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March 5, 2009

House of the Day: 17 1st Street

There's a little more exposed brick than we'd like to see and the bathroom's a little cheesy, but otherwise this smallish house at 17 1st Street in Gowanus (or Carroll Gardens, depending on who you ask) has a nice feel to it, especially for a house in this neighborhood that's been in the same hands for a long time. (We like the exposed wood beams on the garden level, for example, and the upper floors have their fireplaces and moldings intact.) The asking price of $1,249,000 looks good at first glance, but remember that the house is 16 feet wide and less than 2,000 square feet in total. Thoughts?
17 1st Street [Fillmore] GMAP P*Shark

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Comments

Only one bathroom and it's all the way on the top floor. I don't know about that.

Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at March 5, 2009 1:18 PM

The listing says 1.5 baths, but where is the half on the floorplan? Any guesses?

Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at March 5, 2009 1:22 PM

Gowanus??
Aren't we calling it the "Left Bank" now?
Seriously Stoner, this is Carroll Gardens, in fact I think this house is in the Carroll Gardens Historic Distrcit, which is quite small.
Sheesh, the Clinton Hill crowd is hopeless with the neibs on the other side of Flatbush Avenue.

Posted by: sam at March 5, 2009 1:25 PM

> "The listing says 1.5 baths, but where is the half on the floorplan?"

Just stroll down to the canal and take care of your business there.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 5, 2009 1:26 PM

I like it, definite potential. The facade seems to be in good shape and it sits on a very pretty quiet street. I think there are some positives here. the kitchen seems updated and I like the exposed wood beams as well.
I actually thought the price was really good until I realized it's only 1 family. Dunno what I can say about the price now - maybe 1.15?

Posted by: gemini10 at March 5, 2009 1:27 PM

$999,999

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 5, 2009 1:28 PM

Sam - you are right - this IS carroll Gardens
I wouldn't call this street Gowanus either

Posted by: gemini10 at March 5, 2009 1:28 PM

Oh, Snarky!

Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at March 5, 2009 1:31 PM

So, how much does it generally cost (ballpark) to add another full bath w/ basic fixtures - nothing fancy?

Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at March 5, 2009 1:32 PM

It is close to Carroll Park which is the heart of Carroll Gardens if not its geographical center.
This house is a chimichanga. Snap it up, How much cuter could it be?

Posted by: sam at March 5, 2009 1:33 PM

It's 1.5 blocks from the canal. How small of a neighborhood do you want to define Gowanus as?

I wouldn't call it Carroll Gardens til Smith Street (where the name of the street itself changes from 1st St. to 1st. Pl.).

Posted by: northsloperenter at March 5, 2009 1:36 PM

i like it, has a good vibe and definite potential. fillmore has it listed as 16x36 on a 79 foot lot, so it's small. but cute and seems like a great condo-alternative for a small family willing to renovate over time. demerits for being just outside of ps 58, though. i'd split the difference between DIBS and gemini and say $1.1, give or take.

Posted by: i disagree at March 5, 2009 1:38 PM

I am sure 999 will take this baby away. save the extra .1 for reno costs, new bath, landscaping, painting.

Posted by: sam at March 5, 2009 1:47 PM

What exactly, is wrong with exposed brick?

Posted by: East New York at March 5, 2009 1:50 PM

sam,

Is this your house?

nsr

P.S. Chimichanga? A deep fried burrito?

Posted by: northsloperenter at March 5, 2009 1:53 PM

There is nothing wrong with exposed brick, it is just one of Stoner's little bete noirs.

Posted by: sam at March 5, 2009 1:53 PM

Its a 60s sort of thing ENY. For those of us who are sticklers for architectural detail, exposed brick is just horribly wrong.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 5, 2009 1:54 PM

I would like to see it go for a bit more as I'm currently a seller(until it's time for me to buy again of course)

but I appreciate offering 999K for a place like this. Surely, The owners having the place the past 30 years would still make a huge profit from 999K

Posted by: gemini10 at March 5, 2009 1:54 PM

personally I like exposed brick!
i think it's kinda rustic and when it's on a wall or two - its fun!

Posted by: gemini10 at March 5, 2009 1:55 PM

Gowanus is on the other side of the sludge.

Posted by: tybur6 at March 5, 2009 1:56 PM

Yes sam, since you grought us here, what is a "chimichanga" in this context? It's not even a real Mexican food.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 5, 2009 1:57 PM

chimichanga: pretty girl, delectibly luscious,
My house?
What makes you say that?
I live in the center of the Park Slopian Empire.

