House of the Day: 266 Berkeley Place

Those are the most awful interiors I have ever seen in a brownstone. Yuck. The renovator should be arrested for bad taste.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 1:37 PM

this is one of my favorite streets in park slope.

very handsome block.

there was another house which sold on this block last summer for 3.4 million.

i know it's a different climate now, but that house sold in about 2 weeks, i think.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 1:37 PM

what an ugly place!!
what did they do??
when will people learn - how to mix old world and modern..
ickkk..

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 1:41 PM

what is the aversion to recessed lighting? I am honestly curious.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 1:42 PM

I love recessed lighting and laugh every time you site is a negative...you are ridiculous.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 1:55 PM

The recessed lighting phobia is amusing.

The price is hysterical.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:06 PM

this is literally steps away from the park, the greenmarket and grand army plaza. between 8th and plaza street west. terrific location. 30 seconds to 2/3 grand army plaza stop and 1 minute walk to Q at 7th avenue. doesn't get much better locale than this for park slope.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:12 PM

I'm not getting the math on this one. $27k/mo to live on two floors while you collect $5-6k from renting the other two?

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:14 PM

Is it supposed to be an oddly configured double duplex or a top floor rental with the teantns wlaking through the house?

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:16 PM

I live on this block (bittersweet renter). For a moment I thought this listing would be the townhouse for sale by Walanne Steele - anyone know anything about that place? Based on its exteriors, I would imagine it will be a lot cheaper than $3+ million.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:16 PM

Recessed lighting does not belong in a house like that. Yuck.
the whole thing is pretty darn bad. bathrooms are straight out of a cheesy mid-level hotel. Way overpriced.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:17 PM

recessed lighting is great if you have a 1980's Staten Island hair salon. otherwise, not so.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:18 PM

Hard to tell from the floorplans, but it looks like your upper floor tenants are traipsing thought your apartment to get to theirs. Ick.

Location is great. Price is a farce.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:18 PM

My gf lives on this block and she pays $2000 a month for a 1 bedroom which is half a floor. So at two units per floor, you'd be looking at more 8K in rental income per month.

That leaves 19K a month. Tax deductions on a place like this are at least 5K per month.

That's down to 14K a month.

Still a lot of money, but as someone said yesterday, people aren't buying places like this as an investment these days. They will buy it because they are in love with it and the location and want to live there.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:18 PM

I've never been in a multi-million dollar home which didn't have recessed lighting.

The aversion to it is really odd. Talk to any high end designer. They ABSOLUTELY use recessed lighting in 2008.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:23 PM

HA HA I have recessed lightning in my brownstone, The trick is to get the 4" ones with good bulbs. It really is not so bad. Getting good light fixtures for a reasonable price is very hard to do. Getting Tacky light fixtures for any price is very easy to do. Those bathrooms are horrible, Sorry owner.....For that money give me the Richard Meier Building with its WEIRD AND FUCKED UP Microwave any day.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:28 PM

Hey Brownstoner - I used to be a fan. But it seems like you've gotten a big ego and feel the need to insult people's personal taste (folding doors, recessed lighting - who the f cares???). Seems like your ass-holish Wall Street tendencies are rearing their ugly heads.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:39 PM

So 17K minus 7 or 8K for the rentals and knock off another few thousand for interest deduction and it's what...7K per month to own a brownstone in one of the nicest neighborhoods in brooklyn?

not too shabby...

