I really wish them well, but there are really simple reasons why 50% of all small businesses fail:

1) They have no or poor signage. How do you tell a friend were you purchased something? How do people find you? Subtle might be cool, but it also kills profits and profits mean you get to stay in business and get better at what you love doing.

2) Know exactly who you customer is and cater to him/her. If you ask the CEO of the Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie he’s can tell you exactly who his customer is and how she thinks, what her aspirations are. Can you do this?

3) How does a customer know what he/she will find in the store? What makes it compelling to enter? A name, a logo, a clear expertise in some area needs to be demonstrated to the casual passerby.

4) The correct mix of merchandise with the correct mix of price points is the difference between paying the rent and not. Everyday you need to cover your expenses at the very least.

5) Consignment seems like a good deal, but it isn’t. You take on all the responsibility of warehousing, merchandising and selling the item but have very little control over the quality, selection of sizes and replacement inventory. We have flea markets for this type of merchandise. You need a HUGE amount of vintage clothing in a HUGE selection of sizes and styles to grab a decent share of the customers that come into your store.

6) Small shops have to be VERY smart and VERY tightly organized. Shops that are seen fully from the outside with one glance need to be visually enticing and make clear statements. Your walls, window display, cash/wrap counter surface all need to be be speaking a clear message.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at November 4, 2009 6:14 PM in response to Streetlevel: Flowers for Hanson Place

Guys you're all wrong. Gentrification starts the minute I start looking for a building to buy. And if *Rob* has something nasty to say it's time for me to buy another.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at November 3, 2009 5:03 PM in response to Closing Bell: Gentrification Indicators

It has a nice modern flower selection, somewhat limited, which is smart given it's newness, but it also has clothing and used cowboy boots for sale. In a larger more fleshed out shop you might say they are trying to create a lifestyle brand. This tiny shop just comes off as confusing mix of one off clothing pieces and flowers.

Maybe there are ladies in the neighborhood that enjoy purchasing their own flowers while buying patch-quilt vests, but it hardly seems like a huge hungry market.

They need to become the very best floral designers or the very best women's accessory shop in the neighborhood if they don't want to die pretty quickly from doing neither well at all.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at November 3, 2009 4:55 PM in response to Streetlevel: Flowers for Hanson Place

This floor plan does everything wrong, gut the building and start again.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at October 23, 2009 12:33 AM in response to Co-op of the Day: 214 Carlton Avenue, #2

Tennis is fun, ever play it? The courts in Fort Greene Park are filled most of the summer. The new pool, the track, the improved lighting and new trees are all great improvements to the area.

I guess I don't understand the whole 'keeping it real' BS that begs to keep the city just as it was when we were little kids or to some idealized era. It's Williamsburg Brooklyn (New York City the city that never sleeps), not an urban version of Colonial Williamsburg, we needn't call in the Met's restoration experts to put lucite over the graffiti. The more opportunities to experience different sports/activities the better regardless of the socio-economic background of those picking up a racket or taking a swim lesson for the first time. Calling something (like tennis) elitist ensures that it will remain a privileged activity.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at September 17, 2009 12:03 PM in response to Ace Plan for Tennis-Friendly McCarren Makeover

Has anyone looked at the floor plan of the one still on the market? The plan seem sto show the lower level is reached via a ladder??? WTF.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at September 14, 2009 1:45 PM in response to Closings Underway at the Classic Modern

With close to 14% unemployment for African American men and about 10% for Hispanics in New York City any job (even a crappy job) is better than being unemployed. Is low income housing ever going to be 100% affordable for even the poorest among us? Probably not Americans value "I got mine, you get your's economics" too much. A new park, more downtown underground parking and storefronts that can fit national retailers isn't the end of Brooklyn. CityPoint might not be Piazza Navona, but it seems a shade better than Atlantic Yards.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at September 14, 2009 1:41 PM in response to Sparks Fly over Bailout for Downtown Development

The dog-leg stair on the main floor is nice,allowing for a more inviting entrance hall. Not a big fan of the kichen, but it's not horrid. Wish it was closer to the park for over 3 million.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at September 14, 2009 1:30 PM in response to House of the Day: 591 2nd Street

With 20% down you're still talking around $4,000 a month. If you can afford that is this really exactly where you want to be? For $901 what do you get other that a walk up sandwiched between upstairs and downstairs neighbors without any real sound/vibration isolation?

