Good Karma, Paid Back in Spades

house Most people spend a lifetime in New York praying for a real estate miracle to come their way. The Ehrhardts got theirs within two years of moving to Red Hook when a serendipitous recommendation from a store owner who Mr. Ehrhardt had done a favor for led to a below-market deal on a two-story house courtesty of the non-profit Crown Heights Jewish Community Council. The price? $500,000. But before you start drooling too much, this was hardly an architectural dream:

It's not a fancy "brownstone Brooklyn original crown moldings" sort of place. It has a stubby concrete stoop, and polyurethaned Home Depot style doors and kitchen cabinets that might look at home in a suburban apartment complex. The windows are small. The backyard is paved and lifeless except for some raised planting beds that Mr. Ehrhardt recently built from lumber salvaged from a house down the block.

We don't know anything about the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council: Does anyone know whether you have to be Jewish to qualify to get one of their deals? What kind of a pipeline of projects do they have?
An Unlikely Paradise [NY Times]

Comments

500k for a house in RH is affordable? There are market rate houses in RH that cost around that.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 10:51 AM

There's not a single house in Red Hook for sale anywhere near $500k. Not anymore.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 10:55 AM

how could a organization possibly require someone to be Jewish to qualify for something? that should be illegal.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 11:14 AM

Maybe not $500K but there are a hand full in the $700K range. There was a nice little house on Van Brunt on the market for $699K over the past few months. And this one is listed for $799K:

http://realestate.nytimes.com/+comshare/vulisting.asp?Lid=272-WLBR0080827

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 11:17 AM

yo, that's $200k more! a lot of money!!

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 11:21 AM

They probably don't require it but there are many circumstances where organizations can put certain religious, economic or age restrictions on their programs. Look at gated communities that are set up for older people and children are not allowed.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 11:21 AM

I agree, 200K is an enormous heap of green. But I was pointing out that it's not exactly true that there isn't a single house for sale "anywhere near $500K". 700K is definitely more, but kind of a little bit near, no?

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 11:25 AM

Two years ago there were houses in Red Hook for 300 and up- now thats the cost of a condo 1 bedroom there I know because I ve looked and looked .The other expense is making a deteriorating 700,000 home livable(Not Design mag ready) ,and not living in a worksite- in the end you come close to a million but you've got your own home

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 11:40 AM

Yes, I looked at a great little house on Pioneer 2 years ago, on the market for 400K or maybe it was $450.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 11:59 AM

yeah let's not forget it was already completely gut renovated for $500k. It seems most of the homes for under $800k need substantial work.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 12:32 PM

Just to clarify:
I am Mark Ehrhardt from the article, and as a disclaimer, I happily advertise (Movers, Not Shakers!) on the forum page of this site. Trust me, the house is wonderful, and we're eternally grateful to Crown Heights JCC for developing the property and giving it back to the community at a rate below market. We're also happy we won the lottery they held in good faith with the community by running an ad in the local paper, etc., etc. The local work I did merely led to a better awareness of the intent of the developers and once completed, how the house was going to be offered. Personally, I'm just very glad to be able to build a locally based business, use the proceeds to buy in the neighborhood, and do my part to help people move (literally) in the direction of their choosing.

Posted by: Mark the Mover at May 15, 2006 1:41 PM

Welcome Mark! Enjoy your house!

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 2:09 PM

Ha ha. We didn't even put two and two together. Small world!

Posted by: Brownstoner at May 15, 2006 3:39 PM

Back to the question originally posed and pushed by Anon at 11:21, I think the answer is that no real estate transaction can occur that discriminates on the basis of religion or ethnicity (with the possible exception of providing housing to a minister/rabbi as part of their employment by the congregaton).

However, I am not aware of any laws in NYC prohibiting discrimination on the basis of age or even family size (although I think there are some test cases out there about that one) -- thus retirement or 55+ centers, etc.

Does anyone know otherwise?

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 4:51 PM

Is it possible that a religiously affiliated or social services group can limit their programs to that religious group, as long as the program is not dependent on federal funding? I know that you can specify criteria for an organization's programs, especially if they are set up to focus on particular populations. But I'm not sure how far you can take those restrictions.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2006 8:17 PM

« Joshua Guttman: The Real Slim Shady Scenes from the Brooklyn Heights House Tour »

May 15, 2006

Good Karma, Paid Back in Spades

Comments

Post a comment

Latest Restaurant Additions