Curbed Cup 1st round: (3) Downtown Brooklyn vs. (14) Prospect Lefferts Gardens

Downtown Brooklyn

Last year’s No. 2 seed is in a similarly high position this year, and for good reason: Downtown Brooklyn is still booming. And this year, many of the developments that were on the horizon in 2015 made major progress: the first rental building at the City Point megaproject, City Tower, welcomed residents, while the retail component of that development opened some of its components, including a Century 21 and an Alamo Drafthouse. (The Target and Trader Joe’s won’t arrive until 2017.) The neighborhood’s tallest tower, the Hub, is also tantalizingly close to opening—leasing will begin next month.

On the new-development front, the neighborhood is actually, really getting its first supertall tower, designed by SHoP Architects and due to perch over the landmarked Dime Savings Bank building. And a plethora of other projects are in the works, including Extell’s 59-story skyscraper, a 28-story building designed by ODA New York, and the rental conversion of the historic Offerman building on Fulton Street.

But, acknowledging that all of these new developments may be making it harder for some residents to stick around, several community groups have also banded together to help the area hold onto its artistic identity—a worthy endeavor as the neighborhood becomes more and more full of pricey apartments.

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

One of the biggest—and most contentious—developments in this sleepy Brooklyn neighborhood finally debuted this year: the Parkline, the 26-story rental on Flatbush Avenue, launched leasing this summer, with apartments going from nearly $2,000/month. It joins other pricey developments, including 336 Lincoln Road and 194 Hawthorne Street (both of which launched leasing this year), that are bringing Williamsburg prices to the southeastern end of Prospect Park.

But that alone doesn’t make the neighborhood a Curbed Cup contender: It’s also getting an influx of new buyers, who’ve pushed the median sale price in the neighborhood up, up, up—a PropertyShark report from earlier this year named PLG the second-most expensive neighborhood in Brooklyn, besting areas like Dumbo and Cobble Hill. (Who’d’ve thought?)

And it’s easy to understand why folks would want to live in the neighborhood: it’s close to Prospect Park, it’s diverse, it has one of the city’s prettiest historic districts, and there are lots of great bars and restaurants in the area.

So which neighborhood should move forward: Downtown Brooklyn, or PLG? Cast your vote now.