« Inside Third & Bond: Week 68 House of the Day: 37 Winthrop Street »

January 22, 2009

Co-op of the Day: Turner Towers Two-Bedroom

Longtime readers should know by now that we're suckers for the pre-war charm and relative affordability of Turner Towers, the 186-unit co-op building at 135 Eastern Parkway overlooking the Brooklyn Museum. It doesn't appear that this particular apartment overlooks the museum (is that a brick wall we see out the living room window), but the details and scale are both intact. The kitchen is the only downer. Asking price on the 1,127-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath unit? $689,000. About right?
135 Eastern Parkway 2BR [Aguayo & Huebener] GMAP P*Shark

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I hope so. but in this market who knows what is right any more?

Posted by: sam at January 22, 2009 12:46 PM

This area reminds me of parts of the UES, in that it's full of big condo buildings and there is absolutely *nothing* around it. No restaurants, bars, stores, or even bodegas (except on Washinton Ave).

$700k+$999/month? That's a whole hell of a lot of money for a 2 BR apartment. You'd have to bring the cost WAY down for me to want to live here, but obviously these ritzy luxury buildings attract some people.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 22, 2009 12:49 PM

dont forget the TT flip tax. howard cossel (spelling?) used to live there

Posted by: jp2 at January 22, 2009 12:58 PM

First of all, this apartment is nowhere near the stated square footage. Price is too darn high for this much space at this location.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at January 22, 2009 1:03 PM

It seems kinda high to me as well.

The area isnt as desolate as it seems. Everything is on the avenues.

Posted by: slick at January 22, 2009 1:03 PM

That's the mother-load of closets in the smaller bedroom.

Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at January 22, 2009 1:04 PM

For all those plaid shirts, Snappy?

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at January 22, 2009 1:09 PM

It's no more "desolate" than living on Prospect Park West in terms of proximity to retail.

In fact, this isn't far from Washinton or Vanderbilt...the latter of which has an excellent selection of bars/shops/restaurants and a grocery store.

With that being said, I wouldn't want to live here.

Posted by: 11217 at January 22, 2009 1:09 PM

11217 - I wouldn't want to live on PPW either. :)

I'm really picky about that. If I have to walk more than half a block to get to stuff, bleh. No thanks. Not unless the place is super cheap, which these obviously aren't. I like Vanderbilt a lot, but this building is far enough from Vanderbilt that I'd find it annoying in weather like we're having this week.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 22, 2009 1:13 PM

I'm similar, CW.

Although in warmer weather my radius of what I consider close expands from about 5 blocks to 15.

Speaking of...did you see the new 24 hour deli opening up on 7th between Union and President? It looks promising for a late night fruit/cigarette run.

Posted by: 11217 at January 22, 2009 1:17 PM

Ah, DIBS, I'm one of those lipstick lesbos - no plaid for me. I'd fill it with skirts and cleavage-revealing tops :)

Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at January 22, 2009 1:20 PM

Snarky, I get annoyed when people say "first of all" and then don't follow it up with a "secondly"

Posted by: dittoburg at January 22, 2009 1:25 PM

snark, how do you know the sq.ft. is wrong? if floorplan is accurate, it comes out to about whats stated.

i seriously hate lazy agents. how hard is it to put up a pic of the bedroom and other bathroom? digital camera = no film cost. i guess bathrooms/bedrooms arent really important, its all about the lobby and facade. (cranky today). oh, and foyers are wasted space in small places, not something to tout.

Posted by: goldie at January 22, 2009 1:28 PM

11217 - Awesome. I really like the little deli/grocery right next to the diner, across the street from the supermarket, but they close too early. :)

And yeh - I walk from here to vanderbilt fairly often even in the cold weather, since I have friends who live at Vandy/Bergen, but my "this feels close" radius is much smaller at this time of year. I think living in california for a couple years turned me into a wuss about the cold.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 22, 2009 1:36 PM

I can't stand these post-20s apartments with the 20-foot-long living rooms with a tiny postage stamp for a window at the end. Or dead-end kitchens with only one door. The bathroom is too small. And why did they add a second toilet in a closet? Poor closet. Also, someone bet rip out those added closets from the second bedroom before it suffocates.

Posted by: mopar at January 22, 2009 1:39 PM

I like the cut of your jib, mopar

Posted by: dittoburg at January 22, 2009 1:51 PM

I like that deli next to Park Cafe also. I've been going there a ton lately. But I think they close up at 10 and Ace Supermarket at 10:30 so it will be great to have something close by and open all night.

The cold this winter has been especially brutal for NYC. I don't think you're a wuss...I don't recall this many days of absolute bitter cold in quite a while.

With that being said though, it's nothing compared to what Chicago and other places have been dealing with this winter.

Posted by: 11217 at January 22, 2009 1:51 PM

The layout is a little odd. here is a case where you really should demolish the wall between the kitchen and the living room. Very tight. No way this is even 900 square feet, much less 1100.

Posted by: sam at January 22, 2009 1:56 PM

The more I look at this co-op, the more I'm convinced that I wouldn't pay $250k for it, let alone $700k. The layout is bizarre, I don't like the area, and co-op/condo prices in Brooklyn are insanely out of control at the moment. :P

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 22, 2009 2:02 PM

I dunno about the price, but being that close to the museum, botanic garden, park, and library is a hell of a lot more appealing than being near some precious little bistro or shop. It all depends on what you find meaningful. Oh well, to each his own.

Posted by: Sparafucile at January 22, 2009 2:21 PM

goldie - first of all, maybe I did the math wrong, but I came closer to 900sf.

