GENTRIFICATION

I moved out of Park Slope, too, after 20 years of living there (not because of the expense, but for other reasons.)

It was hard. I still miss it. But here's my advice: find what there is to love about your new home. For one, it is cheaper, which is nice. Second, the air is probably cleaner. Third, you probably see more sky. You probably have more space to live in. Everything (parking, finding a home, public transportation, etc.) is less of a hassle. (OK, traffic may be worse, and you have to have a car.) People are probably friendlier. They certainly are more relaxed, seem less stressed. Most people don't work in finance or something related to finance. They don't talk about the price of real estate all the time, except when they meet other New Yorkers. There may be more trees. You probably work less hours. You may be considered more of a catch. I could go on, but you get the picture.

Best thing? You have only good feelings (no negative ones) about Brooklyn now, because you go there as a visitor, and enjoy every minute of being there. Visit frequently. And enjoy your new home. I'm convinced that there is life after Brooklyn!

And, remember that we also had our place in the gentrification of the neighborhood. Change is inevitable - don't fight it, embrace it.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 12:53 AM

When we were looking to buy our first home 17 years ago Park Slope was too gentrified, too "white" (and we're "white") and too expensive for our taste and savings account even then. We bought a $130k 2 BR condo in Prospect Heights (which was then truly 'the other side of the tracks' at the time with crack vials littering the sidewalk some mornings). It took awhile to find a first house we could afford, and paid $250k 10 years ago (a bit under market even then, but now worth many times what we spent). We had been in our apartment a few years and sold it at a modest profit, and also borrowed money from relatives as "bridge loans" between closings and while we renovated the new places, money we paid back as soon as we finished renovating and refinanced. That's how you do it -- you find a place to live that you like that is 'up and coming,' and like the previous poster said, you invest in it. Now we are equity-rich (if still not cash-rich). We both earn modest salaries which have not kept pace with the rise of expenses in our lives, but have been able to tap the equity to invest further.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 7:54 AM

Park Slope was white. Then there was white flight. Now it's white again. Something about that area, so flat and homogenous architecturally that attracts a kind of sheep (white sheep). It's mostly people who want to be around their own kind. Hence homogeneity.

What I'm wondering about, as a Fort Greene resident, is why don't all those rich black New Yorkers (I'm in the arts, so I know plenty of them) move to Ft Greene, where it's still diverse and cool, instead of buying up condos in Tribeca and Upper East where everyone's a white wasp or jew or just yuppie?

Probably same reason many young white people are preferring fort Greene over Park Slope. They just can't stand looking at their own kind day in day out.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 8:15 AM

I moved to Park slope 5 years ago after I graduated college and got a job as an accountant with a mid-sized firm. I paid $1100 in rent and subsequently got married and bought a 3br apartment in park slope south just last year. I love the neighborhood and easy access to trasportation, stores restaurants etc.

My wife an I both work and have a experience great income growth over the last 5 years.

It wasnt that hard, but we are both professionals and work hard to advance our careers.
No Family money/trust funds, etc. Just lots of saving, planning and investing.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 8:20 AM

Everyone seems to equate "White" with some kind of defacto gentrification taking neighborhoods over from minorities.

I know this may sound racist, but white people do make up 2/3 of the US Population and Brooklyn is almost 50% White. They have to live somewhere, and it jsut so happens that Majority White neighborhoods do have lower crime statistics than in minority neighborhoods. I wont speculate as to why that is, but it just is and if that is gentrification-so be it.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 8:25 AM

dssguy, its not that hard to save as you think. All it take is a little planning adn spending restraint.

MY wife and I make a combine $150-175K, both working in professional fields and under 30.

We lived well BELOW our means for years while we saved and invested. It took us only 4 years to save $200K+ and we found a place that works for our income and downpayment.

I think most people our age in NYC spend their money as soon as they get it and have no concept of saving and investing. Its a shame but also provides fuel for our economy so I guess it is not all bad.

Many people here adopt a live for today attitude and thats fine, but when they complain they have no money, or are priced out of a market, I have no sympathy.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 8:36 AM

This is a bogus post. Meant to generate a billion comments.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 10:53 AM

Park Slope is the best place I've ever lived.