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:46 PM

Mr B. You are so right about recessed lights. In fact I am going to send this to my taste challenged husband who thinks that recessed lighting is great in brownstone parlors. BTW I think they are OK in kitchens and of course if the house has been gutted and redone in a modern style. But in the large rooms of a period brownstone -never.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 2:52 PM

you guys act like it will be a breeze being a landlord to multiple tenants

it ain;t easy

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:00 PM

i do it.

it's pretty darn easy.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:02 PM

I will eat my hat if this sells for this price - renovation looks cheesy and it's an awfully steep price. What I don't get is the school thing. I know people say people who pay these prices just do private school, but then why would they want several rentals? It doesn't add up to me. Plus, I just find this house unattractive and the price very high. We recently sold our place and every single person I've talked to has congratulated us as being smart to get out now. Friends of mind putting their apartments on the market are having a hard time selling even in prime PS. I know apt market and townhouse market are different, but eventually, flagging apt sales have to have an effect on the townhouse market too...

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:09 PM

Looks like there are two rentals in the building total, not two per floor. Adjust your math accordingly.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:09 PM

"If there's crown molding, skip the recessed lighting."

I find that silly. Should one also avoid any furniture designed after 1880?

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:11 PM

i also got out last year as well and feel great about having lots of cash + invested making $$ each month. no credit card debt at all.
take holidays.. no money pressure.. its invested safe and secure -
money makes money if your wise.
we are renting and loving the freedom of not owning - since we owned for 15+ years.
now we have the luxury of deciding ... maybe a country or maybe back in this kooky market. i hear from some good friends that are in the money biz that this is not going to end any time soon. it will go down before going up - and not to the tune set before. .. a slower much beat. to each his own.... no right no wrong...

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:32 PM

keep trying to talk yourself into your decision, 3:32.

any reason you needed to hash it out for us here??

cause in the last year, i made about 100K more on my home.

you make that in your commerce savings account in 2007?

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:36 PM

3:13 - we got out since we wanted to be in a different school zone and found a nice, economical rental in that zone. Also, we knew we would need to sell our place eventually anyway (too small now that we have kids) so this seemed a very good time to sell - we got a great price since I think the effects of the economic downturn have not yet really hit NYC housing market (or are only just starting to) and since we now have lots of cash (not just from apt sale, but from another source too) we are in a great position to something else. Plus, having cash in this market gives a lot more leverage as financing is getting harder to come by - I know people say that the people buying 3 million dollar homes don't need mortgages, but why then would they need rental income? Not everyone is walking around with tons of cash (unless they cashed out at the top). While there is disagreement among people I've spoken to as to whether the market will stagnate, soften slightly, or tank, EVERYONE agrees that it's almost certainly NOT going up for the next year so (and this includes many brokers I've spoken to who are optimistically hoping for a mere flattening of the market for a short while i.e. 1 year before it picks back up). I myself don't think prime areas will tank, but I do think buyers will become more discriminating and the ripple effect of apt dwellers having a harder time selling will trickle up to townhouses.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:37 PM

"I will eat my hat if this sells for this price"

Did you eat your hat the last time you said that and the house ended up selling over ask???

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:43 PM

"Looks like there are two rentals in the building total, not two per floor. Adjust your math accordingly."

Full floor rental, each $4000 a month.

Same total. $8,000 a month rental income.

I know someone who pays 1800 a month a block from here for a STUDIO!!!

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:45 PM

3:43 - Last time I heard of an overpriced house selling over ask, predictions weren't all pointing to a market downturn as they are now...

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:49 PM

Recessed lighting!! ugh! It just goes to prove that no matter how much money you have, you can't buy taste.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:54 PM

actually they've been pointing towards one since last july, 3:49.

and a house on lincoln place a block from here sold for 250K over ask about 4 months ago.

people here say 2005 was the top. simply not true.

you all need to stop treating your house like an investment. it's a place to live.

and for some, a luxury item. no one spending 3 million cares if it's worth 4 million in 3 years.

they just want to own the place.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:56 PM

2.31 - property taxes are part of the costs of owning the house, unless you've some how figured a way of avoding NYC property taxes. if so, do tell.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:56 PM

totally agree, keep the recessed lighting to closets and not so obvious hallways..

