July 2005
July 29, 2005
South of Division Street: Part 5
The streets are quiet on a Saturday afternoon...
...plenty of opportunity to admire the details.
Today on the Reno Blog: Kitchen Updates
The stove and dishwasher are hooked up in our kitchen now and we'll pop in the microwave/fan and the fridge any day. That and a view of the latest progress in the rental kitchen on the Reno Blog today.
Update on Kitchens [Renovation Blog]
Open House Picks
Sorry for the lack of geographic diversity this week, but didn't find much of interest in other hoods...
Clinton Hill
239 Washington Avenue
William B. May
Sunday 1-3pm
$1,765,000
GMAP
Clinton Hill
25 Cambridge Place
Corcoran
Sunday 1-3pm
$1,695,000
GMAP
Fort Greene
281 Cumberland Street
By Owner
Sunday 10am-12pm
$1,595,000
GMAP
Bedford Stuyvesant
607 Quincy Street
Park Terrace Properties
Sunday 1-2pm
$599,999
GMAP
Latest Contribution to "My Brownstone" Gallery
Come check in with the latest submission to the My Brownstone gallery. The owner of this 1905 Renaissance Revival house in Prospect Lefferts had plenty of dirty work to do even though he purchased the place from a flipper. Check it out and then get to work on creating an homage to your own place!
Prospects Lefferts 1905 [My Brownstone]
Reconciling Old & New, Preservation & Progress
Feeling torn between her philosophically modern stance and her nostalgia for the "Old Brooklyn" she loves to inhabit, writer Karrie Jacobs tries to come to terms with the building boom going on in Brooklyn:
Generally speaking I'm not against development or change, even in my own backyard. I'm enthused about other smaller-scale plans, such as the 500,000-square-foot residential project that Time Equities--a relatively enlightened developer--and Hamlin Ventures are building above the subway station at Hoyt and Schermerhorn Streets in Downtown Brooklyn...But I'm troubled that Brooklyn is being regarded as an opportunity rather than as a place. Ratner's development scheme, the Downtown plan drafted by the city, and the vision for the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront all seem to view the borough as a tabula rasa. It is that old urban-renewal thinking that overvalues the potential and understates the significance of what's already here--exactly the kind of thinking that engendered a 30-year backlash. It's not nostalgia or NIMBYism to want planning that intelligently integrates past, present, and future.
Oh Brooklyn, My Brooklyn [Metropolis]
Seeking Photo Submissions of Shingles
Since we're going to be out of town this weekend and unable to photograph any themes or neighborhoods for next week, we thought we'd ask the readership to pitch in. We've always been drawn to the occurrence of shingles in a city dominated by stone and brick. Next week, we'd love to be able to exhibit examples of shingled structures in Brooklyn. So if you've got your digi with you this weekend, we'd appreciate any and all submissions along with a note about the location. We'll post the results throughout the week. Thanks a mucho.
Mixed Signals in Schaefer Landing Marketing
We're a little confused. We got this flyer (sorry for the blurry photos) in the mail this weekend from Fillmore advertising the condos for sale at Schaeffer Landing in the Southern-most regions of Williamsburg for between $700,000 and $1.7 million. But there's no info on the Fillmore site. A quick Google later and we're staring at the Douglas Elliman site that proclaims that Phase 1 is sold out. What's a trust-fund baby to do!
Homepage [Fillmore]
Schaefer Landing [Prudential Douglas Elliman] GMAP
$1,000 PSF on Below Fourth Ave? Gimme a Break
Our first reaction to this listing was that it had to be a joke. But on closer inspection, it appears to be a legitimate, albeit delusional, attempt to push the bubble to its outer limits. In fact, this one might burst it. Over $1,000 a square foot for an average-looking, new-construction condo on Seventh Street below Fourth, yes Fourth, Avenue? We don't know what else to say. We're stunned.
7th Street [Corcoran]
Minerva Versus Scarano, Revisited
The battle over the statue of Minerva's view of the Statue of Liberty is still raging, according to NY1. As discussed in this space before, residents around Greenwood Cemetary are concerned about the planned development at the corner of 23rd Street and 7th Avenue. Architect Robert Scarano says he has redesigned the building's line of site in response to the community outcry to allow for the view, and he says he may even go one step further and use scaffolding to create a life-size mockup at the site, hoping to get approval from the cemetery, which he claims he really doesn't need. What's the matter people, you don't take Scarano at his word that he has the community's best interests at heart?