To be young, single, gay, work in the arts, there is no better place.

I hope to live here for a long, long time.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 11:34 AM

I moved to Brooklyn (after grad school in DC) because I hate Manhattan and here is where the jobs are. There is a sense of community (block parties, saying hello!) in my neighborhood I can't imagine finding in Manhattan. Plus, my family lives in the 'burbs and it's nice to be close, but not too close. And I hate cars. Driving makes me nervous and in Brooklyn, specifically Park Slope with almost 10 major subway lines and several convenient bus routes I'll never have to buy a car. We own an apartment in a brownstone coop and make under 100K combined. Prices were much different 5 years ago. So I guess technically we're gentrifiers, but poorer than average.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 11:44 AM

really interesting article, 11:42.

spread that around more.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 12:11 PM

This dssguy bugs me far more than the What.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 12:20 PM

I don't like the way you act and live, dssguy99.

At all.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 12:31 PM

dssguy99, where do you leave now?
I'll like you to "say hello to my little friend"

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 12:32 PM

12:53 A.M. here - to the OP again (why let dssguy hijack the thread) - the answers do indicate that people buying now either (1) bought something early on and gained equity - like many, I'd be rich if I'd thought to try to buy in the slope when I moved there in my early 20's in the early 1980's, but I figured I'd be moving on to go to graduate school and wasn't thinking about NY long term yet - I did go away, but because the jobs are in NYC, I graduated and came right back; (2) many do have family help (yes, inherited money is family money, so is renting cheap from a relative or borrowing from relatives - we don't all have relatives so rich or so generous); and (3) they do work jobs paying a lot of money (even though it may not seem like a lot to them, it is more than many people earn.)

I did buy a nice place eventually - but I was working myself far too hard in a job I didn't like to do it. When I moved away for reasons unrelated to real estate prices, I freed up a lot of equity. But I also long ago realized that had I NOT stayed in NYC so long, I'd likely be better off today. The much higher cost of rents and real estate here are not offset by the only slightly higher wages most of us earn here.

Yes, Brooklyn or NYC living is nice, but you do it at a cost. If you moved because of the expense, it is clear that you didn't feel like paying the price. Accept that - it's OK. People make different choices. If you really miss it, move back, but be willing to do something to boost your income, or live in a small space in a still-gentrifying area - that can be done still. Jersey City is a lot like Park Slope was 25 years ago.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 12:52 PM

You need an education that I fear you will never get if you have lived in NYC as long as you have and still talk like you do. I think you can't help but be a jerk. So, yeah, people will still tell you to shut up if you post - whether you do it under your handle or as a guest - it is still annoying.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 12:54 PM

Spike Lee moving to UES forced Spitzer to prostitutes.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 1:06 PM

[1] "PS and most of Brooklyn (but not all) were originally white."

Nope- Lenape/Arawak. Then after the Dutch founded NA, very multi-ethnic. (Maybe most in the world...)

[2] "How can so many folks out there afford million dollar condos and homes? Is it family money, money made on the stock market, or is everyone moving to the Slope a partner in a blue-chip law firm?"
Here's some math: 200K on 1.0M = 20%
800K 30y fixed @ 7% = around $5,300/mo before tax break (around 4K/month after)

That is pretty affordable for a couple making about 70K/year each, which is salary for a cop, firefighter, teacher, nurse, etc. who has been at it for awhile.

That down payment can be rough, but if you save up for 5, 7, or 10 years and you're fortunate, it can be done.

Good luck wherever you live!!

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 1:07 PM

To the OP:

You are aware that there were people in Park Slope well before you moved into the neighborhood, right? And maybe they felt the same way about you. NYC changes all the time. For better or worse. Deal with it.

This thread is sounding like the stupid crap that gets posted on Brooklynian.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 1:18 PM

dssguy99,

You really are an uneducated racist moron.
Whether someone signs in or not is meaningless. As if to say your bullshit "dssguy99" name gives you some sense of an identity.

If you want to do that, tell us your real name and your address. You'll have your ass kicked within the hour!

