The Years Have Been Kind

This Spring has been a season of garden anniversaries for me. Six years ago, my partner and I bought our home in Flatbush. In the first month after closing, I began weeding, composting, and envisioning the gardens. Five years ago, I started this blog to document what I was doing and record my explorations.

It's also been a season to celebrate the gardens. Last month, for New York City Wildflower Week (NYCWW), I opened my native plant garden for a garden tour for the first time. This Sunday, June 12, the gardens will be opened again, this time for the Victorian Flatbush House Tour, to benefit the Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC). And in May, I registered my garden as a Certified Wildlife Habitat (#141,173) with the National Wildlife Federation.

My original vision for the backyard native plant garden is largely realized. I'm close to completing development of the planting beds. The shrubs and perennials have grown and spread; there is little bare ground. Unlike me, the garden looks better than it did six years ago. Take a look, and let me know what you think.

Slideshow

By view of the garden

Local Leafin': Street Tree Walking Tour Sunday 10/24

Japanese Maple leaves (red), with Linden in the background (yellow), at the corner of Rugby Road and Cortelyou Road in Beverley Square West, Flatbush, Brooklyn, November 2007.


The Sustainable Flatbush Fall 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour will be this Sunday, October 24. Tours begin at 11am and 12noon. I'm proud to once again be one of your guides. Your other guide will be Sam Bishop, Director of Education of Trees NY. As in the past, tours will start at Sacred Vibes Apothecary, our other community partner. This is also listed as a NeighborWoods Month event.

After a dry summer, October brought ample rains just in time to salvage some fall foliage. Dogwoods, Locusts, and Ash Trees are showing strong color. The neighborhood should be at near-peak foliage conditions for the year for the tour.

On the tour, you can see:

• Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
• Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
• Amelanchier, Serviceberry
• Betula nigra, River Birch
• Cercis canadensis, Redbud
• Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
• Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
• Fraxinus americana, White Ash
• Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
• Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
• Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
• Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
• Pinus strobus, White Pine
• Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
• Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
• Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
• Quercus robur 'Fastigiata', Columnar English Oak
• Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
• Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
• Ulmus americana, American Elm

... and many more.

Map

Not just for Tree-Huggers: Street Tree Tour Sunday, 5/2

RESCHEDULED: The Tree Tour has been rescheduled for the rain date of Sunday, May 2, same times and location.

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340 Argyle Road, Beverley Square West, April 2007


Sustainable Flatbush's 3rd Annual Spring Street Tree Walking Tour will be Sunday, May 2. I'm proud to once again be one of your guides.

Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour, Arbor Day 2009. That's me in the middle, next to the tree. Photo by Keka (Flickr)


Tours start at 11am and 12noon from Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, between Cortelyou & Dorchester Roads, and loop through the historic neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and landmarked Prospect Park South. In addition to architectural beauty, the area boasts a rich variety of street trees, as well as ornamental trees and shrubs.


View Sustainable Flatbush Spring 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

On the tour, you can see:

• Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
• Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
• Amelanchier, Serviceberry
• Betula nigra, River Birch
• Cercis canadensis, Redbud
• Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
• Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
• Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
• Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
• Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
• Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
• Pinus strobus, White Pine
• Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
• Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
• Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
• Quercus robur 'Fastigiata', Columnar English Oak
• Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
• Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
• Ulmus americana, American Elm

... and many more.

The suggested donation for the tour is $5. From the Sustainable Flatbush Web site:

Spring Cleaning on Cortelyou Road

The daffodils are pushing up along Cortelyou Road and they would be so much prettier if they don't bloom in the midst of garbage! Join Sustainable Flatbush and your neighbors from the Beverley Square West Association to help clean up the tree beds.

When: Sunday, March 21st
Where: Meet up at 10am in front of the Library, near the Greenmarket tent, at the corner of Argyle and Cortelyou Roads.
If you miss the meet-up, look for us along Cortelyou Road between Coney Island Avenue and East 16th Street.

Bring gloves and rakes if you have them; we will also have some to share. Children are welcome to join us!

Holiday Lights 2009

A slideshow of houses in my neighborhood.

It Begins

Update, 2009-12-26: Holiday Lights 2009

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The Wizard of Slocum Place does it again, with help from his next-door neighbor.



For best effect, view this photo on a black background.