Old Brooklyn Battlefield Site Of New Conflict [NY1]
A View to be Killed [Brownstoner]
Friday Links
Shoot the Freak (Coney Island). Photo by Magnetomotive
Restaurant Review: Taku in Boerum Hill [NY Times]
House for Sale, Body Included [NY Post]
Rowhouses as Slave Haven [NY Daily News]
Brooklyn Gum Makes It Home [NY Daily News]
Curtains for 1928 Movie House [NY Daily News]
Ferdinando's Focacceria [L Magazine]
E. Billyburg Condos [Curbed]
Brooklyn Fish Camp [OTBKB]
Sunset Park on a Sunny Day [Blather from Brooklyn]
Boerum Hill Open House Tonight
If you've got nothing better to do tonight, you can stop by the open house at 447 Pacific Street in Boerum Hill from 6 to 7:30. There's not much in the way of pictures to go on, so we can't do much more than parrot the listing: Traditional lower duplex with grape leaf moldings, pocket doors, and marble mantles, all in a two bedroom unit with an open kitchen, washer & dryer, and private land-scaped garden topped by a more modern upper duplex with cathedral ceilinged living room, newly redone kitchen, a large skylight, wood burning fireplace, 2 bedrooms plus a den or home office. Price? $1.7 million.
447 Pacific Street [NYT Listings] GMAP
House of the Day: Crown Heights Original
This beautiful 4-story place in Crown Heights just came on the market yesterday and it has us salivating over some of its delicious details. The original wood detailing and paneling is very impressive; the unusual light blue detail in the bathroom tile is also pretty cool. As for the asking price, hard to say. Judging from the view of the backyard, the immediate neighborhood has not exactly been taken over by gentrification just yet! But that's why it's $950,000 and not $2 million on the other side of the park. Our only serious concern is the fact that it's an SRO. On the positive side, it's vacant, so there are no ugly evictions to go through; on the negative side, there is a several-month process to go through with HPD to change the C of O. If the current owner has kept a decent paper trail on the former SRO tenants, that will make things much easier. Also, being willing to tackle unpleasant tasks like this is often a way to create value. It certainly enabled us to pick up our place at a discount.
Sterling Place [Ettelson RE]
Brooklyn Waterfront 80 Years Ago
We stumbled across this photograph of the bustling waterfront in southern Brooklyn circa 1926. Pictured here, from left, are the Army base, the Long Island Railroad yards and float bridges, and the Brooklyn Edison power house. The website, Life in Brooklyn, notes that at this point in time the Brooklyn waterfront was more prosperous than Manhattan's, with hundreds of acres of dry docks and storage warehouses. No condos though.
Neighborhoods: Sunset Park [Life in Brooklyn]
Share the Love in the Brownstoner Forum
We've got a bunch of new queries in the Brownstoner Forum that could use your input. Please take a couple of minutes to check in and contribute your two cents. Thanks.
Architects, Wallpaper Hangers, and Asbestos [Brownstoner Forum]
All Equitied Up With No Place to Go
The mathematics behind today's "Trapped in a Bubble" story makes perfect sense. Say you decided to buy a $200,000 studio three years ago with 50% down and were selling it now for $300,000 so you could trade up to a one-bedroom. Your $100,000 in equity would now be $200,000. Great, but that one bedroom that was $400,000 when you bought your studio is now $600,000, so despite your increased equity, the mortgage you'll need a mortgage that's $100,000 higher than you would have three years ago to carry that one-bedroom ($400,000 instead of $300,000). Oh, and your income has not kept pace with the rise in housing prices. Doh!
Trapped in the Bubble [NY Times]
MTA's Shut-out of Extell Confirmed
As reported yesterday, the MTA has caved to what we are sure are vast political pressures and agreed to negotiate only with Ratner for 45 days. While at least they are standing up for themselves a little by trying to extract some more cash, to the outside observer, the decision adds a whole 'nother later of stink to what has already been a suspect process. While we are in favor of the area getting developed and think a master plan is called for, we have to side with DDD's Daniel Goldstein (pictured) on this one: It is truly unconscionable that Extell would get cut out at this point given its higher bid. The fact that many residents prefer Extell's more modest (though still large-scale) plans aside, the eleventh-hour bidders are offering three times as much money! As one reader commented yesterday, "All along this has reeked of political back-room dealing to the extreme... Robert Moses would be proud but I'm not."
M.T.A. to Deal Only With Ratner [NY Times]
Slideshow [NY Newsday - Photo by J. Klein]
Thursday Morning Craig
Carlton Avenue (Prospect Heights). Photo by Frank Lynch
5-story 10-family on Park $2.1 Million [Fort Greene]
3-Story Mixed Use $1.3 million [Prospect Heights]
3-Family Shell $1.2 million [Park Slope]
3-Story 2-Family Brownstone $1.06 million [Carroll Gardens]
2-Family 4-floor $850,000 [South Slope]
July 27, 2005
South of Division Street: Part 3
This gorgeous building on the Northeast corner of Rodney and Bedford is now a shul, or synagogue. Dig the detail!
