the collection of homes has a distinct appearance and sense of place in the surrounding neighborhood due to the use of "neo-Classical vocabulary" in their architectural style, according to the commission.
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Policy

A new Caribbean market and food hall will celebrate its grand opening in Flatbush this weekend

Photos courtesy of BRP Companies

May 10, 2022

A new Caribbean market and food hall will celebrate its grand opening in Flatbush this weekend

A beloved Caribbean market in Brooklyn is hosting a grand opening event this weekend, celebrating the return to its original home. The Flatbush Central Caribbean Marketplace, formerly known as Flatbush Caton Market, will host a weekend-long party with shopping, live music, food tastings, dance performances, panel discussions, art classes, and more, starting on Friday, May 13 through Saturday, May 14. The marketplace sits on the ground floor of Caton Flats, a new 14-story mixed-use development on 800 Flatbush Avenue that replaced the former market.
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Events & Things To Do

Green-Wood Cemetery’s first-ever artist in residence to open sculpture installation in the catacombs

Photo by Rhododendrites on Wikimedia

April 28, 2022

Green-Wood Cemetery’s first-ever artist in residence to open sculpture installation in the catacombs

Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery announced on Thursday the opening of a new art installation created by the 184-year-old institution's first-ever artist in residence. Located within the property's catacombs, a portion of the cemetery that is usually off-limits to the public, Heidi Lau's Gardens as Cosmic Terrains consists of sculptures that hang from skylights. The installation opens to the public on Saturday, May 7, and will be on view through July 3.
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Events & Things To Do

Cherry Blossoms at Green-Wood. Photo by David Berkowitz via Flickr

April 18, 2022

A cherry blossom festival with Japanese treats and sake is coming to Green-Wood Cemetery

Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery is welcoming in the natural beauty of spring with its own "Hanami," or flower-viewing festival. After hours on April 20, Green-Wood Cemetery will be treating guests to a night of live music, food, entertainment, and educational programs about the cemetery's diverse variety of trees and wildlife. Visitors will travel down winding paths lined with 172 blooming cherry trees, among which are the Yoshino Cherry and Kanzan Japanese Flowering cherry trees, two species of cherry trees commonly celebrated in Hanami Festivals, a tradition of enjoying the blooming of cherry blossoms that began in Japan.
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Events & Things To Do

Get a fresh start in this just-renovated pre-war co-op in Midwood, asking $849K

Photo credit: Ed Menashy of Evan Joseph

April 13, 2022

Get a fresh start in this just-renovated pre-war co-op in Midwood, asking $849K

A three-bedroom pre-war apartment that's fresh, bright, move-in ready, and under $1,000,000 isn't an easy thing to find in Brooklyn these days, much less in a neighborhood that's growing, diverse, filled with amenities, and near the Q express train. This 1,400-square-foot co-op at 1160 Ocean Avenue, at the border between Midwood and Ditmas Park, has three bedrooms, two baths, corner windows, and hardwood floors. A stylish renovation adds fresh new fixtures, finishes, and conveniences to gracious pre-war proportions.
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Distinctive Homes

Renovated historic Brooklyn mansion with a 1,200-square-foot ballroom is back on the market for $13M

Photo credit: Alan Barry

March 15, 2022

Renovated historic Brooklyn mansion with a 1,200-square-foot ballroom is back on the market for $13M

In 2016, 6sqft featured the impossibly ornate and enormous 1900s mansion for sale at 1305 Albemarle Road. Set among the Prospect Park South neighborhood's stately free-standing Victorians, the home was a standout; in addition to its 11,000-square-foot interior, its two-story portico with massive fluted columns, jaw-dropping original interiors including a fabulous top-floor ballroom–and the fact that it shares a street with Michele Williams' house–all generated quite a buzz. The home, asking $3,000,000, sold in less than a day. After a stem-to-stern renovation of epic proportions, the historic city mansion is back on the market, this time for an equally epic $12,950,000.
Tour the latest and best version of this extra fancy Brooklyn mansion

Brooklyn’s Grand Prospect Hall to be replaced with luxury apartments

Image courtesy of Michael Roberto on Wikimedia

February 3, 2022

Brooklyn’s Grand Prospect Hall to be replaced with luxury apartments

Brooklyn's cherished 119-year-old Grand Prospect Hall will be replaced with a new luxury apartment building. The Victorian-era banquet hall located at 263 Prospect Avenue in Greenwood Heights was owned for over 40 years by Michael and Alice Halkias, who captured the attention of New Yorkers through their over-the-top television commercials advertising the hall. As first reported by Yimby, permits were filed last month for a 147-unit apartment building at the site with 180 underground parking spaces, recreational spaces, and a fitness room.
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New Developments

