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City Living: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

By Patrick Verel | Special to amNewYork

September 27, 2007

Prospect Heights brownstones along St. Marks Ave. (amNewYork Photo/ Lane Johnson / September 26, 2007)

If Prospect Heights was ever in the shadow of Park Slope, its ritzy neighbor across Flatbush Avenue, those days are long past.

The neighborhood, a mix of 19th-century brownstones and pre-war co-op buildings, has long been home to a staggering array of cultural offerings, including the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Prospect Park. An extensive network of subways makes it easy to get to virtually every block around.

Ellen F. Salpeter, director of Heart of Brooklyn, the cultural partnership group, said that the 2004 renovation of the museum's entrance made it much more inviting, and has helped draw visitors to the area.

"It's the gold coast of Brooklyn, in a sense, with these institutions grouped together," she said. "It has a diverse housing stock and an extraordinarily diverse group of residents, too. It weaves together a wonderful community."

James Cornell, a senior vice president at the Corcoran Group, said the appeal of Prospect Heights, which still has grubby auto shops and distressed buildings in the east and north sides, is not necessarily the cost.

"You see different kinds of people moving in; we'll see a lot of writers, artists and self-employed people who may not feel comfortable amidst the stroller brigade in Park Slope," he said. "Vanderbilt Avenue is hipsterville these days."

Prospect Heights has a very strong Caribbean presence, a fact reflected in the annual West Indies parade that ends there. The looming Atlantic Yards project in the neighborhood's northeast corner has the potential to upend sections of the neighborhood for years to come.

Partly as a result of the rapid pace of change there, Mary Beth Betts, director of research for the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, said this month that Prospect Heights is at the top of the list of potential historic districts the commission is examining.

While taking a wait-and-see attitude on Atlantic Yards, Salpeter said she was confident that retail will follow the residential boom that has brought condos to once empty lots.

"I think Brooklyn in general, and Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant, in particular, really provide visitors with a real authentic New York City experience," she said. "Then you combine it with world-class cultural offerings you've got, and it's a slam dunk." Find it

Atlantic Avenue to the north, Washington Avenue to the east, Eastern Parkway to the south and Flatbush Avenue to the west.

Transportation
Subway: B, Q, Atlantic Ave, 7th Ave, 2, 3, 4, 5, Atlantic Ave, 2, 3, Bergen St, Grand Army Plaza, Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum

Bus: B25, 26, 45, 65, 69, 71

Crime
The 77th Precinct, which also covers Crown Heights and Weeksville, has had 10 murders, 16 rapes and 211 robberies this year, compared to 16 murders, 18 rapes and 225 robberies at this time last year. There were a total of 23 murders, 22 rapes and 354 robberies last year.

Schools
P.S. 9, 80 Underhill Ave., P.S. 316, 750 Classon Ave., M.S. 340, 227 Sterling Place, M.S. 571, 80 Underhill Ave., H.S. 499, 561 Grand Ave., Bedford Academy, 1119 Bedford Ave., International High School, 883 Classon Ave.

Post offices
542 Atlantic Ave., 950 Fulton Ave.