Nice work!

Posted by: BrownBomber at July 11, 2006 2:17 PM in response to Site Registration for Commenting

Yes, I agree. Very nice house and great block. But I agree with Brownstoner. I wouldn't say it's the best block. South Portland still rules. $4m is a lot! I can only imagine with Spike Lee's house would be worth now. It's spectacular. With that being said, if you had the $4m to spend, would you buy this house on Washington Park or the Pfizer mansion on Washington Avenue?!?! I'm leaning towards the Pfizer pleasure palace. Any thoughts?

Posted by: BrownBomber at July 14, 2006 11:59 AM in response to Stepping Out On FG Park (For Almost $4 Mil!)

Arsenic, I was thinking the exact same thing. Perhaps they want to move on to the next restoration project. If they get their price they should have plenty of money left over!

Posted by: BrownBomber at July 14, 2006 12:23 PM in response to Stepping Out On FG Park (For Almost $4 Mil!)

The Baltic property has a lot of promise. The lot is very large at 25x100. Though the building is only 25x32 it is 3,525 under FAR. Very nice backyard but it's much too large. A two story extension with deck on roof would be ideal. What's the block like? The property appears to be located across the street from a school. $1.49 seems to be a good price.

Posted by: BrownBomber at July 14, 2006 12:37 PM in response to Open House Picks

Hhhhhhmmmmmm....I missed the window a/c units. When you're paying this much for a luxury property, isn't central air a must? Perhaps the owners viewed central air to be too intrusive and at odds with the period restoration?

Posted by: BrownBomber at July 14, 2006 3:14 PM in response to Stepping Out On FG Park (For Almost $4 Mil!)

Below is a letter written and sent to Tish James, Charles Hynes, Marty Markowitz, Ed Towns, Velmanette Montgomery, Roger Green, Al Vann and Community Board 2. I think this accurately sums up community sentiment on the "arrangement".
________________________________________

To [Addressees],

It's great to hear that as a result of the Nuisance Abatement Law the Lefferts Hotel will be shut down until October 2006. After years of living in terror and being held hostage in our own community, it's indeed a breath of fresh air to see our family oriented block now free of prostitutes, dealers and addicts. I think I speak for all residents of Lefferts Place and Clinton Hill, Brooklyn when I say thank you for your hard work and efforts with respect to this very serious community issue. There has been a material improvement in our quality of life since this notorious "whorehouse" has shut its doors. The streets are quiet and petty crimes such as personal property theft and vehicle break-ins have dramatically declined.

With that being said, residents of Lefferts Place are very concerned about the stipulation agreement that was entered into last week by the City and the Prince Hotel Group as it permits the continued operation of the property as a hotel (albeit no longer short term/hourly). In essence, we do not trust that owners Moses Fried and the Prince Hotel Group will honor either the spirit or letter of the stipulation agreement and run this establishment as a legitimate business concern. Why?

First, there is no legitimate demand for a hotel in Clinton Hill. The hotel does not serve the honest, law abiding members of this community. To the contrary, patrons are exclusively restricted to pimps, prostitutes, dealers and addicts. For the past eight years, the hotel, under the ownership of Moses Fried, has provided an institutional face and safe haven for a large scale drug and prostitution enterprise in our residential brownstone community. The Lefferts Hotel is economically dependent on the exact illegal activities that is prohibited in the stipulation agreement. Without illegal drug trafficking and prostitution how will the hotel remain in business? It can't so it's only a matter of time before the hotel reverts back to its prior form as there is no economic justification for a legitimate hotel of this size and scope in this neighborhood. Moreover, Moses Fried has demonstrated repeatedly in the past that his only concern with respect to his investment properties is profit and not the law. Up until now, he has profited at the utter expense and sheer misery of this community.

Second, Moses Fried and the Prince Hotel Group have already reneged on a slew of promises to run this hotel as a legitimate/legal concern. The 88th Precinct has bought the prostitution and drug allegations to their attention repeatedly in the past eight years and they simply did nothing to curb the illegal practices at the hotel. In fact, according to court documents, the receptionist at the hotel was observed by undercover police officers personally arranging appointments and handing out towels and condoms at the hotel. How can we now trust Moses Fried and his group when we've been saddled with a stack full of empty/broken promises in the past? Please read yesterday's New York Daily News article about Moses Fried. According to press reports, he is a notorious slum lord and thus cannot be trusted to adhere to the provisions of the stipulation agreement. The City, for all intents and purposes, has made a deal with the devil. A deal that will ultimately be to the serious detriment of all residents of Lefferts Place and Clinton Hill. Under no uncertain terms, the continued operation of this property by Moses Fried as a hotel will adversely affect the quality of life of all in this neighborhood.

