WonTon's Profile

Name:
learncantonese at gmail dot com
In Brooklyn Since:
1981
On Brownstoner Since:
Location:
Brooklyn
Neighborhood:
Park Slope
Abode:
Co-op
Profession:
Sex:
Age:
Website:

Author's Posts

September 2, 2009

"Owner-occupied" coop units

This is a question for anyone who's shopped around for a mortgage on a coop apartment lately. What percentage of "owner occupied" units is a coop building required to have in order for a prospective buyer to obtain a mortgage? Is it 70%? 75%? 80%? Or is it not a question that your lender asked?

June 23, 2009

Bike and Board-Thumbs Up

I had an old Sears bike gathering dust and rust in the basement of my building. Last week I dragged it to the new bike shop in Vanderbilt (the last time it had been tuned up, 8 years ago, I'd taken it to Dixon's, which did a crummy job, had to take it back twice, they charged me $100.)

Well, the guys at Bike and Board took my old beater and turned it into a beauty. The rust is gone, the gears are sparkling, it rides better than it has in decades. My hat (well, my helmet) is off to them.

Total cost--including two new tires which had to be special ordered--was $120, which seemed just about right, considering the original condition of my bike.

I enthusiastically recommend them!

June 20, 2008

The $29,000 Question: Big Box Watch on Flatbush Ave

A couple of days ago the mystery was revealed: the new tenant in the space occupied for years by beloved local video rental store Video Edge is gonna be...ta da! T-Mobile.

Just what we need! Mr. Won Ton is ecstatic that he now has five choices of mobile phone stores within a five minute stroll of his front door--who needs a butcher when you've got extra minutes?

The scuttlebutt at the recent North Flatbush Avenue BID meeting is that T-Mobile is paying $29,000 a month rent on this sucker, or about four times what Video Edge had to cough up.

(Mr. WonTon misses Andy and Rommel of VE...who had such great taste, not to mention a massive collection of his favorite old skool martial arts flicks.)

My $29,000 question is: How is it that T-Mobile can afford to do business on Flatbush and 7th with such high overhead?

Answer (from my local real estate guy): They're bad, they're nationwide! They don't have to make a profit in this location. "It's all about placement. They pay for the visibility."

Hmmm. I guess that's why American Apparel is able to keep going in our old Plaza Twin Cinema by selling a couple of t-shirts a day.

Lots of empty storefronts sitting for a l-o-n-g time on North Flatbush these days...greedy landlords hoping to cash in on the big box store tip, I guess. Hey, we still don't have a Starbucks!

May 2, 2008

NYSERDA Multifamily Performance Program

Has anybody had any experience with this new NYSERDA energy efficiency program. My co-op (15 units, Park Slope limestone) is starting to look into it. Wondering if it is really a good deal to get involved in. It's not exactly easy money (you have to find an energy consultant, pay them a lot upfront, then follow their energy conservation plan design)

On the other hand, our building's heating costs are rising, we could use new insulation, and maybe this program is a great way to help us pay for this.

Any thoughts, and especially recommendations for Energy Consultants from the NYSERDA list, most welcome.

Author's Comments

Paid off inspectors? What inspectors?

They have a name in Chinese for this type of construction: tofu buildings.

Posted by: WonTon at November 9, 2009 10:12 AM in response to Open Thread

Interesting. Thanks for that info dave. I thought that Hang Seng was a subsidiary of HSBC. The only other thing I know about the bank is that they seem to have the lock on ATMs in the subway (MTR) stations.

Posted by: WonTon at November 9, 2009 9:48 AM in response to Open Thread

dibs...why Hang Seng as opposed to HSBC? I thought they were the same company.

Posted by: WonTon at November 9, 2009 9:39 AM in response to Open Thread

Ha! Petebklyn...the other night at a dinner I met a woman who is a real estate agent in HK. Her specialty? Selling "distressed" U.S. properties to mainland Chinese investors. She knows the neighborhoods of Las Vegas and Detroit like the back of her hand....

