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September 21, 2009
House of the Day: 135 Lafayette Avenue
This five-story, 5,810-square-foot townhouse at 135 Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene hit the market a couple of weeks ago with a price tag of $2,875,000, unusually expensive for house not on a park block. The house has been updated in a tasteful way and looks particularly spacious in the new Corcoran full-screen photo viewer. On the downside, it's right next door to a less-than-scenic deli and doesn't have much of a backyard to speak of. Reactions?
135 Lafayette Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
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Not one single original detail to speak of. No way, no how, and NEVER at this price.
Blech!
Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 21, 2009 1:20 PM
Just what I want....Pay $2.875MM for a beautiful house and have 3, 6, 9 people traipsing up and down the stairs as tenants living above me. NOT.
I do like the TWO ensuite baths on the garden level though.
shilly is going to have a conniption fit with that kitchen thouh.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 21, 2009 1:20 PM
Not to mention what THL said. The facade is beautiful though. Too bad for the inside.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 21, 2009 1:22 PM
Can't see why this house would even approach remotely the asking price. Just makes no sense. Maybe they think the fact that its four units makes it a good investment.
Posted by: wasder at September 21, 2009 1:25 PM
"The facade is beautiful though. Too bad for the inside."
The curtain doesn't match the carpet.
Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 21, 2009 1:26 PM
I have to say that's a pretty nice set-up a really decent 2 BR apt plus the carriage house -- and 3 rentals can really cover a lot of mortgage. (If you can handle living with that many other people around you.)
Personally I don't mind the lack of "original detail." You assume that there was anything left to preserve.
And as long as the deli deos not have a rat problem, the lack of chi-chi-ness is A-OK.
Posted by: Boerumresident at September 21, 2009 1:28 PM
It seems more like an investment property to me. At $2.875MM though you'd have to bring in over $14,000 to get a 6% gross yield.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 21, 2009 1:28 PM
AND, it looks to have engineered flooring throughout. Like walking on plastic. Oh, I forgot, that stuff IS plastic.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 21, 2009 1:30 PM
I have to say... (1) it's not worth even *close* to that amount... but (2) I would probably have wet spot in my short of someone said I could live there.
Posted by: tybur6 at September 21, 2009 1:41 PM
Assuming you could haul in $5,000 a month from the rentals, you could live in the duplex for around $8750 a month net.
Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. This thing needs to be close to $2m for the numbers to make sense.
Posted by: Brokedeveloper at September 21, 2009 1:47 PM
I never thoughtI would see "tasteful" applied to a home with recessed lighting on Brownstoner!
Posted by: BH76 at September 21, 2009 1:49 PM
The thing that's interesting is the carriage house...highly unusual and could be perfect for someone wanting a great separate workspace or an in-law suite.
Posted by: tinarina at September 21, 2009 1:51 PM
generally well done and simple, but also not mind blowing, which is what you'd expect at that price. don't like the kitchen at all or the paint on the fireplace wall. the best part about it is the artwork, which i'm sure doesn't come with it.
Posted by: grilledsardine at September 21, 2009 1:54 PM
I think it would be closer to $6000 a month in rental income. Yes, the price needs to come in below $2.5 to really make any sense as a live in option, but that would mean the net cost to the owner would be maybe 4,000 a month or a little more (although there is no tax information on the listing, so that might change a little.)
Why is the washer/dryer in the middle of the basement -- do they have ductwork going to the outside to vent it?
Posted by: Boerumresident at September 21, 2009 1:56 PM
The fat cat (street view) at the bodega is worth 2.875 alone
Posted by: Gross at September 21, 2009 1:58 PM
Boreum - At $2.5m - 20% down mortgage at 6% = $11,900 mortgage payment. Insurance, maintenance and common area electricity for the building is probably another $1000 a month. Subtracting $6000 in rental gets you to $6,900 a month. Don't know where your $4,000 is coming from.
Posted by: Brokedeveloper at September 21, 2009 2:04 PM
who said ask was relevant?
another eg of "it's not."
Posted by: antidope at September 21, 2009 2:07 PM
I knew the guy who originally renovated this place. It was boarded up and sans detail and required a gut job in the late 1980's early 1990's. He had wanted the large number of units to remain so he could fund his renovation.
Posted by: bessie2 at September 21, 2009 2:24 PM
It's been completely remuddled, not worth anything close to ask.
