Flatbush

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.
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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

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

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

A 900 unit affordable housing complex with public green space and community amenities is coming to Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday announced the state selected the proposal to redevelop 7.2 acres of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center Campus following a request for proposals last summer. Designed by Sir David Adjaye's Adjaye Associates and Studio Zewde, the $400 million project includes affordable and supportive housing, senior housing, opportunities for homeownership, and two new homeless shelters that will replace existing, outdated ones.
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254 mixed-income apartments come online at new affordable Flatbush project, from $567/month

Rendering courtesy of BRP Companies

June 25, 2021

254 mixed-income apartments come online at new affordable Flatbush project, from $567/month

On the border of Flatbush and Prospect Lefferts Gardens, just two blocks away from Prospect Park, a new affordable housing development has opened its lottery for 254 apartments, ranging from $566/month studios to $3,542/month three-bedrooms. Located at 800 Flatbush Avenue and called Caton Flats, the 14-story mixed-use building sought "to reinvigorate the local Caribbean-American community through an upgraded Flatbush Caton Market, new retail space, and new headquarters of The Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry," reported CityRealty. The homes are available to those earning 40, 60, 110, and 165 percent of the area median income.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

For $2.5M, this historic Victorian in Ditmas Park has a suburban yard and two-car garage

Listing photos by Al Seidman

May 26, 2021

For $2.5M, this historic Victorian in Ditmas Park has a suburban yard and two-car garage

Ditmas Park is well known for its large, free-standing homes, but this $2,495,000 Victorian beauty takes suburban living in Brooklyn to another level. Located at 685 East 22nd Street, the six-bedroom, 2,400+ square-foot home is situated on a 50' x 100' corner lot, allowing for front, side, and rear yards, an enclosed front porch, and a two-car garage. And just wait until you see the beautifully preserved interiors, full of Arts and Crafts woodwork and stained glass, all dating to the home's turn-of-the-century construction.
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Distinctive Homes

Just off Greenwood Cemetery, this modern and bright townhouse is asking $2.15M

Listing photos by Martyn Gallina-Jones

May 14, 2021

Just off Greenwood Cemetery, this modern and bright townhouse is asking $2.15M

Just two blocks from Greenwood Cemetery and a quick walk to Prospect Park, this lovely Greenwood Heights townhouse at 278 22nd Street is asking $2,150,000. A recent artistic renovation created a modern, almost Scandinavian-inspired interior, with lots of light and clean, open spaces. There are three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and a rear deck that leads to a large backyard.
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Distinctive Homes

A gated driveway and six bedrooms complete this $2.6M family-friendly home in Prospect Park South

Listing photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

January 7, 2021

A gated driveway and six bedrooms complete this $2.6M family-friendly home in Prospect Park South

The single-family homes in Prospect Park South often offer a suburban-like living experience right in Brooklyn, and this charmer at 169 Stratford Road is no exception. Built in 1899 and listed for $2,595,000, the 2,844-square-foot house has six bedrooms, a front porch, side porch, a rear deck and lovely backyard, and even a gated driveway.
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Distinctive Homes

For $2.4M, a renovated Ditmas Park home with two porches and turquoise accents

All photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

December 8, 2020

For $2.4M, a renovated Ditmas Park home with two porches and turquoise accents

A pretty, suburban-like home in Ditmas Park has hit the market for $2.4 million. Recently renovated by the current owner, 498 Westminster Road artfully mixes old and new, with stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings, and bay windows accompanied by all new appliances and top-of-the-line fixtures. Located on a tree-lined street that feels a ways away from city life but is really around the corner from the subway, the freestanding home--with its two porches, backyard, and basement--offers the best of both worlds.
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Distinctive Homes

Lottery opens for 58 affordable senior apartments near Brooklyn College in Flatbush

Photo of Brooklyn College Library by Beyond My Ken on Wikimedia

December 4, 2020

Lottery opens for 58 affordable senior apartments near Brooklyn College in Flatbush

A housing lottery has launched this week for 58 affordable apartments for senior New Yorkers at a new Brooklyn rental. Located at 1488 New York Avenue, the Bishop Philius and Helene Nicolas Senior Residences rises seven stories and contains 89 studio apartments and social services for residents. To apply, New Yorkers must have at least one household member who is 62 years of age or older, qualify for Section 8 benefits, and earn $45,500 or less, annually. Eligible applicants will pay 30 percent of their income for the studio apartments.
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Affordable Housing

Landmarks designates first historic district in East Flatbush

Photo courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission

November 17, 2020

Landmarks designates first historic district in East Flatbush

East Flatbush now has its first historic district. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to landmark a section of the Brooklyn neighborhood on East 25th Street between Clarendon Road and Avenue D, home to 56 cohesive limestone and brownstone properties. As 6sqft previously reported, local residents led the landmarking effort of the block, which has been named the "greenest block in Brooklyn" by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden four times.
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Policy

$3.2M Ditmas Park beauty is a modern and stylish take on the classic Victorian home

Photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

October 30, 2020

$3.2M Ditmas Park beauty is a modern and stylish take on the classic Victorian home