Posted by: WonTon at November 9, 2009 9:38 AM in response to Open Thread

I think so. But a HK friend of mine has just bought his THIRD flat. He's investing in property in neighborhoods he thinks are undervalued that will go up. I wish him well. Actually, property is about the most reliable investment you can have in Hong Kong, except maybe for stashing your cash in Renminbi, which comes with its own set of risks and problems.

I recently learned that the maximum LEGAL interest rate charged by lenders in HK is 40%!!

Posted by: WonTon at November 9, 2009 9:36 AM in response to Open Thread

Hi all. Checking in from Hong Kong. HUGE property bubble here. One apartment recently sold for something like $60,000 a square foot. Mainland sleazeballs are laundering their money over here by buying overpriced apartments.

Fortunately my rent remains the same. $1,200 a month.

Posted by: WonTon at November 9, 2009 9:30 AM in response to Open Thread

This is a beautiful building, and I considered buying a 1BR flat here 15 years ago. However, the maintenance back than for the 1BR was almost 1,000! I did some checking and found out the building's finances were awful--they had a big balloon mortgage, probably still do. Such a shame, as it is an architectural stunner.

Posted by: WonTon at October 13, 2009 2:35 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 39 Plaza Street West

Yesterday was one of the worst days I have ever had in recent memory.

I need help.

The short story: 48 hours before I'm scheduled to fly to Hong Kong (and before a very nice LA academic is due to move to my apartment for 4 month) I am awakened to find a bug on my white duvet cover. I smack the bug, and-OMG!-- blood bursts across the mattress.

I spend the next several hours in a frenzy, tearing apart my bedroom, the bed, the frame the bedding. I don't find anything but I do see one more dead bedbug on the floor. So I call the subtenant, call an exterminator, and begin packing up all my clothes, drying them at 140 degree heat, and sealing them in plastic bags in preparation.

Today some good news: the exterminator couldn't find signs of infestation. I'm going to do the exterminate anyway, of course. They need to do it twice, spaced at least 10 days apart. I postponed my departure by two weeks. I'm dealing with this part, as awful as it is.

But my poor subtenant--who still wants to stay here--has no place to sleep (she has an office in Manhattan).

So my question: do any of you guys know of someone who has a spare room to rent from now until October 15th to a really nice 50-something writer and academic from LA?

Thanks.

Posted by: WonTon at September 30, 2009 2:01 PM in response to Open Thread

whoops, sorry...meant to post that in the OT. As you can see, I'm in serious freak out mode.

Posted by: WonTon at September 30, 2009 2:00 PM in response to Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

Yesterday was one of the worst days I have ever had in recent memory.

I need help.

But my poor subtenant--who still wants to stay here--has no place to sleep (she has an office in Manhattan).

So my question: do any of you guys know of someone who has a spare room to rent from now until October 15th to a really nice 50-something writer and academic from LA?

Thanks.

Posted by: WonTon at September 30, 2009 1:57 PM in response to Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

To give you an idea...the flat I rent in Hong Kong is smaller than the one I own in Brooklyn. It is about 500 square feet (it's rated larger, because in Hong Kong developers can count all sorts of things--common space, hallways, even elevator shafts--as part of the "space.")

The 500 square feet is cut into a LR and TWO(!!) BRs. It was built in 1994 so it's not a "new" building (new construction is the most desirable in HK--buildings aren't built to last). Location is the most desirable area of downtown (SoHo), right next to the Midlevels escalator. Roughly analagous to the heart of Greenwich Village.

The last I looked, this baby was selling for 3.5 million Hong Kong dollars, or about $455,000. I would never pay that amount for a place like this. You be the judge...here's some pix:
http://tinyurl.com/y8cjaqk

Posted by: WonTon at September 24, 2009 1:34 PM in response to Open Thread

No, 'fraid not (waaah!). The ticket's bought, the subtenant moves in on October 1st.