Posted by: Zarathustra at September 21, 2009 2:26 PM
Not to mention, it's open to debate whether or not Forte Green is a good neighborhood to live in. By "good," I mean worth paying millions of dollars, and not having to worry late at night about getting mugged.
Posted by: IronBalls at September 21, 2009 2:32 PM
Yeah, it's kind of a disappointment for the price.
Posted by: hooky at September 21, 2009 2:33 PM
forget the price, but this actually looks like a nice place to live. the rents coming in are terrific.
it's clean and nice. of course i'm probably the only one that thought immediately that it looked great sans the stifling ugly victorian nonsense. really love the fireplace. cool if it works.
Posted by: wine lover at September 21, 2009 2:33 PM
"I knew the guy who originally renovated this place. It was boarded up and sans detail and required a gut job in the late 1980's early 1990's."
It's good to know the details were gone prior to this latest reno. That said, a house without those original details is hardly worth this asking price. It looks like any generic condo once inside.
Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 21, 2009 2:35 PM
Historical detail is overhyped.
Period moldings and fireplaces can always be bought and installed later.
Good bones and location are far more important . . .
Posted by: IronBalls at September 21, 2009 2:37 PM
Glad Bessie said that because it puts a different light on things knowing the building was brought back from being uninhabitable. Not speaking to the price, which is probably high, but I think it's hard to judge the renovation from these pictures.
Posted by: Nomi at September 21, 2009 2:43 PM
Oh, it doesn't look like any generic condo inside. That's unfair.
Posted by: Nomi at September 21, 2009 2:44 PM
"That said, a house without those original details is hardly worth this asking price. It looks like any generic condo once inside."
So are you saying that you don't think that an almost 6,000 sf "condo" is worth 2.8 million in this area of NYC?
Seems like the new looking condos I see sell for a heck of a lot more than that, and they don't have a gorgeous exterior like this.
Posted by: 11217 at September 21, 2009 2:45 PM
Don't you think the broker could have done some homework and find out when this place was actually built. It certainly wasn't 1930. Go get a copy of the old landmarks designation, my guess is 1850s or 1860s like the rest of the surrounding blocks.
I don't know about the price, but those sorts of things bother me in listings...
Posted by: 1842 at September 21, 2009 2:48 PM
"So are you saying that you don't think that an almost 6,000 sf "condo" is worth 2.8 million in this area of NYC?"
You need to remember it's not one continuous 6,000 sf space. It's chopped up into smaller units. So no, not at this price and not in this area. If you buy it you're basically living in a condo building and acting as a landlord. That's not palatable to me in the least.
So nope.
Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 21, 2009 2:53 PM
"Oh, it doesn't look like any generic condo inside. That's unfair."
What's not generic about it? The can lights? The engineered floors? That kitchen?
I'm not trying to be mean but the only wow factor is the facade.
Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 21, 2009 2:57 PM
I actually has a separate two story carriage house in the back as well, and the building is 23 * 45 feet, so it's a ton of space, hence the high asking price. Looks like it is priced just under $500/sq. foot. Not outrageous for the location.
Posted by: 1842 at September 21, 2009 2:57 PM
THe net comes down after tax deduction on the first $1M of the mortgage.
Posted by: Boerumresident at September 21, 2009 3:33 PM
"What's not generic about it? The can lights? The engineered floors? That kitchen?"
Well, you still have the flow and proportions of a large brownstone. The windows are brownstone windows. And I even spy remnants of detail -- the baseboards, the doorway leading out of the kitchen. The floors, if they are engineered (I can't tell) could be of OK quality; they vary. And the kitchen does not look nearly as sterile to me as most of the new condo kitchens.
I'm not saying this is a lovely restoration job -- obviously not. It can't be. Neither is it an attempt at recreating the feel of the original grandeur of this house. I'm just saying it doesn't seem to me nearly as generic as the mind-numbing condo construction we see.
Posted by: Nomi at September 21, 2009 3:39 PM
A small walk-up multiple dwelling for 2.9 million.
How could this make sense financially? As a tax shelter? A place to keep your four wives? I think I'll pass.
Posted by: Minard Lafever at September 21, 2009 3:49 PM
It's hardly a "small walk-up". It's actually a pretty huge house AND has a really huge separate building.
I'm sure this will appeal to someone. The man who renovated this from the SOR it was up through the 80s is an architect...and a nice guy.
Posted by: BrooklynGreene at September 21, 2009 4:05 PM
"....plus the carriage house -- and 3 rentals can really cover a lot of mortgage."