Breaking: MTA Postpones Vote on Atlantic Yards
The MTA announced that it was delaying picking a winner to develop the Atlantic Rail Yards for at least 45 days. From the sound of it, the MTA may be hoping that the bids may be increased: “I think that the bid that we did get from Forest City, while complete and well thought out, frankly was not as high as I expected,” said MTA head Peter Kalikow. “I expected the MTA to receive more money.” Hmmm...Newsday is reporting that the MTA voted to negotiate exclusively with Ratner for the next 45 days. If they don't reach a deal in that time, Extell could be back at the table.
MTA Postpones Vote on Atlantic Yards [NY1]
MTA to negotiate exclusively with Ratner [NY Newsday]
House of the Day: Clinton Hill Woodframe Lovely
Wearing our Clinton Hill bias on our chest, we have to say that we like the looks of this 25-foot-wide Civil War-era woodframe house. This place is located within throwing distance of all the Pratt-related mansions on Clinton Avenue and just a few blocks from Fort Greene park. The original details appear to be intact (though perhaps in need of a tune-up). There's no square footage given, but the house is only three stories and looks to have a deep front yard, so it's probably not more than about 3,000 square feet or so, maybe a little less. Nevertheless, it's rare to find something at this price ($1.25 million) in such a prime part of Clinton Hill these days. We think it'll go fast, probably above ask, unless there's some catch we're unaware of.
Clinton Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP
Brownstoner Launches "My Brownstone"
Close followers of the site may have noticed earlier this week the appearance of a new feature which we're calling "My Brownstone". The idea is to create a place for brownstone owners to build homepages for their houses. Through words and pictures, we want you to tell stories about your house, to point out details that you love, processes you went through, etc. We were able to talk a couple of guineau pigs into throwing something together before we went live, but the whole thing is a bit of work-in-progress. More than anything, we hope as many people will participate as possible. In the true blogger spirit, don't overthink it, just jump in and get your hands dirty. Your page can be a work in progress, edited, supplemented, etc. whenever you want. Have fun.
New Feature: My Brownstone [Brownstoner]
A Tomato Grows in Brooklyn
A reader sends in evidence of fertile soil in Prospect Park South...
New Blog Devoted to Brooklyn Food Scene
We're happy to welcome new blog Eating for Brooklyn on to the scene. Written by Pete Hassler (cool last name, no?), the blogspot-hosted site promises to explore "the bounty of Brooklyn," including restaurants, farmer's markets, and other "hidden gems." We're down--we think the borough's non-Smith Street establishments could use a lot more coverage. We hope he'll supplement his verbiage with some photos going forward and alert us to new openings on the horizon.
Homepage [Eating for Brooklyn]
Disagreement over Tower Next to Brooklyn Bridge
Cobble Hill Association member Roy Sloane stirred up quite a tempest in a teapot when he emailed his take (below, left)) on what the proposed 30-story tower at the entrance to the planned Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront development would look like to 51 recipients, including members of the state-mandated Community Advisory Committee to the BBPDC, the development corporation and the designers. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation subsequently released its version of the tower view (below, right) and also overlayed what they believe to be more accurate dimensions onto Sloane’s rendering (top).
Picture This [Brooklyn Papers] GMAP
Drawings Become Centerpiece in Battle [Brooklyn Eagle]
Agency Adopts Park Plan for Brooklyn Waterfront
July 27, 2005, NY Times -- State officials approved a draft plan yesterday for an 85-acre waterfront park near Downtown Brooklyn that would include playing fields, marinas, restaurants and offices, and 1,200 units of luxury housing. The proposed plan for a 1.3-mile shoreline park stretching from the Manhattan Bridge to Cobble Hill is an important step forward in a contentious effort over nearly 20 years to develop the largely neglected waterfront area. The park plan and a draft environmental review will go before public hearings in September.
By far the most controversial part of the plan is the proposal to build or renovate five residential buildings, including a new 30-story tower. The decision to include housing was first made public in December, as part of a plan to make the park finance its own upkeep. But the number of housing units, first revealed yesterday, elicited angry reactions from a number of community groups that have opposed the plan. If it goes forward, building on the park project is expected to begin in 2008 and to be completed by 2012, according to the plan released yesterday. The park's design, by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, includes "canals, boardwalks and floating bridges that wind around the existing piers." There would be 12 acres of paddling waters for kayaking, rowboating and other water sports. The entrances to the park would be at Atlantic Avenue and Fulton Ferry Landing and in Dumbo (for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).
