Brownstoner: BrooklynSteve's Profile

As many posters above me mentioned, carpeting is actualy required in most apartments. Check your condo's bylaws. Most of us don't put in carpet or area rugs because we like the look of our wood floors. If noise isn't an issue with the neighbor below, then there's no problem. But in the case of your upstairs neighbor, I'm guessing you have a leg to stand on when asking him to at least put down area rugs with padding beneath them. This will significantly cut down on the noise or at least muffle it.

As a parent to be, I totally agree with the parent who posted here saying that it's perfectly reasonable to expect a neighbor to teach their children to behave in a way that does not infringe on another neighbor's peace and quiet.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at September 8, 2009 1:02 PM in response to Running Child Upstairs

I don't know, I think it's a prime location, steps away from two different subway lines and a five minute walk to the main entrance of Prospect Park. The views are great and the pictures of the apartment make it look like it's in great shape. If the apartment shows as well as the pictures make it appear, I'd say it's a good asking price for a pad that could sell for not much below they asking. I mean it's got a kitchen with room for a small table as well as room in the living from for both a full living room set up and a dining room table. Two nice size closets in the bedroom and a bathroom that looks like it was renovated in a period motif. Maybe I have optimism bias.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at July 8, 2009 12:55 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 1 Plaza Street West, #8C

Anyone know the story behind this? I've been watching the renovations with great anticipation everytime I go to New York Sports Club across the street. I wonder why the owner has suddenly bailed midway through the project. Lost a job perhaps? Maybe one of the thousands of Wall Streeters that were laid off? It's a great place for rentals if someone wants to make it back into a 4 apartment building. You'd definitely make a monthly profit that would cover your mortgage and and home improvement loan if you want to be a landlord.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at July 8, 2009 12:35 PM in response to House of the Day: 113 Boerum Place

Are the owner and realtor smoking crack????? Seriously! I mean we bought our two bedroom, two bath condo in a new construction building in the same neighborhood for $745,000 less than a year ago. The same apartment as ours one floor down is now listing for $695,000. And the 110 Livingston apartment is listing for a more than 25% increase over the original purchase price from just two years ago in the worst real estate market we've seen in decades? Smoking crack I tell you!!!!!! I hope they read these comments! Don't get me wrong, I think they should make a profit. But how about coming back down to earth. I think I may go to an open house just to give the realtor heck for this asking price even after the reduction. I want to see him/her defend that price point.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 25, 2009 3:05 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 110 Livingston Street, #6W

Isn't this the southwest corner, not the south east? The south east corner would be over by Ocean Avenue and Parkside.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 25, 2009 12:26 PM in response to CB7 Approves Park Circle Changes

I wasn't saying that they can't go to the Rockaways. But having an affordable weekend getaway place accessible via the subway would have been a great way to sell people on the idea, especially Manhattanites without cars.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 19, 2009 12:56 PM in response to The Last of the Bungalows

What a shame. What happened in East Rockaway is a prime example of misplaced priorities and poor judgement calls among an urban planning elite with limited forsite. Of course, good old Robert Moses played a role in the demise of the bungalows, too. The decision to put in large scale, high rise housing in East Rockaway ultimately killed the community. There are locations sprinkled around the city where bungalows still exist and have not fallen into neglect like this. But the Rockaways probably had the largest concentration of them. It's unfortunate. Someone with the right skill and promotion skills could have possibly seen the charm in these bungalows decades ago, renovated them and marketed them as an alternative for city residents to expensive summer weekend places in the Hamptons and the Jersey shore. Just try to imagine upper West Siders getting on the A train on summer weekends to head to their rentals at the shore. Hey, one can dream. Go ahead and laugh. No one ever imagined the High Line would one day be a beautiful park.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 19, 2009 12:22 PM in response to The Last of the Bungalows