Which of course anyone looking to purchase 3 million dollars of house is looking for, 4 tenants to deal with.
And to live in a non-prime fort greene block.
Hope these wealthy die-hard landlords don't have kids in school, because you're gonna have to shell out another extra 25+K per year each. Cuz Fort Greene's schools are generally unusable.
Oh wait, they're looking at 3 million dollar homes, of course they're private schooling.
Never mind.
Posted by: MoneyForNothing at September 21, 2009 4:37 PM
MoneyForNothing, you're consistently bitter and unpleasant.
At least you're consistent.
Posted by: Nomi at September 21, 2009 5:03 PM
"I'm sure this will appeal to someone. The man who renovated this from the SOR it was up through the 80s is an architect...and a nice guy."
Are you suggesting that the price is right because the guy is nice? I am sorry but this places makes no sense even for half price. Unless a building returns a profit for the person who buys it or the nice guy finds a fool it won't be sold in this market.
The price per sq foot as well as paying to live in it is bubble-reminiscent. Bubble made people believe that no matter the price it would appreciate soon and justify the monthly premium. Those days are long gone. This house should reward financially the buyer who decides to play the landlord.
Posted by: bklplebe at September 21, 2009 5:17 PM
You're right that the person looking at $2.5 million single family houses (or 2 families) is probably going to pass on this.
However, I don't think the person looking to buy this to live in is capable of (or intersted) in buying a 3 million house (or even a 2.3 million dollar house at which this one is is more likely to move). The potential buyer here is someone with a new kid selling a cramped one-plus BR in the East Village or UWS who might (i) view this as a lot more space and better layout and (ii) be able to put down 500K as a down payment (much of it coming from the sale of the apartment in Manhattan). If they can deal with being a LL then he or she could be a lot happier than in a lot of co-op equivalents.
Also, PS 20 and PS 11 are not bad schools (and probably improving now that the principal on at PS 20 is on leave and probably not coming back).
Posted by: Boerumresident at September 21, 2009 5:23 PM
You assume that the person who sells the 1br in UWS or UES has no mortgage. Chances are that if he she bought the last few years he is underwater.
In fact there is no buyer for this at this price point. The only buyers for such buildings are investors. Everyone knows that NY RE will find a bottom if such buildings are attractive to investors. But I will agree that there are always fools although hard to find nowadays (they are underwater).
Posted by: bklplebe at September 21, 2009 5:34 PM
BkPlebe, I never mentioned the niceness of the owner-architect had anything to do with the asking price or think it is a predictor of the eventual sale price...and this house WILL sell...I'd probably bet a dollar on that... ;-)
I live in Fort Greene and I wouldn't think this is *not* prime Fort Greene, MoneyForNothing. What are you talking about? It's "prime"...hhh...
Everyone, they'll GET an offer. Trust me. There's a lot of exasperation in the air me thinks.
A smaller three-family on South Portland (one of those "4 1/2 houses" where the front dormer is not really visible from the street--the fifth floor has a very low ceiling in the front but is normal in the rear) sold for much more than this house's ask.
So go figure. Considering the size, I wouldn't be surprised they get well over 2...sure not 3 million...but a regular 4-storey house across the street from this one sold just shy of 2 million this past year. You Kids, do the online research...I'm not sure how to...but I'm pretty sure Corcoran sold one for nearly 2 million.
Anyway, no one seemed to mention that this big house can give the new owners lots and lots of space to take over. No one says you have to have tenants you know. I know all about *that*.
The corner store next to this house has *got* to become something more lucrative at some point. I believe the store-owners own the whole building so when they finally make up their minds to get acrackin', I'm sure that building (which has another ground floor business space on the Cumberland side) can be turned into a money machine. I'm kind of surprised they didn't bother to do anything apparent with that building during the last years. It has a huge sidewalk area that I'm sure can legally be used as an outdoor cafe area like Mullane's.
To the other side of today's House of the Day, is a very, very well managed coop. Those apartments are nice and always sell well when they happen to come on the market. Very desirable. Plus, between the above house and coop buildings (former brick rowhouses) being set far back, there's a gracious street appeal. One other thing, the coop has a large, large combined backyard which makes for a big green space right next to this house's backyard.
Across the street, newsflash, the Nigerian restaurant looks like it is soon opening (curtains, window decorations, signage). Jeff/Jonathan, no entry on this development?