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:56 PM

3.36, money in the bank is money in the bank. You haven't "made" anything until you've actually sold your house. Stop kidding yourself.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 3:57 PM

i believe you are the one kidding yourself, 3:57.

trying to convince yourself that as you and your family age, the best thing is to be at the mercy of landlords.

interest rates on the bank are around 2% right now. stock market sucks.

that's LESS than NYC home prices rose last year...even IN the housing "crash"

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:01 PM

The other building is 221 Berkeley. $1.2 million. They rejected our $800,000 offer, but it doesn't make sense otherwise. The current rent rolls (stabilized) barely exceed $3K/month. Plus there is at least $250,000 in improvements to be made.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:03 PM

3:56 - Believe me, I've been following the market obsessively for years now. Last July, the tenor of the NY media was: "What housing downturn? NYC is immune". It was really only at the beginning of 2008, after Bear Sterns and the Wall Street problems started to become evident, that the tune started to change and suggest that in fact, NYC may finally be affected. And, a number of statistics are showing that prices ARE softening in NYC. Inventory is low in PS, however, so that has propped up the market, and there are still people who sold closer to what was arguably the peak and their cash has been working its way through the system. But I challenge you to point to a reliable source that is forecasting major gains in NYC real estate in the next year - or any gains for that matter (inflation-adjusted). I'm not one to treat my home as an investment - if we'd been in school zone we wanted to be in, we wouldn't have sold, it was just that the school issue led us to sell, but truly, most people have told me we (perhaps inadvertently) made a wise decision. I also am not planning to "make money" on our next home we purchase since our goal is to stay there for life - so if we buy a bit high, that's OK so we're not "waiting out the market" - but we are not going to pay a ridiculous price for a crappy home (like this HOTD IMO) since we do feel choices/prices will get better for us in the next year or so and we are in certainly no rush to buy when prices seem to be levelling off, if not heading down in the future.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:07 PM

4.01 - I own my own house, i'm not the person you were talking to early on. Just pointing out the non-liquidity of your asset. You haven't made anything (yet).

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:11 PM

money in the bank is lots of interest - can def. generate over 100,000+per year - if you look at the next 10 years - money invested wisely should earn @14% per year. i know it hard to imagine but some people don't want the the headache of owning a brownstone..
i enjoy the freedom - and no we are not at the mercy of landlords -
because its our choice. whether you feel to cash out now or in 10 years... its all the same game. as long as you do what is good for you and your family. no need to get pissy 4:01

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:18 PM

Mr. B--So recessed lighting is a no-no but ceiling fans are ok?? It's interesting that you make comments about the interiors of other people's homes and yet you removed photos of your own home when negative comments were made. Just some food for thought...

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:19 PM

"You haven't made anything (yet)."

I didn't buy my house to make money.

I bought it to live in.
I bought it because I love brownstone architecture and
I bought it because I wanted to raise my family in what I consider a beautiful, community-minded, diverse and terrific neighborhood.

You should be investing in other areas outside of your home. Hopefully more people will realize that sooner rather than later.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:20 PM

The issue really isn't whether recessed lighting (or cheap bi-fold closet doors) are what you want to live with, or not. The real questions about a house or apartment you are thinking about buying is (1) if I hate something, can I easily and (relatively) cheaply change it? and (2) if not, can I live with it (for now, or if need be, for even longer)?

See, unless your design doppleganger renovated the place, not everything is likely to be to your taste. Putting in chandeliers and either taking out(or just not using) the recessed lighting - easy, not terribly expensive. Same for replacing bi-fold closet doors. Question #1 is easily answered as to these smaller items.

Redoing the baths in this place if you hate them? Expensive, relatively. Either you figure you'll pay to redo them to your taste, or you ask yourself question #2 - can you live with them - with your own additions of color and design? That's all that matters. Some will like them, some won't. (I don't.) But my point is that it is silly to comment on them, as some will like them, some won't (even if they are tasteless - some people have tasteless taste - but that's not my point). And even sillier to comment on recessed lighting and cheap bi-fold closet doors, as they are easily changed.

