June 19, 2009

City Planning Approves Flatbush Rezoning

Three and a half months after certifying the Flatbush Rezoning Plan for the public review process, the City Planning Commission gave its official seal of approval to the ne set of contextual building rules for the 180-block area that encompasses, among others, Caton Park, Beverley Square West and East, Ditmas Park West, and South Midwood. All that's left before this baby becomes law is sign-off from the City Council, which is likely to happen in late July. For details on the rezoning, check out the City Planning website.
CPC approves Flatbush Rezoning Proposal [Flatbush Gardener]
City Planning OK's Flatbush Rezoning Plan for ULURP [Brownstoner]
Flatbush Rezoning in the Works [Brownstoner]

June 12, 2009

Victorian Flatbush House Tour 2009

After almost being cancelled, the annual Victorian Flatbush House Tour is a go on Sunday! In the end, the organizers were able to pull together an impressive list of ten houses. The tour starts at Temple Beth Emeth at 83 Marlborough Road; you can buy tickets in advance here. The houses are open from 1 to 6 pm, which should give you plenty of time to come to opening day at the new Brooklyn Flea underneath the Brooklyn Bridge!

June 2, 2009

Flatbush Rezoning Can't Come Soon Enough

The 60-day ULURP period for the Flatbush Rezoning plan concludes this week with a hearing at City Planning on Wednesday night. Unfortunately the downzoning, which affects approximately 180 blocks and has particular impact on the historic areas of Victorian Flatbush did not come soon enough to save this place at 248 Stratford Road in Ditmas Park, notes the Ditmas Park Blog. We shudder to think what its replacement will look like. McMansion anyone?

May 20, 2009

Foreclosure of the Week: 1316 Beverley Road

This house at 1316 Beverley Road in Victorian Flatbush almost came up for auction back in 2007 and is slated for sale tomorrow. From what we gather, someone started to renovate it ~~back in 2006~~ earlier this decade but ran out of steam mid-way through the project. This patch of Beverley is a little spotty but it's surrounded both to the south and north on Argyle and Rugby by beautiful homes so this could be an interesting play if you can get it anywhere near the lien amount of $409,036. Anymore know anything more about its circumstances or the condition of the interior? GMAP

May 4, 2009

House of the Day: 1816 Glenwood Road

Overall, this house at 1816 Glenwood Road in Fiske Terrace is very nice for all your standard Victorian Flatbush reasons (porch, lawn, charming architecture, etc.) so maybe it's a little nit-picky to say that the renovation feels a touch contractor-y. Thankfully most of the things that rub us the wrong way—like the kitchen floor, the floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace, the faux retro ceiling fixtures—are easily, and inexpensively fixed. (In contrast, the design choices in the bathroom look quite nice.) All that stuff pales in comparison to the original parquet floors and the generous scale of all the rooms so we're sure some buyer will fall in love. Whether they will be willing to write a check for $1,300,000 is another question.
1816 Glenwood Road [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark

April 30, 2009

Victorian Flatbush House Tour in Jeopardy!

The 2009 Victorian Flatbush House Tour is scheduled for June 14 but it might not happen at all if some more home owners don't step up to the plate. According to the Ditmas Park Blog, the FDC needs ten more homes in order for the house tour to take place. Last time around in 2007, the event attracted over 500 people; the tickets, which sell for $20 in advance and $25 day of, are a meaningful source of funding for the Flatbush Development Corporation which organizes the tour. The last date to have your house included is May 8, so hop to it people! It would be a serious bummer if this were cancelled.
Victorian Flatbush House Tour Endangered [Ditmas Park Blog]
Photo by Flatbush Gardener

April 1, 2009

New Retro Lampposts for Victorian Flatbush

Ditmas Park Blog gives a shout-out to the Bishop Crook lights that are popping up all over Victorian Flatbush (as well as Community Board 14, Ditmas Park Association, West Midwood Association and Marty Markowitz for making them happen). Turns out there are 500 of the antique-style lampposts going up all over the 'hood. The only downside: Jack hammer at 7 a.m. To see some originals, check out this coverage on Forgotten NY.