In terms of safety and covenience, you're really close to the trains (and Fulton shopping) but also just a block from the park and farmers' market, a couple blocks down from the world-famous ;-) Brooklyn Flea...and people truck back and forth on Lafayette all hours now. It seems pretty darn safe since it's a pedestrian thoroughfare.
Sure, I wouldn't mind living in a park-facing brownstone but I wouldn't want to have to walk the extra long block(s) or two at night after taking the subway...but this never happens with me so what am I talking about? ;-)
Okay, I'll shut up already...
Posted by: BrooklynGreene at September 21, 2009 6:20 PM
The nice guy bought the house for $180K + $300K reno (this reno is rather old by now) in 1995.
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/27/realestate/habitats-135-lafayette-avenue-architect-renovates-a-home-for-himself-in-brooklyn.html
THIS was a good investment purchase so prospective buyers take note.
Posted by: bklplebe at September 21, 2009 6:34 PM
This building was built as a large house but now it is a small walk-up tenement. In order for it to be profitable rents for each apartment needs to be about $3,000 each. This is impossible in this rough location. I know I know edgy Fort Greene is absolutely hot, but maybe not that hot. This is an abusively high price for a subdivided house that most Americans would think is sub-par. ridiculous. To me it points out yet again the extremely low expectations and low quality of expensive housing for the middle class in Brooklyn.
Posted by: Minard Lafever at September 21, 2009 6:46 PM
MoneyForNothing, you're consistently bitter and unpleasant.
At least you're consistent.
Posted by: Nomi at September 21, 2009 5:03 PM
-----------------
Just calling em like I see em, Nomi.
I didn't come here to make nice chit chat.
Couples making $300+K a year with no debt and six-figure savings are effectively priced out of much of this market until it retracts (and it will). That's my profile, and yeah that makes me bitter. I suspect I'm not alone.
Considering the situation was largely engineered by Wall Street's WFMD and the Federal Reserve at our collective expense, I think we all have a lot to be bitter about when it comes to the NYRE market and our economic future in general.
But let's keep talking about the drapes, doesn't matter that the infrastructure is in serious disrepair....
Posted by: MoneyForNothing at September 21, 2009 6:50 PM
"PS 20 and PS 11 are not bad schools (and probably improving now that the principal on at PS 20 is on leave and probably not coming back)."
For most families in the 2.5 million dollar home market I'd say they are.
But you are correct on the Principal at PS 20---assualting a teacher and alienating the entire "gentrified" parent group that wanted to get actively involved in the school seems to be about what it takes to do the trick. Insideschools.org's parent comments made it sound horrendous.
Posted by: MoneyForNothing at September 21, 2009 6:53 PM
To me it points out yet again the extremely low expectations and low quality of expensive housing for the middle class in Brooklyn.
Posted by: Minard Lafever at September 21, 2009 6:46 PM
Now Minard, please. You're just being bitter and unpleasant ;)
Posted by: MoneyForNothing at September 21, 2009 6:55 PM
Money for nothing
actually you are not priced out of this market. Who do you think bought during the bubble?
You can afford those brownstones with your income but you must be a landlord with a negative cash flow compensating with perhaps 50% of your aftertax income thereby becoming poor and fool.
Posted by: bklplebe at September 21, 2009 6:58 PM
Minard you've made a lot sense and you are right this building is overpriced by at least $500K but calling 135 Lafayette "rough" is well misinformed or plain ignorant of city neighborhoods. What is prime Forte Greene if this isn't?
Posted by: pierre de taille at September 21, 2009 7:04 PM
By the way if you refuse to buy an overpriced building you are a bitter renter. If you are selling said overpriced building you are just nice.
Posted by: bklplebe at September 21, 2009 7:05 PM
Uh huh... and? He bought it when it was an SOR which has lots of semi-hidden costs, one of which was requirement it sit empty for years to meet the SOR moratorium guidelines. There's a cost to that. Plus, if I remember, the actually purchase must have been in 1990 what has inflation been over nearly two decades not even considering the run-up in real estate? Plus, he was the architect and was able to save a mint so, if you saw that he spent $300K in the NY Times article, it probably does not include an estimate of what his services would have cost the normal homeowner. As I remember, he did a lot more than a regular architect would so you can add that in as a premium...probably helped him save on the costs of the renovations in many, many ways.
