Bensonhurst

Easy to feel right at home in the heart of Brooklyn

By Shira Levine | Special to amNewYork

December 28, 2006

A jaunt into the working-class Brooklyn neighborhood of Bensonhurst can offer visitors an immediate sense of deja vu.

After all, the neighborhood has played a role in many famed TV shows and movies. But Bensonhurst is more than just a stroll down pop-culture memory lane.

The area is famed for its annual end-of-summer celebration for the patron saint of Palermo, Sicily -- Santa Rosalia -- which attracts thousands of Italian Americans of Sicilian heritage.

Nonresidents often make the trip for the famous square-shaped Sicilian pizza, perhaps on their way back from Coney Island. But if they stay and explore, they'll find a residential enclave with mom and pop shops, off-track-betting joints and wholesale discount good warehouses. And, yes, they'll also get to do a little Hollywood-style sightseeing.

Those pining for '70s-era visual relics need just to walk down the main thoroughfare of Eighteenth Avenue to feel a little Bee Gees pep in their step, just like John Travolta's Tony Manero did here in "Saturday Night Fever."(Although the film took place in nearby Bay Ridge.)

Nostalgic for more? The noisy el train at 86th Street can be spotted in the opening credits of the 1970s sitcom "Welcome Back Kotter." Even older-school fans will recognize the neighborhood streets as the setting of "The Honeymooners" and the films "The French Connection" and more recently "Jungle Fever."

Historically a Jewish and Italian community, Bensonhurst today has a strong Russian, Polish, former Yugoslavian and sizeable Chinese and Latin American communities. But the Italian presence remains large. On many blocks, grandma's Italy still perseveres. Sicilian natives who speak only their mother tongue can also be found here.

Real estate
Bensonhurst is made up of one- and two-family semi-attached brick and stucco homes. There also are some apartment buildings. Many homes have gardens and backyards enclosed by wrought iron fences.

"Bensonhurst is a neighborhood reminiscent of days gone by," said Corcoran broker Rodolpho Lucchese. "The prices are fairly reasonable. It really depends on the location and condition. You could certainly get more house for your money."

What's renting
-$625-$650 a month for a 400-square-foot studio.
-$900-$1,400 a month for an 800-square-foot 1-bedroom.
-$1,000-$1,600 a month for a 1,000-square-foot 2-bedroom.
-$1,400-$2,250 a month for a 1,300-square-foot 3-bedroom.

What's selling
-$365,000 for an 800- square-foot 1-bedroom.
-$449,000 for a 920-square-foot 2-bedroom.
-$560,000 for a 1099- square-foot 3-bedroom.

What's sold