I took this snapshot last night with my little Nikon P&S while walking home from dinner at Mimi's Hummus on Cortelyou Road with Blog Widow. Tonight's snow will create an ideal wintery photo-op.

Saturday, October 24: Meet the Trees

Fraxinus americana, White Ash, one of the street trees that will be on the tour.


On Saturday, October 24, Sustainable Flatbush will host its first Fall Street Tree Walking Tour. And I'm looking forward to once again be one of the guides for the tour.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brooklyn, NY October 16, 2009

SUSTAINABLE FLATBUSH FALL 2009 STREET TREE WALKING TOUR
Saturday, October 24, 2009—Rain or Shine

Based on the success of the annual walking tour events in celebration of Arbor Day and spring in bloom, Sustainable Flatbush is now introducing the inaugural Fall Street Tree Walking Tour. The tour guides will be Tracey Hohman, professional gardener, and Chris Kreussling, aka Flatbush Gardener, both neighborhood residents.

Flatbush Tree Tour, Saturday, April 25

2009.04.23 IMPORTANT TRANSIT SERVICE ADVISORY: The Manhattan-bound Q train will only stop at Church Avenue between Kings Highway and Prospect Park this weekend. Coney Island bound trains will make all stops.

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Argyle Road in my neighborhood of Beverley Square West in Flatbush, Brooklyn, one of the blocks that will be on Saturday's tour.


This Saturday, April 25, join Sustainable Flatbush in our second year of celebrating Arbor Day and the magnificent street trees of Brooklyn's Victorian Flatbush. The Sustainable Flatbush Arbor Day 2009 Street Tree Walking Tour reprises last year's route, visiting the Victorian Flatbush neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and Prospect Park South.

Tours will depart at 11am and 12noon from Third Root Community Health Center at 380 Marlborough Road, just south of Cortelyou Road. [GMAP] Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road and walk one block west (left) to Marlborough Road after exiting the station.


View Sustainable Flatbush Arbor Day 2009 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

Your tour guides will be my neighbor, Tracey Hohman, a professional gardener, and yours truly. Throughout the tour, we will:

• identify trees and their characteristics
• share interesting facts
• explore local tree history
• discuss the many ways street trees benefit the environment
• explain how to obtain and care for street trees
• and more

This FREE tour is a little over a mile in length and lasts approximately 90 minutes. Tours will take place rain or shine. Please gear appropriately for the weather and walk: sunscreen, comfortable walking shoes, water, and so on.

The area boasts a rich variety of both street trees and ornamental trees and shrubs. On the tour, you will see:

• Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
  
• Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
  
• Amelancier, Serviceberry
  
• Betula nigra, River Birch
  
• Cercis canadensis, Redbud
  
• Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
  
• Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
  
• Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
  
• Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
  
• Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
  
• Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
  
• Pinus strobus, White Pine
  
• Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
  
• Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
  
• Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
  
• Quercus robur 'Fastigiata', Columnar English Oak
  
• Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
  
• Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
  
• Ulmus americana, American Elm
  
• ... and many more
  

For more information about the tour, please email garden AT sustainableflatbush DOT org.

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to discuss, educate, and advocate for sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.



[bit.ly]

Related Content

Arbor Day posts

Links

Sustainable Flatbush

Resources

Web

To request a free street tree, fill out the form at http://www.nyc.gov/freetree

Million Trees NYC
Trees New York

Online Tree ID Guide, Arbor Day Foundation

Books

Dirr, Michael A. Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Timber Press. ISBN-13: 9780881924046

Happy Holidays

The MTA thwarted our plans to attend a concert of a women's choir this evening. So Blog Widow and I turned back and walked around our neighborhood, taking in the snow-beings and holiday lights.

Enjoy this slideshow of my Flickr set of photos from the evening. For best viewing, click the play button, then click the icon with four arrows in the lower-right to view it full-screen on a black background.

Related Content

Flickr set

A recent history of Cortelyou Road

Cortelyou Road, North side, looking East from Westminster Road, September 2006, before the new streetscape was put in place in Spring of 2007.