Kitchens are the same as baths - not so cheap to change, but perhaps possible to live with with your color and other additions (and to completely change if you have the money and inclination.) Me, I like the glass-doored on-both-sides upper cabinets in this place - lets the light flow through the entire parlor floor. (What I don't like are the stainless steel appliances - but most recent renos have them, so I'm in the minority there.)

If you are totally uncompromising on design choices of your predecessors in the place, then you are best buying a wreck and designing from scratch. Even some who would like to do that don't necessarily have the bucks, or want to spend the time doing it. I'd like to do that to a house someday, but from reading the reno blogs, it ain't for the faint of heart - it takes real commitment to get what you want. When I bought an apartment (my first), I looked 'til I found one whose reno I wouldn't hate, as I knew I didn't want to live with one I hated, and didn't have the time or money to change it. And didn't then want to do a full reno, not on a coop. On a house, someday, that'd be sweet.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:22 PM

recessed lighting = subdivision McMansion.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:27 PM

4.22 you're right of course. Thats why Lowes and Home Depot have recessed lighting for sale. You can pick up a nice front door there too. excuse me while i barf.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:28 PM

I never would have picked the 6" diameter chrome-rimmed recessed lighting all over the kitchen end of my open and ornate (including ceiling medallion placed in relation to the ornate fireplace but bearing no relation to anything else)living/dining/kitchen but it really does seem the best way to get so much lighting coverage. I agree with the earlier posters that find nothing untasteful about dimmer switched, smaller diameter high hats with no rim and a bulb that fills out the opening. The 6" is pretty chunky and the rim looks really 70's to me.

Explain yourself Mr. Borwnstoner or quit knocking high hats.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:30 PM

4:03 are the units rent stabilised or rent controlled?

I have been in another building by the same deceased owner & I have to say, it would appear that it would be almost $100K to bring up to code - plus in the other buildings there are rent controlled tenants -some open to leaving, some not.

Also, heard that owner had a fortune in euros stashed away in germany - heard from some early bidders that family was looking to unload - seeing this house ask for millions must make dollar signs dance in their heads.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:35 PM

I doubt its dollar signs, seeing as the dollar is worth pants. Its probably the euro sign dancing.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:37 PM

the deseased owner on berkeley owned 3 brownstones on the block between 7th and 8th. he died just a few months ago.

at least one is currently for sale (221)...someone here says for 1.2 million. i don't know about that, i haven't seen it listed anywhere yet, but the sign went up last week or the week before.

i've been inside one, and yes, they need so much work.

just the exterior alone is going to cost 100K each to bring back up to shape.

still though...1.2 million is a bargain. even if you spent 1 million on each place, you'd still make a sizable profit.

now the rent stabilized/controlled tenants are a whole other story and add more to that dynamic of course.

i hope someone buys these places and restores them to their former glory. they are the last 3 remaining brownstones on berkeley which are in shambles. the rest of the block is absolutely gorgeous.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:43 PM

As someone with good taste ( I know because my mom said so), I say recessed lighting definitely works in brownstones or any other old structures. If you want to get technical about modern fixtures, you might as well go back to gas lighting because that's exactly what brownstones were originally equipped with. One might consider the electric bulb an ugly industrial age device which only imitates the warm glow of a candle. Let's not be such poseurs for the sake of "aesthetic purity", some of the greatest architectural structures are a happy marriage of old and new, look at IM Pei's addition of a glass pyramid to the 400 year old Louvre in Paris, or how about Philip Johnson's Post-modernist AT&T building in midtown adding classic greek elements to a skyscraper. Lighting is lighting whether it comes from a candle, a bulb, a nobel gas, a laser,an LED or a jar of fireflies. It is all in how the light is used to define the space and illuminate the imagination.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:46 PM

Recessed lighting is just common and tacky. Just in case you've got any other great ideas, fluorescent strip lighting is also awful.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 4:53 PM

4:53: wow, with that kind of witty retort I know I must be in the wrong.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 5:01 PM

75% of people on this blog buy their lighting from Ikea.