Posted by: sam at March 5, 2009 1:57 PM

just depends who's buying these days. i could see this place hitting the sweet spot for a lot of people - those looking to take some profits from manhattan to brooklyn as well as first-time buyers who've been waiting to come in at a decent price-point but don't want to wait out the market or take on a renovation. but i could be totally wrong and if i were these sellers i wouldn't quibble over it.

Posted by: i disagree at March 5, 2009 2:00 PM

Too much exposed brick irritates me. Feels oppressive. My husband can't get enough of it though.

I like this house.

Posted by: Nomi at March 5, 2009 2:06 PM

too much price

Posted by: chrishavens at March 5, 2009 2:07 PM

Despite my hatred of exposed brick it's about the easiest and cheapest thing to remedy of all...a bunck of studs and some drywall an its gone in an afternoon.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 5, 2009 2:09 PM

Oh yeah, and you;ll need some 2X4s as well^^^^^^

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 5, 2009 2:10 PM

dave: damn you for bringing up the subject of Mexican food just as I am trying to make-do for the afternoon with two benighted Bosque pears.
Oh wait, maybe I brought it up first.
damn damn damn

Posted by: sam at March 5, 2009 2:13 PM

Cheaper monthlies than owning condo of same size and no board to set the rules. Nice block (but I think the Gowanus moniker would be a surprise to the people that live there). Gowanus is name of the canal and expressway. - As a neighborhood name -it is looking for an area to adopt it.

Posted by: Petebklyn at March 5, 2009 2:19 PM

i disagree and Petebrooklyn have hit the nail on the head as to why I'm not a member of Team Bear and why brownstones will hold their value far better than anything in Manhattan and any Brooklyn condos.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 5, 2009 2:21 PM

"Its a 60s sort of thing ENY. For those of us who are sticklers for architectural detail, exposed brick is just horribly wrong."

Oh....OK.

Posted by: East New York at March 5, 2009 2:24 PM

ENY...so I've changed your mind about exposed brick? That was easy. :)

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 5, 2009 2:33 PM

> "Cheaper monthlies than owning condo of same size"

In the end, are they really? When the roof need a-fixing or the boiler a-replacing, the cost is ALL yours.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at March 5, 2009 2:37 PM

haven't changed mine, dave :-). I love exposed brick- not everywhere. But I do find the bones of an old house to be really beautiful.

But I wouldn't get rid of period detail to expose it either. There is something rather wonderful about a marble fireplace against an exposed brick wall.

Posted by: bxgrl at March 5, 2009 2:39 PM

Originally "Gowanus" WAS part of Carroll Gardens.

However now I believe Hoyt St. is technically the western most border. And since this house is on the other side of Hoyt, it is not Carroll Gardens.

Posted by: christopher at March 5, 2009 2:40 PM

Ist between Hoyt and Bond is solidly Carroll Gardens.

Posted by: Lesloaf at March 5, 2009 2:44 PM

My house has exposed brick. I think it's cool (well, I would), but for a house this size it adds some critical inches to the width to remove the plaster or drywall. Even a few inches can make a difference to the feel of a narrow house. Most visitors comment on how relatively spacious my 20' wide house seems.

Man, this house is TINY. All these three-story houses have the problem of kitchen vs. parlor/den. I've never seen a good resolution.

And where is that half bath? Best guess places it in the ground-floor extension.

Posted by: Brooklyn Chicken at March 5, 2009 2:47 PM

Definitely not Carrol Gardens, in any possible way.

Nice enough house but the layout sucks and the lack of bathrooms is an issue. I can't imagine it going for more than 999K now.

Love the brick!

Posted by: shillstoner at March 5, 2009 2:48 PM

Hoyt Street is just the border because Cobble Hill to the north doesn't want the projects part of their neighborhood! Dirty projects.

I would think the Carroll Gardens folks wouldn't mind a little waterfront? Hmmm?

Also, being on Carroll Street, a block away from Carroll Park seems good enough to be included in Carroll Gardens... OF COURSE, this property doesn't actually have the front garden set-back... but...

For my money (and I have very little), the Gowanus Neighborhood is on the other side of the canal... ya know, that part of "west park slope" that gets no love.

