Neighbors Tree Overhanging My Yard

This is a gorgeous block where most of the homes have been recently renovated and well maintained. There are one or two eyesores but otherwise a beautiful block. I must also disclose that I live in the area and that I have also been in many homes on Marlborough Road. I have been in a couple of the homes on the train side of the street and could barely hear or feel the trains probably due to good quality windows and insulation. Of course if you are outside you can hear the trains on both sides of the street but it is actually not as bad as you might think.

I have had experiences similar to West's, when I have friends from other areas of the cty over. They can't believe the size of my home and its proximity to the subway. Their major complaint is always the lack of ammenities but there is enough in the neighborhood to keep me local most of the time and when I need something more I go to other parts of Brooklyn like Avenue J, Kings Highway and Park Slope.

This home is priced to sell.

Posted by: B Square at August 2, 2008 12:14 PM in response to Open House Picks

This house was a group home for teens run by a subsidiary of ACS. My friends parents, both Social Workers, were the house parents in this home in the early 90's and they did a wonderful job with the teens. I hope that all of the teens who were burned out lastyear are now doing okay. We need more family settings as opposed to detention center-like homes for teens so that they will know what it's like to live in a family environment and where they can be taught life skills necessary to survival once they age out of foster care. I know all too well what happens to kids who are no longer eligible for foster care and are literally cut off at age 18, many times without housing or jobs. That said, I think that the house will sell for close to asking. It has all new systems, lots of room on a big lot, nice clapboard siding and it's on a nice block. Details can always be added and are easier and less expensive than updating mechanicals. The kitchen and baths, although a little low brow, can always be upgraded. I 'd rather tackle a tacky kitchen than installing new heating, electrical, plumbing and insulation in an old house.

Posted by: B Square at March 11, 2008 1:41 PM in response to House of the Day: 663 Rugby Road

Shit happens! (Couldn't resist!)

Posted by: B Square at March 10, 2008 3:56 PM in response to What lies beneath

I am glad that no one was seriously injured.

Posted by: B Square at February 20, 2008 10:28 PM in response to Fire Takes Out Top Floor on Cambridge Place

Brenda, I do my mall ish shopping with my friend in Newburg. Most of the chain stores that have opened in Brooklyn are their corporations top grossing stores nationwide. And as a previous poster stated, they don't even have to work for. It comes down to volume. We have more people than suburban areas and therefore the urban stores get more traffic in the same square footage, if not less, than their suburban counterparts. In addition, most of the stores were not designed and are not managed to cater to this high volume. Chain stores all have a formula that is repeated wherever they open and it seems as though the formula has not yet been modified to suit our urban setting. Also, what's with the checking of receipts as you leave some stores? They don't do this upstate. If we have more thieves in Brooklyn it is not because there is more immorality in Brooklyn (some would beg to differ) but because once again, we have more people. So when looked at per capita, we don't have any more thieves than our suburban counterparts.

Posted by: B Square at September 28, 2007 4:16 PM in response to Atlantic Terminal Station Starting to Show its Face

The support four columns in my home in Beverley Square West (Victorian Flatbush) are also supported by brick beams that may be original to the house which was built in 1903. They are still supporting the beams as they all make contact but I'd like to have them changed to the columns for aesthetic reasons. My husband is extremely handy and has become even more so since we've been in this house but is this something that could be or should be done as a do-it yourself project? Any suggestions for contractors if not.

Posted by: B Square at September 28, 2007 3:20 PM in response to Lally or lolly Columns

Is this car fire more important than the fire that took three lives in Victorian Flatbush? Why no mention of this?

Posted by: B Square at September 25, 2007 9:16 PM in response to Park Slope's Twisted Firestarter Strikes Twice

No, guest at 11:32 AM. Cortelyou Road is not near Park Slope. It is near SoHO.

Posted by: B Square at September 19, 2007 11:37 AM in response to What's on Tap for Cortelyou Road?

