We looked at this house when it was on the market with Mary Kay Gallagher in early Spring '08. It is a beautiful house with some stunning original details left--as I remember one of the challenges was going to be re-doing the kitchen...we ultimately decided that we didn't have a need for so much space (the house is HUGE) but I am really looking forward to following your reno blog. Congrats and good luck!

Posted by: bklynrosie at November 6, 2009 12:40 PM in response to The Albemarle Renovation Blog Launches!

There was a great article in the Times Magazine a while back called the Urge to Merge, which tackled this very phenomenon of "lineuppers" vs "sidezoomers." The traffic flow experts all agreed that though sidezoomers may be rude and inconsiderate for cutting in at the last minute, the vigilante lineuppers who refuse to let them in do just as much to impede traffic. Read it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03traffic-t.html?pagewanted=1

Posted by: bklynrosie at November 3, 2009 1:09 PM in response to Squadron Helps Drivers Get Off (The FDR)

Thank god that my neighborhood, Prospect Heights, is the next Cobble Hill. I was beginning to worry.

Posted by: bklynrosie at October 16, 2009 9:58 AM in response to Friday Links

The salami sandwich with hot peppers at Brooklyn Larder is phenomenal. Also addicted to their tuna.

Posted by: bklynrosie at October 14, 2009 3:38 PM in response to Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

Cute house. For those who are citing Flatbush proximity as a problem, you'd be surprised how much a 1 block cushion makes.--I live on Carlton btwn St Marks and Prospect Pl and our street is super quiet--you'd never know there was a major thoroughfare just a block away. Plus it's nice to be close to all the amenities (hardware store, pharmacy, grocer) on Flatbush when you need them.

Posted by: bklynrosie at September 28, 2009 2:44 PM in response to House of the Day: 59 St. Marks Avenue

Want to add: this place is stunning, love the reno. I think it should move at this price, perhaps with a slight discount.

Posted by: bklynrosie at September 23, 2009 1:38 PM in response to House of the Day: 526 Carlton Avenue

I love that Elliman lists it as being in Fort Greene.

Posted by: bklynrosie at September 23, 2009 1:31 PM in response to House of the Day: 526 Carlton Avenue

Benson--I'm not sure I understand your comment. What does landmarking have to do with affordable housing? This is excellent news for Prospect Heights, a vibrant and diverse neighborhood.

Posted by: bklynrosie at September 21, 2009 10:54 AM in response to City Council Signs Off on Prospect Heights Landmarking

Do three family's typically demand less on the market?

Posted by: bklynrosie at September 10, 2009 4:25 PM in response to House of the Day: 455 Henry Street

WOW! This is gorgeous. I have been wanting to do a similar gut on my PHeights Brownstone but my husband is unconvinced--this is just the ammo I need. Thanks for sharing!

Posted by: bklynrosie at August 17, 2009 11:19 AM in response to Gut Reno on Gates

Someone approached us about putting our house on the PH house tour recently. I'm toying with the idea but am a little nervous. Don't know if I can take all the snark and people judging our taste, etc. I'm a sensitive soul ;)

Posted by: bklynrosie at July 23, 2009 12:13 PM in response to Houses Needed for Prospect Heights House Tour!

what a charming house! Great light.

Posted by: bklynrosie at June 3, 2009 1:29 PM in response to House of the Day: 240 Dean Street

Also: sorry, but Aliseo and Peperoncino are not even close to being in the same league as Franny's IMHO. Apples and Oranges.

Posted by: bklynrosie at May 29, 2009 11:31 AM in response to StreetLevel: Franny's Cheese Shop Opening Soon

Franny's is a magnet for haters. I think it may have to do with expectations not meeting hype. It is an excellent neighborhood restaurant. I live around the corner and LOVE it. Go there about once a week. Their pastas are to die for, and the anchovy pizza--divine! And I've always found the service to be quite friendly. I do agree the wines can be pricey but all in all I am a big fan of the place. To each his own!

Posted by: bklynrosie at May 29, 2009 11:27 AM in response to StreetLevel: Franny's Cheese Shop Opening Soon

Gross, why incite hate? Why rile people up? Seriously what's the point...