March 24, 2009

Cool Map: Flatbush Landmarks

One of seven documents Community Board 14 has assembled in anticipation of its hearing on the Flatbush Rezoning proposal now working its way through ULURP (and approved recently by City Planning) is a map of all the landmarked structures in the area. We cropped the area most densely populated by historic structures, but you can click here to see the full, large version. The CB14 hearing on the matter is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 2 at PS 249 at Caton Avenue and Marlborough Road.
City Planning OK's Flatbush Rezoning Plan for ULURP [Brownstoner]
Public Hearing Scheduled for April 2nd [CB14]

March 18, 2009

Vox Pop Responds, Plans Town Hall Meeting

Towards the end of Monday's thread about the troubles facing Vox Pop, the cafe and neighborhood gathering place at 1022 Cortelyou Road in Ditmas Park, the woman overseeing the place now responded to a number of aspects of the story. We've cut-and-pasted her lengthy comment below, but one of the things she addresses is the Department of Health fines that are at the root of the cafe's inability to serve food or drinks:

The vision of the founders, four and a half years ago, was of a political coffee shop franchise, it’s goal being to expand rapidly. Last spring, in an effort to expand, the board at that time decided to open a second Vox Pop in the Lower East Side. The second store did not have adequate start-up cash and dragged Vox Pop #1 on Cortelyou Rd., deep into the red over the past year. The decision was made to close the second Vox Pop location. One of the debts that was left unpaid was to the Department of Health, which refused to renew our permit and closed us down almost a month ago. Since then, the old Board of Directors and the Officers of the Corporation have all resigned.

In a second comment, she goes on to describe what management has done to remedy the DOH complaints. Read on.

Vox Pop Teeters On The Edge [Brownstoner]
A Cortelyou Cafe Struggles to Stay Afloat [NY Times]
Photo by Rob Hoey

Continue reading "Vox Pop Responds, Plans Town Hall Meeting"

March 16, 2009

Vox Pop Teeters On The Edge

"Finally, a local hang out for the likes of me" is the caption accompanying this photograph on Flickr, encapsulating the excitement a lot of people in the Ditmas area felt when Sander Hicks and Holley Anderson opened Vox Pop at 1022 Cortelyou Road in 2004. The cafe's arc has mirrored the real estate market at large, thriving for several years until falling on hard times recently. The popular neighborhood gathering spot is three months behind on its rent, the phone is disconnected and it lost its food and beverage license recently because of $29,000 in unpaid fines to the health department. “We’re in trouble," says Debi Ryan, the person brought in to try to straighten out Vox's problems.
A Cortelyou Cafe Struggles to Stay Afloat [NY Times]
Photo by CocteauBoy

March 4, 2009

City Planning OK's Flatbush Rezoning Plan for ULURP

The New York City Planning Commission certified the Flatbush Rezoning Proposal on Monday, ushering in the 60-day public review period at the beginning of the ULURP process. The rezoning covers approximately 180 blocks between and paves the way for a more contextual development and preservation of existing detached and row houses. “Flatbush is one of the city’s most architecturally diverse and breathtakingly beautiful residential neighborhoods," said Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden. “Mayor Bloomberg’s strategy to protect the city’s lower-density neighborhoods while providing opportunities for new and affordable housing is exemplified by this comprehensive proposal." For all the gorey details about boundaries, height limits and contextual zoning districts, check out the press release. The neighborhoods most affected by the proposed rezoning, notes Flatbush Gardener, are Caton Park, Beverley Square West and East, Ditmas Park West, and South Midwood.
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal Certified [Flatbush Gardener]
Flatbush Rezoning in the Works [Brownstoner]

February 18, 2009

1304 Glenwood Road Sells 20% Below Original Ask

Eight months, two brokers and one price cut after it was first listed last May for $1,275, the charming, slightly-ramshackle Victorian house at 1304 Glenwood Road in Ditmas Park closed at the end of last month for a mansion-tax-avoiding price of $999,000. Elliman had the listing first, then it was off the market, then it came back on with Fillmore again in November. The buyers were a couple from Sunset Park. GMAP

Cortelyou Road the New Smith Street?