And can't afford a 1 bedroom in a brownstone in Park Slope.

Please don't take your design advice from them.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 5:07 PM

4.53 - it wasn't a retort. its a statement of fact.

Ikea of course, is the cheapest place to get recessed lighting.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 5:20 PM

I love recessed lighting, it matches my textured styrofoam-tile dropped ceiling and my electric blue shag carpet.

5.07 - you seem to be laboring under the delusion that money can buy taste. poor sausage.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 5:22 PM

oh yes, recessed lighting illuminates the imaginatzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 5:24 PM

heres the ikea link for all you design mavens:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20095498

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 5:33 PM

The economy RIGHT NOW is not as bad as some people say...we aren't even in a recesssion right now...much less a horrific depression like the what and others are saying:

***WASHINGTON - The bruised economy limped through the first quarter, growing at just a 0.6 percent pace as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses alike to hunker down.

The country's economic growth during January through March was the same as in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department reported today. The statistic did not meet what economists consider the classic definition of a recession, which is a retraction of the economy. This means that although the economy is stuck in a rut, it is still managing to grow, even if modestly.

Many analysts were predicting that the gross domestic product (GDP) would weaken a bit more -- to a pace of just 0.5 percent -- in the first quarter. Earlier this year, some economists thought the economy would actually lurch into reverse during the opening quarter. Now, they say they believe that will likely happen during the current April-to-June period.

"The economy is weak but not collapsing," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Bank of America's Investment Strategies Group. "A recession can't be ruled out, although the stars are not lined up at this point to definitively say one way or the other."

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 5:53 PM

5:53 - I agree that those calling our economy right now "a horrific depression" are being hyperbolic, but come on, your post sounds like big-time denial. Our economy is doing poorly, and most predict that we are entering recession. To assume that all will remain as rosy as ever in NYC real estate seems unrealistic. Again, I'm not a drama queen predicting a crash but holding steady is about the best owners/brokers can hope for, or perhaps modest reductions in value. Buyers who are not in a rush and have cash are in a good position in this market.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 6:13 PM

I said it once, I'll say it again: there are many folks here and in politics and certainly in the liberal media who will stop at nothing to downplay the economy. This being a political year, a recession is exactly what the doctor ordered for the democrats to get into the white house, even if the pesky economy won't cooperate with negative GDP. In case anyone missed it, the economy grew this first quarter of 2008, despite the doom and gloom, despite the "housing meltdown", despite the long dark winter, despite so many posters here predicting armageddon. So now you have some objective numbers to actually listen to. That is, of course, until the inevitable conspiracy theorists start talking about how the numbers must be made up. anything to deny the truth at hand, that in fact, there may not be a recession (you need two or more straight quarters of negative GDP), in fact the housing sector is but one fraction of a larger economy which is obviously still growing with low unemployment. No doubt oil and gas prices are too high but try to separate this worldwide problem from the politically motivated bullsh.. being spewed by those who simply want to demonize the current administration at the expense of truth.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 6:21 PM

I've always said NO to recessed lighting - just a gut reaction. To my eye it looks so barren and soul less. Like having an evening gown own with matted hair and no earrings.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 6:38 PM

I've always said NO to recessed lighting - just a gut reaction. To my eye it looks so barren and soul less. Like wearing an elegant evening gown with matted hair and no earrings.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 6:38 PM

Interior pics (including recessed lighting) look very similar to 106 Lincoln place and brownstoner liked that one months ago when it first listed. Of course, it has not sold. Perhaps recessed lighting turned buyers away?
As a would be buyer in a different economic climate, curious to know if it is a bad idea to buy a house with modern vs. traditional elements-in terms of resale? I am curious to see sale prices for three houses in contract on Brown Harris website (park slope 1st street 4th street and 130 Lincoln Place). I wonder if they sold at ask or lower? We just won;t know what is happening in this markt for a while.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 8:13 PM

