Prospect Pl bet. Grand and Classon

marty mcfly · March 2011

Hey guys,

New to Brooklynian, but I was told this was the place to go to get the straight dope on everything. My wife and I looked at a huge gorgeous apartment on Prospect Pl. between Classon and Grand. The apartment is huge and amazing and the street seems really nice, I just know NOTHING about that particular neighborhood. It was sold to us as Prospect Heights, but after doing some research I can see that it's actually Crown Heights, but that seems like semantics at this point in time. I've previously lived in Greenpoint, Windsor Terrace and the Lower East Side, and never felt unsafe in any of those areas. What should we know about the particular neck of the woods? The walk to the subway, etc? Supermarkets? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

jgregorie · March 2011

That is not a bad street. Im sure you would not have to much trouble crime wise.

Having said that there are 2 rules I live by. Do not use your cellphone or listen to your ipod at night while walking down the street. there have been a good deal of cell phone snatchings in the area and they tend to spike in the summer. Do not leave you fire escape windows unlocked. There have also been a rash of apartment burglaries in the area that again spike in the summer. My advice, get a good set of blinds and make sure the locks work properly on any window that has a fire escape. I think its a bit overkill to get a full on security gate for the window but make sure the windows are locked and the blinds are drawn whenever you leave the apartment during the day mon-fri. You are spoiled for choice when it comes to subways. best bet is to walk the extra 2 blocks to the 7th ave B,Q or grand army plaza 2,3. There are 2 good supermarkets on Vanderbilt ave and a not so great one on washington. Nightlife is outstanding. washington commons is like 3 blocks from you and hot bird is like 5. both have excellent outdoor spaces. Welcome to the hood, I have been here over 6 years and cant imagine living anywhere else. oh and if you like beer there is an awesome beer distributor on washington and st marks. Its an alcoholics paradise.

whyfi · March 2011

I live on the block, I have for 6+ years.

Like any block in Brooklyn, don't be stupid - head down and unaware is never smart. Unlike many blocks in Brooklyn, the people are friendly and will happily greet you unless you're stand-offish. I used to live a few blocks over, in more 'prime' Prospect Heights, and I found most of the people on the block were more self-absorbed - in my first two weeks of living on this block, I had more neighbors strike up conversations with me than I did in two years on the 'better' block. There are more young-ish (mis-20s to mid-30) people on the block every year, some starting families, some not.

As previously mentioned, there are the stand-by grocery stores: Met on Vandy and the recently remodeled NSA on Washington (I still don't have a lot of confidence in the meat dept at NSA). The most exciting news, though, is that a Compare Foods opened up around the corner just a few days ago - it's a thing of beauty.

Transportation - the shuttle (S line) is a block away - connects to the A/C/E, B/Q, 2/3/4/5. It saves you some walking, but is not necessarily faster than just walking to the 7th Ave B/Q, Brooklyn Museum (or GAP, for that matter) 2/3 or the Franklin 2/3/4/5. My commute to Union Square took me about 40 minutes, door-to-door, by commute to Rockefeller Center was a few minutes longer - not bad at all. If you bike, there are some well-used commuter lanes on Dean and on Bergen - my bike commute to Union Square was even faster than the subway commute.

There's no shortage of dining/drinking options and they get better and more plentiful every year.

Prospect Park is nearby as is the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Museum and the Prospect Park Zoo (small - great for kids).

In all, we like it, and wouldn't think of moving in the foreseeable future.

Prospect Pl bet. Grand and Classon

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