Erin,

I agree with most of your postings and I also keep silver spray paint to cover lamp post tags and constantly pick up stray garbage, but I had to respond to one or two things in your last post. First, if you take a look at the 1910 census for our area and look at the occupations of the residents, you will find that the majority were not filthy rich but were upper middle class families much like the new wave of families moving in today. The original owner of my home was an accountant and their neighbors were lawyers, judges and merchants of various types. TB Ackerson lived on Marlborough Road in BSW for a brief period of time. He built a much grander home on Ocean Avenue shortly after 1910, which no longer stands today. He and his family still resided in the Ocean Avenue home in 1920, according to census and tax records. Second, descendants of the Alvords, Ackersons and Pounds' don't have anymore of a claim to how the neighborhood evolves than anyone else. If that were the case, as someone who can trace her roots in Brooklyn and Flatbush back to the early 1800's I should rule! Keep up the good work.

Posted by: B Square at September 19, 2007 11:22 AM in response to What's on Tap for Cortelyou Road?

I love and support the firefighters who work at "Da Pride of Flatbush" but I do not appreciate them double parking and parking on the sidewalk. It is dangerous at the corner where children cross from the Tot Lot and Library. This is not done at the fire houses in the city or in Brooklyn Heights. I understand why they did this 15 years ago when car vandalism may have been a problem but the occurrences of vandalism are minimal these days. Perhaps spaces could be designated for them by the DOT on Argyle off of Cortelyou, on the East side of the street by the library. This location is in front of anyone's home and there would still be plenty of parking. In addition, to cars not parked on the sidewalk, I would like to see a bank somewhere on Cortelyou Road.

Posted by: B Square at September 18, 2007 5:05 PM in response to What's on Tap for Cortelyou Road?

Allstate dropped me last year too. Is this going on in Nassau and Suffolk. They are technically located on the same "long island" as the counties of Queens and Kings

Posted by: B Square at September 12, 2007 5:08 PM in response to Insurers See Storm Clouds Over Brooklyn

Guest at 2:56, you are correct in your assessment of the increased cost in refacing a home with cedar shingles and clapboards. I too concentrated on my homes interior. I still have the original shingles on my home and will eventually get the house wrapped and replace the shingles and clapboards. I am not an investment banker so it might take a year or two for me to accomplish!

Posted by: B Square at September 12, 2007 5:04 PM in response to House of the Day: 1306 Albemarle Road

I like the space that living in a suburban neighborhood can offer but that's where my love for the suburbs ends. Like previous posters noted, I too did not want the ordeal of treking into the city on the weekend with my kids in order to expose them to "culture". Beverley Square West was the right fit for me. This Victorian Flatbush neighborhood appealed to me because I have lots of indoor and outdoor space including a driveway. My kids attended a private school and would have no matter where we lived, but the local schools are now improving steadily. Sure we don't have the amenities of Park Slope but we are not far from Manhattan or any of the other downtown Brooklyn hot spots. Since I spend more time in my home than at the "amenities", I went for the larger home.

Posted by: B Square at September 11, 2007 7:34 PM in response to House of the Day: 1306 Albemarle Road

The artist's rendition does not have Fedder air condition boxes but the actual construction appears to have the infamous boxes under every window! Interesting.

Posted by: B Square at September 4, 2007 12:43 PM in response to Development Watch: Prospect Row Revisited

I see my home in Victorian Flatbush as just that. A Home. Although, I am "house smart" when it comes to major home improvements some renovation projects were done for the joy that my family and I get out of its use and not how much of the cost I can expect to recoup on a resale. I spent considerably on my kitchen and one bath room which we all enjoy but opted not to have central air installed. We use window units and three portables on the main floor. If you plan on staying put for five years or more, I would say make the house a home that is comfortable for you and your family but keep uneccessary costly renovations to a minimum. Fix what absolutely has to get fixed first.