I'll be back in around 5 months, though.

Posted by: WonTon at September 24, 2009 1:21 PM in response to Open Thread

I return to Hong Kong next week. I'm planning to bring you an occasional "HOTD" report. Or, actually, a "FOTD" (Flat of the Day). It might be amusing for you PLUSAs to see what kind of bang your buck gets in a similar-but-different global city.

Posted by: WonTon at September 24, 2009 1:17 PM in response to Open Thread

I don't think the Hong Kong real estate bubble is going to burst anytime soon. It dipped a bit last December after the financial crisis, but it is back up again (and a friend of mine who bought investment property in January has already made 20% on his well-timed buy).

But a couple of factors make Hong Kong property an unusual situation. First is that there's inflated demand from mainland Chinese looking for ways to launder their money. HK is one of the world's biggest money laundering centers!

The second factor is that the Hong Kong government owns all the land, and sale is by leasehold. Hong Kong has low taxes, so the bulk of its operating costs come from the land "sales". The government treats its land like the Arabs treat their oil, releasing only as much as the market will bear, and thus keeping property values artificially inflated.

Posted by: WonTon at September 24, 2009 1:16 PM in response to Open Thread

Silly, of course it's traditional. The egg roll, that is.

chaan goon

春捲

Posted by: WonTon at September 23, 2009 5:54 PM in response to Open Thread

I also consider 65 degrees to be chilly, however I may well try to stop by this evening. I'll be off to Hong Kong in two weeks, so it will probably be my last PLUSA gathering of 2009.

Posted by: WonTon at September 17, 2009 12:41 PM in response to Open Thread

checking in late on the accent thing:

Yes, Kens, you have an accent. It is very subtle and communicates only the information that English probably wasn't your first language. I consider myself an accent expert but I couldn't quite place yours, which is why I asked you where you were from.

Yes, sexy. But I have always been into accents. I don't know how they play with the general population.

Posted by: WonTon at September 17, 2009 11:37 AM in response to Open Thread

Me, I would rather watch paint dry all day than watch a single hour of professional football.

Posted by: WonTon at September 14, 2009 12:44 PM in response to Open Thread

The building, incidentally, is yet another of Bruce Ratner's spectacular contributions to our fair borough.

Posted by: WonTon at September 14, 2009 12:14 PM in response to Court Street Cinema Fire, Again

Thanks chicken and mopar!

Mopar, the Martha Stewart color I used (Rose Tinted White)--as mixed by the Benjamin Moore computer--was not only true to the original, it was better.

Hard to explain why, but it may have to do with the superior quality of the Ben Moore paint. The color has more resonance and depth--it's sorta like a stereo version of the original mono color.

Aura is indeed icky, and don't believe it when they say it only takes 1 coat. You need two.

Posted by: WonTon at September 14, 2009 12:13 PM in response to Open Thread

I've claimed with Allstate, and they were fine. I claimed twice within three years--once for water damage in my apartment, and another time for off-premises theft (I pay extra for travel theft coverage).

Both times they were helpful and paid promptly (the larger claim was $3,000.

But this was some years ago--1999 and 2002. Don't know what they are like these days so YMMV.

Posted by: WonTon at September 14, 2009 10:52 AM in response to Good/Bad Insurance Cos?

Okay, off topic, but I want to kvell--I just finished repainting my entire apartment (with a friend).

Yes, I'm boring--I used the same colors as I did in the original renovation. Finding the color was a bitch, though, because I'd used Martha Stewart paint the first time, and the color palette was completely changed. Thank goodness B. Moore has the MS colors in their computer!

My apartment has a loft-ish configuration, and the kitchen is open to the LR. I "faded" the LR color (Rose Tinted White) by 50% to make the kitchen wall color. The ceilings are B. Moore Regal Matte White.

I used B. Moore Aura (eggshell) on the walls. I don't recommend it--the paint is sticky and very difficult to work with. It dries in a blink and makes little clumpy bits if you're not careful. The finish is gorgeous, though.

