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October 5, 2009

280 Hicks Up For Auction

280-Hicks-100509.jpg
As Curbed reported last week, the rundown but beautiful carriage house at 280 Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights will go up for auction next Tuesday. The house belonged to Alfred Palmer, who also used to own 135 Joralemon Street and was something of a neighborhood character. The starting bid for the 2,875-square-foot house is $2,000,000, which might be a little aggressive considering it's a candidate for a complete gut renovation. (Does anyone know what happens if it fails to sell?) Other properties up for sale that day include a Remsen Street co-op and a couple of Bed Stuy townhouses. GMAP




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:00 AM | Comments (51)
Categories: Brooklyn Heights, Properties

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I was walking by 135 Joralemon once and kept staring at it, wondering how such an old house could still exist and who could possibly live there.

As I gawked a young woman passed me on the sidewalk. she then went up the front steps and entered the house!

Posted by: infinitejester at October 5, 2009 11:08 AM

did I not mention this in OT last week?

Posted by: Petebklyn at October 5, 2009 11:11 AM

imagine the poverty the old guy claimed to not be able to fix up the white house. And if doesn't sell at auction then I inherit it. I might split it with jester.

Posted by: Petebklyn at October 5, 2009 11:12 AM

such a fun looking house. who wants to be the person who wins the auction is NOT fun.? c'mon, any takers?


*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 5, 2009 11:15 AM

I love this place. Used to walk by there all the time when I lived in the area. Some people might not like living next to an active firehouse but that would be a plus in my book. They get to know the neighbors and become part of the local street community.

So wish I had the money to buy this place.

Posted by: bxgrl2 at October 5, 2009 11:25 AM

I don't believe the house pictured is Palmer's house.
It is one of the larger carriage house to the left of this picture.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at October 5, 2009 11:31 AM

According to the Curbed.com photo the house in question is actually 2 houses down from the Fire house
http://curbed.com/tags/280-hicks-street

Posted by: christopher at October 5, 2009 11:35 AM

I was only interested in this place if it came with the 1976 Mercury station wagon they hauled away the other day.

Posted by: altervoce at October 5, 2009 11:38 AM

Ha! altervoce, nicely put.

Posted by: infinitejester at October 5, 2009 11:43 AM

That's it! Now you have the right house.
When the old man lived there he filled the house with cans and pails of flammable substances -from motor oil to lacquer to oil paint. A miracle the house survived him.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at October 5, 2009 11:49 AM

say what you will about brooklyn heights, we've always had our share of the most colorful negligent property owners.

also, $2mm is too high for this place

Posted by: Ringo at October 5, 2009 11:49 AM

"say what you will about brooklyn heights, we've always had our share of the most colorful negligent property owners."

-so true! I think that it may be due to generations of inbreeding among the old brooklyn families. Many of the old property-owning families in and around Brooklyn Heights were totally off their rockers. Ever see the movie "Arsenic and Old Lace"? I think that captured it. Cary Grant is saved at the end with the knowledge he was actally adopted by the family. A great old film.
Of course there is also the possibility of lead poisoning. Palmer's father was a house painter.


Posted by: Minard Lafever at October 5, 2009 12:04 PM

- (Does anyone know what happens if it fails to sell?)

Hipsters will move in and pitch tents in the garage.


Love a carriage house. There's nothing sweeter than a legal and period appropriate curb cut.

Posted by: brownjokester at October 5, 2009 12:12 PM

He owned that beautiful old wooden house at 135 Joralemon?
What was the deal with that house?

A few years ago (3 years?), it was abandoned and boarded up.
It looked like there had been a fire but no one was fixing it up for quite a while.

There's an old photo of that house in a photo book by Berenice Abbott (the book used to be called Changing New York, but now it has a different title). The photo is probably from the 1930's. The funny thing is, in that old photo, the house looks very run-down, and there is a "for sale" sign on it. Other than that, it looks exactly the same as it does now. I wish I had bought it then!