Posted by: FloatingWorld at September 3, 2009 2:56 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 56 Garden Place, #2

45 Wall Street isn't a bad location, not very neighborhoodie, but at least you're nowhere near the Ingersol or Walt Witman housing projects.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 19, 2009 3:47 PM in response to All Is Revealed at Avalon Fort Greene

A Few Possible selling features the sales force seems to have overlooked on the Brooklyn view apartments:

1)No pool!
2)Close up view of a highway!
3)On coming traffic lights every night!!
4)Asthma from car exhaust fumes!
5)Continous drone BQE traffic!!!
6) Walk across a higway to get to the subway!!

...still the finishes and interior spaces are nice.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 18, 2009 6:50 PM in response to Price Cuts at One Brooklyn Bridge Park

The last building was truely an eyesore, too beaten up and misused to be repaired or renovated.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 17, 2009 5:07 PM in response to Development Watch: 154 1/2 Washington Avenue

WONDERFUL!!!!!
The spaces that are created are very much like Richard Serra's Torqued Ellipses...amazing.

http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/richard-serra/176

http://www.gvsmedia.com/video-2/l1sBpsyRNfM/Installation-of-Richard-Serra-s-sculptures-at-MoMA

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 17, 2009 4:07 PM in response to Checking In at 37 Bridge Street

Looks great so far, I hope the decorating is as equally thoughtful and spirited. (You might want to visit Darr on Atlantic Ave for some pieces) A great renovation need not be a full return to the original grandeur. Modern interventions do need to be thoughtful and purposeful.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 17, 2009 3:56 PM in response to Gut Reno on Gates

The floor plan could use a smige of tweeking (move the door to the Master Bedroom deeper into the hall past the second bathroom to form a real Master Suite, flip the sink and shower in the Master Bathroom and install a tub or bigger shower).

Is the Co-Op going to restore the building's cornice? And if not why not?

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 17, 2009 3:43 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 358 Eastern Parkway, #8

This could be a fantastic house with a little thought and a bit of cash. Fixing the landscaping will be easy and create huge value.

The great difference between public and private schools (I've gone to both, in urban and suburban settings) is that the parents, families and students are bye and large more focused on learning. The behavior & disciple problems that occur in public school aren't tolerated at all in private schools. The private school teaching staff can focus totally on the lesson plan and student achievement not behavior control and disciple.
In private schools typically close to 90-100% of parents attend teacher/parent conferences each semester. My friends currently teaching in New York Public Schools have maybe only 25% of parents show up for the same types of meetings.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 17, 2009 3:35 PM in response to House of the Day: 2101 Albemarle Terrace

50% of the existing exterior must remain for it to be considered a renovation. Gene Kaufman, Hot Karl and others at this level all regularly practice this type of "renovation" work.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 17, 2009 3:18 PM in response to Development Watch: 154 1/2 Washington Avenue

Thank you Mista IronBalls.
Hey the mess is here, we might as well as try and fix somethings. We have to deal with the situation thoughfully and directly.

In the late 1920's when The Griffin was completed it was too big, too modern and the wrong style for the area. But as the building aged, as the trees around it grew in it has become an attractive part of Fort Greene's Lafayette Avenue streetscape.