Interior pics (including recessed lighting) look very similar to 106 Lincoln place and brownstoner liked that one months ago when it first listed. Of course, it has not sold. Perhaps recessed lighting turned buyers away?
As a would be buyer in a different economic climate, curious to know if it is a bad idea to buy a house with modern vs. traditional elements-in terms of resale? I am curious to see sale prices for three houses in contract on Brown Harris website (park slope 1st street 4th street and 130 Lincoln Place). I wonder if they sold at ask or lower? We just won;t know what is happening in this markt for a while.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 8:13 PM

I dislike recessed lighting too and complain too when it is slapped into parlor floor ceilings or other rooms that have elaborate plaster mouldings...

FACE IT, it makes the house suddenly look more like a wedding palace. Yuck! "Celebrate your wedding at La Manoir where your guests can stuff themselves and look at cheezy interiors...exits signs next to ro-co-co…"

The worst is a crystal chandelier (usually historically and taste-wisely inappropriate) WITH recessed lighting all in the same room AND having it all blasting at night like a movie shoot is going on inside. Looks t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e from outside and inside is enough to give one major eye strain!

AND...ready… this coming from someone who actually had recessed lighting installed in the rental (hallway, kitchen and bath). Hey...it works...but NOT downstairs thank you very much! Makes for a McMansion look or something from the 80's. Might as well have “exposed” brick and ice-skating rink poly’d floors to match. P.U.

Frankly, there ARE great recessed lighting fixtures, wall washers, accent lights, and they all look much better away from either original old detail or current historicizing creations. Much better in mod settings. And if you really get away from the old boring recessed lighting and get crazy, you can spend a mint.

Certain lighting schemes (wall and ceiling washers and cabinet lighting especially) can actually help create a great "mid-century" look.

And to the person who referred to these houses all having gas lighting original: Sorry, but our house would have had oil lamps when it was built and residents also probably relied a lot on candles (tallow or wax). The family's one or two main oil lamps were probably kept on the parlor floor, considered investments and probably objects of pride…those styles and technology changed so fast many expensive lamps were rendered démodé a decade after their manufacture.

Gas wasn't added until later in the century. Somehow, they were able to run the gas pipes to the medallions without completely busting up the plasterwork and keeping crown mouldings, walls, etc. all looking like they hadn’t been touched. I guess they were good at replastering back then too. They did a much better job than your typical contractor or electrician could ever dream of doing these days!

Originally, only large free-standing homes and institutional buildings had gas-lighting when it remained a novelty. It was relatively MUCH cleaner-buring and bright. The gas was often produced on the property by heating coal (much as "they" are proposing to do in the near future and on a large scale since the US produces much less “natural gas” than it now uses). The gas from the heated coal was piped into the house….there WERE accidents.

As I mentioned, fast-changing technology and changing fuel supplies made the development of interior lighting a dynamic one in the 1800's.

BTW, the trusty ol' kerosene lamp was a later development after gas was already being piped into many urban homes.

Kerosene as a fuel developed later. It was a very cheap fuel compared to the earlier whale oil or course and served many homes that were off the grid all over the US through the 1940's and beyond. In fact, many of us in our lifetime have been to remote houses that still rely on kerosene for light. In fact, even houses wired with electricity (which would have been much lower than what a typical house "needs" today) were lit with kerosene as a major source of nighttime lighting through the 1940’s.

So, all-in-all, Brownstoner Dude’s right. The unimaginative recessed lighting on the parlor floor makes it look like a contractor special.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 8:15 PM

6:21 - you sound like a Bush loving nut job, but read the papers - even your beloved Bush is admitting that hard economic times are falling on us...