Neighbor, friend, and local real estate agent Jan Rosenberg writes of changes in our neighborhood in the online journal NewGeography:

Twenty some years ago my husband, 2 young sons and I moved from our cramped 16-foot wide attached row house in Brooklyn’s trendy Park Slope to a free-standing, 7-bedroom Victorian house in the Ditmas Park section of Flatbush with stained glass windows, pocket doors, original wood paneling, a back yard, front porch, driveway and 2-car garage in a little-known, tree-lined neighborhood about 10 minutes away – on the other, high-crime side of Prospect Park.
- Gentrification from the inside out in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park

I know everyone's tired of hearing it from me, but this is not Ditmas Park. It's Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West. Or Victorian Flatbush. Or just plain Flatbush. I suspect the editors provided the title, not Jan.

We're newcomers to the neighborhood. We've only been here since the Spring of 2005. Most of our neighbors have been here much longer than that, even longer than Jan's "twenty some" years. Jan summarizes what we hear from the "old-timers:" not so long ago, moving to this neighborhood was a pioneering act:

When crime exploded in the 1960s and welfare tenants were moved into some of the apartments, much of the middle class – white and black – fled. By the early 1990s many assumed that nothing could be done about the collapse of the quality of life. It wasn’t unusual for police officers in that era, many of whom lived in suburban Suffolk County, to respond to crime victims condescendingly by asking, “What do you expect if you live in a neighborhood like this?”

Little changed even after the extraordinary Giuliani/Bratton efforts brought down crime, little changed in the mid-1990s. The district’s once thriving shopping street, Cortelyou Road , still had no bank, no coffee shop, no diner, no sit-down restaurant, no children's store, no real estate office.

The "from the inside out" part describes the efforts by Jan and other long-time residents to build community through a variety of means. Jan focussed her efforts on the 7 blocks of Cortelyou Road, from Coney Island Avenue to East 17th Street, that are zoned to allow commercial use. She credits other neighbors, as well, with transforming Cortelyou Road into our Main Street:

One incredible woman, Susan Siegel, decided she wanted to bring a farmers market to the neighborhood. She worked on this full time, and a year later it opened! Some Cortelyou grocers objected to having it on their strip; a few vocal homeowners objected to unlocking a public school yard and using it to house the market. Ironically the fight over the market swelled into a local “pro-development” movement, made up of people alive to the new possibilities, and sparked a neighborhood newsletter.

Once it opened in 2002, the Farmers Market became an informal community center, a literal common ground, for our neighborhood. The Market became a place where the full range of neighborhood residents could come together to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and to catch up on what’s happening in the schools, the playgrounds, and stores including a highly successful organic food co-op. Until then, only the homeowners were organized but now new co-op owners, home owners, and renters all came, mingling freely with each other, and with “veterans”, in a way that had not previously been the case.

Red Jacket Orchards, Greenmarket, Cortelyou Road, July 2007


Although Jan doesn't mention it in her article, the transformation of the Cortelyou Road streetscape resulted from many years of organizing and planning from several different sources, including the Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC). FDC has been active since arson for insurance fraud was a serious concern for the neighborhood, unthinkable today, when the same homes that might have been torched 20 years ago are going for over $1 million. FDC sponsors the annual Flatbush Frolic, which takes place on Cortelyou Road, and has been running for 31 years.

Cobblestones, Cortelyou Road, South side, West of Stratford Road, march 2007. That's Coney Island Avenue in the background.


The new clock at night, in April 2008, shortly after it was installed this Spring, on the grounds of P.S. 139 at the corner of Rugby Road.


Even before we moved into the neighborhood, James Heaton's Flatbush Residents Email Network Database - FREND - served as an introduction to the cultural landscape and issues of the neighborhood we were adopting.

Jim Heaton, a local advertising executive initiated an online newsletter, FREND, [which] served to “connect” nearly a thousand people and families to the new initiatives, particularly around the Farmers Market and crime ...

The successor to FREND is The Flatbush Family Network, started by two other neighbors:

The on-line contribution really blossomed in 2003 when Ellen Moncure and Joe Wong revived the Flatbush Family Network (FFN) . This site has become an invaluable source of neighborhood and childrearing information for the many young families who live here. For many people moving into this neighborhood, FFN provides an initial introduction and orientation to life in this neighborhood. For those who live here, it’s a convenient, ongoing source of information and support.