Posted by: tybur6 at March 5, 2009 2:48 PM

"ENY...so I've changed your mind about exposed brick? That was easy. :)"

Well, actually my mind wasn't made up. I just wanted to understand the rationale behind the objection. I've never lived with it, so I don't really know how I'd like it. But I had a friend in the Bronx who had an exposed brick wall in his apartment and I remember thinking it was cool. My cellar, which is finished, has exposed stone walls.

Posted by: East New York at March 5, 2009 2:53 PM

An exposed brick wall in the garden level or an upper floor room is OK. I don't like them in parlors. especially in nicer houses. The roughness of the brick clashes with the polish and glow that these interiors are supposed to possess.

Posted by: sam at March 5, 2009 2:53 PM

But I love that contrast, sam. Not in all things- but sometimes it works beautifully.

Posted by: bxgrl at March 5, 2009 3:04 PM

Don't knock Gowanus...it's quickly becoming quite the "scene" right now. Checked out the new music venue/nightclub, The Bell House recently, and with all the town cars and cabs waiting out front in addition to the PACKED space full of quite attractive people inside (complete with band and 12-4am Sparkle Motion Dance Party)

They are also starting a new "Boys and Girls" night every Saturday starting in a couple weeks organized by one of the former bartenders of Cattyshack.

The Gowanus seems to be one of the hottest new nightlife destinations in NYC.

Posted by: 11217 at March 5, 2009 3:04 PM

Exposed brick and stone in the cellar is great.

More importantly, this house is walking distance to Floyd's.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 5, 2009 3:04 PM

1st Street between Hoyt and Bond is--no contest--Carroll Gardens.

Ask literally any single person on this block or the blocks to the north and south.

Posted by: feral at March 5, 2009 3:13 PM

yeah 11217 -- Just what someone interested in buying a cute house wants to be near and associated with: the 'scene'-,
nightclubs, and lots of town cars and cabs waiting around late at night. Thankfully all that riffraff is across the canal over by Park Slope.

Posted by: Petebklyn at March 5, 2009 3:15 PM

"More importantly, this house is walking distance to Floyd's."

As in Floyd NY? Site of the next Brownstoner gathering set for Thursday, March 19, commencing at 6pm and going late into the wee hours?

http://floydny.com/
131 Atlantic Avenue
between Henry and Clinton Streets

Posted by: Biff Champion at March 5, 2009 3:17 PM

Why does Biff Rock so much??!!?!?!
Love this guy

Posted by: gemini10 at March 5, 2009 3:22 PM

Pete:

1. The Bell House is located on 7th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue...no where near said house.

2. The East Village and Lower East Side became hot residential tickets, in part because of their status as nightlife spots.

Not everyone buying a house in Brooklyn has kids and needs peace and quiet 24/7. Some people actually LIKE to live near fun things. Perhaps someone interested in a small house like this with one bathroom. You never know. I was just giving out some info about a really great new place in Brooklyn.

Posted by: 11217 at March 5, 2009 3:23 PM

Oh and BTW,

The Bell House is owned by the same guys who own Union Hall AND FLOYDS!!!

Posted by: 11217 at March 5, 2009 3:24 PM

This house is great, my only little reservation would be the skeeters from the canal in summer, and of oourse the swamp gas UFO's.

Posted by: sam at March 5, 2009 3:34 PM

11217, very smooth connection (between the bars) there! Well done.

gemeni10, just for that I'm buying you a cocktail at the upcoming Brownstoner Ball, aka the "Keep F*cking Around Party"!

Posted by: Biff Champion at March 5, 2009 3:39 PM

Sam - skeeters can't live in the Gowanus.

Posted by: tybur6 at March 5, 2009 3:41 PM

I lived very nearby for 5 years.

I vote CG.

Posted by: MR at March 5, 2009 3:41 PM

11217 i love you but LOL at the idea that people with kids need (or could possibly get) peace and quiet 24/7! IMHO it's the best of both worlds to have your cute little house and yard, your cute little kids, and a couple of cute little (or swanky and not so little) bars or restaurants within 5 minutes of your house. of course, i'm not into towncars in front of my house 24/7 or people smoking outside my window or people puking on my stoop at 3am, but you've got to give a little to get a little.

Posted by: i disagree at March 5, 2009 3:53 PM

I'll take the 17th St. one in "GWH" instead.

Posted by: ou812 at March 5, 2009 4:30 PM

A two-bedroom house for over 1M, not now, not today, not tomorrow.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at March 5, 2009 5:04 PM

Try 499,999 and keep hoping!

Posted by: hannible at March 6, 2009 6:13 AM