Marty didn't just talk about juggling tenants in Downtown Brooklyn in his State of the Borough speech last week. As noted by the Ditmas Park Blog, the Beep also called attention to the thriving restaurant scene on Cortelyou Road: "[Gary and Allison Jonas'] Farm-on-Adderly, Pomme de Terre, and Sycamore have turned the Cortelyou road area into the new Smith Street," he said. A commenter points out that Picket Fence actually opened first.

January 16, 2009

Victorian Flatbush in White

Longtime reader and Prospect Park South resident Nelson Ryland was nice enough to send in some photos of his neighborhood during yesterday's snow. Lovely!

January 12, 2009

A Couple of Sales

PROSPECT PARK SOUTH $1,260,000
169 Stratford Road
103-year-old center-hall colonial; front porch, quartz counters, commercial-grade appliances, family room, den, pocket doors, deck, 50-by-100-foot lot; taxes $4,512; listed at $1,260,000. Broker: Mary Kay Gallagher. Listing here; OHP here.

PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS $710,000
325 Fenimore Street
Three-family brick house, 3,240 square feet, with two-bedroom, two-bath unit under two three-bedroom, two-bath units with balconies; home features garden and parking. Taxes $3,000. Asking price $749,000, on market one week. Broker: Rodolfo Lucchese, The Corcoran Group.
Residential Sales Around the Region [NY Times] GMAP
Just Sold! [NY Post] GMAP

December 11, 2008

A Sale for Victorian Flatbush

Here's one that won't make our weekly Top 5 Sales post but should nonetheless be of interest: After originally being listed last April for $1,375,000, the five-bedroom Victorian house at 335 Rugby Road in Beverley Square West closed on December 1 for $1,187,000. Total haircut? 13.6 percent. You can see the former listing here.

December 2, 2008

House of the Day: 277 Stratford Road

Awkward! The competitive juices must be starting to flow in one section of Ditmas Park. On the heels of last Wednesday's House of the Day at 271 Stratford Road hitting the market for $1,125,000, the next-door neighbor at 277 Stratford Road just made its debut last week. Located on a corner lot and in better shape, Number 277 clearly is the more attractive of the two, but, at $1,479,000, it's also priced a good deal higher, so it'll be interesting to see which goes first. Which do you think is the better deal?

277 Stratford Road [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
House of the Day: 271 Stratford Road [Brownstoner]

November 26, 2008

House of the Day: 271 Stratford Road

The owners of 271 Stratford Road in Beverley Square West paid $985,000 for this three-story house just a year ago. It sounds like they may have performed some renovations in the meantime. To our eyes, the kitchen and bathrooms don't quite match the lovely details of the first floor, but they're certainly passable. Renovations or not, the question remains whether this place will really be able to fetch the current asking price of $1,125,000 in this market. Seems aggressive, but you never know.
271 Stratford Road [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark

November 19, 2008

House of the Day: 225 Marlborough Road

This is a bit of an odd one. This stucco house at 225 Marlborough Road (at the corner of Beverley Road) has been used most recently as an office space—and the interior is the worse for it. Since it's zoned for professional as well as residential space, the choice can now be yours. For someone who doesn't care about original architectural details, this could indeed be a chance to "transform this to be your dream home," as the listing says. The asking price is $1,080,000. What do the Victorian Flatbushers out there think of that?
225 Marlborough Road [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark

October 17, 2008

A Couple of House Sales

Here are two sales worth mentioning: The 2,100-square-foot house at 469 Sackett Street closed on September 26 for an mansion-tax-avoiding price of $999,999; the awning was thrown in for free. Over in Victorian Flatbush, the Mary Kay-listed tudor house at 340 Marlborough Road (featured as an Open House Pick in August) closed for $1,190,000 recently after just one week on the market; the asking price had been $1,250,000. Reasons to cheer or data from another era?