Related Content

Cortelyou Road Park, Park(ing) Day NYC 2008, September 2008
The Daffodil Project is in bloom on Cortelyou Road, April 2008
Cortelyou Road (Flickr Collection)

Links

Gentrification from the inside out in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park, NewGeography
Changing Ditmas Park, Ditmas Park Blog
Race, Class and Gentrification in Ditmas Park, Brownstoner

New Flatbush Rezoning Proposal Gets It Right

Update, 2009-07-29: Flatbush Rezoning Proposal approved by City Council

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477 Westminster Road, Ditmas Park West, one of hundreds of homes that will receive more protection with DCP's revised draft


NYC's Department of City Planning (DCP) provided the first view of their revised draft of the Flatbush Rezoning Proposal to Brooklyn's Community Board 14 (CB14) on September 3, and more recently to the CB14 Executive Committee on September 18. I wasn't able to sit in on any of the meetings, but I've spoken with folks who've seen the new proposal first hand.

The revised draft is covered in Flatbush Life, including a photo of the redrafted map:

After a presentation to the executive committee of Community Board 14 – which greeted the plan warmly – the Department of City Planning (DCP) is moving forward to certify the proposal, which will launch the formal approval process for the rezoning.

During the meeting, which was held in the board office, 810 East 16th Street, DCP received accolades from board members and area residents for reworking the plan to take into account neighborhood concerns.

- Flatbush rezoning moving forward

I wrote a detailed report about the earlier draft that DCP presented to CB14 and at a public hearing back in June. From everything I've heard and seen about this second draft, they got it right. In general, lots that are 50x100 feet will get the R3X designation, while lots that are 40x100 will get R4A. This is a more tailored approach than the broad brush of R4A that was painted over Ditmas Park West and South Midwood in the first draft. (See my original post for complete details on these zoning designations.)

They really listened to the concerns of residents, went back and re-drafted to address them. The free-standing homes responsible for the physical character of this area of Flatbush will be protected. All of Flatbush will be protected against unlimited height residential development. There are new opportunities for commercial development, and incentives for affordable housing. It's hard to find something to critique in this draft.

Related Posts

Flatbush Rezoning Proposal will define the future of Victorian Flatbush, 2008-06-13

Links

Flatbush rezoning moving forward, Flatbush Life, 2008-09-28
Rezonings for Flatbush, Canarsie Move Forward, Campaign for Community-Based Planning, 2008-10-06
Flatbush Rezoning Moving Forward, Ditmas Park Blog, 2008-10-07

One Year Ago

Trees snapped in half on Marlborough Road at Albemarle Road, Prospect Park South, on August 8, 2007. This area incurred the most dramatic damage in Flatbush, with scores of trees downed on the street and private property.


The Brooklyn Tornado of 2007 struck one year ago today.

1510 Albemarle Road

I featured this house in Conservatory Envy in September 2006. I took this shot in November 2006.


The tree on the right was a casualty of the tornado.


Here's how it looked from across the street in November 2006.


And after the tornado.

Related Content

Tornado Damage in Prospect Park South, Caton Park and Beverley Square West, August 8, 2007
Tornado Damage, Victorian Flatbush, August 8, 2007 (Flickr photo set)

Flatbush Rezoning Proposal will define the future of Victorian Flatbush

Update, 2009-07-29: Flatbush Rezoning Proposal approved by City Council
Update, 2009-03-02: DCP certified the proposal.

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David Parish, DCP, describing the proposed rezoning for South Midwood


Last night I attended Brooklyn Community Board 14's (CB14) preliminary public hearing on the NYC Department of City Planning's (DCP) rezoning proposal for the northern half of CB14, ie: Flatbush. I didn't take a head count, but roughly 100 people turned out to attend the hearing in Public School 249's uncooled auditorium. CB14 chair Alvin Berk informally explained the context and ground rules for the meeting, then officially called the hearing to order at 7:23. After the school guard kicked us out - gently, but firmly - after 9:30pm, conversations continued onto the school plaza and sidewalks. I didn't get home until well after 10pm last night.

Sunday, May 4: Beverley Square West Bash

West side of Stratford Road, looking south from Slocum Place, Beverley Square West, Flatbush, Brooklyn


This is a reminder to all Beverley Square West residents that the occasional, not quite biennial, Beverley Square West Bash will be held this Sunday, May 4th, from 4:30 – 7:30 PM, at Temple Beth Emeth at the corner of Marlborough Road and Church Avenue. There will be two DJs, a magician and catered banquet food. The menu selection will include:

• chicken marsala
  
• sliced BBQ pork loin
  
• baked ziti
  
• baked eggplant
  
• roast beef with gravy
  
• linguine with clam sauce
  
• a variety of cooked vegetables
  
• salad
  
• dessert (cake and fresh fruit salad)
  
• cold and hot drinks
  

Note that there will be a separate table set up with foods that children will especially enjoy. Also, free feel to bring your own wine or beer to this event.

