Ditmas Park, Brooklyn

Ditmas Park Historic District
Ditmas Avenue and Rugby Road
Location Bounded by Marlborough Rd., Dorchester Rd., Ocean Ave., and Newkirk Ave., New York, New York
Coordinates 40°38′20″N 73°57′40″W / 40.63889°N 73.96111°W / 40.63889; -73.96111Coordinates: 40°38′20″N 73°57′40″W / 40.63889°N 73.96111°W / 40.63889; -73.96111
Area 35 acres (14 ha)
Built 1902
Architectural style Colonial, Queen Anne, Bungalow
NRHP reference #

83001688

[1]
Added to NRHP September 30, 1983

Ditmas Park is a neighborhood in western Flatbush in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, east of Kensington, and is one of three Flatbush neighborhoods which have been officially designated Historic Districts. Located on land formerly owned by the Ditmas family that remained rural until the early 20th century, the neighborhood consists of many large, free-standing Victorian homes built in the first decade of the 20th century. The traditional boundaries of Ditmas Park, including Ditmas Park West, are from Ocean Avenue to Coney Island Avenue, and from Dorchester Road to Newkirk Avenue.[2] Ditmas Park is policed by the New York City Police Department's 70th Precinct,[3] and is within Brooklyn Community Board 14.

Within Ditmas Park is the Ditmas Park Historic District, a national historic district consisting of 172 contributing, largely residential buildings built between 1902 and 1914. It includes fine examples of Colonial Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman, and Queen Anne style single family homes. Also in the district is one church, the brick Neo-Georgian Flatbush Congregational Church (1910).[4]

Community

Newkirk Avenue, Coney Island Avenue, Cortelyou Road and to a lesser extent Church Avenue are the neighborhood's commercial strips while many of their north-south streets are lined with historic Victorian style homes. Since much of Ditmas Park is residential, many locals go to nearby Park Slope to run errands and shop, although the neighborhood has seen increased commercialization due to its recent gentrification.

The Ditmas Park Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[1] Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, wealthy families purchased the large Victorian homes, but in the past few years, the neighborhood has experienced rapid gentrification, with an influx of young people and artists attracted to the large spaces for relatively cheap rents. An example of this is Cortelyou Road, a commercial street in the neighborhood. Cortelyou enjoys a number of delis, bars, coffee shops, restaurants, the Flatbush Food Co-op, and more upscale restaurants. Cortelyou is also home to many venues, which attracts many local musicians, as well as more well-known artists.[5]

In October 2009, Time Out New York named Ditmas Park one of the best neighborhoods in New York City for food. Similar articles praising Ditmas Park for its food have appeared in The New York Times and AM New York.[6][7][8]

Associations

The Ditmas Park Association, founded in 1908, hosts social events, publishes a newsletter and a home improvement directory, and works on numerous civic issues, often jointly with its sister neighborhoods and the Flatbush Development Corporation. The Flatbush Development Corporation hosts an annual Victorian Flatbush House Tour.

Beginning in March 2012, the website Ditmas Park Corner documented important events and openings in the area, and served as a forum for discussions and inquiries about the neighborhood;[9] as of 2017 the site was incorporated into the Brooklyn-wide news site Brklyner.[10]

Transportation

New York City Subway stops in or very near to Ditmas Park are Beverley Road (Q train), Cortelyou Road (Q train), Newkirk Plaza (B and ​Q trains), and Avenue H (Q train). MTA Bus-operated express buses that run through Ditmas Park are the BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4, and local buses are the B8, B68, B103.

Notable residents

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Flatbush Brooklyn Neighborhoods
  3. ↑ 70th Precinct, New York City Police Department, Accessed September 26, 2017. "This precinct is home to Midwood, Fiske Terrace, Ditmas Park, and Prospect Park South."
  4. ↑ Larry Gobrecht (August 1983). "National Register of Historic Places Registration:Ditmas Park Historic District". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-03-12. See also: "Accompanying 23 photos".
  5. ↑ Nat Baldwin | Concerts | Time Out New York
  6. ↑ Freedman, Lisa (2009-09-01). "Why I Love Ditmas Park". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on 2010-01-23. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  7. ↑ Shannon, Jonathan (2009-10-25). "Your $30 Sunday". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on 2010-09-02. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  8. ↑ Mooney, Jake (2009-11-13). "Moved for the Space; Stayed for the Food". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  9. ↑ "About". Ditmas Park Corner. ditmasparkcorner.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016.
  10. ↑ "About Us". Brklyner. brklyner.com. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  11. ↑ Salisbury, Vanita. "While Stuck in Traffic, the National's Aaron Dessner Fantasizes About Living in Rural New England", New York (magazine), December 1, 2011. Accessed November 21, 2016. "Name: Aaron Dessner; Age: 35; Neighborhood: Ditmas Park"
  12. 1 2 Kompanek, Christopher. "National’s treasure", New York Post, May 19, 2011. Accessed September 26, 2017. "Unlike an actual suburb, though, Ditmas Park is filled with musicians, including Sufjan Stevens and Dessner’s brother, Bryce, who plays guitar for the National."
  13. ↑ "Remembering Ric Menello". Ditmas Park Corner. 2013-03-02. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
  14. ↑ Blumenfeld, Larry. "Brooklynite Writes Jazz With a Poet's Pen", The Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2011. Accessed September 26, 2017. "If you see saxophonist Roy Nathanson on the Q train, head down and pen out, he's working on a poem. 'I can only write poetry while riding the subway,' he said recently from the living room of his house in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park."
  15. ↑ Roalf, Peggy. "The Q&A: Tim O'Brien", AI-AP presents DART, December 29, 2014. Accessed November 21, 2016. "Originally from North Haven, Connecticut, I moved to Brooklyn and in with my then girlfriend/now wife, Scholastic Creative Director Elizabeth Parisi, in the early 90’s when Brooklyn was still a city in transition. Park Slope was beginning to be gentrified and when we felt we were priced out in ’96, we bought a large Victorian home in another neighborhood in transition, Ditmas Park."
  16. ↑ "The Boy Wonder of BuzzFeed". www.nytimes.com.
  17. ↑ Plitt, Amy. "Here's How Michelle Williams Will Transform Her Crumbling Brooklyn Mansion; The Oscar-nominated actress is planning some big changes to the Ditmas Park home", Curbed New York, March 16, 2016. Accessed November 21, 2016. "Last year, actress Michelle Williams put down roots in Ditmas Park, buying a sprawling eight-bedroom mansion at 1440 Albemarle Road for $2.5 million."
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