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April 14, 2009

Co-op of the Day: 670 Park Slope

This prewar one-bedroom at 670 President Street (off 5th Avenue) in Park Slope has a nice vibe to it, with high ceilings and a nice rounded-arch doorway. The building is architecturally attractive, too, and boasts a common garden. Still, the price tag of $439,000 feels better suited to a doorman building a little further up the Slope, dontcha think?
670 President Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark

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Comments

That stringpole of a building has no elevator?
No way Jose.

Posted by: sam at April 14, 2009 12:46 PM

What an adorable place. I'd re-do the kitchen though.

Posted by: alsawo at April 14, 2009 12:47 PM

1/2 million dollars to live in a glorified tenement. :-/

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 12:50 PM

Rob, why is it glorified?

Posted by: sam at April 14, 2009 12:52 PM

Cute place, requires only 10% down and the maintenance of $520 a month is quite reasonable.

Wish there was a floorplan.

The location is fantastic.

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 12:52 PM

Five floors is a bit much for a walkup, I agree. Nice area tho. They got an 2 BRs?

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 14, 2009 12:52 PM

quote:

Rob, why is it glorified?

that fire escape is to die for!

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 12:53 PM

quote:

The location is fantastic.

i live basically right there. it's not fantastic. it's annoying as hell to have to walk all the way down to 4th avenue to find a cheap bodega.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 12:55 PM

The ad boasts of views of NYC skyline, so right there you know it's a 4th or 5th floor walk-up; while I don't mind this too much, many people will. And the kitchen—and I am assuming the bath, as there's no photos—are in need of updates.

If you can get this place >399K, I'd say it's a darn good deal. Killer location.

Posted by: Fjorder at April 14, 2009 12:55 PM

An original Victorian apartment that was chopped up into a one bedroom and had arches and trim put in during the 1930s or so? No way.

Posted by: mopar at April 14, 2009 12:56 PM

275K tops.

Posted by: buttermilk channel at April 14, 2009 1:00 PM

no flrplan usually means tiny and/or whacky layout. 375k or little lower might get it sold. decent place and location is pretty good.

Posted by: more4less at April 14, 2009 1:01 PM

I would guess $390K
good location, cute place - but needs a kitchen reno which can be done for less than 10K nothing too crazy

Posted by: gemini10 at April 14, 2009 1:01 PM

Some of us don't find walking 2 blocks to be annoying, Rob.

The guys at the market on the corner of Berkeley and 5th are the best, anyway. They give me a deal on cigs...

It is a little far from gamestop though...

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 1:02 PM

i will check that place out 11217, thanks. i just find that all the fauxdegas on 5th ave over charge for beer. and none of them sell 40 ounces. i have to walk all the way to 4th avenue and union street for 40 ounces. and they only charge 2.50 which actually is the cheapest ive seen these days anywhere in the city. even in harlem they were 3. so i guess it's worth walking that much. how much do you pay for cigs at that deli you talk about 11217? i get black market newports from georgia for 7 dollars so right now cigarettes arent much of an issue for me, but when i did i would go down there or to the gas station on 4th.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 1:05 PM

I agree with Rob,looks like most glorified tenements you find on the LES. No dice on the price.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at April 14, 2009 1:06 PM

there's like a half dozen bodegas within walking distance of that location on fifth ... I guess they aren't "cheap"?

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 14, 2009 1:06 PM

rob,

methinks you are a bit off base here.

first, that fire escape is more outdoor space than some of the new 4th avenue buildings.

second, the term tenament, while it describes buildings, is really more of an environmental issue. if the apartment is spacious, has windows and is in a nice neighborhood it doesnt meet the criteria of a tenament.

the fire escapes you bemoan are solely a result of laws enacted after they were built requiring certain types of egress. they applied to all buildings.

if you want to see what the true tenaments were like, and not the buildings that have been included though the years, look at the tenament museum - http://www.tenement.org.

Posted by: bkn4life at April 14, 2009 1:08 PM

those are all fauxdegas, not real bodegas. overpriced fake organic crap and no good cheap 40 ounces. i was in harlem this weekend and the more i think about it the more i want to move back :-/

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 1:09 PM

Well actually a couple days ago they had 2 packs for 15 at the ace supermarket on 7th so I'm stocked up for a little while.

I'm cutting back...

The prices at the one on Berkeley and 5th varied...depends on their mood, how stoned they are (and me too). Ha. Plus, I go in there all the time, so after the 20th time, they started to recognize me...

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 1:09 PM

11217, I agree that the location is fantastic. Also, that little place on Berkeley and 5th is a freaking Godsend. It is so great to have a place that makes amazing sandwiches and salads at like 2am right down the street. Freaking love it.

Posted by: LincolnSlope at April 14, 2009 1:11 PM

Outrageously overpriced. Who cares if it looks like a tenemant or is poorly laid out...after carrying groceries up 5 flights of stairs I'd be too exhausted to care. Anyone who pays more than 350 for a 5th floor walk-up in this market is out of their minds. In any market, actualy.