If you haven't already, RSVP ASAP. The amount of food we order will be based upon the number of people who commit to the event, so be sure to note how many adults and children will be attending.

The admission price for the bash is $10 per family, but only if you RSVP. Price is $10 at the door with an RSVP, otherwise $20.

RSVP to BSWParty [at] gmail (dot) com

Sunday, April 27: A day for trees in Flatbush

A reminder that you have two opportunities to get your green on in Victorian Flatbush this Arbor Day weekend on Sunday, April 27.

At 9:30am, meet at 458 Rugby Road to plant trees in Ditmas Park West and spruce up tree pits. Over 14 years, Ditmas Park West residents have planted 300 trees. Their long-running tree-planting program can serve as a model for other neighborhoods to green their streets.

Starting at 1pm, meet at 1414 Cortelyou Road to enjoy and learn about some of the trees in Victorian Flatbush. The Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour will loop through the neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and Prospect Park South. A Google Map of the tour route is available.

Related Posts

Plant Trees in Ditmas Park West
Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour

Links

Sustainable Flatbush
Trees New York

Sunday, April 27: Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour

Updated 2008.04.21: Added Google Map.

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Westminster Road, Beverley Square West, looking north from Cortelyou Road


On Sunday, April 27, in celebration of Arbor Day weekend and Spring in bloom, join Sustainable Flatbush and others as we take a walking tour of one of our neighborhood's greatest assets: our street trees.

Experience the neighborhood's amazing wealth of street trees — including some that are more than 100 years old!

Throughout the tour, your street tree guide will:

• Identify trees and their characteristics
  
• Share interesting facts
  
• Explore local tree history
  
• Discuss the many ways street trees benefit the environment
  
• Explain how to obtain and care for street trees
  

and much more!

Newly Planted Street Tree on Cortelyou Road


Credit: Keka Marzagao


WHEN:
Sunday, April 27, 2008, Arbor Day Weekend, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

LOCATION:
Tours start and finish at 1414 Cortelyou Rd, the office of NY State Assembly Members James Brennan and Rhoda Jacobs. The tour will loop through the neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and the landmarked Prospect Park South Historic District.

DIRECTIONS:
Take the Q train to Cortelyou Rd. and walk one block west (left), toward Marlborough Rd., after exiting the station.

SPECIAL DETAILS:
The tour is just about a mile in length and will take place rain or shine.
Please dress appropriately for the weather and the walk.


View Larger Map

Tree identification with Trees NY at Greening Flatbush


ABOUT SUSTAINABLE FLATBUSH: Sustainable Flatbush provides a neighborhood-based forum to discuss, promote and implement sustainability concepts in Brooklyn and beyond.

Hydrant and Tree, 297 Westminster Road, Beverley Square West

Related Posts

Factoids: Street Trees and Property Values, December 2, 2007
Factoids: NYC's Street Trees and Stormwater Reduction, November 15, 2007
Basic Research: The State of the Forest in New York City, November 12, 2007

Links

Street-Tree Walking Tour next Sunday!, Sustainable Flatbush
Trees NY

The Daffodil Project is in bloom on Cortelyou Road

Cortelyou Daffodil


This evening I came home via the Cortelyou Road stop on the Q train. I wanted to stop by John's Bakery to pick up some munchies. I had to cross the street: the Daffodils are just starting to bloom.

They've started on the north side of the street, as I expected. The south side has been shaded by the stores and apartment buildings until recently. The soil in the tree pits there has not been warmed by the sun which the north, unshaded side of the street has been getting.



Last fall, two dozen volunteers planted 1,000 Daffodil bulbs and 400 Crocus corms over two weekends. The Crocus are all but spent now; just a few raggedy blooms hanging on here and there. The Daffodils are just getting started.



As in past years, there's no way to know what you're going to get when you plant the bulbs in the Fall. I saw at least four different kinds in bloom today.