Posted by: bklynrosie at April 20, 2009 11:29 AM in response to Sunny Skies Grace The Flea's Opening Day

For anyone super familiar with the area, I would love to get your impressions of Lefferts Place. I've walked down there a few times and it is a beautiful block, but I'd love to get more insight from anyone that lives there!

Posted by: bklynrosie at April 3, 2009 2:49 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

I thinks this is a good looking little house

Posted by: bklynrosie at February 10, 2009 1:29 PM in response to House of the Day: 296 Degraw Street

As a Carlton Ave dweller, I don't really mind this--it keeps the thru traffic on our street to a minimum!

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 29, 2009 11:14 AM in response to Carlton Avenue Bridge Could Be Closed for Four More Years

I love this! Especially how the spaces flow and allow for so much light.

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 22, 2009 10:49 AM in response to Ultra Modern Reno on South Portland Avenue

All these impending bargains are giving me a wee bit of buyers remorse, as we bought our brownstone in Prospect Heights at the top of the market (closed in May '08) for almost 2million. Now I look around at these falling prices and see if we had just waited a bit we could have gotten a lot more house then we did for that price!! Is it too early to think about an upgrade? ;)

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 9, 2009 10:41 AM in response to Goldman: NYC Prices Have a Ways to Go

Just moved to PH after 9 years in FG. I'm on Carlton btwn St.Marks and Prospect Pl. I love PH and we are very happy here (the proximity to the park and subway are priceless) however I do find that Fort Greene has more of a neighborhood feel--DeKalb on any given weekend is filled with people--the street life is much more lively then on Vanderbilt. Anyway, I definitely miss some things about FG, but can say safely that aside from my small quibble PH is a solid trade.

Posted by: bklynrosie at September 9, 2008 5:44 PM in response to House of the Day: 293 Prospect Place

qis4quincy: Barbes, Mitchell's and Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope; Zebulon and Rose's Live Music in Williamsburg. Also the French bistros in Fort Greene often have live Jazz (Chez Lola and Chez Oskar)

Posted by: bklynrosie at August 19, 2008 1:46 PM in response to The Jazz Age Comes to Brooklyn

Where are these "similar prices" for townhouses in Manhattan? Outside of emerging Manhattan markets (Harlem comes to mind) I would love to know where to buy a townhouse in the city for comparable prices as we have in Brooklyn. (Say between 2-3 million.) Only on the higher end of the Brooklyn market does parity exist.

Posted by: bklynrosie at August 12, 2008 10:16 AM in response to The Next New Brooklyn

We used Andy at Miguel's Locksmith on 4th Avenue. (718) 596-4142. He changed all the locks in our new house and we are very happy with his work.

Posted by: bklynrosie at July 15, 2008 10:54 AM in response to Locksmith recommendations?

Brownstoner, what's up with censoring Brooklynnative's earlier comment?? Though critical, it was hardly out of line, and in fact was attempting to be constructive.

Posted by: bklynrosie at July 15, 2008 10:52 AM in response to IndyMac Fallout in Brooklyn?

Hey there. We just finished opening up our parlor floor fireplace and converting it to woodburning. We used David Watt, and I highly recommend him. We are very happy with his work. He can be reached at 212-683-0028. One thing I would warn is that opening up a fireplace can be step into the unknown. We ended up having to do a lot more work then we suspected as when the wall was opened up the infrastructure we expected to be there was worthless, and we ended up having to completely rebuild the flu. Good Luck!

Posted by: bklynrosie at July 15, 2008 8:45 AM in response to Recommendations and Estimates on Openning Up Fireplaces

Cheers! This is a great idea.

Posted by: bklynrosie at July 10, 2008 11:09 AM in response to Moving Forward

10:06: for some reason stereos, traffic and sirens are not as annoying as the constant banging and thumping of running children. Probably because the former are more intermittent, whereas kids running (at least in my case) is a neverending hell. I don't think there is anything wrong with teaching your children that before a certain time of day (say after 9am) they have to use their "inside voices" and "inside walk" and play quietly.

Posted by: bklynrosie at July 7, 2008 10:23 AM in response to Noise Annoys, Rugrat Edition

I loved this article. I used to live below a couple with two young boys and could never sleep past 7am on weekends as this was when the kiddies would begin their marathon stomping and running. Back and forth, back and forth, STOMP STOMP STOMP. It drove me crazy, yet I didn't want to look like a cranky childless person so I never complained until one morning where I was desperate for sleep. The mother's response? "I'm sorry, but they can't help it!" Needless to say I lost that battle. I know kids will be kids but hungover singletons need their sleep too...