Posted by: clintonhillbuyer at April 14, 2009 1:12 PM

LincolnSlope:

That is THE BEST little market in Park Slope, if you ask me. And open 24 hours is heaven. The guys there are so friendly too...

Haven't bought a 40 in a while, so not sure about the prices.

I'd stick with the gas station, Rob

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 1:14 PM

How do we know this is on the 5th floor? Do we?

I'm guessing it's at least 3rd or 4th, given the views but is it confirmed that this is the top floor apartment?

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 1:16 PM

I guess I'd be lying if I said I cared about the difference between a bodega and a fauxdega. Long as I can get basic food/drinks in the middle of the night, I don't really mind paying an extra buck or two.

Then again, I don't buy 40's either. :)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 14, 2009 1:16 PM

11217 has read a lot of architecture magazines and history books that describe Fifth Avenue as New York's premier residential address and its most elegant thoroughfare. Unfortunately he has not yet realized they are not referring to THIS Fifth Avenue.

Posted by: sam at April 14, 2009 1:19 PM

okay now i have to check out the store on berkeley and 5th. ugh youre all gonna hate me but im having a hard time picturing where berkeley is... i know 1st, garfield, caroll, president? is it much more north than that? im terrible i know hahaha

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 1:19 PM

garfield
carroll
president
union
berkeley
lincoln

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 1:23 PM

Sam,

My second apartment in NYC was on 5th Avenue in Manhattan.

It's overrated.

I'd take 5th in Brooklyn any day. More my style.

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 1:24 PM

LOL sam.

actually my biggest gripe with 5th avenue is that it takes forever for the lights to turn from green to red to cross!

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 1:27 PM

11217, You are too much!
You must have gone to the Che Guevara School of propoganda studies.

Rob,
there are no tenements in Park Slope, only spacious, sun-drenched brownstone apartments with commodious outdoor ironwork terraces and hand crafted stairs that wisk you effortlessly to you fifth floor penthouse.

Posted by: sam at April 14, 2009 1:32 PM

$520 maybe not so cheap if it's a 4th or 5th floor walkup with only 500 square feet. Looks like it has one exposure so it's probably half a floor.

Posted by: DeLepp at April 14, 2009 1:39 PM

DeLepp,

According to PropertyShark, the building dimensions are 35 by 80 which makes 2800 sf per floor, in which case, 2 units per floor is one mighty large one bedroom...

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 1:44 PM

Actually I can't tell whether it has 18 or 20 units...but let's say 20 units....5 stories...4 units per floor.

That means each unit is 700 sf.

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 1:46 PM

I like the kitchen as it is. Like the cabinets and butcher block counters. Homey. But this place is tiny.

Posted by: Nomi at April 14, 2009 1:57 PM

It seems 1D went for 440 in 8/07 and 2D for 430 in 1/07. take 20% off and you've got 320K. Probably 675 sq feet tops after deduct for hallway.

Posted by: DeLepp at April 14, 2009 1:59 PM

Perhaps you guys didn't read the listing thoroughly... it comes with a new refrigerator.

I think they will get asking price. No problem.

Posted by: tybur6 at April 14, 2009 2:07 PM

With that arched 'opening' from kitchen to living room, I feel like I'm looking through a Pizzera brick oven.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at April 14, 2009 2:18 PM

I lived next door to that building at 672 President for several years in the mid 90's - I can tell you back then 670 President was all about the tenement lifestyle. There were some particularly bad families in that building, and it seemed almost every weekend would bring drunken screaming/fighting matches and cops being called, kids being taken away, wailing and crying all night. Not to mention the constant rain of garbage and chicken bones the fine residents of 670 would throw down into our yard... Oh man, what a building. I can only hope (and assume) it's been cleaned up since then.

Posted by: Park_loper at April 14, 2009 2:20 PM

I know Sam will never believe it, but count me as another one who'd rather live on 5th Ave, Brooklyn than 5th Ave, Manhattan. :)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 14, 2009 2:21 PM

I just asked my coworker if she prefers 5th in Brooklyn or 5th in Manhattan...

Her response..."Brooklyn. 5th in Manhattan is where you go to die"

Love her.

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 2:26 PM

put me down for a +1 on 5th ave manhattan. 5th ave brooklyn is where i moved to die lol

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 2:30 PM

HAHA. Funny Rob.

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 2:33 PM

Park Loper is right, but more to the point that in the mid-90s alot of the walk-up housing on and off 5th was "tenemant lifestyle". For some of you non-NYers who first hit brooklyn after 2000, that part of the slope (if you can call it that back then) wasnt the almighty wonderful place many of you all triumph it to be today. At a tad more than 5% interest rates, someone will bite at $400K - someone who doesnt mind shlepping up 4-5 flights all the time (I sure do).

As to 5th, well I would much rather OWN on Manhattan 5th than Brooklyn 5th...;) (and wouldnt mind living on 5th Avenue right of Washington Square Park in the Village...)

Posted by: saminthehood at April 14, 2009 2:36 PM

Yes, agree with mopar and BRG -- arches are unfortunate.