The project would also include a 224-room hotel, restaurants and cafes, 150,000 square feet of retail space and 1,100 parking spaces. But it is the residential element that has galvanized opposition among many Brooklynites. Although a few civic groups have come out in favor of the plan, opponents say the housing element was pushed through largely in secret. Some have accused the park's planners of catering to developers, particularly at 360 Furman Street, a privately owned warehouse near the northern edge of the park.
Agency Adopts Park Plan [NY Times]
DDD Threatening Years of Lawsuits
July 27, 2005, NY Post -- A neighborhood group opposing developer Bruce Ratner's plan to build an NBA arena in Downtown Brooklyn warned the MTA yesterday it could face years of litigation if the agency hands over development rights of land needed for the $3.5 billion project. Jeffrey Baker, a lawyer for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, said in a letter to MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow that the agency shouldn't let Ratner build on the 8.3-acre Long Island Rail Road yard at Atlantic and Flatbush avenues.
Baker said the developer would be "hard-pressed" to obtain other land needed for his project because Ratner is relying on the state's eminent-domain powers to take it from homeowners. Baker said the homeowners in the Prospect Heights neighborhood do not want to sell and that the developer doesn't have legal grounds to take the land through condemnation because property values are "escalating" and the area is not "blighted." Group members said they would strongly consider suing the state's Empire State Development Corp., the MTA and Ratner if a move is made to take their land through condemnation.
The letter to Kalikow comes as board members of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority could decide as early as today who gets to build over the rail yard. Whether the decision is made today or put off, Ratner is still considered a heavy favorite over rival bidder Extell Development.
Arena Foes Readying Lawsuits [NY Post]
Wednesday Photo of the Day
Inside McCarren Pool. Photo by Tien Mao
July 26, 2005
South of Division Street: Part 2
These places must have been pretty sweet as single-family homes in their day!
Last Piece of the Puzzle: How to Finish the Stairs
The last major aesthetic decision we need to make for the house is how to finish the stairs. The linoleum has been removed from most of them, leaving us with what you see above. We're going to keep the banister its current dark wood color and will probably paint the vertical back of each stair white. What do people think we should paint the stairs and the spindles? Keep in mind that the hallway floors on each landing are going to be natural wood with poly. Thanks.
House of the Day: Classic Fort Greene Goodness
This brownstone listing in Fort Greene looks like a beauty. The 22-foot-wide classic brownstone appears to be in good shape. The 17-foot (come on, guys, it's probably more like 14, but still...) parlor floor is dripping with detail and floors and moldings look to be in good shape. The triplex over duplex set-up is well-configured for family living plus income. The prime location--three blocks from the park--certainly doesn't hurt either. We think this'll go for at least asking price.
Clermont Avenue [NYT Listings] GMAP
Blimpie Is Coming, Like It or Not
The controversial Blimpie under construction at S. Elliot and Lafayette, as captured by Set Speed.
Blimpie Awning [Set Speed]
Blimpie, DD to Mar Lafayette [Brownstoner]
LPC to Decide Fate of Burg Waterfront Landmark
The fate of the Austin, Nichols & Co. Warehouse on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg will be decided at a Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing today. Built by architect Cass Gilbert (of Woolworth building fame), the building is owned by Moishe Kestenbaum. Kestenbaum wants to build a large rooftop addition and convert the three-part windows to single windows. Council Member David Yassky has been bought off, allegedly, by a $335,000 contribution Kenstenbaum is making to a fund for affordable housing. The hearing at 1 Centre Street, 9th Floor North at 3 pm today. Those in favor of the Landmark status are encouraged to show up at the hearing to show their support.
Austin, Nichols & Co. Warehouse [Gotham Gazette]
NY Mag's Triple Assessment: Gretsch Duplex
60 Broadway, Apartment 5Q, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
One-bedroom, two-bath, 1,755-square-foot condo.
Asking Price: $1.25 million.
Monthly Charges and taxes: $608.
Broker: Christopher Mathieson and Jennifer Regenstreich, JC DeNiro & Associates.
Is it possible to have too much space in New York? Our panelists were keen on this duplex in Williamsburg’s Gretsch Building, but it needs a buyer willing to pay big bucks for what’s essentially a huge, luxe one-bedroom.
Patrice A. Mack, Prudential Douglas Elliman
“The amenities are top-notch, and the space “is great for entertaining,” she says, but buyers could find two-bedroom apartments nearby for a similar price.