Perhaps if the storefonts of Forte were occupied, if the neighboring parking lots were filled with better scaled buildings, if the plaza was less '1970's late modern corporate' and more residential in scale and more functional for the families that one day might live there perhaps Forte would become a new Griffin and not just a symbol of how communities get sh*t on by bad developers and poorly written zoning codes.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 14, 2009 11:22 PM in response to Clarett, Goldman Lose Control of Forté

Grey Brick?? Such a bad choice. This isn't Berlin, the Achitect isn't Rem Koolhaas. There is a clear context that has been completely ignored not played against. I'm all for buildings that make edgey smart statements, this fugly mess will make nice Pratt dorms once the finished boxes sit on the market for a few months.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 14, 2009 2:20 PM in response to 163 Washington Avenue Coming to Market in January

Miami on Fulton isn't going anywhere for the next century so we might as well figure out how to fix this sh*tshow of clueless achitecture (thankfully it's not in my portfolio).
The Fix:

1) Gut the entire second floor and put in a resident's gym, children's playroom, game room. At this price point these amenities are a basic, the existing gym is a cruel joke of an interior closet. "Join Crunch next door" is NOT a good sales approach, it's an excuse for being empty handed.

2) Gut the lobby and ask a real decorator (Victoria Hagan or Bill Sofeild would be amazing choices and bring cache to this looser of a project) to redo it, drunk drag queens aren't always the right answer when it comes to lobby design.

3)Rip up the plaza (it looks like a bus stop) and make it look more like a garden with seating (see anything in the West Village or along the Hudson for a clue).

4) Drop the prices enough that the new owners can easily rip out the Ikea kitchens, bathrooms and door hardware.

Did FoxFowler even take a look at the building's direct rivals? One Handon has way better finishes and amenities, Northside Piers has more outdoor space, amenities and finishes.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 14, 2009 1:51 PM in response to Clarett, Goldman Lose Control of Forté

Ornament that articulates the dreams and desires of those commisioning a work of architecture sure is a nice thing.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 11, 2009 3:09 PM in response to Walkabout with Montrose: Ooooh, Baby, Baby

As an Architect my advice is to get a good insection, but also know that an Inspector (usually) isn't allowed to open up walls, floors or ceilings. To get the full and complete picture of everything that is wrong with the property when we are renovating we open up a building selectively to get a clear idea of what's really going on. Often water or insect damage, faulty electrical or structural issuses are only found after the finished surfaces are opened up and examined.

Becareful, be thoughful and be prepared to find surprises. The building code has been evolving over the past half century and before that it was all based on tradition and guess-work. A floor seriously out of level is never going to improve on it's own - it requires an intervention that will effect more than you might think.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 11, 2009 2:40 PM in response to Settling and Sagging House

I'd actually like to buy a one bedroom there (and almost did a year ago), but for a few reasons:
1) The apartments are too expensive.
2) They will be turned into rentals.
3) The amenties are too expensive to maintain.
4) The renters are going to trash the amenities because they have no ownership stake in their their cost to maintain and repair.
5) The mythical Water Taxi will let you off at 33rd Street & below the FDR...how do you get to a subway from there?
6) The L train is cramed full of people in the morning, the commute will be painful.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 6, 2009 9:34 PM in response to Taking the Edge Off of the Edge? Nope, It Turns Out

I've been to the sales office several times. I've looked at many units, beautiful finishes and great room sizes. I would have happily bought there except:

$700,000 for an in-your-face view of the BQE no way, it's a re-sale impossiblity, even in a boom market. You could never open your windows and the sound of the highway is always there. This is where the golf and fitness rooms should have been located.

No Pool? In a development this size?? You've got to be kidding me.

The city has no money so the park is iffy at best.The traffic noise isn't all that great either.

Crossing the BQE to get to Brooklyn Heights is scarry, that alone should cut $100,000 off the unit's price. No mother with a baby in a stroller is going to see that walk as safe, fun or value adding.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at July 27, 2009 1:56 PM in response to Renting 1 BBP: 'We Would Like Things to be Different'

ITS A ONE BEDROOM.
The Interior, windowless rooms are not bedrooms in any way shape or form. This is pure fraud.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at July 22, 2009 1:40 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 30 Main Street, #4G

Beautiful, tasteful, smart, clean, stylish, crap location, high maintenance, any flip tax?

