Prospect Lefferts Gardens, or “PLG”, is a small neighborhood in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. Situated near the south-east corner of Prospect Park, the neighborhood contains a Historic Landmark District. PLG housing inventory offers great bargains in a variety of sizes and styles. The neighborhood’s “signature” limestone barrel-front rowhouses are lavishly decorated with classical moldings, engraved cartouches, and other details. Several streets feature free-standing homes, in Romanesque Revival (think Fort Greene brownstones), neo-Georgian, neo-Tudor and neo-Federal (the famous Flatbush look) styles.
Most of the neighborhood’s houses were built between the 1890′s and the 1920′s, and are prized for their excellent construction (limestone, brownstone, brick) and tasteful styling. The interior Historic District is restricted to single-family homes, but elsewhere in PLG, two-family houses can be found. This balance carefully preserves the character of the area, while giving potential buyers the option of having rental income.
Another factor that adds to the tranquility of the neighborhood is the restriction against mixed-use development. This confines shopping and dining to the outer boundary streets, creating an enclave of peace and quiet in the community’s interior space. PLG residents aren’t lacking for shopping and dining options, though – Flatbush, Nostrand, Washington, and Church Avenues provide a great selection of stores, service businesses, restaurants, and bars. Around the park, the 5th Avenue and 7th Avenue commercial corridors of Park Slope offer hundreds of gourmet restaurants, great nightlife options, and boutique shopping.
As if great houses, excellent community, and conveniently-located commercial districts weren’t enough of a reason to buy a house in PLG, the neighborhood offers one of the best public transportation setups in central Brooklyn. The B/Q subway line provides local and express trains along the western part of the neighborhood, while the 2/5 line takes care of transporting eastern PLG residents to Downtown Brooklyn and Midtown Manhattan. All 4 subway lines are only a couple of stops away from the Atlantic-Pacific hub, with 11 subway lines, over a dozen buses, the LIRR platforms, and the massive Atlantic Terminal Mall. In addition, the “Prospect Park” stop on the B/Q line offers a connection to the A/C line via shuttle train.
PLG is one of the few neighborhoods where you don’t have to walk for more than a block to reach a bus or a train line. Local buses that serve the neighborhood include: B12, B16, B35, B41, B43, B44, B48, B49, and B71. The B16 provides a connection to the X29 Manhattan Express, and the B41 is an alternative to the B/Q subway for getting into Downtown Brooklyn.
Auto-commuters have a convenient way to reach the East River crossings, via Parkside and Caton Avenues, both leading to the Prospect Expressway. The expressway then leads to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel (Manhattan’s Financial District) as well as the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges (Manhattan’s Chinatown). Alternately, north PLG auto-commuters can take Flatbush Avenue directly to the bridges. In addition, the neighborhood’s streets are plenty wide, allowing for easy curbside parking.
The neighborhood’s proximity to the majestic Prospect Park, and the constellation of cultural icons around Grand Army Plaza, is another reason for PLG’s popularity. The 585-acre Prospect Park includes a 114-acre forest and a lake with a 90-acre meadow (largest urban-park meadow in the nation). The recreational complex offers athletic equipment and fields, community events, free concerts and tours, and much more.
Crossing Flatbush Avenue brings you to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, its 52-acre expanse filled with over 10,000 species of plants. The Grand Army Plaza complex, Prospect Park’s majestic main entrance, includes landmarks such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the main location of the Brooklyn Public Library. The Brooklyn Children’s Museum on Eastern Parkway rounds out the selection of cultural icons.