Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, that is. The NY Post takes a look at Brooklyn’s priciest neighborhood today, “where the average price per square foot in the second quarter of 2008 was $917, according to the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). (Compare that to Brooklyn Heights at $834 and Park Slope at $801.)” They chronicle the real estate adventures of one forward-thinking resident who purchased a $260,000, 1,260-square-foot apartment in 1998, and sold it five years later for $895,000; he repeated a similar feat, and ended up affording a $1.2 million condo. All three of his units were in Two Trees buildings. A companion article chronicles what they paint as the benevolence of Two Trees, who offered free rent to businesses if they were the “right kind” of retail outlets for the nabe: book stores and furniture shops and arts centers. “Of course, the Walentases aren’t responsible for every thriving business in DUMBO,” they write. “But it’s hard to imagine that the eclectic Superfine, a restaurant open since 2001, would have existed without their influence.” They are not, however, responsible for the Starbucks.
Down Under [NY Post]
Don’t Pay Retail [NY Post]
Front Street from Above. Photo by DumboNYC.