Posted by: bklynrosie at July 7, 2008 9:37 AM in response to Noise Annoys, Rugrat Edition

Boerum Hill Restoration--I just used them to fix an heirloom chair and they did a fantastic job. They are on Atlantic btwn Hoyt and Bond.

Posted by: bklynrosie at June 24, 2008 3:26 PM in response to Please recommend good furniture repair co.

Smokychimp:
This was not meant at all to be a personal attack.

I found Jeff to be lovely and professional upon our meeting. I think he was perhaps a bit miffed that he had spent time on a visit and putting together a proposal and then finding out we were below his minimum.

I think it's totally fair and reasonable that D+S should set a minimum project size, and was simply stating that if one is looking to hire an architect you should try and be as clear as possible regarding budget, to avoid situations such as this.

I was heartbroken we couldn't use Jeff--I think they do great work and wish the outcome had been different, but c'est la vie!

Posted by: bklynrosie at February 20, 2008 12:57 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

I know where OP is coming from--I just had an architect (Jeff Sherman of Delson or Sherman) balk at my project, which is not too far from the 150k mark. We had originally wanted to spend more (around 200-250k,) but the markets have been cruel recently, and things changed in the week since he and I met. When I approached him with my revised budget, I was met with a terse response: "Oh, that's a very different project isn't it--no, we would not be interested in a project of that scale--I wish we had known from the start."

Not exactly the friendliest reaction--he definitely made it seem like I had royally wasted his time!

So I definitely recommend being clear with your budget up front if you are looking to work with an architect. It will avoid hurt feelings all around. Good Luck!

Posted by: bklynrosie at February 20, 2008 12:36 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

Hi Rehab--

The open house had good attendance. There were at least 3 or 4 other couples there while we walked through.

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 29, 2008 3:20 PM in response to Being a Landlord

Guest at 2:30 says:

"..you definitely sound like [a broker] and if you plan to continue posting on b-stoner, you should sign in officially so as not to look so suspicious."

Definitely NOT a broker! I am the one who posted that..sorry I didn't sign in was being lazy.

The house is catalogue quality, for real.

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 29, 2008 3:15 PM in response to House of the Day: 275 Adelphi Street

You didn't mean that in a nasty way, but it certainly came off as nasty!! I of course am contacting professionals to help me on this, but I also happen to find the "everyman" opinions of Brownstoner readers helpful as well. Sorry if I wasted your time.

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 28, 2008 3:08 PM in response to Four Family's Taxed Higher?

12:12 (or anyone else that knows): what are the tax differences with a four family? Could you be more specific?

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 28, 2008 12:56 PM in response to Being a Landlord

1:20--THANK YOU!! I also feel we have dodged a bullet. We are first time homebuyers and I really appreciate everyone's help on the matter.

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 15, 2008 1:31 PM in response to Propsect Heights Brownstone

Thanks everyone. This has been really helpful. In the interest of full disclosure we put in an offer at 5% below ask (1.9mil) and it was left on the table. The owner wants to keep showing it. I guess she thinks she can get more?

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 15, 2008 1:01 PM in response to Propsect Heights Brownstone

12:21, or anyone else that may know: where can I get information on price history? That would be so helpful.

Thanks!

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 15, 2008 12:34 PM in response to Propsect Heights Brownstone

10:10am--We were concerned about AY--however it's so hard to know which way it will go...where did you get your info about widening the street and destroying trees?

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 15, 2008 10:14 AM in response to Propsect Heights Brownstone

I tried Miguels after reading these recomendations. I scheduled a time for them to come by and after waiting 20 minutes at the property called them to see when they were coming. They said they they would be by in an hour. I told them no thanks. They may be good but the last thing I want to deal with is another Time Warnerish company with bad customer service with a "we will be there between 12 and 6" type attitude. Especially in a down economy when they should jump at the opportunity to take on a new job.

Posted by: teepeeteee at November 11, 2009 1:28 PM in response to Locksmith recommendations?