Posted by: B Square at August 18, 2007 4:24 PM in response to Buying property in BedStuy NOW - am I crazy?

My grandparents and many of their siblings purchased homes on Decatur and Bainbridge in the 40's and 50's. These were beautiful blocks back then and have remained so through the years. Some of the older residents don't have mortagages or didn't have mortgages when they sold to their children or other relations but others do. Mortgages were taken out to build homes in the South for retirement, to help their children purchase homes, to finance their childrens and grandchildrens education, etc... We also know of unscrupulous mortgage brokers and general contractors who ripped off many of the elderly homeowners without their children knowing. Brownstoner profiled a case in Clinton Hill of an elderly Doctor whose home was basically stolen from her. I don't know if this is why Bed-Stuy has the highest rate of foreclosure in Brooklyn or if it's because of the newer residents who took out Interest Only/ARM or other creative financing in order to get a brownstone.

Posted by: B Square at August 18, 2007 3:58 PM in response to Open House Picks

I put carpeting on my center hall staircase because the original lower staircase was replaced with ugly pine and the upper staircase is still the original oak. In
addition, some of the treads had been painted. I covered both the stair and tread from edge to edge with a berber pile which is easy to sweep or vacuum. It has multiple earthtone colors which compliment the oak details throughout the house. I would as a previous poster suggested, have it installed after major renovations on the upper floors. We don't wear shoes in our home and when workers need to access the upper floors I ask that they cover their boots/shoes with blue disposable covers that I purchased from janitorial supply store.

Posted by: B Square at August 18, 2007 3:28 PM in response to Carpet on staircase - Yes or yuck???

I carpeted the center hall staircase in my home from the double parlor up to the third floor because the lower stairs, which are pine and not original to the house looked odd with all of the other wood detail and the upper staircases being all oak. In addition to the mismatched stairs some of the stairs were painted. The carpet that I chose is a berber pile and the earth tone colors compliment the decor. The carpet unified the space and also prevented my kids and pets from slipping on the stairs. I covered the entire stair and tread instead of using a runner. I just sweep or vacuum from top to bottom at least once a week to keep it clean. We don't wear shoes in our home and I have shoe/boot covers for any workers who may have to come upstairs but it would be best as previous poster stated, to wait until you complete your work upstairs before installation.

Posted by: B Square at August 18, 2007 1:17 PM in response to Carpet on staircase - Yes or yuck???

The area of East 21st bordered by Caton and Church north to south and Ocean and Flatbush east to west encompass several of the Victorian Flatbush/Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhoods. As Guest at 4:04 stated these names were not made up by modern day realtors but were chosen by the developers in the early 1900's when these neighborhoods were built something that is still common practice today. The area behind the Dutch Reformed Church on East 21st Street with the beautiful Neo Federal brick and limestone homes is called Albemarle & Kenmore Terrace and has been a Landmarked district since 1978. I hope this answered your question GHB.

Posted by: B Square at August 17, 2007 7:37 PM in response to Open House Picks

This block may not be so great now, but in the apartments will appreciate. I do remember Park Slope in the 70's. My parents held onto their PS brownstone as a rental but we didn't dare live there! I also remembered when great deals could be found in Red Hook, Williamsburgh, Ditmas Park, etc... When I purchased my home in Victorian Flatbush for under $200,000 many of my friends were moving to Staten Island. I'm certainly glad that I stayed in Brooklyn.

Posted by: B Square at August 16, 2007 10:00 PM in response to Crown Heights Condos Fly Off the Shelves

There seems to have been more damage to trees and autos in Prospect Park South and on two blocks in Beverley Square West than in Bay Ridge but there was no news coverage. Unfortunatately, the damage in Bay Ridge, although confined to a much smaller area, lead to people being displaced from their homes due to roof damage and other structural damage. I was kind of on the fence about global warming but this first ever Brooklyn tornado made me a believer.

Posted by: B Square at August 12, 2007 3:40 PM in response to Thursday Blogwrap