What a shame. What happened in East Rockaway is a prime example of misplaced priorities and poor judgement calls among an urban planning elite with limited forsite. Of course, good old Robert Moses played a role in the demise of the bungalows, too. The decision to put in large scale, high rise housing in East Rockaway ultimately killed the community. There are locations sprinkled around the city where bungalows still exist and have not fallen into neglect like this. But the Rockaways probably had the largest concentration of them. It's unfortunate. Someone with the right skill and promotion skills could have possibly seen the charm in these bungalows decades ago, renovated them and marketed them as an alternative for city residents to expensive summer weekend places in the Hamptons and the Jersey shore. Just try to imagine upper West Siders getting on the A train on summer weekends to head to their rentals at the shore. Hey, one can dream. Go ahead and laugh. No one ever imagined the High Line would one day be a beautiful park.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 19, 2009 12:22 PM in response to The Last of the Bungalows

"cause you can walk to Union Sq from J in 40 minutes and for what it is worth DUMBO has the interesting shops, art exhibits, St. Ann's warehouse, and F train isn't any worse than any other line and just a couple stops to Smith St. restaurants and much quicker(and more frequent) to midtown than any PATH train."

Petebklyn, are you kidding? The F train does not run as often as so many other lines in Brooklyn. The B, Q, N, R & A are much better lines. The 2 & 3 come much more often than the F. It's a fact! And try to squeeze on to the F during rush our at that stop in DUMBO heading into the city. Sardine can doesn't begin to describe how packed it can be. The Q train... from Dekalb Ave. it's 2 stops to Union Square. How man stops is it to Union Square on the F? Hmmm, let me see... oh yeh, the F doesn't go to Union Square. But it does go to East Broadway. Thank god! I mean I'm always looking for ways to get to East Broadway. (yes, read with sarcasm please)

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 11, 2009 12:26 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 100 Jay Street, #16H

Jenny - the F train SUCKS! S-U-C-K-S!!!!!

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 9, 2009 3:54 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 100 Jay Street, #16H

I just wish people would stop throwing their garbage on the sidewalks on Fulton Mall. Come on folks... there's garbage cans at every bus stop on the mall yet you can't seem to muster the motivation to walk a few steps to th garbage can to dispose of your McDonald's and KFC wrappers and bags. You really must drop it right where you stand while waiting for the bus? If you love Fulton Mall so much the way it is now, why do you treat it like a garbage dump? I'm just saying.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 9, 2009 3:48 PM in response to Big Plans for Fulton Mall Makeover

The views and the big loft apartments in the rehab'd warehouse manufacturing buildings. I've been inside a few. The apartments are relatively massive with high end fixtures and many of them have great views of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 9, 2009 3:07 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 100 Jay Street, #16H

A hotel? Well it's a much better location than all those Holiday Inn Express type hotels along 3rd Ave. in Gowanus.

I walk by this lot everyday. All I can say is thank god they tore down the old, empty structure. That place was rat central! Massive size rates would scamper to and from the basement at all hours of the day and night. I feel bad for the guys that had to go down there and demolish it. I hope they had their rabies shots. I hope they were able to get rid of the rats nest. Unfortunately, there is still a major rat problem on that block and in the social services adult assisted living facility across the street on Nevins. We need the rat czar bad!

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 9, 2009 3:03 PM in response to Development Watch: 46 Nevins Street

For $90,000 less, you can pick up a three bedroom, three bath duplex atop the Toren and have use of a pool! A POOL! Need I say more? Come on folks... do some comping before you list your place at a ridiculous price. $1.39 million for a simple, uninteresting single floor three bedroom, or $1.3 million for a duplex three bedroom with bigger rooms, a pool in the building and you're within a few blocks of every subway line that runs through Brooklyn as opposed to just the F train.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 9, 2009 2:47 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 100 Jay Street, #16H

And let's put this into perspective... here's what 3 bedrooms are going for in the Forte are starting at now:

3 Bedrooms/2BA $775,000

That's almost half of what they are asking for in this building. Come on owner, you bought at the height of the market and you may have to take a loss. $1,000,000 at the most and that's only because of its DUMBO address even though it's on the wrong side of the Manhattan Bridge.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 9, 2009 2:40 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 100 Jay Street, #16H

People think those rooms are small? Are you folks insane? That apartment has more square footage than the house in South Brooklyn that I grew up in.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 9, 2009 2:37 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 100 Jay Street, #16H

Family friendly perhaps. But what school is that family supposed to go to? There's no elementary school down there and the one you'd be zone for is nothing to write home about to say the least.