;-)

Posted by: SnarkSlope at January 22, 2009 2:25 PM

Sparafucile,

You might be right about that....I absolutely love living in close proximity to the Botanic Gardens, The Farmers Market, the Library and the Park, but I think this might partially be a factor of the weather also. It's too cold out right now to really appreciate many of those things at this time of year. I also go to the deli and supermarket every single day. I don't hit the Museum more than a couple times a year. I'd rather live closest to the services I use multiple times a day and be a tad farther from those I use sporadically.

There's no denying that this area is more attractive in the spring/summer/fall. Even for a winter/snow lover like me.

Posted by: 11217 at January 22, 2009 2:33 PM

Yeh, living in walking distance of the museum, park, and gardens? Awesome. Living across the street from them? Unnecessary to me.

It's not just the "precious little bistros" either, though I admit I enjoy those. It's also the proximity to basic things like groceries, pharmacies, laundries, etc.

Tho I guess you could be like my friends who live on Central Park West in Manhattan and just have literally everything delivered.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 22, 2009 3:00 PM

real square footage (rsf) is a tad under 900 square feet.
It should be listed as 900 square feet, but then everyone would assume it was actually 600 Square feet.

Posted by: sam at January 22, 2009 3:08 PM

It's wonderful to look out your window and see the museum lit up at night and the botanical garden.
Living nearby is not the same.
Not saying anything about this apartmetn or the price (I'm not even sure it faces that way), but it's a big plus, IMHO

Posted by: ontheparkway at January 22, 2009 3:35 PM

I have a view of the museum from my window too, and it is quite nice at night, all lit up.

The best subway stops are also right there.

There are pharmacies / laundry / bars / delis / groceries on Washington Ave. You just have to be comfortable with shopping with black people.

Anyway, I think the apartment is a bit overpriced, mainly because of the high maintenance. But Turner Towers is a beautiful building, and it's a solid community of people. Quite a few artists, weirdly enough.

In any case, we can't all live off 7th Avenue in Park Slope.

Posted by: theandrewlee at January 22, 2009 9:04 PM

Why, thank you, Ditto!

Posted by: mopar at January 23, 2009 12:08 AM

Brownstoner:

As I remember growing up in Crown Heights during the 1950s, this line of apartments were at the rear of Turner Towers. That meant if you were low in the building you faced the brick walls of apartments on Lincoln Place but if you were above their roofs you had clear views all the way to the Manhattan skyline.

Where this apartment is perched has everything to do with its quality. But from my familiarity with the building, this line is among the least interesting.

Some apartments at Turner Towers are truly "houses in the sky" with real foyers, dining rooms, maids' rooms, etc. Some, like this one, are pretty bland. My guess is that it was very deliberate on the part of the developers who provided a range of choices and rents for the well-heeled down to the aspiring middle-class -- very logical for Eastern Parkway, where such apartments were a step up from the tenements in East New York and Brownsville (at the end of the old "IRT" that connected both workers and factory owners of Eastern European Jewish descent to the Garment District).

A family friend from Brooklyn Heights, growing up in a "restricted" (i.e. Christian building) during the 1930s, remembers being shushed by her mother in one of Turner Towers' elevators while visiting an acquaintance.

"Be respectful," she was told.

Apparently, 135 Eastern Parkway was quite the address back then. Even for "old" Brooklyn families ordinarilly unimpressed by nouveau-riche gilt and swag.

Nostalgic on Park Avenue

Posted by: NOP at January 23, 2009 12:18 AM

I'll provide some perspective.

When you walk into Turner Towers, this apartment (from the window placement on the floorplan) is in the left tower and on a low floor - low enough that the brick wall you see outside of the side windows in the pics are of the building a few doors down and the "back" windows look out over the courtyard. The second door in the kitchen is the "maid's" door. The toilet in the closet means this apartment was never renovated.

Numbers-wise, the price is really good but the maintenance is absurd since, and I know this for a fact, the elevators were replaced about 7 years ago. So, I don't know what the maintenance is going for. Actually, the doormen there do an excellent job. They're personable and helpful. Also, as pointed out above, there is a flip-tax and it's high - I think 35%.

As for location, it's within walking distance of several neighborhoods and amenities...

Posted by: i_heart_brooklyn at January 23, 2009 5:38 AM

NOP, I love reading your recollections. How do you keep your memory in such tip top shape? Exercise, crosswords, gingko?

Posted by: dittoburg at January 23, 2009 8:51 AM

Dittoburg:

Gee, I'm not that old! ("Fifties are the new forties" -- remember?)

But ask me to tell you the difference between calculus and algebra and I'll draw a blank!

NOP

Posted by: NOP at January 23, 2009 4:22 PM

I've been in one unit of this building a couple of times, and I like it. While the building's location is not exactly ideal (I agree w/posters who want to be closer to Vanderbilt or Flatbush), it's far from horrible, and the building itself is great. You're also really close to the EP/BK Museum stop on the 2/3. In the nice weather you can walk, but these days I might hop the 2/3 1 or 2 stops to either GAP or Bergen. For the right price, I wouldn't hesitate to move in here. I can't get to the A&H listing to look at the floorplan (site down?). Don't know if $689 +$1K/month is it, however. I also agree with the poster who asked what *is* right these days.

Posted by: BrooklynButler at January 26, 2009 12:54 PM

« Inside Third & Bond: Week 68 House of the Day: 37 Winthrop Street »

January 22, 2009

Co-op of the Day: Turner Towers Two-Bedroom

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