To merely label neighborhoods and people with broad racist strokes is as ignorant as it gets.

Maybe in the 50's and 60's people moved out of a neighborhood because an "undesirable element" moved in. But this is 2008! I happen to be a part of a "Black Family". The head of this household. And I recently purchased a Brownstone in Bed-Stuy. My tenants are white, one of my neighbors is white. His tenants are black. The folks in the brownstone across the street are white, but the majority of the neighborhood is African American.

Your assumptions are completely rediculous.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 2:18 PM

Wow, some of you guys need a wake-up call. White Flight & the inverse are very real phenomenons that occur all over the country including NYC. A single black person moving into a dense urban setting such as park slope would NOT cause people to move out in mass... especially as an owner... however, this works as a rule of singularity. However, should a group of non-whites move into a white neighborhood... likely with or soon to have kids... you'll find the whites may be more willing to sell as time progresses.

Beneath everything its a cultural thing.

No-one gives a sh#t when they don't have kids, but when families start to have coming of age children who are surrounded by a culture the family isn't in control of, or doesn't match their own norms... you'll find the priorities of those families shift radically.

None of this is a justification, its just a reality of how racial shifts in neighborhoods work. There are very real reasons why most "mixed" areas tend to be populated by the young and less than settled... and a related reason why areas once mixed become homogeneous after significant influx.

If these behaviors didn't exist, we wouldn't have white or black areas at all.

Gentrification is not exclusive to white people, however in the US there are almost NO other ethnic groups with sufficient NUMBERS AND WEALTH to cause a similar effect elsewhere. It could be argued Jews have done so in select cases, but most (rational) people don't count a religion as an ethnicity. On the west coast there are a couple places (most notably hawaii) where you could argue asians have as a group caused a gentrification of an area (please note gentrification isnt just a ethnic shift, it is also a great improvement in the value of the area). So long story in short, there's a reason Gentrification almost always refers to wealthy proffesional white people moving into an area (even if the area was already white - see fort thomas kentucky).

Ive been in PS for about 8 years, moved as a poor newly graduated tech who couldnt afford manhatten even with a great job. At the time... my area was not the best in the world... but livable. I have no idea how anyone has the means for 1-3 million $ purchase aside from TOP executives and very high paid lawyers, etc... even with inteligent savings and so forth. I own a company ... and if i levereged all my assets from making 400k a year for 3 years... i could just barely pay the deposit on a 2 million home... and then be in a really bad place for the mortgage.

But i am still fairly young (28), most people who bought into PS at the optimal time (6+ years ago) were in their 30's or older... and today most people buying these consideribly more expenisive homes are also in their mid-30's-40's... they've had a good 20 years to save as couples in proffesional jobs, they combine their earnings and savings and place a deposit with enugh left over to be safe for a year or two if they loose their jobs (if theyre smart).

20 years of appreciation and decent savings on a combined average salary of 120k (30k in savings) would yield you 1.1 million dollars.

So if you and your spouse can save 30k a year for 20 years, youll have enough money for a deposit on an expensive home, and enough leftover after the deposit to be safe in not being foreclosed on during tough times.

if you start saving at 25, and you work a good career path... you'd have a good shot in your mid 30's, and a definite one in your 40's.

To figure out hoow race plays into this, you have only to examine education and job distribution of higher income proffesions to see how many non-whites would have the same leverege.

its all math.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 2:37 PM

I bought my first place on the Upper West Side in 1996 for 225K and sold it last year for 1.8 million and bought a house in North Slope and plan to stay here forever. We are two gay men both in our early 30s.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 2:49 PM

"In fact, most of Bed Stuy is being gentrified by the entrenched black population who own their own homes. I see it all around me."

I don't see this happening at all. Most of the black population I am seeing in Bed Stuy are struggling big time.

The kids here can't even seem to make it through high school.

Still.

In 2008.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 3:04 PM

im 2:37 again.

Brooklyn has the good luck of very low real estate taxes, this means that areas where real estate market value has gone up tremendously will find themselves swamped with affluent buyers since the non-affulent ones are priced out, statisticly speaking the majority of massivly affluent buyers in the North-Eastern US will be white... so those areas slowly turn white.