Posted by: Nomi at April 14, 2009 2:40 PM

LOL! you guys crack me up.

Posted by: sam at April 14, 2009 2:41 PM

Is that a petrified penis on the wall over the bed?

Posted by: tybur6 at April 14, 2009 2:45 PM

I used to live on that block, and to me it's an OK location, nothing more.

And before people start in about all the wonderful stores on 5th Avenue, if goin' shawpin is really such a central part of your existence, why not move to Paramus? They even have a Fairway there.

At least the 5th Avenue in Manhattan has a nice park across the street.

Posted by: Sparafucile at April 14, 2009 3:02 PM

99 percent of the shops along 5th avenue in ps are utterly useless crap that no one wants that will all be vacant in a year anyway. maybe they can all be turned back into horse stables and ostrich coops.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 3:09 PM

I think people are dramatically over exaggerating the number of boutiques on fifth. The vast majority of the storefronts are standard things like banks, drug stores, supermarkets, groceries, restaurants, bars, etc.

That's why it's more interesting to me than fifth in Manhattan, which has a lovely park and ... nothing else, above 59th st. anyway (and 5th below 59th isn't all that popular, from an old-money standpoint).

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 14, 2009 3:15 PM

5th (in Brooklyn) isn't about shopping to me. It's more about the strip where the neighborhood comes together to walk, to eat, to drink and to do their errands. It's where I bump into friends and see kids playing at the playground on 1st. It's about seeing my 90 year old neighbor sitting outside with her granddaughter drinking a cappuccino at AOC Bistro or seeing the firemen outside KeyFood. It's one of the hearts of the neighborhood and that's what makes it special.

The shopping is simply icing on the cake.

P.S. I lived on 5th Avenue in 2000 when I first moved here (from one 5th to the other) and it was not wonderful as saminthehood says. It was quite seedy.

Another reason why I find it so fun now. It's come such a long way, even in the short amount of time I've lived here. Seeing such dramatic and dynamic changes is a large part of what NYC is about to me, and I find it fascinating.

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 3:22 PM

I agree. I visited when my aunt died (only real connection to BK at the time) and it was seedy back in 2001). It is now my favoite area in the city. I can't say I was excited when that Chase came to Lincoln and 5, but eh, better than a baby clothing store. I love the people I see there. Sidenote: is it me or are Park Slope men way too attractive in many cases for their wives.

Posted by: LincolnSlope at April 14, 2009 3:45 PM

"Sidenote: is it me or are Park Slope men way too attractive in many cases for their wives."

I'd say I agree with that. I see a ton of really hot dads, and don't even notice the wives.

But that might be because I'm gay.

;-)

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 3:57 PM

that is an interesting comment lincoln. i dont know if i necessarily notice that in general tho. i will say that park slope women wear too much brown and beige tho.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 4:12 PM

I think my wife is a pretty cute park slope chick ...

But I might be a bit biased.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 14, 2009 4:16 PM

Oh, don't get me wrong. There are beautiful women in Park Slope (and I am gay...but I can tell ;)) However, I have seen some women--mean-looking and ugly with grimaces so it can't be personality--with hot dads. Strange PSlope thing I guess.

Posted by: LincolnSlope at April 14, 2009 4:26 PM

Jeez...so many gays on this website.

;-)

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 4:38 PM

i will however note that a lot of park slope dads just come across as super gay. not in like a richard simmons type of way, just like, eh i dont know gayish like they're all whipped or something. but it aint none of my business to question what goes on in peoples bedrooms.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 14, 2009 5:12 PM

Women rule the world, Rob.

Most guys are whipped.

Posted by: 11217 at April 14, 2009 5:27 PM

you gay boys are so without a clue when it comes to women.

But let me tell you about the widget. It is rigged. While it lets people input ridiculously high numbers it censors even slightly low numbers.
Now that's pretty sleazy.

Posted by: sam at April 14, 2009 6:41 PM

> "you gay boys are so without a clue when it comes to women"

Au contraire. Straight women tell gay men EVERYTHING.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at April 14, 2009 8:52 PM

>"is it me or are Park Slope men way too attractive in many cases for their wives."

Interesting. It's acceptable and understandable for an attractive woman to be with a less than physically attractive man. Not so much the other way around.

Posted by: Nomi at April 15, 2009 2:07 AM

Totally dull addition to this thread (though yes, i also appreciate hot dads in the 'hood): yes, it's on the 5th floor; yes, it has amazing views; yes, it's "compact" but that seems to work (675 ft2). there's a floorplan on the listing, and the price is now $399K, which will be seen as a bargain in the not-too-distant future. no elevator, though that _was in the first iteration of the 1930s conversion plans. and i've read about the chicken bones in old records: much quieter crew here these days.

it's a self-managed building, which should weed out some folks and attract others. See http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/realestate/30habi.html

(i happen to live across the hall from the apt in question...)

Posted by: eliz at June 11, 2009 10:55 PM

« Last Week's Biggest Sales House of the Day: 146 Halsey Street »

April 14, 2009

Co-op of the Day: 670 Park Slope

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