November 4, 2009

Rate It: 513 MacDonough Street Sells for $420,000

This three-story, three-family brick townhouse at 513 MacDonough Street just sold for $420,000. GMAP

October 30, 2009

Report: Foreclosures Hurting Prices in Bed-Stuy

Small multi-family buildings in lower-income neighborhoods of Brooklyn have been particularly hard hit by the housing crisis, according to a new report from TerraCrg Commercial Realty Group. As reported in The Real Deal, 80 percent of foreclosure filings in Brooklyn over the past year were for mortgages under $1 million and 51 percent of non-residential mortgages were for three- to four-unit residential buildings; the article also notes that "the majority of the foreclosures took place in lower-priced neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy and East New York." The result? "A bevy of three- to four-unit residential buildings in Bedford-Stuyvesant can be had for under $300,000." No big surprises here, though the headline tries to put a positive spin on the news: "Discounted Brooklyn brownstones coming to market, but not in prime neighborhoods."
Discounted Brooklyn Brownstones Coming to Market [TRD]

Waterless in Bed Stuy

Yesterday The Brooklyn Ink published a sad story about the plight of the tenants at the small three-story apartment building at 274 Malcom X Boulevard in Bed Stuy. Last winter the 16 residents went without electricity, and last summer they had to do without water for two months. The problem was not a negligent landlord, but a dead one. And a deadbeat family member who wanted to collect rent but not perform any repairs. The building residents didn't realize for months that the landlord had died last year; when they finally figured it out and one of them tried to navigate the bureaucracy involved with getting services restored when you are not the owner, they hit a wall. It took a protest by a local with political aspirations to draw enough attention to the problem for HPD to step in a make basic repairs. Positively Kafkaesque.
Bed-Stuy’s Waterless House [The Brooklyn Ink]

October 26, 2009

Mendel Brach Barred from Condo Business

Good riddance! The Brooklyn developer Mendel Brach (of Finger Building fame) was barred by New York State from selling condos after he was found to have illegally taken advantage a loophole which allowed him to build an outsized building, reports The New York Times. As you may recall, Brach claimed back in 2002 that he was building faculty housing for a local yeshiva at a new development at 191, 195, 197 and 201 Spencer Street in Bed Stuy and received a zoning variance that allowed him to build nine stories instead of five. The only problem was that he turned around and sold all 72 units in the building as condos. While the state's attorney general office, unaware of the variance, initially approved the condo sales, the city ultimately refused to grant a permanent C of O, plunging the buyers into a kind of housing purgatory in which they were unable to sell, rent or refinance their apartments. In addition to the ban (which Brach can apply to have lifted after five years), the developer was ordered to pay a financial settlement to the occupants of $10.9 million.
State Accord Bans Sales of Homes by Developer [NY Times]
Subpoena for Fraudulent Spencer St Developer [Brownstoner]
A Big F-in Mess on Spencer Street [Brownstoner]
Lock Him Up and Throw Away the Key [Brownstoner]
The Bottom Line on Developer Abuses [Brownstoner]
Photo from Property Shark

October 19, 2009

Church Conversion Underway on Bedford Avenue

Remember when the Evangelical Lutheran Church at 1006 Bedford Avenue in Bed Stuy was sold to a developer last year for $4,100,000? At the time, the developer's plans were not public. We'd forgotten about the project until we rode past earlier this week and noticed the DOB permits posted on the front door of the church. Evidently the new owner, with the help of his trusty architect Karl Fischer, applied last year to convert the church to a residential use. To create desired 48 units of housing, they also applied to add on to the existing structure. The permit was granted in June of last year. There's also a sign out front advertising retail space for rent. It's hard to tell from the outside what stage of the project they are at at this point. Anyone know?
Bed-Stuy Church Sold to Developer [Brownstoner] GMAP

October 16, 2009

House Tour Double-Shot This Weekend

Lots of ground to cover this weekend for house-tour lovers...Tomorrow, the 31st Annual Bedford Stuyvesant House Tour runs from 11 am to 4 pm; you can buy tickets in advance from Brownstone Books at 409 Lewis Avenue or pick them up at the kick-off spot at Brooklyn Academy High School at 832 Marcy Avenue. On Sunday, the action shifts to Prospect Heights, where ten homes—including three architects' residences—will be open for viewing. The self-guided tour goes from 12 to 5 p.m., and you can purchase tickets ($20 ahead; $25 same day) at Forest Floor Antiques at 659 Vanderbilt Avenue. For more info., call 718-393-7653 or visit their website.