Posted by: Pigeon at October 5, 2009 12:12 PM

I agree with Ringo that 2M is too much, but that house is so incredibly charming - and in such a great location - that I wouldn't be surprised if it goes for substantially more.

Posted by: Pigeon at October 5, 2009 12:17 PM

I realize I'm veering off topic, but, yes, bxgrl, living next to the firehouse is a plus because the firefighters are hot, and, yes, Minard, "Arsenic & Old Lace" is a classic.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at October 5, 2009 12:17 PM

You say carriage house, I say 19th century illegal curb cut.

Posted by: Joe from Brooklyn at October 5, 2009 12:19 PM

I think it is time for a remake of Arsenic and Old Lace. My favorite role is cousin Teddy who is digging the Panama Canal in the basement. I could see Rob in that role.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at October 5, 2009 12:24 PM

ROFL, Minard! We did the play in high school, and Teddy was the best role, although Mortimer, played straight as Cary Grant did in the movie, is also a great part.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at October 5, 2009 12:27 PM

One of my all time favorite movies!

Posted by: bxgrl2 at October 5, 2009 12:35 PM

Arsenic and Old Lace was set in Brooklyn. Although not sure what nabe.
Great great movie.

Posted by: brownjokester at October 5, 2009 12:38 PM

I think the setting for arsenic and old lace was supposed to be Brooklyn Heights. The old ladies' house was near the Brooklyn Bridge, although it looked more like the Lefferts House in Prospect Park. The movie ends with the house being demolished for a Scarano-designed condo tower.


Posted by: Minard Lafever at October 5, 2009 12:48 PM

Yes- it was Bklyn Heights. did they ever find Teddy Roosevelt ;)

Posted by: bxgrl2 at October 5, 2009 12:54 PM

- I think it is time for a remake of Arsenic and Old Lace.

The remake would involve keeping the body in a window seat blocking of the Fedder.

Posted by: brownjokester at October 5, 2009 1:01 PM

I so love when you feature one of those strange neglected houses that I have wondered about for years. I would not be surprised if they get 2 million. This is just the kind of building rich folks go for, and they would probably want to gut anyway.

Posted by: Carol Gardens at October 5, 2009 1:04 PM

The Heights Players occasionally does a revival of the play.

Posted by: infinitejester at October 5, 2009 1:04 PM

The house (like the Patty Duke Show) was on far too much land for it to really be in Brooklyn Heights. (bxgrl2, a woman after my own heart, but I'm already coupled with bxgrl)

Posted by: CarrollGardened at October 5, 2009 1:06 PM

- (bxgrl2, a woman after my own heart, but I'm already coupled with bxgrl)

If you were Muslim, you could be coupled with 'bxgrl' and 'bxgrl2' and 'bxgrl3' and 'brgrl4'

Posted by: brownjokester at October 5, 2009 1:10 PM

Perhaps the fact I'm a straight male is prompting me to disagree, but I think living next to a firehouse in New York would be an absolute nightmare. How many times a day / night do trucks leave with sirens blaring? Must be at least 4 or 5 times, based on what I hear, living in the nabe.

Posted by: Biff Champion at October 5, 2009 1:14 PM

Biff, just to be clear, I wouldn't want to live next to the firehouse, only the firemen.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at October 5, 2009 1:18 PM

Just to be clear, I wouldn't want to live next to firemen. I'd want to live with them.
They are Sizzling!

- How many times a day / night do trucks leave with sirens blaring? Must be at least 4 or 5 times, based on what I hear, living in the nabe.

That many? Brooklyn Heights must be a HOT neighborhood. It's on fiya!

Posted by: brownjokester at October 5, 2009 1:22 PM

Either way, there would be loud noises!

Posted by: infinitejester at October 5, 2009 1:23 PM

Either way, there would be loud noises!