Her assessment: $1.1 million.
Highlyann Krasnow, The Developers Group
“The double-height ceiling is pretty dramatic, and the finishes are spectacular,” says Krasnow, who also enthused over the generous closets.
Her assessment: $1.05 million.
David Maundrell, Aptsandlofts.com
The Gretsch is a coveted building, allows Maundrell, but this wide-open space isn’t practical for family-oriented buyers. “They’ll have to build out the loft,” he says.
His assessment: $995,000.
Triple Assessment [NY Magazine - 3rd Item]
Extell: We'll Build Your Arena For You, Bruce
July 26, 2005, NY Times -- The real estate investment group battling with the developer Bruce Ratner for control of the Atlantic railyard near Downtown Brooklyn offered a compromise yesterday that it said would allow both parties to declare victory: The group would incorporate Mr. Ratner's plan to build a glass-walled basketball arena for the Nets into its project. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is scheduled to review the rival bids, and possibly select a winner, at its board meeting tomorrow. The investment group, led by Gary Barnett, president of Extell Development Company, has offered $150 million in cash for development rights at the 8.3-acre site, or three times as much as Mr. Ratner.
Knowing that the city and the state want to provide a home in Brooklyn for the Nets of the National Basketball Association, Mr. Barnett said yesterday that if he won, his company would resell a portion of the development rights for no additional cost to Mr. Ratner so that he could build the basketball arena, now expected to cost more than $500 million. But Mr. Ratner, who has worked for three years on a $3.5 billion proposal for the arena and 6,000 apartments at the railyard and on adjoining parcels of land, brushed off the proposal. He contends that the transit authority and the public will get far more from his project than the $50 million he bid, including a newly built railyard, affordable housing, transit station improvements and tax revenue from the arena.
Development Rival Offers Compromise [NY Times]
Blocking Ratner's Shot [NY Post]
Pols: Don't Take Either Offer [NY Daily News]
Tuesday Linkage
Red Hook Tree. Photo by Stupidfresh
Brooklyn Still Bidding for Interim U.N. HQ [Brooklyn Eagle]
U.N. Tenancy a Real Possibility [Brooklyn Papers]
Halt on 160 Imlay Condos...Again [Brooklyn Papers]
Last Flower Boxes from Brooklyn! [Apartment Therapy]
Dumbo Closing Dates [Curbed]
Suspicious Package in Downtown B'kln [WNBC]
The Leaning House of Brooklyn [7online]
July 25, 2005
South of Division Street: Part I
While Mrs. B and our eldest were grabbing some Z's on Saturday afternoon, we popped Brownstoner Jr. into the Baby Bjorn and set out to explore South South Williamsburg. Though we've been living in South Williamsburg, just north of the bridge, for the past two years, we had never gone on foot into the largely Hasidic neighborhood south of Division Street. Although we have been uniformly unimpressed with any buildings the Hasidic folks have had a hand in building themselves, there are a number of beautiful nineteenth-century structures, most of them worse for the wear, that still stand amid the squat, window-guarded facades that dominate the landscape. Throughout the week we'll be posting pictures from our walking tour, most of which took place on Bedford Avenue but included some forays down side streets.
Extell Bid for Yards Three Times Greater than FCR's
At least someone's paying attention! A reader alerted us to yesterday's Times article reporting that Extell Development's bid for the railyards is in fact $150 million--three times the amount Bruce Ratner submitted. The MTA board is supposed to decide the winner at its monthly meeting on Wednesday. Turns out, though, that both bids are shy of the value determined in a recent appraisal commissioned by the MTA. The contest is over the rights to an 8.4-acre parcel known as Vanderbilt Yards, a potentially valuable site opposite Atlantic Terminal, the city's third-largest transportation hub, with 10 subway lines and a station for the Long Island Rail Road. The railyard now forms a waterless moat between the surrounding neighborhoods, but, according to the Times, the residential project proposed for the site could form a vibrant bridge between the communities. Only time will tell.
Rival Bid Tops Ratner's [NY Times]
Brownstoner T-Shirts Hit the Market
Well, we finally got our act together and, like any good Brooklyn-based company, have made ourselves a t-shirt. With the help of our friend Matt's Fort Greene-based company Pigeon Extraordinary, we cranked out an initial batch of 40 or so shirts (roughly 10 per size), including some for the tiny tots in your life. We have no idea what the demand will be, but, like Doritos, if you keep crunchin', we'll make more. We've only got one color selection at this point--green and brown print on light blue background. Hit the link below to go to the store that Matt's also running for us. Full outsourcing--we love it! BTW, you'll need a paypal account to get get your hands on one of these babies.