October 15, 2009

Development Watch: 397 Greene Avenue Five Months Later

All five stories are now up at 397 Greene Avenue (at the corner of Bedford) in Bed Stuy. There's also now a sign up proclaiming that the seven-unit project will be rentals. Hardly a great surprise!
Development Watch: 397 Greene Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark DOB

September 30, 2009

123 Community Space Goes Out with a Bang

123 Community Space, whose name requires no explanation, is being evicted from its current location at 123 Tompkins Avenue in Bed-Stuy. So to go out with a bang, they're hosting an all-night party tonight starting at 9:00 p.m., with live music and a DJ face-off. Their website is currently down, but if it goes back up you can see examples of the kind of work they do—the Bed-Stuy blog says 123 has hosted bike repair workshops, afterschool programs, and benefits for political prisoners. Brooklyn the Borough wrote back in June that landlord Mayer Friedman initiated court proceedings in May to evict 123 simply because he didn't want a community organization in his building. The community has rallied around the org, and many are now expressing hopes that it can reopen nearby—does anyone out there know 123's plans? Are they looking for a new location or is this the final curtain?
Last Hurrah at 123 Tompkins [Bed-Stuy Blog]
123 Community Space Facing Eviction [Brooklyn the Borough]
Photo from Brooklyn the Borough

September 28, 2009

Bed-Stuy, a Harbor in the Tempest?

Just as it did a month ago, The New York Times took a stab at classifying Bedford-Stuyvesant, this time as an exception to the ubiquitous economic tumult. Even though real estate prices are dropping faster in Bed-Stuy than in Park Slope, the article argues, the area is ripe for entrepreneurship: commercial rents are lower, attracting new shops such as Therapy Wine Bar or Creative Blossoms. Some of these new businesses are struggling themselves, but the Times points to some optimistic statistics: a 2008 study showing that locals spend $30 million at bars and restaurants outside of the neighborhood (i.e., there is a demand for local venues) and an NYU professor who claims that since residents of Bed-Stuy aren't as dependent on unstable Wall Street salaries and bonuses as, say, residents of Brooklyn Heights, their spending habits are also more stable. The article does plenty of comparison: Bed-Stuy to Fort Greene, Bed-Stuy to the Upper East Side, Bed-Stuy to Brooklyn Heights. What did you think of it?
Amid a Citywide Slump, a Local Expansion [NY Times]
History, with Hipper Retailing in Bed-Stuy [NY Times]
Photo by Clay Williams

September 24, 2009

House of the Day: 786 Putnam Avenue

This house at 786 Putnam Avenue is a real charmer. Tons of original detail, including some beautiful parquet floors and a killer staircase. The house is also located in just outside Stuyvesant Heights, the longtime-landmarked section of Bed Stuy with one of the most incredible and well-preserved stock of old houses anywhere. The house is only three stories, though, so it'll be interesting to see if it fetches its asking price of $799,000. We bet it'll get pretty close.
786 Putnam Avenue [Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark

September 23, 2009

Development Watch: 808 Myrtle Avenue

A reader who lives nearby sent in these photos of 808 Myrtle Avenue in Bed Stuy. He was wondering if anyone know whether the six-story, 19-unit project (which we'll give some credit to for not skimping on window size) was going to be a rental or condo building? Well? GMAP P*Shark DOB

Subpoena for Fraudulent Spencer St Developer

The courts issued a subpoena last week to developer Mendel Brach, whose residents won a $10.9 million judgment for his fraud and negligence at his four-building, 72-unit development on Spencer Street in Bed-Stuy. Brach had issued plans in 2002 for the buildings to be educational housing facilities, thus taking advantage of a zoning variance to build taller condominiums, The Real Deal reports. Additionally, Brach had failed to obtain a certificate of occupancy, amend his offering plan, and comply with zoning regulations. Without a certificate of occupancy, the residents who bought units at 191, 195, 197, and 201 Spencer Street cannot legally rent, sell, or refinance their homes. "We all closed in 2004 and we've all been paying our mortgages on what is a valueless property," unit owner Sara Monestime told The Real Deal. Brach, through his attorney, stated: "Recently, I consented to judgments on behalf of the attorney general and the unit owners for the buildings. I will continue to do everything in my power to help the attorney general and the unit owners bring the buildings up to the highest standards possible." Brach has said that he cannot afford the needed repairs, however, and the Department of Buildings has charged the homeowners with the responsibility of financing them. GMAP
Brach Hit with Subpoena at Spencer Street [Real Deal]

September 18, 2009

Park(ing) Day on Fulton

We stopped by Fulton Street near Marcy to help Gabe Willow and Eric Adler with their park-for-a-day, an installation they built for Park(ing) Day, an international event of guerrilla parking space reclamation. Eric and Gabe opted to create a miniature park in their space complete with a mountain, pond, native plants, and wildlife (the turtle hadn't arrived yet at the time these photos were taken). The second-most-common question they received: "What's going on here?" The first-most-common question: "How much are you charging for those plants?"