A view into the kitchen: http://tinyurl.com/lcmvv2

Posted by: WonTon at September 14, 2009 10:44 AM in response to Open Thread

I'm hearing it too. The sound ebbs and flows like a strong breeze.

The closest match to the sound i found on the website is the one called "Four Spotted Tree Cricket".

Posted by: WonTon at September 5, 2009 11:58 AM in response to What is Chittering Out Back?

thanks, benson. I forgot about the american can factory!

Posted by: WonTon at September 4, 2009 4:38 PM in response to Open Thread

Rob, thanks for the tip, but since my friend comes from Berlin, introducing her to those ladies would be coals to Newcastle.

Dave, can I take a raincheck on the Thai phallus tour? I'll bring over some of my Siva lingams and they can all get acquainted.

Posted by: WonTon at September 4, 2009 4:22 PM in response to Open Thread

I should add: this German friend is also one of my major clients. I'd like to get her to do a book with me about Brooklyn....so I really do appreciate your suggestions.

Posted by: WonTon at September 4, 2009 3:55 PM in response to Open Thread

Hey guys, I need your help. I'm taking a very artsy German friend on a long walk through "hip" Brooklyn tonight. I am going to take her from my place in the North Slope, down to Fifth Ave, across the Gowanus Canal, and up through Carroll Gardens and out to Red Hook.

I'm planning to stop on the way for drinks at Brooklyn Social, and dinner at Petite Crevette.

But I would love to add a gallery, or a cool shop, or a neat building to the tour. I already tried to arrange to get into the dumpster pool on Bond, but it is closed for the season.

Does anybody know any "design-y" type places in the area that would be good to add to my tour?

Posted by: WonTon at September 4, 2009 3:53 PM in response to Open Thread

Oh, which G.O.D. lamp did you get? I know their stock really well (My place in Hong Kong is across the street from one of their stores).

They had a very clever light fixture last season that was made from the red plastic lampshades that are everywhere in the outdoor wet markets. (The NYT featured it here:
http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/the-high-low-kiosk-lampshade-25/

I went to my local hardware store and replicated the look in my kitchen for $2. No problem with wiring, since you slip it onto your own hanging bulb.

Posted by: WonTon at September 3, 2009 4:53 PM in response to Light Fixture from Hong Kong

I've been to China.

It makes 4th Avenue look like the 4th Arrondissement.

Posted by: WonTon at September 3, 2009 4:43 PM in response to Development Watch: 4th Avenue Best Western

I am in the same situation. I resent being told I am a tax cheat. Self-employed people have to take care of many, many taxes and costs that are subsidized and invisible for people who work for employers.

Posted by: WonTon at September 3, 2009 10:44 AM in response to How Can Self-Employed Refinance?

Okay my beefcake list...all "currents" and in no particular order:

1. Javier Bardem
2. Takeshi Kaneshiro
3. Pierce Brosnan
4. Gabriel Byrne
5. Denzel Washington
6. Tony Leung Chiu Wai
7. Idris Elba
8. George Clooney
9. Sebastien Koch
10.Daniel Craig

Posted by: WonTon at September 2, 2009 12:13 PM in response to Open Thread

I'm also puzzled why you brought a fixture from Hong Kong. I'm very familiar with the lighting fixtures from there, since I live there part of the year. In fact just a few months ago I had to replace some fixtures in my HK apartment and spent a day searching for something nice in Hong Kong's "lighting district" in Causeway Bay.

It wasn't easy. I didn't see anything on sale there that you couldn't find here. And the really beautiful high-end decorative lighting in Hong Kong is all imported from Europe, the UK or Japan.

Posted by: WonTon at September 2, 2009 11:59 AM in response to Light Fixture from Hong Kong

My "local", Total Wine Bar on 5th Ave in PS, doesn't have an outdoor space, but it is a short walk from all the trains that stop at Atlantic Avenue--2,3,4, Q R N D. It might be a good spot for a PLUSA clambake.