It seems a far remove from 9/11, the inspiration for the Daffodil Project. But it was very much in the consciousness of at least some of us who planted these bulbs. And certainly in the minds and hearts of my neighbors who took the initiative to request these bulbs to be planted in their neighborhood.

Related Posts

My Flickr photo set of this project
Cortelyou Crocuses!, March 6, 2008
Cortelyou Road Crocus Watch, February 4, 2008
Tree Pits are not Dumpsters, November 18, 2007
The Daffodil Project Plantings on Cortelyou Road, November 4, 2007
1,000 Daffodils for Cortelyou Road, October 27, 2007
The Daffodil Project: Grief & Gardening #5, November 26, 2006

Links

The Daffodil Project

Times admits past errors: We are not all Ditmas Park

A House in Caton Park


I am astonished to find that tomorrow's New York Times City Section has an article on Victorian Flatbush, not "Ditmas Park," which they finally realize only applies to one historic district in this large area. And in this article, they focus on the "forgotten" neighborhoods, those which don't have landmark protection, and which are in danger of being eroded and lost forever to "development":

The neighborhoods of Victorian Flatbush are of particular interest to historians because in many respects they were the first suburbs. With the newly built Brooklyn Rapid Transit rail line stretching out to Coney Island, the farmland of the Dutch village of Flatbush became a prime location in the early 20th century for what was considered commuter living.
- Peaked Roofs, Crossed Fingers

315 East 18th Street, Beverly Square East

All the neighborhoods featured houses built in the most fashionable of Victorian-era styles, among them Tudor, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Georgian. These houses, adorned with carved moldings, fluted columns, copper trimmings and wide, open porches, evoked a lifestyle that went beyond architecture. Exclusive social clubs flourished in the area, as did community associations, many of which have been the driving force in campaigns for historic protection.

457 Rugby Road, Ditmas Park West


House in South Midwood

“We don’t want the Manhattanization of Brooklyn,” said Ron Schweiger, the Brooklyn borough historian and a longtime resident of Beverley Square West. “We don’t want high-rises coming into residential areas. That’s why we want all of Victorian Flatbush to get historic district status.”

And though the neighborhoods of Victorian Flatbush have distinct characters, nearly all of them have one thing in common: residents eager to protect what is a remarkable and in some cases irreplaceable architectural history.

Beverley Square West

341 Rugby Road, Beverley Square West


209 (Left) & 215 (Right) Stratford Road, Beverley Square West


There's a little bit of hand-waving around my neighborhood of Beverley Square West, resulting in several inaccuracies.

Beverley Square East and West, nestled between Prospect Park South and Ditmas Park [and Ditmas Park West] and completed just after the turn of the 20th century, were Ackerson’s major projects. The developer also got certain streets that run through Beverley Square West rechristened with upper-crust British names: East 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th Streets became Westminster, Argyle, Rugby and Marlborough Roads.

Somehow the Times lost one-fifth of Beverley Square West, omitting Stratford Road (East 11th Street) from their description of the neighborhood. Stratford Road is both the westernmost block and the one most at risk from inappropriate zoning in Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West.

The street names originated in the development of Prospect Park South by Dean Alvord. Ackerson's early advertising for developments here still used the numbered designations of East 11th, 12th, and so forth, not the names. By 1902, the named designations were extended south to what would become Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West. Our bill from Con Ed, which was around before this building boom of the early 1900s, still uses the numbered designation for our street address.

All the original homes of the Beverley Squares were individually designed. Ackerson himself lived in a house in Beverley Square West, and the developer Pounds, a future borough president, lived in Beverley Square East.

From what I've learned of the history of the development here, this is not accurate. The houses on Stratford and Westminster Roads are stylistically different from those on Argyle, Rugby and Marlborough. Although no two houses are exactly alike on Stratford and Westminster, neither do they feature much of the architectural details - turrets, round oeil de boeuf (ox-eye) windows, unusual dormers, and so on - visible on nearly every house on the other blocks.

I think the houses on these two westernmost blocks were built largely using Victorian pattern books widely available at the time; they were mostly "builders' specials," not designed by architects. They were built earlier, and not by Ackerson. Early Ackerson promotional photos show houses already standing on Stratford and Westminster while Argyle and Rugby are nothing more than empty lots.