Posted by: FloatingWorld at July 15, 2009 2:49 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 403 Avenue C, #2B

What are you supposed to do in that backyard other than rip it out and re-work it? After spending $1.6 million a few hours with a landscape Architect would have been really worth it. The kitchen is nice for a condo priced at $420,000, but not for a townhouse at this price range. The bathrooms are Home Depot specials and need to be gutted ASAP. A classic example of trying to be tredy on the cheap when classic and tastefull would have added more real value.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at July 15, 2009 2:31 PM in response to House of the Day: 202 Clermont Avenue

Wow, that's tiny...not even on my radar regardless of the price. Next door should buy it and add it to their place.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at July 14, 2009 7:09 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 59 Pineapple Street, #2L

The owners can ask for whatever they like, but the apraisals simply have not hit that price point yet for these building. Call in redlining or real estate racism, these buildings have historically been undervalued. I own an a unit at 325 Clinton (same Coop, but different campus). Buildings 201 and 325 are both stand-alone buildings not forming a courtyard. 201 is closer to the petty crime and noise of Myrtle, E units are next to the stair or elevator, but the building enjoys a wide open lawn and wonderful views. They are going to have to find a buyer willing to put down a substantial downpayment and settle for a reduced sale price. For more information regarding the Clinton Hill Co-Ops please vist:

http://325clintonave12g.blogspot.com/

Posted by: FloatingWorld at July 2, 2009 3:00 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 201 Clinton Avenue, #15E

How, there's a stupid buisness owner. I'll really enjoy seeing the duct tape over the sign for the next 10yrs.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at June 29, 2009 4:37 PM in response to Closing Bell: Obama Pitching Myrtle Deli

I hate the floor plan - the kitchen is in a weird/bad location.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at June 23, 2009 3:49 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 30 Willow Place, #4

Last time I passed by I thought two things:

"Wow that's a huge crack, looks like the whole facade is about to peal off." and "Cheap renovations (the white brick and the smaller windows) never improve a property's value.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at June 22, 2009 2:33 PM in response to 493 Myrtle, Before the Fall

Beautiful space, excellent visual merchandising, great products, stupid as hell location (lost in a line of non-descript shops catering to the wrong type of customers), space is too small to stock the full variety of items a high-end grocery buyer would be looking for.

The old video store front near The Farm would have been the ideal location - lots of store front to show off the product and the right type of customer just steps away.

Location does matter.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at June 11, 2009 5:33 PM in response to Bklyn Larder Opens

I've been to see this apartment. I walked in and walked right out. yes, the location is pretty great, but you feel like you're in a back basement and still right at street level. No privacy from people on the sidewalk and the "outdoor" space is a joke - 18" walled in glorified drainage gutter with no hope of any sunlight. The common charges in this building makes it a very tough sell and the lobby is depressing to the n'th degree.

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

It's really nice to see a firm that can easliy go from warm textural modern to classic historically thoughtful design statements.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at April 24, 2009 12:15 PM in response to Park Slope Parlor Floor Kitchen Reno

This is just about the most misguided thing a small college could do. They are destroying the atmophere that pulls students to this campus. Take a look at The Rhode Island School of Design's campus to see how a great smaller college can integrate itself into a historic context.

A good quiet modern building that takes to the background on Clinton Avenue could be a sucsessful addition to the streetscape. This is however a very unlikely outcome because that would mean an expensive building, something St. Joseph I'm sure couldn't easily afford. The open air theater that was built in the 1950's is no prize and if that was demolished I not sure anyone would cry.

The new building MUST be well setback from the plane of the brownstone facades, it MUST be free standing along Clinton Avenue, it MUST be red brick, It MUST only have a small entrance on Clinton Ave and the landscaping must include many larger trees to hide the mass of the buiding.

