Co-op of the Day: 1 BR 96 Schermerhorn Street

How are the ceilings finished? What are those lines? Also the distorting camera lenses they use to make the rooms appear larger make the angles at which the walls meet look really strange -sort of a house of cards effect.

Posted by: guest at August 27, 2007 12:55 PM

Hope this unit doesn't face towards the back. The new Bklyn Law School dorm is about 20 stories high, and totally blocks the light, not to mention any kind of view. It is directly behind this building, and was built after the property shark photo above was taken.

Posted by: guest at August 27, 2007 1:18 PM

3 and 4 C are two bedroom, 1-1/2 bath units (granted second bedroom is small). This is a one bedroom, 1-1/2 bath. Also has lower ceilings on 12 (about 10 feet compared with 12 feet on 3-11 floors and 14 feet on 4th floor). This has original kitchen (and baths probably too). That said, it is a nice space, with a little updating. And even if it says 800 sq feet (true measurement), it is bigger than a lot of apts. I have seen that are supposed to be larger.

Posted by: guest at August 27, 2007 1:19 PM

this building sucks. it's in the middle of a commercial area and there are little/no services nearby. traffic is heavy and the noise is terrible. we looked at a unit in this building back in 2004 when we first started our search and ended up fleeing from this building/area and buying in clinton hill.

Posted by: guest at August 27, 2007 1:43 PM

Little or no services nearby? That's about the most ignorant post I've read on Brownstoner.

I'm no fan of the building, but it's convenient to a ton of services. Court St is a block away, Atlantic Ave is two blocks, and it's four blocks from Smith St, Montague St, and the upcoming Trader Joe's.

A couple of blocks from all the subway lines to boot.

I agree that it's not on the most residential street, but it's nothing if not close to services/restaurants/shopping.

Posted by: guest at August 27, 2007 2:08 PM

1:43 PM #1 does have a point: sure there are services, but aimed at the 9-5 crowd. Good luck finding a deli open at 11pm! And yes, the tenants in the back got screwed by the Brooklyn Law Dorm. I have a friend who lives in the bldg and it suffered structural damage as a result of the dorm's construction. The board refuses to go after Brooklyn Law so now they are making the residents pony up for the repairs.

Posted by: guest at August 27, 2007 2:36 PM

2:36,

So all the restaurants and bars on Smith, Court, and Atlantic, the Barnes and Noble and cinema on Court, the grocery stores like Sahadi's--you mean they're all geared to the 9-5 crowd?

Wow, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill must be absolutely deserted once the workers leave. It's odd to think there are no businesses that cater to the large, local residential population...

Or maybe you didn't think about the stores and services on the streets I mentioned because you have to walk, oh, 2 minutes to get to them?

BTW, if you knew the neighborhood AT ALL, you'd know there's a 24 hour deli on Court about 2 minutes from the building.

Posted by: guest at August 27, 2007 3:10 PM

That's not entirely true. The facade work being done would need to be done even if the dorm hadn't been built -- maybe not this year, but sooner or later.

The photo above was clearly taken within the past few months. The dorm can clearly be seen behind it and the scaffolding has only been up since this spring. The dorm has a setback on the Boerum Place facade after six stories. The A and B lines had their views partially obscured but C, at least above about the sixth floor, still has nice views overlooking Cobble Hill, all the way to the Verazzano Bridge.

The block is not Brookyln's nicest, but it's getting better all the time. There's a hotel planned for the parking lot across the street. There are plenty of services at night -- don't know what that poster is talking about. Smith street is five minute's walk.

Maintenance is high, but it's balanced by relatively lower prices for the area. It's a nice old building with all the problems that old buildings have and which new buildings will eventually develop.

Posted by: guest at August 27, 2007 3:11 PM

"I have a friend who lives in the bldg and it suffered structural damage as a result of the dorm's construction. The board refuses to go after Brooklyn Law so now they are making the residents pony up for the repairs."

Total fabrication. Many of us who live at 96 fought the BLS to the end but the dorm construction caused no damage to the building (a beam broke a window -- period). Anyone who spouts this nonsense is beyond ignorant. We have enough laywers living in the building that we would have sued if there were grounds for anything.

Posted by: guest at August 27, 2007 4:53 PM

lawyers just trying to justify their bad buy into this building no doubt are driving all the comments in defense of this building and it's location. you can spend your 400-500k elsewhere in brooklyn for a much better apartment. this building is nothing more than an old converted college dormitory.

Posted by: guest at August 28, 2007 5:35 AM

Congestion, noise, high maintenance, the
housing slump, the ridiculous price -that's why it hasn't sold. Just because a few Manhattanites decided to take their profits and sink it into Brooklyn, doesn't change the figures. There was a huge boom in the city, that's Manhattan kids, it overflowed into the boros and burbs. Not anymore folks.

Posted by: guest at August 28, 2007 8:33 AM

Apartments in this building have been selling very well (despite maintainence that some consider high)-- at $700/share+. This unit is has an old kitchen (and likely baths) and is competing with updated and new units. Look around -- there are not a lot of 1 bed/1-1/2 bath plus dining room (with live-in super and 24/7 security) around for anywhere near $500K. And the other unit that was referred to was sold as office space by the sponsor and used that way for 25 years-- hardly comparable to any other unit here.

And it was never a dorm -- it was St. John's Law School.

Posted by: guest at August 28, 2007 9:03 AM

This building's location straddles two of Brooklyn's most desirable neighborhoods and is one or two stops from Manhattan on any of nine train lines. It's an interesting old building with well-designed apartments, high ceilings and good light.

The maintenance is high, but monthly cost-of-living is still below what you would pay across the street at 110 Livingston or down the block at the new rental buildings.

It's a good deal for people who like the neighborhood and the convenience to Manhattan (and if you don't, then simply don't move here, what's the problem?) and don't necessarily need viking/subzero/thermador/bosch in order to feel good about themselves.

Posted by: guest at August 28, 2007 10:44 AM

THIS UNIT IS IN THE "D" LINE, NOT THE "C" LINE, SO I DON'T THINK THAT THOSE 625K SALES FOR UNIT C ARE ACCURATE. WHO WOULD PAY 600K+ FOR A ONE BEDROOM PLUS SUCH A HUGE MAINTENANCE. IT IS A GOOD STARTER APARTMENT, NO DOUBT. BUT THIS UNIT NEEDS A BIT OF WORK.

Posted by: guest at August 28, 2007 11:12 AM

"need viking/subzero/thermador/bosch in order to feel good about themselves"

I've read this before. Do people really think that there are people like this?

Viking is great- who wouldn't want to grill inside? Sub Zero while more expensive than most refrigerators actually keeps food fresh longer and Bosch is really quiet. If you had the dough, why wouldn't you choose this stuff?

What baffles me is the double fridge thing.

Posted by: guest at August 29, 2007 10:42 PM

It's a metaphor to describe an attitude -- that people will pay ridiculous prices for apartments with "luxury" finishes they don't use and scoff at perfectly decent apartments because they don't have a specific cache created by marketers.

No quarrel with somebody who chooses high-end appliances because they actually use them and appreciate the features. Though, honestly, even Whirlpool dishwashers are pretty darn quiet these days.

Posted by: guest at August 30, 2007 12:36 PM