October 1, 2008

House of the Day: 352 Argyle Road

We've always had a soft spot for the trio of woodframe houses at the corner of Cortelyou and Argle Roads in Beverley Square West because of their distinctive two-story porches. One of those house, 352 Argyle Road, has been on the market for about six months now, having started with an asking price of $1,200,000. The 3,165-square-foot two-family house is now asking $999,000. There's lot of nice woodwork and a not-so-nice kitchen. What do you think this place will ultimately sell for?
352 Argyle Road [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark

July 31, 2008

House of the Day: 1721 Glenwood Road

The house at 1721 Glenwood Road in Midwood Park changed hands for $1,250,000 in 2005 and just came back on the market this week with a price tag of $1,450,000. This doesn't seem like a crazy increase for an area that's only continued to get more popular in recent years. Overall, the interior of the house looks to be in great shape with well-preserved details; the kitchen is the only room shown that we're not digging. Other considerations: Corner lot, garage, driveway. Like it? Update: Looks like the status of this place went to "contract pending" since we wrote this up yesterday!
1721 Glenwood Road [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark

July 28, 2008

House of the Day: 1216 Albemarle Road (Re-Revisited)

How low can you go? The aborted house at 1216 Albemarle Road in Prospect Park hit the market over a year ago at $1,900,000. Here's what we wrote about it at the time:

The original Victorian house was torn down (a fire maybe?) prior to 1965. The land was then divided into three lots and three architecturallly similar shoe-box type homes were contructed. This house is built on the foundation of one of these houses. For some strange reason, Landmarks insisted that the current design incorporate the brick work and first floor window from the 1965 houses into the new design, so what exists there now has been framed out around that 1965 window.

The asking price was knocked down last October to $1,595,000 and then almost immediately to $1,200,000. Now it's at $990,000. Where does it stop?
1216 Albemarle Road [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark
House of the Day: 1216 Albemarle Road [Brownstoner]
House of the Day: 1216 Albemarle Road (Revisited) [Brownstoner]

June 23, 2008

Christopher Gray Loves Him Some Albemarle Road

There's no news in this one, but Christopher Gray's appreciation of Albemarle Road in yesterday's Times—"Albemarle is one of the grandest residential streets in the whole city, even with some dings and dents"—is a nice excuse to put up a photo set of the incredibly beautiful Victorian Flatbush boulevard. Gray talks about how Albermarle's developer, Dean Alvord, built up the road between 1899 to 1910, giving us three blocks of neo-Classical, Queen Anne and Colonial manses. Flatbush Gardener, who took all the photos above, notes that Albermarle's landscape architect also played a big role in shaping the boulevard's identity, turning it into a lush mall.
Brooklyn’s Stately Esplanade [NY Times] GMAP
Albemarle Road Featured in the Times [Flatbush Gardener]
All photos by Flatbush Gardener.

June 16, 2008

Flatbush Rezoning in the Works

Flatbush Gardener attended last week's preliminary public hearing on the city's plan to rezone a large section of Flatbush. City Planning is undertaking the rezoning, in the main, to preserve the low-rise housing stock that defines a great deal of the neighborhood, particularly in the non-landmarked, Victorian sub-nabes. The city's current study area for the rezoning is, as shown in the map above, humongous, stretching from below the Parade Grounds to Brooklyn College, and bounded on the west by Coney Island Avenue and to the east by Bedford Avenue, Foster Avenue, and 32nd Street. While it's unclear how much of this area the rezoning will actually end up affecting, Flatbush Gardener notes that City Planning seems particularly keen on waving an R4 wand over some unprotected Victorian Flatbush areas. The existing zoning in the study area is a big hodge-podge, including a few sections that allow for the construction of mid-rise buildings; the rezoning is likely to allow for taller buildings on the main commercial drags. The most controversial aspect of the pre-proposal, according to Flatbush Gardener, has to do with the zoning (R4A) the city is looking to push through in Ditmas Park West and South Midwood, which would allow for 50 percent bigger buildings in those areas than current zoning: "It's this large increase in FAR that raises concerns for residents in these two neighborhoods, who are concerned it will open the door for expansion and enlargement of existing homes, or new development, out-of-scale with the existing homes."
Flatbush Rezoning Will Define Future of Victorian Flatbush [Flatbush Gardener]
Flatbush Rezoning Push Not Sitting Well With Some Locals [Brownstoner]
Photos and map from Flatbush Gardener.

Victorian Flatbush