I wish we had some good accountants (I mean *good*) on this blog who could figure all this out: no matter what, I'm sure the purchase price, renovations, lost professional earnings (by the architect concentrating on his own home), legal fees and SOR multi-year empty-house requirement with all inflation worked in would change the picture. Heck, if I wrote what we paid for our house many of you would most probably comment "I almost spit up my latte!"
...Plus, Brooklynplebe, while I'm browbeating you, you probably wouldn't have come to Fort Greene in 1990 unless you were going to school at Brooklyn Tech or stuck at Pratt. Let's just say the neighborhood has changed to "something else"...something with a Smooch, a Madiba, a Habana Outpost, a Green Grasp I and II, a Brooklyn Flea, film crews shooting HBO mini-series, a Connecticut Muffin, a Marquet, a soon-to-be Greenlight Bookstore, a Schwarze Koelner, a farmers' market, and on and on and on: Irondale, 80 Arts, Night of the Cookers, Cakeman Raven, Scopella, Crunch, Rice, Ici, Brooklyn Public House, Kif, Olea...shall I go on?
There are many, many houses/apartments in Manhattan that at the time cost less than $500,000 but would most probably sell for more than this house will eventually sell for. We almost bought a townhouse in Chelsea...and I could kick myself now...but who knew?...and anyway, I would have hated it--but this is just one of many examples.
Look, Park Slope has changed a lot since 1990, okay, but it was already "Park Slope". Fort Greene was either completely under (off?) the radar or completely dismissed (feared?) by many 20 years ago or so when the current ownder bought this SOR townhouse. That's where the premium comes from, that and the fact you have every subway and the LIRR two steps away...or as the real estate ads say: "Steps from Everythng!". Basically with a couple of steps I've ended up on Shelter Island never having sat in a car or taken a subway. That's Fort Greene these days. Sorry for the news.
Phew, this lady's on fire tonight!
Posted by: BrooklynGreene at September 21, 2009 7:10 PM
Kids, the person/people who want to buy this house will set the price, not the niceness of the current owner. Stop being jerky.
Look at it this way, the woodframe yellow and green house on Cumberland which was frankly rather cut up and had an odd layout for the two units sold for nearly $2m. Mr. Ruoff usually closes the deal! Anyway, it got what looks to be a huge top to bottom redo.
Okay, that got started this past year in 2008...but you have to remember, somebody may pay "good money" for this house (huge amount of square footage) and put some serious money into it too...just like many townhouses in the neighborhood that have sold for what-seemed-like a lot of money to begin with ...and yes, post-Lehman. There are a number of renovations going on blocks in and around the house of the day.
Okay, I'll really shut up now.
Goodnight.
Posted by: BrooklynGreene at September 21, 2009 7:17 PM
I don't like this location, I don't think it's safe. that's all. I don't see why I should spend my hard-earned money to live somewhere where I can expect to be mugged and robbed. No thank you.
Posted by: Minard Lafever at September 21, 2009 7:19 PM
So luckily, we'll have one less potential fearful-sourpuss considering buying this house then Minard?
Don't "think" it's safe? Why, are you clairevoyant or do you have access to some crime meta-database? Safe--Schmafe. The door locks.
Look, if we really have to talk about it on *that* level, I'd rather live in this house than down some long side street with heavy trees and a "creepy" walk home at night.
Don't the muggings usually happen on long blocks that are less well lit?
... The bodega's open until 11PM 7days/week and is NOT up to any funny business. There're always people going in and out getting ice cream (or probably more often beer) into the night. Because of this, it's probably a safer corner than most.
Minard, I thought you were more classy and wouldn't play your cards so obviously. Goes to show...
Posted by: BrooklynGreene at September 21, 2009 7:27 PM
And might I add one of my friends was violently mugged in the East 70's walking from Lexington to visit us on Park. It can happen anywhere.
How can you write: "I don't see why I should spend my hard-earned money to live somewhere where I can expect to be mugged and robbed. No thank you."???
That's obnoxious, bordering on something I won't mention, and, well...just gross. Not to mention rude and wrong-headed. Honestly, I guess you should live on Fifth at 79th and wear a Kevlar vest while you're at it. That'll be "safe"...expensive...but safe. I don't want to mention it but violent crimes happen everywhere. Witness the news recently.
Anyway, I've heard of many, many muggings in Park Slope so how bad can Fort Greene be? I find Lafayette to have more people and more activity at night than many streets and avenues in Park Slope.
Fear is often wrapped up in cultural expectations so please drop the "I can expect to get mugged and robbed..." line.