On Vanderbuilt Ave the designers could have much more of a free hand and be able to create an iconic building that extends the St. Joseph campus in size and enhances its public presence.

I know I'll be fighting a bad design tooth and nail.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at April 24, 2009 11:59 AM in response to St. Joseph's Gym Plan Meets Local Resistance

I have lived in Clinton Hill for about 5 years. I'm white, my best friend is black, a lot of my neighbors are black, gay, latino, asian and other more complex mixes. I really enjoy being in a diverse neighbothood. The neighborhood is also very mixed socio-economicly, which is also great. Sorry you guys can't get along and move on.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at April 22, 2009 2:22 PM in response to "Life Deserved" Slogan Sets off Gentrification Debate

In New York City the code states that you do not need a vent if there is a window in the kitchen

Posted by: FloatingWorld at April 14, 2009 5:12 PM in response to stove exhaust for rental apt.

The E units look across Layfayette Avenue into the courtyard on the South Campus. They don't have the same expansive views of the units across the hallway. Within the building they have are across from the Elevator shaft and next to the fire stairs. They are tend to be the slowest units to sell.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at April 1, 2009 5:08 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 325 Clinton Avenue, #11E

325 Clinton 12-G has confirmed cash offers at $420,000. Last April the owner of 12-G was offered as much as $520,000 to sell at that time, but declined due to personal reasons. Furnished 12-G has an established rent of $2,500+ a month. Take a look at the blog below:

http://325clintonave12g.blogspot.com/

The Co-Ops have historicaly been priced low due to real estate racism. The mix of families, singles, emty nesters has been changing over the past decade and the Co-Ops are a great racial, ethnic mix. The Architect of the Co-Ops was the famous Wallace K. Harrison (Lincoln Center, The United Nations). The exterior might be minimalist, but the floor plans are expansive, the windows large and the buidlings are solidly built. The Co-ops also have cutting edge Co-Generation technology making them one of the greenest places to live in Clinton Hill/Fort Greene area.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at April 1, 2009 4:15 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 325 Clinton Avenue, #11E

I have to say the kitchen leaves me cold. For close to $4 million, I'd want a breakfast room attached to the kitchen, not to eat right there in the middle of the food prep.

The deorating isn't up to snuff either.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at March 30, 2009 1:59 PM in response to House of the Day: 135 Clinton Street

The Beaux-Arts, Neo-Federal residence above needs the proper landscaping to balance out the facade. Between the paladian french doors there should be some trellis work with climbing roses. At the time this building was designed, formal plantings were an important part of the overall scheme. It's one of the very few residences in New York City to still have it's full rear garden and carraige house. I hope it gets the full restoration it deserves.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at February 26, 2009 12:02 PM in response to Julius Liebman Mansion Hits the Market

I'm an architect and have completed close to a dozen renovations of townhouses and significant pre-war apartments. The price of the renovation depends on the quality and completeness of the renovation. Flat walls? New (safe) electrical system? New energy efficent HVAC system? New plumbing? Level floors? Insulation and sound proofing? Restore the plaster cornices? It all cost money. $400-$600 is a real price range. A house in Ohio cost $200 to build, you're building in New York, it is more expensive. Your townhouse is at least 100 years old - there is more wrong with it than you see at the Open House. An Ikea kitch in a $2 million dollar townhouse is joke that the next buyer isn't going to pay for - re-sale is king. Quality always sells.

My advice:

You get what you pay for - Hire a good architect, make your decisions while everything is being drawn and can be priced correctly by the bidding contractor. Changes made in the feild or delayed decisions cost twice as much.

Have the architect qualify the bids - "apples to apples" that spell out out absolutly everything. If the contractor doesn't give you a price for sound insulating the powder room that means he's fine with you listen to the toilet flush during Thanksgiving dinner. Be your own advocte ask as many quests as possible. Keep the architecture neutral/classic, the interior decoration can be personal and special.

Hire a qualified contractor that knows how to schedule the subs - timing is everything, I've seen so many renovations where the work was done out of sequence and has to be ripped out and redone.