And then there's that whole slave to the F train thing. No thanks!

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at June 9, 2009 2:33 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 100 Jay Street, #16H

Ah yes, the excitement of the smell of gasoline and cleaning fluids rising from the Citgo gas station and car wash across the street, the excitement of waking up to the sound of truck traffic avoiding the rush hour crowd on 4th avenue, the exciting of opening your window and staring out onto the lot across the street that looks like a junk yard (what the heck is that business anyway?) and the excitement of walking past a bonafide NYC housing project at 3AM after a drunken night of exploration in the city followed by a subway ride to the train station several blocks away because a cabbie refused to bring you to Brooklyn when there were so many fares asking to be taken to the midtown hotels instead. (exhale) Good times!

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at May 27, 2009 3:42 PM in response to Development Watch: 3rd Avenue Fairfield Inn

Hey ensuite bathroom haters, ever hear of house guests? Maybe you sleep in your boxers or in the nude and don't want to have to put on clothes everytime you go to the bathroom at night for fear of your guest seeing you.

Worried about foul odors? Maybe if you ate healthier, your crap wouldn't stink as much. Seriously. My wife's a vegetarian and we have an ensuite bathroom. Odor is never a problem with her even if she leaves the door open by accident when she's done. Plus, ever hear of an exhaust fan? :)

OK, maybe you're a germaphobe. Well, in that case, there are professionals that can help you with your illness. Yes, it's not normal to be obsessed with germs like that.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at May 27, 2009 11:47 AM in response to Co-op of the Day: 101 Lafayette Avenue, #1K Revisited

Thanks to all the new multiple unit buildings that have gone up all over the area, all of our elementary schools are overcrowded. We desperately need new seats in all of our neighborhoods, not just Park Slope, but Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, etc.

I'm not saddened if this building is lost beacuse there are dozens more just like it all over the city. It's not unique and therefore, not worth of landmark status.

What's more important, saving a building that doesn't not meet the needs of a 21st century student body or creating a modern building that can cater to 3 times the number of students and adapt to changing technologies over time?

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at March 16, 2009 11:10 AM in response to SCA To Build New P.S. 133, Tear Down Old Building

The condo's website is down. Uh oh, not a good sign.

By the way, I think I had an experience with that same realtor last year while looking at condos and coops in the area. She was pushy and abrassive. She was too quick to dismiss our concerns about an apartment she showed us and completely turned me off to the idea of purchasing a place I would have otherwise seriously considered. It was the condo building (or is it coop) right across the street from the Brooklyn House of Detention and next to criminal court. Anyone know if she was showing an apartment there?

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at March 10, 2009 12:09 PM in response to Condos of the Day: 335 Warren Street

BrooklynSteve wrote a review about Yemen Cafe on March 3, 2009 1:45 PM

Anytime I want to bring an out of towner to an authentic ethnic restaurant with very good food in my neighborood, this is where I go. Sure, there are nicer places for Middle Eastern like Bedouin Tent and Zaytoons. But if you want to feel like you've left the country without leaving the block, this is the place to go.

Food:
Service:
Ambience:
Value:

Every apartment I've ever seen in the old St. George - yes, it's that building - appealed to me until I did my spread sheet and factored in the real cost of that maintenance. It's a shame. I'm sure the maintenance is high to cover the cost of the loan that the building must have had to take out to do the conversion and renovations. But I would have expected it to drop at this point if the board had refinanced. Anyone know what the deal is behind the financials of this otherwise appealing building?

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at March 2, 2009 2:40 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 111 Hicks Street, #8N

Every apartment I've ever seen in the old St. George - yes, it's that building - appealed to me until I did my spread sheet and factored in the real cost of that maintenance. It's a shame. I'm sure the maintenance is high to cover the cost of the loan that the building must have had to take out to do the conversion and renovations. But I would have expected it to drop at this point if the board had refinanced. Anyone know what the deal is behind the financials of this otherwise appealing building?