LPC Makes It Official at Alice & Agate Courts

Yesterday LPC head Robert Tierney, Council Member Al Vann and about two dozen people celebrated the designation of the Alice and Agate Courts Historic Districts with a ceremony to unveil two new street signs and an announcement that five residents had won LPC grants totaling $84,000 to help restore their historic, 19th century homes. The grants, which come from the Commission’s Historic Preservation Grant Program and range from $12,000 to $20,000 apiece, are going to be used to repaint, repoint and repair the facades of five homes on both of those streets. Alice and Agate Courts are the 21st historic district designated under Tierney, 12 of which have been outside of Manhattan. Guess how many have been in Brooklyn? Seven. Top notch!
LPC Moves Ahead With Two New Historic Districts [Brownstoner]
Alice & Agate Courts Proposed for LPC Designation [Brownstoner]
LPC to Consider Ocean Avenue Historic District [Brownstoner]
New Bed-Stuy Historic District in the Offing [Brownstoner]

September 16, 2009

Money Starting to Flow to Fulton Street

A double-shot of cash injections announced this week means that things may be looking up for Fulton Street. Next month, the City Council will provide more than a million dollars in funding to two recently-created Business Improvement Districts on Fulton Street stretching from Flatbush to Nostrand Avenue. The Central Fulton Street BID (which will also be known as the FAB Alliance) is getting $400,000 in funding via Council Member Letitia James while the Bed-Stuy Gateway is receiving $675,000 for its first year in operations. Both BIDs are expected to focus on design and other quality-of-life issues like safety, lighting, trees and street furniture. “We want to create an aesthetically sound district,” Bed-Stuy Gateway's chairman, Edmon Braithwaite told Crain's. “With a cleaner shopping district, we will be able to attract merchants and increase business.” The Crain's article also mentions two affordable housing projects being done in partnership between BRP and Goldman Sachs that together should bring 183 units of housing as well as additional retail space to Fulton Street. All good!
Bed-Stuy Biz District to Get an Upgrade [Brownstoner]
Photo by nrvlowdown

September 15, 2009

Streetlevel: New Coffee Shop Coming to Halsey

Last week we looked at a retail space under construction at the corner of Halsey and Nostrand that has yet to find a tenant. A reader emailed us to point out the adjacent space on Halsey does have a tenant, a coffee shop called Dalia's that's scheduled to open in October. Great news! GMAP

September 11, 2009

No Water for Two Months in Bed-Stuy Building

The residents at 274 Malcolm X Boulevard in Bed-Stuy have gone nearly two months without running water, ever since a pipe sprung a leak in July and the city shut it off. The Daily News reports that the city would not turn the water back on until the landlord repairs the pipe, but the landlord, Carl Plata, died last year. Tenants of the eight units now get their water from a hydrant across the street. Connie Peters, 57, told the News: "I'm pulling my hair out. We need water." The Department of Environmental Protection insisted that the water had to be shut off, but the Department of Housing Preservation and Development said it would repair the pipe. According to spokesman Eric Bederman, the agency has hired a contractor and work will begin once it receives a permit. The News also points out that other problems have plagued this particular building: last winter, the electricity was shut off due to illegal wiring. Additionally, a partial vacate order exists for the building due to an illegal conversion of the second and third floors. GMAP P*Shark DOB
No Water for Two Months! [NY Daily News]
Photo by Gregg Snodgrass/PropertyShark

September 9, 2009

Streetlevel: 95 Halsey TBD

We've noticed a flurry of activity at 95 Halsey Street recently, so we stopped in to ask what's the what. The workers renovating this commercial space said that nothing is scheduled to move in yet; the owner is simply improving the space before putting it up for lease. If you're looking to open a business in the area, check it out! GMAP P*Shark DOB

September 8, 2009

Triangle Debate Goes On over Eminent Domain

The city's controversial plan to develop a 31-acre area of Williamsburg known as the Broadway triangle still needs approval from City Council, but if it goes forward, the project will displace at least six businesses via eminent domain and throw others into limbo due to rezoning. The Daily News tells the story of some of these business owners such as Ernie Wong, 33, whose family owns Shanghai Stainless Product & Design Co. on Gerry Street, or Sara Gelb, 52, who started a bus company on Bartlett Street with her husband 25 years ago and has built it up to a fleet of 18. Borough President Marty Markowitz approved the development plan, but stressed the importance of relocating these businesses properly by finding relocation spots before acquiring the property, and funding the businesses generously. These owners are still concerned, however, that they will receive the short end of the stick. Aaron Jacobowitz, 44, told the News that he has established a customer base for his Bartlett Street flower shop, Floral Expression, over 14 years; for him, moving shop would mean starting over. "It's a back-room deal," he said. "We're determined to fight it all the way to the end." The Broadway Triangle project has already received plenty of opposition over political corruption, due to a no-bid process that granted development rights to the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and the Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, which has ties to Democratic Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who has also been accused of several forms of corruption.
Williamsburg Businesses Fear for Eminent Domain [NY Daily News]
Markowitz Endorses Lopez's Triangle Plan [Brownstoner]
The Voice Calls Out Lopez [Brownstoner]
Broadway Triangle into Bermuda Triangle? [Gothamist]
Photo by Scott Bintner/PropertyShark