In most areas, real estate taxes are high (income taxes low), when an areas real estate taxes go up, poor people end up HAVING to sell... since they cant afford even the tax base, this in turn causes them to generally sell to the highest bidder... often yet again a wealthy white buyer.

But in brooklyn, since the real estate taxes are so low, poorer people can remain in the homes they own.

You still however get flight of poorer people for two reasons, A) they dont like the changes in their area, and B) the value of their home is so huge (imagine being a janitor sitting on a wholely owned 1.5 million dollar home) they feel enormous pressure to sell (from their family, friends, or even just themselves) to take advantage of the market while its "hot".. or to simply capitalize and move somewhere with a beach.

Poorer white (or whatever lead gentrification group) people like any other ethnic group tend to live together... Their buying into an area not previously white makes that area "safer" for more and more of their affluent friends. Also tons of poor "white" people are new graduates, super young proffesionals with no savings, or artists... as they get older... their welath increases... and once again you have an area that has been "sanitized" for those who have a LOT more money. The reason i say a LOT more money... is because people with a LOT of money have serious options... and thus they will NOT be the first to move into a "bad" area... or one that isnt inline with their cultural norms... they dont have to. But if an area has been made "safe", theyll consider it as the price vs return is enticing.

More and more people buy in, turn around and sell their purchase a few years later... and viola... gentrified.

Its rather amazing to see the effect, sux to think i was part of the "sanitization" of 4th avenue, but at the time, it was the best bang for the buck i could get. Now the rent is almost double what i came here with!!

i personally am hoping this real estate crunch causes a good drop in north slope pricing so i can buy into the area!! if only i had a shitload of money when i moved here.... but i was 20 years old with debt.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 3:29 PM

3:29 -- if that is your idea of sanitized, remind me never to go down on you...

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 3:50 PM

I'm a white 35 yr old married female. I bought my first apartment - a 1BR in Prospect Heights - for $154,000 in 2001, and got some family help in making the down payment.

I sold that apartment in 2004 for $260,000 when I got married. Took the $110,000 in equity I made and some savings of my husband and used it to buy a 4 story 3 family townhouse in the N. Slope b/w 4th and 5th Avenues - very near 4th Ave - which cost $900,000 and had two floor through rentals to help cover the mortgage.

One of our rentals is rent-stabilized, to a very nice man (black, gay, professional, senior citizen) who has been in the building for more than 20 years. We see no reason to make him move. the other rental is lived in by two young white guys right out of college, (they are roommates, it is a 2br), who've been model tenants as well. With the tenants, the finances work out ok.

I guess it is the same story as above: investing early in what was then a "fringe" area, using family help to make an initial investment, and then letting the growth in market value help us trade upwards.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 3:53 PM

This is how the new breed afford the million dollar condos...

http://news.finditt.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=40109&cat=16

1,000,000 x .98 = $980K

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 3:55 PM

I think the diversity of white people is underrated. I grew up in Indiana, and I assure you the white people there are way more boring and homogenous than the white people here.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 4:00 PM

Just because not everyone is like you doesn't mean there is less diversity. It probably means there is, in fact, more diversity. There once was a time when people embraced diversity for what it really is - others are different from yourself. Brooklyn is still the most diverse place in the world and undoubtedly will remain so for generations. It is nice to see the neighboorhoods growing and changing.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 4:01 PM

Saying that diversity has to do with black and white just goes to show how racist you are in the first place.

If color were no issue, then why is having black people around considered diverse??

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 4:09 PM

We work really hard, live on the cheap and are constantly saving up. The last vacation I took was 1999.

We bought our first Brooklyn coop a few years ago for 240K which doubled in price in four years. That gave us some starter capital. Then we borrowed on a line of credit to make the required down payment on our million-plus brownstone.

