Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the Manhattan streets and in between the chill, urban setting that is Brooklyn is Ditmas Park, a neighborhood in Brooklyn striking with small town appeal. Victorian houses line the streets on each side, each shaded by a tree reaching above the roofs remind the inhabitants and visitors of suburban America. That small town appeal continues in the main public streets with edge to edge restaurants of different cuisines and shopping stores of different cultures. Because there’s so many, visitors are often compelled to return.

            One of the best places to hang out near Ditmas Park is actually Lakeside in Prospect Park. Besides the regular picnic in the park adventure, Lakeside offers activities that residents can engage in during each season. In the spring and summer time, residents can boating on the lake in one of the paddleboats, biking around the trails, and kids can hang out in the splash pad. There’s also a skating rink where every Friday the rink is open, Ditmas Park resident Lola Star hosts a roller skating party. During the wintertime, residents can go ice skating, go curling or practice their figure skating.

If you're looking to move to Ditmas Park you may want to check out 416 Marlborough Road. This large, 2,500 sq.ft., legal 2 family Ditmas Park, Victorian house, contains 3 floors, plus a full basement of original details including hardwood floors, stained glass windows, pocket doors, fireplaces, and 4 separate outdoor porches.  Sitting on a tree lined block, this home offers both historical charm, plus all the modern and trendy accessibility of Cortelyou Road.  This 100 year old, 2 family house, has 7 bedrooms, 3 baths and has been lovingly cared for by the same family for over 25 years.  It preserves an abundance of original details and is in strong mechanical condition.  

The home rests on 4,000 sq.ft. of land with a beautiful backyard highlighted by a free-standing meticulously built gazebo that easily seats more than a dozen guests.  In addition, for many options to personalize this beautiful house, there is also room to add a driveway for private parking.  Priced to sell, with low annual taxes and with two legal apartments that can be rented, this house would yield a highly desirable cap rate return in excess of 4.5%.  

The Brooklyn Center for Performing Art in Brooklyn College is an art place for music and theatre performance. They deliver performances with reflection to Brooklyn’s communities as well as encourage creativity with exposure to different cultures. The building hosts four different spaces for performances and practices, though the Walt Whitman theatre is closed for repairs until June 2018.

            With so many restaurant favorites from the residents as well as visitors that stop by Ditmas Park, it’s hard to mention just one, so here’s a few. Grab a slice of tres leches cake at the La Nueva Union bakery or head for brunch at Hunger Pang serving dishes like Shrimp Po’ Bao or Okonomiyaki. For curry and roti with Caribbean influences, head to Shayna’s where most of her food is super affordable. Lastly, check out Cafe Tibet for favourites like dumplings and thenthuk, a Tibetan soup. These are just a few restaurants to check out at Ditmas Park. You should head there yourself to see what you can find!