Prospect Lefferts Gardens (PLG) is a Brooklyn neighborhood name formed from Prospect Park, Lefferts Manor and Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The Prospect Lefferts Gardens Neighborhood Association (PLGNA) formed in 1970. “His glance swept upward as he gestured toward the library of his new home in Prospect-Lefferts-Gardens near the Botanic Gardens” was cited in the Real Estate section of the New York (NY) Times on January 4, 1970.
 
Early citations have the hyphenated “Prospect-Lefforts Gardens.” “Prospect Lefforts Gardens” (without the hyphen) was cited in New York magazine in 1977.
 
Although “PLG” existed in “PLGNA” (Prospect Lefferts Gardens Neighborhood Association), these initials didn’t become popular used until much later. “PLG ARTS, a Brooklyn organization (PLG, as in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood)” was cited in the New York (NY) Times on July 13, 2007.
 
 
Wikipedia: Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Prospect Lefferts Gardens is a residential neighborhood in the Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The area is bounded by Empire Boulevard (formerly Malbone Street) to the north, Clarkson Avenue to the south, New York Avenue to the east, and Ocean Avenue/Prospect Park to the west. Prospect Lefferts Gardens is part of Brooklyn Community Board 9 and is serviced by the New York City Police Department’s 71st Precinct.
 
The neighborhood contains an ethnically diverse community with a largely Caribbean population. However, in recent years, Prospect Lefferts Gardens has been gentrifying quickly. Residents from parts of Manhattan have been moving in, as well as residents from Park Slope.
 
Name
The name Prospect Lefferts Gardens was created in 1968 by the Prospect Lefferts Gardens Neighborhood Association (PLGNA). Prospect Lefferts Gardens is a combination of the names of three nearby locations: Prospect Park, Lefferts Manor, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
 
Prospect Lefferts Gardens Neighborhood Association
PLGNA was incorporated in 1969 by PLG residents who opposed unfair real estate and bank practices like redlining and wanted to form a working interracial neighborhood. One of its first projects was to document 300 abandoned and 300 deteriorating buildings within the neighborhood. In 1973, PLGNA became involved in a landmark legal battle to combat redlining. Over the years, it has helped tenants to organize unions and blocks to form associations; supported safety programs; transported seniors; developed youth programs; and served as an umbrella organization for other neighborhood groups.
 
4 January 1970, New York (NY) Times, “Hunt for Brownstones Widening in Brooklyn” by Linda AMster, Real Estate sec., pg. 230:
His glance swept upward as he gestured toward the library of his new home in Prospect-Lefferts-Gardens near the Botanic Gardens.
 
Google News Archive
31 January 1974, The Village Voice (New York, NY), pg. 90 classified ad:
PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS
 
Google Books
2 May 1977, New York magazine, pg. 87, col. 3:
PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENS HOUSE TOUR Sunday, May 1st, 1-5 p.m. Elegant townhouses on beautiful Midwood Street, Plant Sale, Flea Market.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Prospect Lefferts Gardens Historic District designation report
Author: Kent L Barwick; William J Conklin; New York (N.Y.). Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : The Commission, 1979.
Edition/Format:   Print book : Local government publication : English
     
New York (NY) Times
Stripped Down but Still Hatted, That Cat Is Back
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Published: July 13, 2007
(...)
PLG ARTS, a Brooklyn organization (PLG, as in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood), is presenting “Daydream,” the group’s adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for children, in Prospect Park.
 
Twitter
plgbk
‏@plgbk
PLG Neighborhood Association Meeting this Thursday, 7 pm: The Prospect Lefferts Gardens Neighborhood Association.. http://bit.ly/aZ9C0
4:46 PM - 4 May 2009
 
Twitter
Jonathan Tager
‏@JonathanTager
PLG = Prospect Lefferts Garden
9:07 AM - 8 Feb 2014
 
Curbed - NY
Four PLG Townhomes Aspire To Rename Entire Neighborhood
Wednesday, May 28, 2014, by Zoe Rosenberg
Everyone wants a piece of the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens pie. Next up, the ambiguous Residential Development Group with their addition of four rather plain brick townhouses at 280 Hawthorne Street. The new development falls in a section of PLG that marketers are amusingly attempting to rebrand as Heights Park (which, according to the map after jump, is essentially the entire neighborhood), naming the small development after the contrived ‘hood.
     
The Wall Street Journal
SoHo Is SoOver, New Yorkers Are Moving to WiNo and Rambo
New neighborhoods are springing up in real-estate lingo, and it isn’t just in New York City
By CORINNE RAMEY
Updated Sept. 10, 2015 9:51 p.m. ET
(...)
The latest new acronym: PLG, which stands for Prospect Lefferts Gardens.
(...)
As for PLG, Prospect Lefferts Gardens was created in the ’60s, but has only within the last decade seen new development and wealthier residents. The name comes from nearby locations Prospect Park, Lefferts Manor and Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
 
Longtime residents weren’t so sure, though, that Prospect Lefferts Gardens even exists, much less PLG.
 
“I just consider it Flatbush, and you’re right next to Crown Heights,” said lifetime resident Papaya Edwards, 41, who lives, technically, in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and does custodial work.