The Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood

A landmarked historic district, a close-knit community and of course, affordability are making Prospect Lefferts Gardens one of the city’s most desirable up-and-coming neighborhoods, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Proximity to Prospect Park doesn’t hurt either, as young families have begun hunting for condominiums and townhouses in the traditionally West Indian community as they seek refuge from the high prices on the other side of the park in the tony Park Slope neighborhood. [more]

A controversial property owner with buildings in New York City and Florida has garnered Department of Buildings approval to build a 19-unit, transient housing facility in Brooklyn, according to the New York Post, much to the chagrin of residents in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood, where he plans to build. Landlord Moses Fried is infamous for alleged mismanagement of his buildings, including one that was the target of a prostitution raid and another that has been hit with 45 different violations. Residents say that Fried’s next project, a short-term stay facility that is slated to open in a year, will degrade the quality of their community. [Post]

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Michael Campbell at 65 Fen, a wine shop he opened in December in Prospect Lefferts Gardens.

From the March issue: Prospect Lefferts Gardens, the Brooklyn neighborhood that hugs the east side of Prospect Park (effectively mirroring Park Slope on the west), has been touted as an up-and-coming neighborhood for more than a few years now. But somehow it’s never quite caught on in the way that some other neighborhoods have.

Though the area is full of tree-lined streets dotted with well-priced limestone townhouses that sit back on their own lawns, there are only a few restaurants, cafés, boutiques and other stores to speak of.

“Amenities like restaurants and stuff [are] definitely sparse compared to other neighborhoods,” said Victoria Hagman, owner of Realty Collective and Manzione Real Estate. “But I think people are beginning to realize that it’s an untapped market.”

PLG residents, however, don’t seem interested in waiting for others to appreciate their “untapped market.” Instead, they are taking matters into their own hands, determined to help transform their neighborhood. [more]

Trout restaurant

Three restaurants started by Brooklyn’s most prolific restaurateur, Jim Mamary, and one of his partners, Richard Krause, were abruptly closed last week with no warning to employees. And another of their Brooklyn eateries, the troubled seafood spot Trout, is unlikely to reopen after it shuttered early this fall due to slow business.

Employees at Fly Fish in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and Bueno in Boerum Hill said they were stunned to hear at staff meetings Dec. 1 that the shift would be their last.

Bueno, a European bistro that Krause opened three months ago at the intersection of Smith and Pacific Streets, is part of a complex that also included Trout, Since 1963, also closed last week, and Pacifico. Pacifico, a Mexican cantina that Mamary no longer owns a stake in, will remain open.

“They said they needed to pull in $17,000 by week’s end and they were only pulling in $13,000,” said an employee at Bueno, who requested anonymity. “Now I’m back to square one, looking for a job on the holidays.” [more]