Brownstoner T-Shirts for Sale [Brownstoner Store]
Asking Price Dropped $300,000 at 30 Cambridge Pl
We're not sure when the price was dropped on this classic 4-story Clinton Hill brownstone. When we first posted in at the end of May, we thought it compared favorably in quality to a similar house on Grand Avenue but couldn't understand the $555,000 difference in asking prices at the time. We're glad Warburg (or the seller) came to its senses and brought this down from the ridiculous ($1.95 million) to expensive-but-possible ($1.65 million). We suspect it'll go for more for between $1.5 million and $1.6 million, but they could get ask.
30 Cambridge Place [Warburg Realty] GMAP
Clinton Hill Face-Off [Brownstoner]
Today on the Reno Blog: Counters, Sink A Go
The marble counters with undermount sink are now in place. The hole for the spray handle was cut too close to the faucet, though, so it's covered up by the escutcheon. More intrigue on the Reno Blog.
Marble Counters Installed [Renovation Blog]
Recent Sales in Brooklyn
PROSPECT HEIGHTS $396,000
135 Eastern Parkway
Prewar one-bedroom, one-bath Art Deco co-op, 825 square feet with walk-in closet, hardwood floors, renovated windowed bath and windowed kitchen; Turner Towers building features doorman, elevator, renovated lobby, storage, laundry and gym. Maintenance $645, 29 percent tax-deductible. Asking price $395,000, on market four weeks. (Brokers: Bonnie Kirschenbaum and Howard Lev, Dwelling Quest)
CARROLL GARDENS $340,000
535 Clinton Street
Renovated one-bedroom, one-bath co-op in an eight-unit brick building, 600 square feet, with hardwood floors, gourmet kitchen, stainless-steel appliances, granite countertops and washer/dryer; building is pet-friendly and features basement storage. Maintenance $434.54, 50 percent tax-deductible. Asking price $359,000, on market three weeks. (Brokers: Robert Frye and Amy Krolak, Brooklyn Bridge Realty)
PARK SLOPE $498,180
393 Dean Street
Two-bedroom, two-bath floor-through condo, 874 square feet, with chef's kitchen, stainless-steel appliances, Jacuzzi, washer/dryer, central A/C, hardwood floors, private balcony and N/S exposures; Park Slope Manor building features elevator that opens into unit. Common charges $221, taxes $36. Asking price $498,180, on market three months. (Broker: The Corcoran Group)
SUNSET PARK $240,000
702 49th Street
Prewar three-bedroom, one-bath co-op in brick walkup, 765 square feet, with new windowed eat-in kitchen, window A/C and laundry in basement; building is pet-friendly. Maintenance $501, 40 percent tax-deductible. Asking price $245,000, on market 37 days. (Broker: Rodolfo Lucchesse, the Corcoran Group)
Just Sold! [NY Post]
Peeking Inside the Washington Condos
Someone named the Big Baldman sent blogger Set Speed some stealth photos of the development at 35 Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights. All we learn from the development's website is that Aguayo & Huebener have been chosen to market the property, so we'd love to hear any tidbits of info on the project. Actually, info might be too strong a word: we'd like to hear unsubstantiated gossip about the project.
35 Underhill [The Washington]
Sneak Peek at Washington Condos [Set Speed]
Homepage [The Washington Condo] GMAP
Massive Bed Stuy Condo Development On Way
We drove past this large lot on Myrtle and Nostrand last week and were able to find a hole in the fence to sneak a picture. When we inquired at a store across the street, the extremely up-on-his-real-estate proprietor informed us that this was going to be a huge condo development. Lots of 1,000-square-foot two bedrooms for $450 a foot, he informed us. When we started asking around among brokers, we were quickly directed to the website below which was created by the previous owners who were looking to flip the site with approved plans. A tip that everybody's favorite architect Scarano & Associates was behind the design led us to a treasure trove of info on what we've now learned is called Myrtle Place: 74,000 square feet of residential areas shared by 72 apartments, more than 14,000 square feet of commercial spaces, an underground parking garage for 42 cars and 2,500 square feet of medical offices. They have the brashness to claim that the site is located in Clinton Hill--probably the biggest reach we've heard yet. Large-scale luxury living in Bed Stuy is slated for November of 2006.
A rendering of the project on the jump...