Posted by: infinitejester at October 5, 2009 1:30 PM

My first double post! SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: infinitejester at October 5, 2009 1:31 PM

brownjokester, that's funny! Seems the stations must cover some of downtown and also support surrounding nabes like DUMBO, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, etc. The trucks are definitely very active. The firefighters themselves are extremely friendly, by the way. Often they'll park on the side of the road around Henry and Montague and chat with folks and even let kids come aboard and sit in the driver's seat.

Posted by: Biff Champion at October 5, 2009 1:32 PM

Jester, welcome to the club. You have lots of company, including me.

Posted by: Biff Champion at October 5, 2009 1:33 PM

That is one of the handsomest fire houses in Brooklyn. No comment about the occupants. Biff, every front-facing window in the city hears fire trucks when they are on call. You don't need to be near the fire house to hear the siren. In fact, coming in and out of the fire house they are silent. Usually one of the firemen steps out on the street, stops traffic, as they pull in our out. The siren starts when they're actually moving.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at October 5, 2009 1:34 PM

- The firefighters themselves are extremely friendly, by the way.

Friendly, you say.
What's the nearest train?

Posted by: brownjokester at October 5, 2009 1:36 PM

- In fact, coming in and out of the fire house they are silent. Usually one of the firemen steps out on the street, stops traffic, as they pull in our out. The siren starts when they're actually moving.

Can you all please stop this talk. It's getting kinda HOT in here!

Posted by: brownjokester at October 5, 2009 1:38 PM

jokester and jester, both put much better than I.

Biff, not touching the double entendre in your post, but I will say that I think it's funny when they park their hook & ladder on Atlantic or Court and then go grocery shopping.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at October 5, 2009 1:38 PM

"Biff, every front-facing window in the city hears fire trucks when they are on call. You don't need to be near the fire house to hear the siren."

Minard, I've lived in New York long enough to know this. But there is still a difference in volume between living right next to, or even on the same street for that matter, as a firehouse versus living on a street that is not typically part of their route.

Posted by: Biff Champion at October 5, 2009 1:45 PM

Oh, noise? You mean the "BEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."

Posted by: infinitejester at October 5, 2009 1:55 PM

Jester, yes, that would be it.

Posted by: Biff Champion at October 5, 2009 2:04 PM

We did the play in high school too. I was the old lady. (Was there only one?) Aunt Jenny, possibly?

Posted by: mopar at October 5, 2009 2:16 PM

There were two aunts, mopar, but their names escape me.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at October 5, 2009 2:23 PM

yes, one of the aunts cooked and the other one made the "elderberry wine".

Posted by: Minard Lafever at October 5, 2009 2:34 PM

By the looks of the picture, the owner will need to police the curb cut a little better. If some joker parks equally close on the right side as the jeep is on the left, you'd be lucky to fit a mini into that driveway. Yellow paint be damned!

Posted by: NorthHeights at October 5, 2009 4:29 PM

my guess is that this will go for over two million. It is a sweet carriage house in a great location. The parking in Brooklyn Heights alone is worth about a million dollars.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at October 5, 2009 5:01 PM

Honestly, this could be the last unrenovated carriage house in the entire city, or at least BH. So that's gotta count for something. I say this goes for auction minimum, plus some.

Posted by: Bolder at October 5, 2009 8:15 PM

Re: "Minard Lafever at October 5, 2009 12:04 PM"

You are a kick, Minard! Thanks for your informative posts.

Posted by: prezanon at October 5, 2009 8:45 PM

Alfred Palmer was a very interesting man. He was born and lived his entire life in the Heights. He had a group of dedicated, wonderful friends who loved his company and were very much upset by his dying on May 11, 2008.

He lived an exciting, full life and did just what he pleased and was not bothered by all the silly rumors about his houses. The Heights would be a better place with more Alfred E. Palmers.

Posted by: woolyworm at October 6, 2009 11:09 AM

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