 Over the weekend two significant signs changed, and both signalled the arrival of a new player in the local real estate scene: ABBA Realty Associates.
The first sign was on the face of Patio Gardens. The old, shabby, sign had been neatly removed and a new, spiffy logo was in its place, possibly telegraphing a new dedication to style and comfort at Patio Gardens? I don't know much about the buildings, as I've never been inside the gates, but I am told that the apartments themselves are large and full of light, though the hallways are kind of run down.
I've never really been able to find out much about Patio Gardens because whoever the prior rental manager was was awful about getting information on the web or, according to friends that were looking to move to the neighborhood, returning calls. ABBA is doing a better job with information, at least. If you are curious, a studio is going for $1100 per month, a 2BR is $1850 ... and the pictures are very nice. A quick peek at the website reveals that they also have listings at the Ebbets Field houses, which I know even less about, where a 1BR is $1100 per month.
 As I walked down Flatbush, I noticed that the former Mike's International space at Lincoln and Flatbush also had a new sign. This one was sloppily bolted on top of the old Besen Realty banner. As Besen is a leasing company, it appears that the owner of the building has decided to have someone new take a crack at filling the space. What hasn't changed? The asking price: still $10,000 per month.
We now return you to your regular, not-real-estate-obsessed and rarely updated blog.
The new development at 59 Hawthorne Street is nearing completion and the marketing machine is kicking into gear with a shmancy new website.
Not bad, right? I don't quite get the business with the horses, but the rest of it looks great. Funny, though: the photo of the block that appears in the home page montage is actually not Hawthorne. (If any of you can name the real block, you win.) Come on, Mr. Developer, show some Hawthorne pride! Before the market collapse, the plan was for this building to be condos, but I've heard they're shooting for rentals now. I don't know much about the developer, but the building went up gradually over the course of a couple of years, so I'm hoping that means it's better built than the insta-Fedder homes you see in some of these parts.
 Yes, that bright new storefront just north of Lincoln turns out to be a real estate agency. Sigh.
If you're looking to buy a place in the neighborhood and are relying on Craigslist, the Times classifieds, or a real estate broker, there are a couple of internet tools you might want to try instead: namely, Google Maps' Real Estate and Trulia. The two have slight differences. Trulia shows a few extra properties, such as foreclosures and homes in contract. Trulia shows, for instance, that 136 Hawthorne Street, which we blogged about a while back, is currently in contract, whereas Google has already removed the offering. But both sites make it easy to scan current offerings quickly (if that's the sort of thing you're into). 
 A neighbor sent us this ad for a limestone on Hawthorne Street this morning:
LOVELY 3 FAM LIMESTONE THAT NEEDS TLC. DRIVE BY ONLY. TENANT WONT WONT LET US IN.
 The schmancy "On the Market" feature in this weekend's New York Times "Real Estate" section features a home on our very own Hawthorne (between Bedford and Rogers). The place looks beautiful, though, at $1 million and with only 2,300 sf, it's overpriced. A house on our block (Flatbush and Bedford), sold about 18 months ago for a million, but that had over 3,000 sf, was a two-family, had a third exposure and the credit markets had yet to completely implode. (On the other hand, it wasn't as nicely renovated as this listing and one floor needed a complete overhaul, as it hadn't been lived in for decades and showed it).
Also in the real estate section, "the Hunt" column — which chronicles New Yorkers' search for a home — features a couple who ultimately chooses a place in PLG. The headline: "Going With Uncool." Huh? While I'll be the first to acknowledge that we're not exactly the epicenter of hip, this couple moved here from Bay Ridge! UPDATE: According to resident real estate agent Barbara Rogers (see comments), the apartment featured in "the Hunt" is on Linden, between Nostrand and New York—in other words, well outside the PLG border. So instead of telling their friends that they live in a neighborhood that is "part of Flatbush," they should simply say that they live "in Flatbush." If people are concerned about cool, that's probably a cooler answer anyway.
 Earlier today, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the designation of 189 - 211 Ocean Avenue, between Parkside and Flatbush, as the Ocean on the Park Historic District. A reporter on the scene with a blackberrry announced that, over the objection of the owner of 189 Ocean, the district designation passed, encompassing all houses in the row.
UPDATE: The New York Times City Room blog has more about the history of the HD and the hearing. In response to the objection of the owner at 189 that she would be handcuffed by the HD rules to respond to development on the lot at 185, the Commission scheduled a hearing extending the district to cover the lot at 185, which would preclude the border lot from erecting a building that would be out of context with its neighbors. Expect to see people out there pouring a foundation ASAP if they are allowed to do so...
Thanks, Barbara, Heidi and Bob!
Image via Brownstoner
 A reader looking to buy in PLG writes: I'm wondering if you or your readers have knowledge about Rokowsky Management (150 Hawthorne). Curious to know about people's experiences with them and with the building in general.
For whatever it's worth, I looked up the address at the NYC Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) website and the building has a clean record. Only 1 open violation—for illegally fastened eye bolts at a door chain in one apartment. If any of you out there have thoughts on this particular place, please leave them in the comments.
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