The community has spoken and we do not want a whorehouse on Lefferts Place or in Clinton Hill. As such, we are looking for further safeguards to protect the community and additional law enforcement efforts to prevent a repeat occurrence at this establishment. What provisions have been made to ensure the community that the hotel will cease to operate as a whorehouse/flophouse? How will activities at the hotel be monitored? By whom? What happens to Moses Fried if the hotel continues to operate as a prostitution flophouse? Does the stipulation agreement have any meaningful teeth that can truly deter ownership from misusing this property? What are the penalties for failure to comply with or breach of the agreement? Can you please delineate the terms of the stipulation agreement? Can you provide us with a copy of BOTH the (1) stipulation agreement and (2) the court restraining order pursuant to the Nuisance Abatement Law?

In sum, the residents of Lefferts Place and Clinton Hill are asking you and all elected officials in Brooklyn to assist us in removing this blight from our otherwise beautiful community. Please - we need your help!

Thank you so much for your time, patience and understanding.

Respectfully yours,

Clinton Hill Residents

NY Daily News article on Moses Fried.
http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/437528p-368687c.html

Other articles on Lefferts Hotel:

http://www.nysun.com/article/35689

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/story/434320p-365910c.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/431382p-363420c.html
____________________________________

Tish James, as usual, responded immediately to this letter and is working to schedule a townhall meeting with area residents to explain the details of the stipulation agreement. Tish has been outstanding with respect to the hotel crisis.

Posted by: BrownBomber at July 26, 2006 3:10 PM in response to Lefferts Hotel Cuts Deal with Tish James

Moses Fried might be a ruthless business man but he's definitely not a very smart business man. Even at 76.

According to Property Shark, the yellow Victorian at 70 Lefferts Place sold in May for $2.4 million and at least two other brownstones on this block have fetched close to $1.5 million in the past three months. The purchaser of the Victorian home is a developer who plans to knock down the building (a tragedy in and of itself) and erect condos. Similar plans are slated for 76-90 Lefferts Place and 96 Lefferts Place.

Why would an owner of two large prime properties in Clinton Hill choose to operate these buildings in such a deplorable and unacceptable manner? It doesn’t make any sense. The Lefferts Hotel and adjacent five story brownstone could easily fetch $3 million plus. One would imagine that even a reputed slumlord would eventually wake up and smell the coffee. Condo development is occurring all around the Lefferts Hotel but the owner would rather operate it as a whorehouse/flophouse or a rundown SRO. It's a shame. PLG residents better organize soon because 205 Parkside is going to be next.

http://www.pshark.com/mason/Reports/showsection.html?propkey=180319

Posted by: BrownBomber at July 27, 2006 8:59 AM in response to Lefferts Hotel Cuts Deal with Tish James

This house is the crown jewel of Lefferts Place and it would be travesty if it was destroyed. I hope it's moved as well. The blue Victorian at 96 Lefferts was sold to a developer too but no plans have been filed as of yet. I'm certain that it will probably suffer a similar fate. This is truly unfortunate. The omission of brownstone blocks south of Fulton St. from the Historic Distric (e.g., St. James and Lefferts Place) was a huge mistake on the part of Landmark Preservation. God knows what montrosities developers will build on these streets since the area is straddled by Fulton and Atlantic, both of which are scheduled to be up zoned in 2007.

Posted by: BrownBomber at July 27, 2006 11:29 AM in response to Civil War Era Gem Facing Wrecking Ball

dreadnaught (aka DG?), highjacking another thread, huh? man, talk about being fanatical! give it a break, brah. life doesn't begin or end with ay. brooklyn will survive one way or the other whether the project gets built or not. take a deep breath and then exhale. whoah! i live in the "impact area" and though my support of the project has waned a bit in the past few months, you don't speak for me or anyone else i know. many people support this project and many people don't. in the end, the borough's best interest will be served by the final outcome.

Posted by: BrownBomber at July 28, 2006 12:38 PM in response to The War For Brooklyn

6 out of 12 posts today?

hhhhmmmmm.....

Turned yesterday's "Civil War Era Gem Facing Wrecking Ball" thread into an all out rant against Ratner and AY.

hhhhmmmmm.....

Posted by: BrownBomber at July 28, 2006 1:03 PM in response to The War For Brooklyn