February 19, 2009

Inside Third & Bond: Week 72

In 1948 the American Public Health Association predicted that the garbage disposal would cause the garbage can to “ultimately follow the privy” and become an “anachronism”. This prediction was made some twenty years after the garbage disposal was invented but fifty years before garbage disposals would be legalized in New York City. The garbage disposal was meant to be a healthier way to dispose of kitchen scraps – resulting in less vermin and stench. The downside was that sewage systems had to deal with considerably more organic material than ever before. Today, around 50% of American households have garbage disposals, most of which were produced by the InSinkErator company. Not even in those households has the garbage can disappeared but the garbage disposal’s popularity has fluctuated.

Well, the garbage disposals maintain steady popularity at Hudson. From the beginning, we planned to have garbage disposals in every kitchen sink at Third + Bond. Then, as we were running through the cabinetry bids, we came across a smelly problem. The cabinetry designed for the kitchens does not have a specific location for a garbage can (or recycling). The cabinet beneath the sink is too small given the disposal to provide room for a regular sized kitchen garbage can. Other under-counter cabinets are too far from the sink to be practical for garbage or are needed for things like silverware drawers. The result: residents would have to set out a freestanding trashcan in the kitchen, use a smaller can beneath the sink, or we have to figure out a redesign for the cabinetry.

The dirty little secret of most developments, even with beautiful kitchen renderings, is there’s no place to put a garbage can...
(Continued below)

A lot of buyers don’t worry about it until they are unpacking. Since we have open kitchens, the idea of a trashcan – even a fancy stainless steel one – sitting at the edge of the counter is less preferable. Some of the kitchens, such as the U-shaped ones, don’t have an obvious place to put even a freestanding trashcan.

At our office we have pull-out drawers that accommodate two trashcans and two recycling cans. It’s great for keeping the leftover tuna fish sandwiches from stinking up the lunchroom. As we were refining the cabinet bid for Third + Bond we realized that this would be a great detail to add. It’s not the kind of thing that will earn a higher sales price on its own. But it is the kind of detail that raises the overall quality of our product.

That is, if we can make it work.

What do you think? If it’s either garbage disposals or hidden, full-size trashcans, then which should win? Does it matter how big the kitchen is or how it’s laid out? Does it matter if the unit is a 3-bedroom duplex upwards of $1 million or if it’s a studio priced around $300,000?

Wherever we can have both, we will. But if we can’t have both, what should we use as our deciding criteria?

Inside Third & Bond: Weeks 1-71 [Brownstoner]
Cartoon from ASTC.org

From our lawyers: “This is not an offering. No offering can be made until an offering plan is filed with the Department of Law of the State of New York."

Posted by Brownstoner at 11:29 AM | Comments (26)
Categories: Gowanus, Third & Bond Blog

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