The Architect will also determine that the work is being done correctly the first time and that you're not over paying the contractor for the work that is completed.

A great deal of my work is ripping out other people's half-ass renovations. Take on what you can handle - do the house in phases. Complete one project before you start another.
Make sure you have a contingency of 10% of the total cost of the work - you'll need it.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at February 25, 2009 4:38 PM in response to Pricing for Townhouse Renovation?

I'm an architect and have completed close to a dozen renovations of townhouses and significant pre-war apartments. The price of the renovation depends on the quality and completeness of the renovation. Flat walls? New (safe) electrical system? New energy efficent HVAC system? New plumbing? Level floors? Insulation and sound proofing? Restore the plaster cornices? It all cost money. $400-$600 is a real price range. A house in Ohio cost $200 to build, you're building in New York, it is more expensive. Your townhouse is at least 100 years old - there is more wrong with it than you see at the Open House. An Ikea kitch in a $2 million dollar townhouse is joke that the next buyer isn't going to pay for - re-sale is king. Quality always sells.

My advice:

You get what you pay for - Hire a good architect, make your decisions while everything is being drawn and can be priced correctly by the bidding contractor. Changes made in the feild or delayed decisions cost twice as much.

Have the architect qualify the bids - "apples to apples" that spell out out absolutly everything. If the contractor doesn't give you a price for sound insulating the powder room that means he's fine with you listen to the toilet flush during Thanksgiving dinner. Be your own advocte ask as many quests as possible. Keep the architecture neutral/classic, the interior decoration can be personal and special.

Hire a qualified contractor that knows how to schedule the subs - timing is everything, I've seen so many renovations where the work was done out of sequence and has to be ripped out and redone.

The Architect will also determine that the work is being done correctly the first time and that you're not over paying the contractor for the work that is completed.

A great deal of my work is ripping out other people's half-ass renovations. Take on what you can handle - do the house in phases. Complete one project before you start another.
Make sure you have a contingency of 10% of the total cost of the work - you'll need it.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at February 25, 2009 4:35 PM in response to Pricing for Townhouse Renovation?

Pros: corner lot location, 3 full exposures, lots of intact plaster detail, landmarked historic district, great bones.

Cons: Needs extensive restoration/renovation, the whole back addition needs to come off - it's ugly and it's illegal, all new systems are needed, existing plaster detail is caked with huge amounts of paint.

Conclusion? Buy it if you have a an extra $600,000 to renovate it well.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at February 5, 2009 3:18 PM in response to House of the Day: 204 Clermont Avenue

Pros: corner lot location, 3 full exposures, lots of intact plaster detail, landmarked historic district, great bones.

Cons: Needs extensive restoration/renovation, the whole back addition needs to come off - it's ugly and it's illegal, all new systems are needed, existing plaster detail is caked with huge amounts of paint.

Conclusion? Buy it if you have a an extra $600,000 to renovate it well.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at February 5, 2009 3:17 PM in response to House of the Day: 204 Clermont Avenue

The views are all landmarked, amazing vistas of the entire city and beautiful tree lines streets - Take that Toren!

At around $500 bucks a square foot you're insane to be so snotty about these apartments - more closets than The Edge will give you for under a million.

The public spaces are going to be overhalled in the next few years - everything is approved.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at November 25, 2008 10:11 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 193 Clinton Avenue

The views are all landmarked, amzing vistas of the entire city and beautiful tree lines streets - Take that Toren!

At around $500 bucks a square foot you're insane to be so snotty about these apartments - more closets than The Edge will give you for under a million.

The public spaces are going to be overhalled in the next few years - everything is approved.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at November 25, 2008 10:11 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 193 Clinton Avenue

Great great buy, easy access to bus or subway, friendly, safe area. Easily worth another $50,000...

Posted by: FloatingWorld at November 13, 2008 1:42 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 360 Clinton Avenue One Bedroom