We now have a massive mortgage, and rely on the rental income from the upper floors to make the payments.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 4:13 PM

Partly it is about your wilingness to take risks. When you buy a place with a mortgage that is large relative to your income, your job stabilty and your savings, then you are taking on risk. Some people wait until they feel more comfortable, aren't comfortable with the risk. Bigger risks can result in bigger rewards, though it can also result in losses. To each their own - that's how it works.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 4:35 PM

4.09, it isn't considered diverse in NY, its par for the course. For diversity in NY - you have to go to somewhere like Jackson Heights.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 4:42 PM

Neighborhoods (as opposed to cities) are almost never 'diverse' in the sense that most people think of the word. There are almost always 1 or 2 racial or socioeconomic groups that dominate a neighborhood.

In the rare exceptions when there is racial and economic diversity in a neighborhood such as Jackson Heights (and perhaps Park Slope in the past), it usually is not a very long-lasting phenomenon. And in the long run all neighborhoods experience shifts in class, race, and ethnicity.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 5:27 PM

The media and others obsess over race but it's economics. There has been incredible inflation everywhere all over this country. Most white people can't afford a brownstone in Park Slope.

I have many black friends who are buying brownstones or nice coops in Brooklyn in the nicer neighborhoods. They are not staying away because they are black, that's absurd. These newer black residents are higher income professionals. It's a good thing for kids of lower income families to have these role models around. Studies show kids who see and know professionals in their neighborhoods whether those people are their family members or not, or are their race or not, perform better in school and in life. It so conveniently leaves out all the memories of the negative elements when singing the praises of what Brooklyn used to be. Kids used to be shot on the streets in Brooklyn 20 years ago every month. It was awful.

To answer the question of "how", we sold a place we owned a long time we bought in an area of Brooklyn nobody wanted to be in many years ago that's now very improved, and that's how we could afford a brownstone. Otherwise there's no way we could afford it.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 7:10 PM

immigrants/professionals ($200 in the pocket + 30lb bag with clothing, books, matreshkas) -> 2 professional carriers -> real scale savings (40% of net income) -> smart spending habits ( vacation in Paris for $1500 for 2) -> some luck with stock market -> first coop in Brooklyn -> house in Park Slope 1 block from the park.

Our combined income was only slightly above $200K when we bought our PS house. And we did not sell our coop at that time, sold it later for almost 2 times of what we paid.

Put proceeds into renovation. House is appreciated by about 800K.
It would be tough without rental income. That is why we poured most of the money into structural and mechanical upgrades and into rentals. Our own apartment is still very far from perfect.
but eventually it will be great.

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 12:13 AM

It seems as though most PS buyers were not first time homeowners and if they were they had inheritances also most were willing to live in "so-called" fringe areas first. They didn't know if those areas would become the desirable areas that they are today, but they went out on a limb and took a chance. Many have already gone through a downturn and resurgence and many of us on the "fringe" may have to do the same. Those of you who trash all of those neighborhoods as too far out, still too Black, not enough ammenities, no good schools, etc... just keep waiting and complaining. Buy a Lotto ticket.

Just a Little Luck

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 1:52 AM

SMART: Took $15,000 from a side project (Was making $40,000 at the time) and bought a sharpt 1BR near Smith Street in 1997 for about $150,000.

LUCKY: Smith Street exploded. If I'd known, I woulda levered up and bought the whole street.

WRONG: Freaked out when place tripled in under five years and sold for $450,000 (it later sold for almost $900,000 after a smart renovation).

SMART: Stretched (with spouse) for the biggest, badddest 3BR condo we could find. Paid around $700,000 for one in the South Slope. Now worth almost double that. Can hit the new Union Market in my pajamas.

FRUSTRATED: Even though our income is now well into the six figures, we can't quite afford a house in 107 or 321 without becoming landlords (ugh).

BORED: With all of the racial discussion. Can we just keep it to real estate?

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 5:57 AM

Agree Armchair. one of my wife's friends lives in Bayridge and complains almost daily about how their rent is going up and they dont have any cash to buy something becuase everything is too expensive. This is usually followed by her ethusiasm over her latest purcahses from some trendy 5th avenue boutique or the latest useless gadget her husband brought home.

I always smile and say great, but inside we both laugh about the obvious contridiction. IF you want something, you sacrifice, many people lack this ability.

