Randell Pearson remembers the first time he saw Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.
He was 18, fresh out of the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, doing some work for the furniture designer Vladimir Kagan. “He had me deliver a project to a house on Avenue D,” Mr. Pearson recalled. “I went and it was like, ‘Wow, this neighborhood is beautiful.’ It’s like this little oasis.”
He was taken aback by the tree-lined streets with large single-family homes. Although he had spent most of his childhood in nearby neighborhoods, Crown Heights and Flatbush, they were nothing like Ditmas Park. “There were all these Victorian-style houses. A lot of them are landmarked, and it’s just an amazing neighborhood.”
Eight years later, when Mr. Pearson found himself looking for an apartment with his new wife, a broker reminded him of the oasis he’d seen only once as a teenager.
So, Mr. Pearson took one look at an apartment in Ditmas Park and signed a lease. Forty-four years later, he’s still there.
“They’re going to have to carry me out of here,” he said.
The 70-year-old’s affection for his one-bedroom runs deep. It’s outlasted two marriages and has become a defining feature of his life in New York. “It’s been my sanctuary.”
Originally intended for the superintendent of the six-story building, Mr. Pearson’s apartment is on the first floor, which means he’s never had to wait for the elevator. He also likes that he’s near the building’s main entrance and can see all the comings-and-goings out his window.
Most of all, he appreciates the sheer size of the apartment. “These prewar buildings have some very large rooms,” he said. “There are three windows in my bedroom — that’s how big it is.”
Mr. Pearson’s bedroom is large enough to include a home office, with a large desk near one of the windows. “It’s the creative space of my apartment,” he said. It’s the place where he’s spent his career working as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. His forte is children’s books, having worked on 14 different titles, including “Kia and the Magical Spikes” by Dr. Rukiya Jeffers Ware and “The Caterpillar and the Cloud” by K.R. Avery.
The office is also where Mr. Pearson displays his collections of “one-sixth figures,” each 12-inches tall with articulating limbs and detailed facial features. At one point Mr. Pearson had more than 300 of the figures but he has since sold many of them. He still has scores of different collections, from Marvel superheroes and Star Wars characters, to N.B.A. legends and hip-hop artists. His most prized collection is of tribute figures of the musician Prince.
Even for all its spaciousness, his apartment can, at times, feel quite full. “I’ve got so much stuff,” Mr. Pearson said.
He also has extensive collections of CDs and vinyl records, as well as art from his travels around the world. “Everything’s very eclectic but harmonious at the same time.”
Although the apartment is packed with decades of living, everything is in its place. “I’m very fastidious,” Mr. Pearson said. “I know where everything is. Turn something a quarter of an inch, I can tell when something’s been moved.”
The high degree of organization extends to the kitchen cabinets where items are all strictly arranged by size.
Outside the building, Mr. Pearson’s neighborhood has always been everything he hoped it would be. “You never hear sirens and things going on,” he said. “If anything, the local fire department runs drills, and that’s basically the only time they might come through the block. Other than that, it’s always quiet. There’s an invisible force field around this neighborhood.”
He used to keep a car but it became too expensive and, over the years, more and more amenities came to the neighborhood, putting so much within walking distance.
“Everything I need is right here,” he said. “The Q subway line, pharmacy is around the corner, supermarkets, restaurants, everything is around the corner. It’s such a great neighborhood and a great building, great people — why would I ever leave?”
It’s not just fondness that has kept Mr. Pearson in Ditmas Park but economics too. His apartment is part of the rent-stabilization program, which means any annual increases in his rent are set by the New York Rent Guidelines Board, not the open market. “When I moved in here,” he said, “I was paying $350. Now I’m paying $1,427.”
Many market-rate, one-bedroom apartments in Ditmas Park now rent for $2,800 or more.
The affordability of Mr. Pearson’s home has, over the decades, helped him cope with a freelancer’s unpredictable income. “While I’m not rich — I ’m far from being rich — I’m happy. I got a roof over my head. I’m never hungry, you know. Life is good.”
He still remembers when the bottom fell out in 2008. “I went from making six figures to a McDonald’s salary,” he said. When his work dried up he had to rely on unemployment benefits. “The loss of income was sudden and devastating.”
His manageable rent was one of the reasons he was able to get by. That and the generosity of family and friends. “I was always the guy who was buying dinner for everybody,” he said, “and that was remembered when I was having a hard time.”
Most of Mr. Pearson’s income now comes from his social security benefits. But he still takes on a few gigs here and there. “When you’re a creative person,” he said, “you’re a creative person. Being an artist is not something that you retire from. I’m never going to want to stop drawing.”
Mr. Pearson has, reluctantly, started to consider what his life will look life when and if the day comes that he can no longer live independently. “It’s something I have to think about,” he said.
A close friend of his moved to Georgia and built a house. “She’s a good 25 years younger than me,” he said, “She’s like, ‘Randy, you need to come down here and live with me because I don’t want you to be by yourself.’ She’s afraid I’m going to keel over.”
He laughed then smiled and added, “She’s sweet like that.”
Ultimately though, he said he’s likely to pass on the offer. He can’t imagine his life outside Ditmas Park.
“I don’t ever plan to leave this neighborhood,” he said. “I’ll work it out.”