September 3, 2009

Streetlevel: Bickels Jerk Express

Bickels Jerk Express, at 1118 Fulton near Franklin, opened its doors on Monday. The restaurant serves Caribbean and Italian food and, of course, specializes in jerked meat. Since it just opened, there haven't been many reactions posted yet. Anyone been yet? GMAP

August 24, 2009

House of the Day: 141 Quincy Street

This 1890 house at 141 Quincy Street in Bedford Stuyvesant is a charmer, to be sure. In fact, the renovated kitchen is the only real downer about the two-family (configured as one) house. The porch, plaster moldings, pier mirrors, etc. are all very impressive. As the listing takes pains to point out, the house is also pretty close (a block and a half, actually) to the Clinton Hill border. Given all this, and the fact that you could move right in, the asking price of $795,000 seems pretty reasonable to us. We bet it goes for within 5 percent of that number.
141 Quincy Street [Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark

Bed-Stuy: 'Experiencing a Little Bit of a Depression'?

The New York Times took a look at Bedford-Stuyvesant this weekend as an area once considered one of the roughest in the city, but one with a rich cultural history where you can now smell gentrification in the air, mainly via the fragrance of higher-end retail. More interesting than the article's notes on gentrification is how it touches on current home values in Bed-Stuy: "'We’re actually experiencing a little bit of a depression,' said Tanya Blackwood, owner of Location Location Location, a real estate agency. 'We’re back to where people are undervaluing houses—it’s just bananas.' The neighborhood’s size makes it difficult to narrow down a price range for houses, but livable two-families generally start around $600,000, said Keith Mack of the Corcoran Group. A house in great shape, he said, might fetch $875,000. (Houses in the historic district still command a little more, but there are very few listed.) A perusal of Web sites like PropertyShark.com shows houses trading at or below $600,000. 'I could’ve given you a general price point a year ago,' said Lakeisha Edwards, a broker at Prudential Douglas Elliman. 'But it’s now really property by property; in between those are so many short sales and foreclosures.'" Agree?
History, With Hipper Retailing in Bed-Suy [NY Times]
Photos by nvrlowdown

An Italian's New York Dream

The New York Times ran a profile last Friday about Francesca Basile, a 24-year-old Italian woman moving to New York with dreams of owning a sun-drenched apartment somewhere in the city. It chronicles her first search in Harlem, including the challenges home-buyers—especially international buyers—come up against, but she eventually finds a suitable condo in Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy, at 582 Marcy. The Times piece paints a happy ending, one of a young woman making her New York dream come true (with the help of her father's funding), and we hope that Ms. Basile is happy with her purchase, since she seems to be the only person buying at 582 Marcy, according to StreetEasy. The only other sales activity there this year was back in April, and prices for units have been decreasing. But Ms. Basile seems content with her home, and once the market recovers, who knows? It could turn out to be a sound investment. GMAP
A Long-Distance Romance [NY Times]
582 Marcy Ave., sales history [StreetEasy]

175 Spencer Street in Suspended Animation

Ah, to be an almost-finished development in a not particularly vibrant section of Bedford Stuyvesant at this stage of the game...When we stopped by 175 Spencer Street last week, the dude charged with preventing squatters from taking over told us that the kitchens and bathrooms still needed to be built in the 35-unit building, and it didn't sound like that was happening anytime soon. Meanwhile, its sister building across the street appears to be fully rented, judging from all the dorm-like makeshift curtains hanging in the windows.
Development Watch: 175 Spencer Street [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
Development Watch: Spencer Street Boomtown [Brownstoner] DOB

August 21, 2009

Brick Revealed at Greene Avenue Townhouses

We noticed last week that they've begun to work on the facade of the eight townhouses going up on Greene Avenue between Classon and Franklin and are pleased to report that they've opted for some attractive red brick with a matte finish. Nice!
Development Watch: 315-327 Greene Avenue [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 323 Greene Avenue [Brownstoner]
136 Clifton Place: Karl Does Bed Stuy [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
315 Greene Avenue/136 Clifton Place [Brownstoner] DOB

Bedford Stuyvesant