Unique Development Opportunity [Bedfordcrown.com] GMAP
Myrtle Place [Scarano]
Continue reading "Massive Bed Stuy Condo Development On Way"
Savoring the Downtown Greenmarket
On Saturday, Blogger Blather from Brooklyn visited the Greenmarket in the plaza in front of Brooklyn Borough Hall and the Federal Courthouse:
This is a perfect, clear Saturday and season's gorgeous, delicious bounty is filling the plaza...The turkey farmer was sizzling samples of his homemade sausage on a grill. At a bakery stand, a tray of broken cookies was available for tasting. A farmer who specializes in fruit spread her homemade jam on crackers and artfully arranged them on a paper plate while a girl nearby set out slices of ripe, juicy peaches. It was impossible not to taste and buy, taste and buy, taste and buy.
Greenmarket Morning [Blather from Brooklyn]
Monday Links
Amidst the Brush. Photo by Gil Shapir
Once Derelict, Now Desireable [NY Times]
Two Scrappy Cousins in Red Hook [NY Times]
Street Cleaning in Brownstone Brooklyn [NY Times]
Brokers Want to Sell Fast, Not High [NY Post]
Updating Kitchen Cabinets [NY Post]
Reverend Al Marches for Bruce [NY Daily News]
Ultra Luxe Condos in Fort Greene [Set Speed]
145 Park Place [Daily Heights]
Clawfooty Goodness [Domicile]
July 22, 2005
Lovely Fort Greene B'stone Floorthrough for Rent
We haven't paid much attention to rentals up to now, but we also realize that most folks buying brownstones these days (ourselves included) can only swing it by renting out a floor or two for income. As owners who have put a lot of effort and expense into renovating our rental unit, we also know that we want to have a renter who will appreciate and respect the space that he/she's living in. So...going forward we want to invite similarly-minded owners to let us know when they are looking for a tenant. Hopefully by keeping it all in the Brownstoner family we can minimize the chances of ending up with a nightmare tenant.
The first rental that's come up is a freshly renovated floor-through apartment in a brownstone in central Fort Greene. It has 1.5 bedrooms, but it would be a pretty tight squeeze for two roommates who were not also bedmates. For $1,850/month, you get 850 square feet; a large new kitchen with all new appliances and butcher block counters; french doors and open layout; high ceilings, most with original detail; original hardwood floors (refinished); 2 exposures (6 windows; pets are welcome, on approval. There's an open house Sunday from 1-4pm. Email onadelphi@yahoo.com for details.
Floorplan on the jump...
Continue reading "Lovely Fort Greene B'stone Floorthrough for Rent"
McCarren Park Development 5
This one's on the North side of the park. Though you can't tell from this photo, the tall building on the left could end up having some nice spaces in it.
Open House Picks
Park Slope
147 Berkeley Place
Heights Berkeley
Sunday 1-4pm
$2,150,000
GMAP
Carroll Gardens
131 Summit Street
Irongate Properties
Saturday 12-2pm
$1,800,000
GMAP
South Slope
193 12th Street
Lisa Iulo, Esq.
Sunday 6-8pm
$729,000
GMAP
Bedford Stuyvesant
218 Putnam Avenue
Corcoran
Sunday 4-5pm
$549,000
GMAP
Today on the Reno Blog
Following up yesterday's unveiling of the garden-floor rental, today we show you the floors on the second floor with one coat of sealer on them. That and a look at the paint color we went with for the second floor today on the Reno Blog.
Second Floor Floors [Renovation Blog]
General Contractor Reviews
We would like to start assembling a more comprehensive library of service provider references than the ad hoc feedback that happens in the Forum. To that end, over the next several weeks, we will solicit your feedback on a variety of services that go into building, restoring and maintaining brownstones (and apartments for that matter). We want to hear the names of the companies/individuals you have used (you can stay anonymous), any contact info you have, how they performed, how were they priced, were they on time, pleasant to deal with? Finally, if you can rate them on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the best), that would be great too. Hopefully all of this can ultimately result in a comprehensive resource that we can all benefit from.
So we'll kick it off with General Contractors today. Who wants to go first?
Plans for the Strong Place Baptist Church?
We got an email this week from from a reader who checks Brownstoner once a week (that's it?) to look for news on her home nabe of Cobble Hill. She's particularly curious to find out what's going to happen with the Strong Place Baptist Church on the corner of Strong Place and Degraw Street. She heard from some neighbors that the original buyers had so much trouble with Landmarks that they sold it and the new owners plan to turn it into a school. Anyone have the skinny? GMAP
WSJ: Number of 'Workouts' on the Rise
July 21, 2005, Wall Street Journal -- Typically, mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures result from an unexpected financial crisis – a job loss or medical illness that leaves homeowners unable to pay the bills. But now experts are warning that homeowners who – thanks to low rates – have taken on more debt than they should have, face a growing risk of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. Indeed, the first signs of it are starting to emerge. The number of homeowners seeking loan workouts reached 89,741 in the first quarter of 2005, compared with 155,495 for all of 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Last month, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in New York said the risk of defaults is growing on certain adjustable-rate mortgages. These loans initially can lower monthly mortgage payments, allowing some buyers to purchase homes they otherwise couldn't afford. Some borrowers may face increases in their monthly payments of 50% to 90% when the low-rate period ends, S&P warned, and homeowners who haven't planned carefully, or whose income proves insufficient, may default. "With some of the very unique and potentially risky loan products out there now, and the very high rate at which they're being used, it could turn into the full employment act for loan workout specialists," says Laurie Maggiano, deputy director of the office of single family asset management at HUD.