The earliest neighborhood name I've found for these five blocks is Matthews Park. Matthews Court is one of the short side streets joining Stratford Road and Coney Island Avenue. Not that long ago, "Beverley Square West" referred only to the Ackerson-developed blocks of Argyle, Rugby and Marlborough Roads. Stratford and Westminster had their own neighborhood association, called Westford Park. These two neighborhood associations joined forces to form the current, five-block Beverley Square West Association.

Related Posts

Victorian Flatbush at risk from inappropriate zoning, October 23, 2007
Landscape and Politics in Brooklyn's City Council District 40, February 14, 2007
Matthews Park, September 29, 2006

Links

NoProPaSo, Kneel Before Your Creator, Crazy Stable
Victorian Flatbush: An Architectural History (Warning: contains intrusive popups)

Cortelyou Crocuses!

This morning I took a slight detour from my commute routine to check the tree pits along Cortelyou Road for blooming Crocuses. I was rewarded:



It may not look like much, but this is only one of the 400 Crocuses neighborhood volunteers planted last fall in some of the tree pits along Cortelyou Road between Coney Island Avenue and East 17th Street.

It also has a companion blooming in the same tree pit:



Until the rest of them start blooming, if you're not looking for them, you'll probably overlook them. Here's how they appear in situ as you walk by the tree pit:




The Crocuses have been up for a month; these are the first blooms. The Daffodils are also emerging in several of the tree pits.

Someone's (or someones') been doing a good job keeping the tree pit fairly clear of garbage. Nevertheless, you can identify several fragments of urban street detritus, including chewing gum, bits of plastic straw, and um, organic material.

This morning I didn't see any bags of garbage in the tree pits themselves. When I see this, I try to stop and lift the bags out to place them on the outside of the protective fences. But for the past few days I've also seen a bike locked to the inside of the fence, right where the bulbs are coming up. I want to make up some signs to put along all the tree pits to remind folks:

LIVE PLANTS
NO TRASH
NO BIKES
NO DOGS

The bike locked up so it's crushing the emerging bulbs deserves its own sign.

Over the next two weeks we should see a succession of different Crocus blooming. These yellow ones look like Crocus chrysanthus or something similar. Other may be purple, blue, or even white. I purchased "mixed" Crocus for this planting, so that's what we should expect!

Related Posts

Cortelyou Road Crocus Watch, February 4
Tree Pits are not Dumpsters, November 18, 2007
The Daffodil Project Plantings on Cortelyou Road, November 4, 2007
1,000 Daffodils for Cortelyou Road, October 27, 2007
The Daffodil Project: Grief & Gardening #5, November 26, 2006

Links

The Daffodil Project

Cortelyou Road Crocus Watch

Update 2008.03.06: The Crocuses are blooming!

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Despite this morning's brief snow flurry, Spring is nearly upon us. That means that the 1,000 Daffodils and 400 Crocus which dozens of neighborhood volunteers planted along Cortelyou Road last fall will soon bloom. The crocuses are already up and may bloom within the next two weeks.

This is a good time to remind businesses, building owners and managers, residents and visitors along Cortelyou Road that tree pits contain live plants. They should not put bags of garbage in them. This is especially important now that the plants are coming up.

Most building and business owners do not use the tree pits as dumpsters. I've only seen it done twice in the past two months. But all it takes is one thoughtless dumping of garbage, and the whole season of growth in that tree pit will be destroyed.

Beyond not damaging what's growing there, any care that owners and businesses can take to keep tree pits neat and clean will make a big difference. Keeping the tree pits clear of litter is the single most effective thing they can do. Just like graffiti and broken windows, keeping after trash shows that people care for the area, and are watching out for it.

Over two dozen people turned out to help plant the tree pits last fall. That's a big turnout for something that was organized very informally. This shows that residents value the new streetscape along Cortelyou Road. Studies have shown that people spend more time, and are willing to spend more, on commercial streets that have green, growing things. Keeping the tree pits clean and free of trash is not just neighborly. It's good business as well.

Related Posts

Tree Pits are not Dumpsters, November 18, 2007
The Daffodil Project Plantings on Cortelyou Road, November 4, 2007
1,000 Daffodils for Cortelyou Road, October 27, 2007
The Daffodil Project: Grief & Gardening #5, November 26, 2006

Links

The Daffodil Project