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at March 2, 2009 2:39 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 111 Hicks Street, #8N

Thank god the pumps will be open again. It's the last operating gas station in the neighborhood. The disappearance of the Mobil on the corner of Atlantic and Boerum Place was a big loss to us car owners. The bigger loss was the Mobil on Flatbush that is in the footprint of the Atlantic Yards project. That was the only honest mechanic left in the area. And that Mobil supported 5 Korean families. I wonder where they are working now.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at February 25, 2009 9:01 AM in response to Atlantic Avenue Shell Station to Re-Open by May?

Is this the block directly opposite BellTel Lofts or diagonally across on the street with St. Joseph's High School?

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at January 8, 2009 9:10 AM in response to More Evidence that Avalon is Planning Downtown Tower

Sam, the fact is the jail is usable as it is. I know for a fact that the renovations made in the early part of this decade brought it up to standards deemed acceptable by the correctional community across the country. It may not be a modern layout with today's fixtures and amenities but it meets the acceptable standards and it is certainly better than the five jails that are literally falling apart on Rikers Island. Those buildings are going to have to come down.

Brooklyn House was renovated so that a) the DOC haa a place to put inmates if there ia a sudden rise in crime and the population increasea as courts get backed up, b) as a place to shift close to 800 inmates from Rikers if one of those 5 crumbling buildings had to be closed under an emergency order, c) to potentially be used as a place to take people picked up in mass arrests so that the police department doesn't have to set up a deplorable temporary holding cell system on a pier over the Hudson River as was done during the Republican convention in 2004.

The cost benefit analysis has been done and the Department of Corrections has shown how housing close to 800 inmates at Brooklyn House would save them money. That had to do that in order to justify the millions of dollars it cost to renovate the building.

Why hasn't the DOC just put inmates in there then? Because it's a political hot potato. Remember the outrage produced when the Mayor closed 5 firehouses so they could shift resources to parts of Brooklyn that didn't have adequate fire protection? At this point, the mayor's administration isn't ready and willing to take the heat they will get from some folks in our part of Brooklyn if that jail is used. But evetually, as the budget crisis gets worse and they don't have the money in the capital budget to fix the crumbling jails on Rikers, they will take the heat and shift inmates to Brooklyn House. Eventually it will happen.

It would be fantastic if the city had the money to build a new, modern jail facility next to the new criminal court; a building that blended better into the surrounding structures. Better jails are always better for society as a whole. But I think if the city had the money, it would be put to better use building a few new schools in our neighborhood. Our elementary and middle schools around here are completely overcrowded and because of the increase in the number of residential units this decade, they are only going to get more crowded in the future.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at January 7, 2009 11:15 PM in response to Supreme Court Weighs House of Detention Re-Opening

Crafty, the bailbonds businesses are there because of Brooklyn Criminal Court, not the jail. Several have remained open even though the jail is not being used. Some bailbonds businesses have closed because of rising rents, not because of the mothballed jail.

fsrg, tha's a very interesting proposal, re: converting the MTA building on Jay Street into a new jail directly connecting to the courthouse. However, isn't the current Brooklyn Criminal Court building staying open? I have heard of no plans to close it. Maybe I'm wrong.

But one thing is clear... with the creation of so many new residential units in the surrounding area, we definitely need new schools. The community would be better served if either property was converted into a community school structure containing an elementary, middle and high school under one roof.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at January 7, 2009 11:32 AM in response to Supreme Court Weighs House of Detention Re-Opening

Sam, you should do a some exploring of the facts and the repercussions of your ideas before posting something like that. Your proposal would be infinitely more costly to our city's budget then the retro-fitting of the existing facility.

Actually, I know for a fact that much of the work done inside Brooklyn HOD in the early part of this decade brought it up to federal standards. I don't know why there is this notion that the building doesn't meet current nationally accepted standards for housing inmates. The renovations were done to the national standards agreed to by corrections departments across the country. In fact, because of it's layout, they are actually able to watch more inmates with fewer guards at Brooklyn House then they are at many of the jail buildings on Riker's Island, yet another cost savings.