Colorful Ditmas Park Deco co-op has style, space, and amenities for $599K

Photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

January 6, 2022

Colorful Ditmas Park Deco co-op has style, space, and amenities for $599K

For $599,000, this bright one-bedroom-plus-office co-op at 1825 Foster Avenue in Flatbush/Ditmas Park has fresh, updated interiors, eastern and southern exposures, and treetop views. A pre-war 1931 building means the space is framed by hardwood floors and graceful moldings.
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Distinctive Homes

For $1.25M this Flatbush pre-war co-op has a livable loft layout with custom storage and treetop views

Photo courtesy of Alex Staniloff at Greenehouse NYC

November 16, 2021

For $1.25M this Flatbush pre-war co-op has a livable loft layout with custom storage and treetop views

Located in the pre-war co-op complex known as Berkeley Square at 1701 Albemarle Road in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood near Prospect Park, this pristinely renovated three-bedroom, two-bath apartment offers more than just living space for $1,250,000. With a loft-like layout, this three-bedroom home is also a corner unit with three exposures and treetop views, in an Art Deco building with gracious amenities like full-time door staff and access to dedicated parking.
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Distinctive Homes

A renovated, detached Ditmas Park Victorian with a front porch and backyard asks $3.1M

All photos by Allyson Lubow

November 2, 2021

A renovated, detached Ditmas Park Victorian with a front porch and backyard asks $3.1M

A fully-renovated freestanding home with a private driveway and backyard is ready to make your Victorian dreams come true. Asking $3,125,000, the six-bedroom 110-year-old residence in Ditmas Park offers original details architecture buffs love, like woodwork and stained glass, while a renovation makes the house functional for today. Located at 477 East 16th Street, the house sits on a historic tree-lined street that feels like a suburban enclave but is just two blocks from the nearest subway station.
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Distinctive Homes

Asking $570K, this three-bedroom Flatbush condo is a modern-rustic family pad

Listing photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

September 10, 2021

Asking $570K, this three-bedroom Flatbush condo is a modern-rustic family pad

By Dana Schulz

For a lot of young New York City families, $570,000 falls into the doable category. And at this 850-square-foot Flatbush condo, that'll get you a beautiful, sunny home with modern, rustic vibes that has good closet space, two spacious bedrooms, and a third smaller bedroom that'd make a perfect home office, gym, or nursery. Bonus: it's in a nice, family-friendly neighborhood and the building at 2116 Dorchester Road offers a shared courtyard.
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Distinctive Homes

Green-Wood Cemetery honors Battle of Brooklyn’s 245th anniversary with revolutionary event

Battle of Brooklyn reenactment in Green-Wood Cemetery; Photo by Allison Meier on Flickr

August 13, 2021

Green-Wood Cemetery honors Battle of Brooklyn’s 245th anniversary with revolutionary event

The first major battle to take place during the Revolutionary War after the United States declared independence took place in Brooklyn on August 27, 1776. During the Battle of Brooklyn, fighting took place across the borough, including throughout present-day Prospect Park, Fulton Ferry Landing, and Green-Wood Cemetery. To commemorate the 245th anniversary of the historic struggle, Green-Wood Cemetery is hosting a family-friendly event this month with Revolutionary War reenactors, music, demonstrations, and other activities.
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Thomas Edison’s brother-in-law once owned this Prospect Park South Tudor, asking $2.9M

Listing photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

July 16, 2021

Thomas Edison’s brother-in-law once owned this Prospect Park South Tudor, asking $2.9M

By Dana Schulz

The original owner of this Prospect Park South Tudor was Charles Stilwell, an inventor and associate of Thomas Edison whose sister Mary actually married Edison. Located at 187 Marlborough Road and on the market for $2,895,000, the home spans 4,500 square feet and has five bedrooms, eight wood-burning fireplaces, a driveway, and a backyard carriage house. The interiors, which date to roughly 1905, have all been beautifully preserved, as has the facade and porch.
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July 12, 2021

See the 900-unit affordable complex designed by Adjaye Associates coming to East Flatbush