Workouts to Prevent Foreclosures [Wall Street Journal]
Friday Linkage
Berkeley Street, Park Slope. Photo by Gil Shapir
Marketing Your Own Home [Wall Street Journal]
Blackout in Fort Greene [NY Times]
Arena Vulnerable to Terrorists [NY Sun]
Competing Bids for Rail Yards [NY1]
NYPD's "Operation Trident" [NY1]
Blogger Booted [NY Post]
Requiem for a Dream House [Curbed]
House of the Day: Definitely Ditmas
Mary Kay's got a new listing in Ditmas that sure is purdy. The 15-room Victorian house has stained glass windows, a sun porch and large garden (and a private office with separate entrance). We're not loving the floors from what we can see, but that can be remedied. The listing says this is located in the Ditmas Park Landmark Historic between Ditmas Avenue and Dorchester Road. Sounds good enough to us, but we don't know the area well enough to specifically comment on the immediate area. The price tag of $1.34 million ain't cheap, but it seems like it's buying a lot more house in this case than in some other recent listings. Who's seen it?
Grand Victorian Home [Mary Kay Gallagher]
Brooklyn Celebrity Real Estate Roundup
We know some of you can't stand it when we go into star-fucking mode, so we'll apologize in advance. Sorry. Now to the two snippets of Brooklyn celebrity real estate. Adrian Grenier (top), the HBO star who's buying a place not far from us in Clinton Hill, gives us a glimpse of his renovation plans in this week's NY Magazine and it ain't pretty:
I just bought a place in Clinton Hill...My summer plan is to fix up my house. I have a bed already. I’d buy some Föm pillows ($75 at Brookstone) and an above-ground pool for the backyard ($140 at Sports Authority). The rest of the furniture, I’ll find on the street.
There goes the neighborhood. And in more tenuous news, the NY Observer is reporting that actress Rachel Wiesz (bottom) and director fiance Darren Aronofsky may be ditching their recently acquired $3.5 million East Village townhouse for a place in Brooklyn.
Star of Entourage Buying in CH [Brownstoner]
How Would Adrian Grenier Spend $9,000 [NY Magazine]
Manhattan Transfers - 2nd Item [NY Observer]
215 East 11th Street [Corcoran]
Reno Blog: Like a Phoenix Rising from the Ashes
The floors of the garden rental have gotten their first coat of poly and we're so friggin' psyched. To think we had no idea this parquet even existed when we bought the house! Lots of before and after pics today on the Reno Blog.
Rental Floors Get Poly'd [Renovation Blog]
Walking the Line (Between Brooklyn and Queens)
Forgotten NY explores the dividing line between Brooklyn and Queens. Between Jamaica Avenue and 95th Avenue, the border runs down the middle of a street called Eldert Lane. Houses on the West side of the street are in Brooklyn while houses on the East side are in Queens addresses. According to FNY, the other 16 streets that border the boroughs are Onderdonk Avenue, Flushing Avenue, Cypress Avenue, Menahan Street, St. Nicholas Avenue, Gates Avenue, Wyckoff Avenue, Irving Avenue, Interborough Parkway, Robert Street, 95th Avenue, Drew Street, Liberty Avenue, 75th Street, Dumont Avenue and 78th Street.
City Line: Brooklyn-Queens [Forgotten NY]
Stepping Out in the Bathroom Tile Department
For those who thought the bathroom tiles we chose were too white and boring, the Times offers up some bolder ideas for jazzing up your inner sanctum.
Bold Bathroom Tiles [NY Times]
Newsday Discovers "Hot" Williamsburg
July 15, 2005, NY Newsday -- Williamsburg still rules Kings County as the 20-somethings' destination of choice. The drawback to being so hot for so long? Someone eventually gets burned. These days, one-bedrooms rent from $1,300 for a standard apartment to $1,900 for lofts with 13-foot ceilings, said Gea Elika, founder of citycrybs.com, an online housing marke