Posted by: WonTon at August 31, 2009 3:21 PM in response to Open Thread

Exhausting, frustrating weekend. Mr. Cypress Hill came over to help me paint my apartment. We had to move major furniture and about 89 gazillion books. Finally, Sunday afternoon, covered with Benjamin Moore Aura and sweat, we finished (except for moving back the 89 gazillion books).

I went into the bathroom to wash my hands, glanced up at the ceiling and saw...a giant bubble in the ceiling over the bathtub in the EXACT spot that I had repaired just three weeks ago.

The asshole upstairs has a leak. This is the third time it has damaged my bathroom, the third time he has "fixed" his leak, the third time I will have to endure several days of construction disruption.

The asshole upstairs, I just found out, has STILL not paid my workman for the damage repair of last month. I want to kill him. Or somebody.

Posted by: WonTon at August 31, 2009 11:29 AM in response to Open Thread

I don't think you can trace IP addresses back to individual computers.

But if you are posting from work, oftentimes, the IP address will reveal the company name.

Posted by: WonTon at August 28, 2009 3:19 PM in response to Open Thread

I'll probably post from over there from time to time. But the time difference is 12 hours, so I won't be quite in synch with the rest of you PLUSAs.

OTOH, I can post some Hong Kong "COTD" in case any of you all are interested in taking your real estate money offshore.

Posted by: WonTon at August 28, 2009 3:07 PM in response to Open Thread

yeah, yesterday's 1000 + day may end up being the record for a while.

I, too, will be returning soon to Hong Kong.

Posted by: WonTon at August 28, 2009 3:02 PM in response to Open Thread

Dave, speaking of futbol, I have two words for you:

J League.

Oooooh.

Posted by: WonTon at August 28, 2009 11:46 AM in response to Open Thread

Really sorry about what happened to *rob*. He was having an "off the meds" day yesterday, but he didn't deserve to get cut off like that.

This ghettoazzz fellow on the other hand is Hannibal Lecter-level smarmy. His posts are so creepy and slimy that when I encounter them, my fingers start slipping off the keys of the keyboard.

Please bring back *rob* and silence the sockpuppet.

Posted by: WonTon at August 28, 2009 11:44 AM in response to Open Thread

Hi everyone. Sorry I missed Clover Club. I didn't see your last post, Bitter. After we hit 1000 I ran off to my two hour yoga class.

Yes, I passed up Brownstoner drinks for a yoga class.

I guess that makes me an EMP* PLUSA.

*Even More Pathetic

Posted by: WonTon at August 28, 2009 11:40 AM in response to Open Thread

THL breaks the triple digits! GO GIRL!

Posted by: WonTon at August 27, 2009 5:59 PM in response to Open Thread

Yat Chin!

Posted by: WonTon at August 27, 2009 5:57 PM in response to Open Thread

Do you know how to say 1000 in Cantonese?

Posted by: WonTon at August 27, 2009 5:57 PM in response to Open Thread

Maybe I should skip yoga. But that would be too, too PLUSA.

Posted by: WonTon at August 27, 2009 5:54 PM in response to Open Thread

You guys better get to 1000 fast, my yoga class starts soon!

Posted by: WonTon at August 27, 2009 5:53 PM in response to Open Thread

I'm devastated i am not 888. Devastated.

Bitter retort, how long will you guys be at Clover Club?

Posted by: WonTon at August 27, 2009 5:50 PM in response to Open Thread

my guess is that ghettoazz is a What sockpuppet

Posted by: WonTon at August 27, 2009 5:06 PM in response to Open Thread

Lucky 8 goes to dave, who wasn't even trying.

Posted by: WonTon at August 27, 2009 4:51 PM in response to Open Thread

All right, one more try....

Posted by: WonTon at August 27, 2009 4:50 PM in response to Open Thread

800?

Posted by: WonTon at August 27, 2009 4:49 PM in response to Open Thread