Furthermore, this notion that the property is better suited for a mixed use commercial/residential building is ridiculous. I mean have you noticed how difficult a time developers are having selling apartments right now in the current market? Brooklyn is saturated with new condos/coops and the availability far exceeds the demand right now. As for the commercial space, haven't you noticed all the new commercial space along Atlantic Avenue that has remained empty for 2 or 3 years now? Developers have been unable to find tennants for these commercial spaces on a desirable avenue despite their high-profile locations. The last thing we need is more street level commercial space on Atlantic Avenue.

Also, people serving five year sentences wouldn't be housed in Brooklyn House. Once someone is convicted of a crime and they are sentenced to an extended stay behind bars, they must serve their prison term in a state facility. Brooklyn House is for people awaiting trial, not convicts.

I'm also not clear what the physical changes in the surrounding neighborhoods have to do with the jail and why that means it should be torn down? I can think of lots of buildings on Atlantic Avenue that don't look good. Just because real estate values have increased dramatically in the last 15 years and a new class of resident has moved into the neighborhood over that time, does that mean that all those older, unappealing buildings should be torn down? And where do you propose we put all the social services housed in those buildings?

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at January 7, 2009 11:21 AM in response to Supreme Court Weighs House of Detention Re-Opening

bravo bxgrl. I think we need to start our own informational website to counteract the crap being put out by the nimby folks.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at January 7, 2009 10:53 AM in response to Supreme Court Weighs House of Detention Re-Opening

I'm a life-long Brooklynite who recently moved to Boerum Hill after living in Carroll Gardens and Park Slope.

After witnessing the people opposed to the jail handing out material - much of the information in the material being incorrect or taken out of context - I have to say this not only smacks of nimbyism, it also has a tinge of bigotry and racism attached to it. The vast majority of the people speaking out against the jail are white. They hurl disparaging remarks at the people who would be housed in Brooklyn house, detainees that would be mostly black and hispanic. Those suspects are often victims of a racist criminal justice system that arrests a disproportionate number if blacks and hispanics every year.

The truth is, the average stay of someone in Brooklyn House would be what it was before the jail "closed" which was 48 to 72 hours. These are people who are awaiting arraignment or trial and we should be considering innocent until proven guilty. Take a look at the city's statistics and you will find that charges are dropped or reduced in close to 50% of their cases. Their lives are disrupted and their freedom is taken away when very often, their infractions can be addressed through fines and desk appearance tickets rather than having to go through the system. It's not uncommon for judges to rule that these suspects were wrongfully arrested. They shouldn't be in the system in the first place.

Having these people housed for 2 to 3 days on Rikers Island creates a tremendous, unnecessary hardship for their families. People who have very little resources and who are living at or below the poverty line must trek to Rikers Island from all over Brooklyn to deal with their relative's temporary incarceration. To do so, they must expend money and time that they don't have. If these suspects are housed at Brooklyn House, it becomes much easier for their families to visit them and deal with their needs. But the folks speaking out against the jail don't want to see those poor, disadvantage, minority individuals walking the streets around their high-priced condos and town houses.

The cost of housing these individuals on Riker's Island and the transportation to and from the isolated facility is much greater than it would cost to house them at Brooklyn House. As a taxpayer, one who lives just a few blocks away from the downtown Brooklyn jail, I want the facility reopened to save the city money. It would also mean more uniformed peace officers on our local streets. Their visible presence would make the neighborhood safer.

Furthermore, the jail was there way before the majority of the people opposed to its re-openning moved into the neighborhood. You knew it was there and there was always a possibility that the jail could be pressed back into service. Your arguments are moot.

Could that property have a more beneficial use for the neighborhood? Absolutely! But jails are a necessary component of our society and they have to go somewhere. We all must do our part in accepting these and other social services into our communities so they are not concentrated in a few locations or in isolated areas out of view of society.

The idea that the jail divides two sides of Atlantic Avenue is ridiculous. There's an entire downtown region and a major 6 lane avenue that divide the two neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights and Boerum Hill. Removing the jail would do nothing to bring the two neighborhoods closer together.

Posted by: BrooklynSteve at January 7, 2009 10:48 AM in response to Supreme Court Weighs House of Detention Re-Opening