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 8:48 PM

You're right, 8:48, Mr. 6:21 is a tad nutsy. I mean, com'on already...even right-wingers are selling to save their positions! We're in a cycle and voila...end of story. Things are not good and the divergence of rich and poor has grown massive since 1980 (beginning of the "Reagan Era") and keeps on going, middle class is being pushed down...etc., etc. Hunger is a major issue in the US...it's all there.

I have been saying for years that we were backpedaling into the age of the robber barons and I think I've been right.

Nonetheless, I hope and also think the recession will not be the end of "civilization". Heck, we have to manage to live at least 4 or 5 more decades to help pay off this huge government debt! To be honest, I am eager to finish out the process of handing money blindly up the chain...trickle up is where it's at! Slow stealing is so much more palatable.

[tongue in cheek]

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 9:21 PM

8:15 your post about gas lighting is incorrect.This house when built had gas lighting installed.

Also Mr.B is correct recessed lighting in a Parlour floor is just crap......

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 9:44 PM

this is a head scratcher financially, you end up with 2200 sq ft with those carrying costs? really? jeez. the options on an apt that sized are endless for half the money without the tenants walking through your place. you'd really really have to like PS. for that kind of money you could be living really really well somewhere else. bought a 2000 sq ft duplex condo with private, bigger, much better backyard. without figuring in the tax deduction and with cc's and taxes, paying $4500 per month. and, my place is a frickin palace aesthetically compared to this mismash. also, my taxes are only $65 monthly (abatement).

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 10:52 PM

yes 10:52, but the novo is hideous.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 10:54 PM

Hi again,
"nutsy" 6:21 here, responding to the predictable reactionary left wingers who steadfastly want that negative economic story to come true.
First off, we have the ever present class warfare angle in which the "rich" are depicted as evil robber barons who are out to eradicate the poor as well as make the middle class their indentured servants. Newsflash; this is a dynamic society. you can move up and down the chain as much as you want depending on your drive, your intelligence, your initiative or your luck. Save the upstairs downstairs allusions for the sophmore sociology class at the community college with the bearded ex-socialist assistant professor.
Next: "9:21" you prove my point to a tee. You already state we are in a recession. I just informed you that there was a positive GDP posted in this first quarter of 08. Most economists now say the chances of a recession are about 25%, no I'm not making this stuff up. Try to be objective, I know how hard it is for you committed liberals, and see that much of your negativity is a self-fullfilling prophecy fed by the likes of the NYTimes, CNN, CBS nightly news and Time magazing; all committed left skewed news outlets (i.e. they want a democrat in the white house, if you don't believe me, go and google who Arthur Schulzberger regularly has dinner with, hint: it ain't the John Birch society).
Finally, and this is the one I find most offensive as I work with the poor in healthcare here in NYC. someone mentioned the spectre of hunger as a major problem in this great nation. WRONG. the problem is one of obesity and diabetes. it is an epidemic. I have never heard of anyone in this nation starving to death in the post war era unless it was out of neglect or mental disease. Stop that dispicable lie before it goes unchallenged and is mistaken for some semblance of truth. I'll say it again, we have an epidemic of obesity and diabetes in this nation, not hunger, sorry to inform you.
By the way, recessed lighting is perfectly acceptable in a brownstone/victorian setting. The highlights provided by focused lighting form a prefect contrast to the more diffuse floor or table lamp lighting and is not at all in conflict with the period. any more than say, a computer monitor on a Louis XV desk or a Wassily chair in front of a Beaux Arts fireplace surround. The disparate styles are what make for the individuality of the environs. That's the difference between being a trendy poseur and having true style.

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 10:57 PM

10:57 - how do you respond to Bush's comments in the last few days about how the nation's economy is experiencing "very difficult" times? You make it sound like the negative picture of our economy is the result of the left wing media cabal, but our very right wing president is remarking about how bad it is, and I'm curious about how you interpret that?