Posted by: BrooklynGreene at September 21, 2009 7:36 PM
Thanks, BrooklynGreene, for bringing some sense to the senseless, ignorant comments on this post.
Posted by: brooklyncurious at September 21, 2009 8:14 PM
@MoneyForNothing: "Couples making $300+K a year with no debt and six-figure savings are effectively priced out of much of this market until it retracts (and it will). That's my profile, and yeah that makes me bitter. I suspect I'm not alone."
You're not alone. I get angry and frustrated too about how expensive housing is in NY. But I support the free market, with all its problems and, yes, inequities. The alternatives, I believe, are worse.
Posted by: Nomi at September 21, 2009 8:55 PM
"But I support the free market, with all its problems and, yes, inequities. The alternatives, I believe, are worse. "
What free market?!? Banks can lend because they were bailout, rates are low because of the fed, market is up because of inflation due to the fed and gov policy. Add to this $8k tax credit and banks delaying foreclosures. Not only you are bailing out boomers' soc sec, medicare and 401ks, you have to buy their overpriced house.
So you are right the alternatives are worse!
Posted by: bklplebe at September 21, 2009 9:17 PM
Nomi,
that you think this is a free market is hysterical on it's surface. Nominee for naive comment of the decade.
I'm fairly confident I could educate you thoroughly about investing, markets, and monetary manipulation.
What we have here is the exact opposite, bought and paid fire by your friendly corporate lobbiest. But keep believing that canard they tiught you in grade school. Markets aren't manuplated here at all. Not at all.
Posted by: MoneyForNothing at September 21, 2009 9:38 PM
I love that everyone assumes a buyer would put down 20 pct. and get a mortgage for the remainder.
I just think anyone who would seriously consider this place would put down 40 or 50 pct., (and also, assume that this is the bottom of the market) so that the rentals will cover most of the mortgage. Then, when things eventually improve and rents rise, they'll be making money.
I think the real stumbling block right now is where the market's at. It's hard to know if this really is the bottom or a trench...
Posted by: Bolder at September 21, 2009 9:55 PM
Yes, I thought you'd say that, MoneyForNothing. I do not believe that the markets are not manipulated. That's part of what I meant by "problems." I still believe that the principles of a free market play a large role in the price of real estate in NY. I accept that something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. You do not accept that. Some might say that THAT is naive.
Posted by: Nomi at September 22, 2009 12:19 AM
Back to my original point nomi, no one will pay 2.8 million for this home.
I've allways said homes are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Multiple times. So you've just used one of my mantras on this forum as an argument against me.
I guess you missed that because you thought I was being "bitter or unpleasent."
please.
Posted by: MoneyForNothing at September 22, 2009 7:57 AM
Given what was quoted above as the owner's purchase price and the amount that he put into it, I'd say there is A LOT of wiggle room in the price.
I suspect this would be the highest priced building in the neighborhood if it sold close to this price. :(
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 22, 2009 8:30 AM
I lived in this house for two years and the people that lived there with had lived in Fort Greene for nearly 10 years, so feel I should clear a few things up. To minard, this is, like several other people said, a very safe location. Having the bodega next door adds a lot of light at night, its really busy, not dark, and we never had any issues there. The neighboring building is a co-op full of families. Its probably one of the safest blocks in Fort Greene. In 10 years, none of us had ever been mugged. Also, it is not a large house that has been cut up into a small tenement. Not even close. The pictures do not do justice to how enormous this place is. Even the entry way is large. The parlor floor is grand and impressive. There are pocket doors that are like 13 feet tall that separate the living room from the dining/kitchen.
Like others have said, this place was boarded up and had squatters when it was purchased and had to be gutted. But some originals remain. Many, if not all, the banisters were salvagable and he had new rails made to match where there were damages or missing parts. In the entry way there are original pencil drawings (plans for the archways) on the brick from when the house was built, which was in the 1890's I believe. The floors are not engineered or plastic floors. I'm not sure how much of the floors are original but they are the wide plank wood flooring that would have been present in the original.
I can't say as to whether this is a high asking price or not because I can really only afford to rent, but this is a great neighborhood and a gorgeous house.
Posted by: amp at September 22, 2009 11:58 PM
Thank you Amp for sharing this!!! So invaluable coming from someone who lived in the house for so many years!
Posted by: BrooklynGreene at September 23, 2009 3:18 PM
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