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 9:16 AM

2:37..at 28yrs old you are both thoughtful and logical. It always surprises me that people (black & white) are more comfortable confronting ignorant, baseless comments than to have a reality check. I sincerely hope that you are a sign of our future. Too many post on this site are written by bitter, confrontational, and psychologically destroyed people with racism embedded in their DNA.

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 9:26 AM

Racism IS embedded in everyones DNA 9:26. Scientists have shown that even early humans and our modern ancestors in early civilizations were racist. Even animals are shown to be "Racists" when they encounter other animals of the same species that has different characteristics.

The only thing that helps keep racism in check is society and the strong pressures to adhere to evolving social norms. But racism is alive and well in all of us, and that goes for every "Race" not just Whites.

Dont beleive me? If you are White, take a walk down to Bushwick and accidentally bump into someone, see how quickly they spatter you with "Cracker" and "Honkey" and any other racist remark they can hurl.

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 9:59 AM

5:57

you are a total liar.

first of all, NO 1 bedroom near smith street is selling for 900K.

and second...NO 3 bedroom in south slope is selling for 1.4 million.

they aren't even charging that much for 3 bedrooms on the most prime blocks of park slope for that matter.

your post is a total fake.

ridiculous.

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 10:46 AM

9:59..you are sooo right. But you don't have to be white in a black area to experience immediate racist attention. You could be a white non-religious jew in a overtly italian hood and experience the same thing. It happened to me.

I wonder if there is life on other planets are green one-eyed species fighting against red three-eyed species?

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 10:59 AM

Armchairwarrior is very right. I met a latino car service driver the other day who owns a house in South Slope and his brother owns 3 such houses! They live on one floor and rent out the rest. To buy these places they work their asses off and don't buy gadgets and new clothes all the time.

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 1:01 PM

Who are we? I'm a writer and my wife's an academic. I moved to New York after college (in the Midwest) and have lived in Park Slope since 1992. We bought an apartment in 1997 for $130K, back when we made about $60k a year combined. In 2002 we sold it for just under $400K and traded up to a rundown house that we fixed up (for about $700K including the gut reno) and live in now, with one tenant. No inheritances, loans or gifts from family. My parents were a delivery truck driver and a part-time housekeeper, and they wouldn't have had downpayment money to give me even if I wanted it.

We earn around $180K now, but wouldn't be able to afford to live here today if we hadn't bought back then. Loved Park Slope then and love it now.

I guess I'm a gentrifier, but on the other hand, I came from a working-class family in another part of the country; so I guess if I had grown up in NYC it would have been in a working-class neighborhood too.

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 4:39 PM

10:46 -- Not sure what inspired the vitriol, but I'm not lying -- why would I lie about a place that I hadn't sold myself? I shoulda kept it and renovated and got that gain myself.

It went for 900k. They had carved out a tiny second bedroom for a kid, but they weren't dishonest about the fact that it was a (1050 sf, top floor, panoramic views from downtown to Verrazano, central ac, gym in basement, roof deck shared, world-class super) 1br apt.

As for the 3br (which, as i said, has almost doubled, thus it isn't quite worth 1.4), a comp from 4 weeks ago in our development absolutely supports the valuation. Didja read that NYTimes piece about the scarcity of family-size 3br apartments (that don't have fake third bedrooms with no closets ala many houses)? It's a real phenomenon.

Yet we still can't make the next leap. So few of us are ultimately 100% satisfied I guess.

Why the hate? Just trying to answer the op's question...

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 4:40 PM

1/2 bedrooms don't sell for 900K near Smith Street.

3 bedrooms don't sell for 1.4 million is South Slope.

Period.

halve those numbers, and you'll be telling the truth for your story next time around.

Posted by: guest at March 15, 2008 1:17 PM

Op, we stayed and held on. There's a good number of black/hispanic owners in Parkslope. Dont let em fool you! And yes WE are the richest ones in terms of equity. Did somebody say $3,000,000 brownstone? You shouldnt of left!

Ever heard of the phrase?
"There’s gold in the ghetto."

Posted by: guest at March 16, 2008 8:20 PM