Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn

I'm truly surprised at how highly rated this Brooklyn neighborhood has become on Streetadvisor. Although there are some very beautiful family homes in Lefferts Gardens, they are part of a historical district and this real estate is difficult to get one's hands on. And although the neighborhood is next to the lovely Prospect Park, the surrounding neighborhoods are not that great. It's been my experience that there is not much to do in this neighborhood, and I really don't recommend the sushi restaurants. In fact, none of the restaurants I've tried in this area have been very good.

If you ask me, this neighborhood is really, really boring.When I go out in Brooklyn I don't go out to look at all the old world family homes. But that's just me. What I want from a neighborhood includes good food, crowded bars and maybe a few places to pick up a decent pair of shoes. The main drag through Lefferts, Flatbush Ave, features a lot of hole-in-the-wall hair salons that also sell knock-off Gucci bags. I definitely prefer the Brooklyn neighborhoods on the other side of the park.

This neighborhood is absolutely stunning, especially during the warmer months. The trees that line the street look old and lovely, and most of the residents tend gardens or do a bit of landscaping in their small front lawns. The houses that line the streets are also lovely - but I doubt that real estate would be easily obtained here. This area is a historic district, making acquisition that much more difficult.

Prospect Lefferts Gardens is a smaller neighborhood in central Brooklyn, just south of Crown Heights. The area is full of stone row houses that are deemed more affordable than most of its neighboring counterparts. It is known for being a very friendly neighborhood. Strangers have personally greeted me on the streets, and that just doesn’t happen in Brooklyn very often. Block parties are the norm in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and it is not unlikely that neighborhood children are waging a war with snowballs during winter.

The area embraces many ethnicities including residents from the Caribbean, Asia, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and long-time white and black New Yorkers. The area is most recognized for its housing in the historic district. There are stone row houses that appear to swallow up an entire block; while some are mixed among spacious Victorian framed houses. Most of the houses in the neighborhood date from the late 19th Century to the 1920s. Rentals are hard to find in the area, and there are few condominiums and co-op apartments available.

If you like Caribbean food, you are in luck in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. The main avenues and side streets are filled with Caribbean themed restaurants and take-out joints. Culpepper’s, a Barbadian restaurant on Nostrand Avenue, is a local favorite. Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues also offer a wide selection of retail stores. Duane Reade and smaller beauty supply stores area found in this area.