Posted by: guest at April 30, 2008 11:08 PM

yikes...glad i own!

***
April 30, 2008 -- Operating costs for landlords of the city's million rent-stabilized apartment buildings jumped 7.8 percent last year, a harbinger that rent hikes this year will be larger than last.

The figures were reported yesterday by the Rent Guidelines Board, which meets Monday to begin the process of setting this year's rent hikes for leases signed on or after Oct. 1.

The final increases will be established in June after the usual round of public hearings.

Last year, when landlord costs jumped 5.1 percent, the board voted rent hikes of 3 percent for one-year lease renewals and 5.75 percent for two-year renewals.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 12:21 AM

10.57 - you were starting to make sense until you got to the recessed lighting. Staten Island is more your style - republican AND recessed lighting galore. The best of both worlds for you.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 8:34 AM

Someone calculated 5k/mo in tax deductions. Where does that come from? The maximum deductible mortgage is $1m, so at 6%, the deduction would be 60k/yr, which for someone in the 40% bracket (!) would be worth 2k/mo. But it's less than that, because high income taxpayers don't get the full itemized deduction. Rental losses (which will be huge here) are not deductible if your income is over $150k. And real estate taxes are not deductible for AMT, which the new owner surely be pay.

So: 17k /mo less 2k tax subsidy, plus 5k opportunity cost on your downpayment, less 6k rental income = 14k / mo to live in a two bedroom duplex.

Approximately double what your tenants pay.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 12:53 PM

"Most economists now say the chances of a recession are about 25%"

No, actually nearly ALL actual economists say we are already IN a recession.

I'm not sure from what happy place you are pulling these stats.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 1:13 PM

Why don't you people get that recessed lighting is in ADDITION to a chandelier? It's not either/or one or the other. And do you light your kids' play area with a dim chandelier? Really?? If you don't have recessed lighting then you have to put lamps everywhere in ever corner on side tables and use up precious space.

For those with a formal parlor and a family room both, I would put the recessed lighting only in the family room, sure. But if you have only one living room to serve as both formal room and family room, like the vast majority of NYC residents do, then you shoul put recessed lighting along with a chandelier. Put the recessed lighting on a separate dimmer switch. So you have the option of only turning on the chandelier, or turning on the recessed lights very dim.

We don't have recessed lights but I would like to add them in the future. Because interiors need to be useful and practical too, whether historical or not. It's not a museum. It's your home. To live in. As for those claiming recessed lighting is only in the suburbs, you've obviously never been inside the upscale houses on the Upper East Side or the West Village.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 1:22 PM

Yeah it's totally worth it to wreck your kids' eyes making them play and read in a dimly lit interior, just to ensure you are in line with the Victorian brownstone aesthetic of Brownstoner.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 1:28 PM

"$27,000 a month"

Buy vs. Rent. Hmmmmm...

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 1:47 PM

1.28 - thanks for trotting out that hoary old myth. low light levels do nothing to impair one's eyesight.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 2:18 PM

Wow, 2:18. Preservationists are such a cult of nutters.

Low light causes eye strain. Eye strain over long periods repeatedly hurts the eyes. It also gives people headaches. Please explain the urge to turn on a brigher light when reading. And why our eyes feel better when we do. Dope.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 2:39 PM

Why don't you people get that recessed lighting is in ADDITION to a chandelier?

Recessed lighting AND a Chandelier???

My Chandelier is operated by a dimmer. The room is very well lit and we don't need any additional lamps. Actually if you have a huge room this befits a grandoise chandelier with many branches where you can achieve lots of light with medium wattage - and look into a dimmer it's really easy.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 4:20 PM

Every townhouse on the market in the top neighborhoods of Manhattan right now has recessed lights. Look at the photos in the listings in the NY Times. Gorgeous houses at $14 million and $20 million designed by professionals. And in houses that are older than this brownstone.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 8:38 PM