wonder how that lawsuit against the slaughterhouse next door is going... i mean, congrats on filling up!

Posted by: dbcn at April 14, 2009 11:17 AM in response to Checking In On the Canvas Lofts

The NYT had a really interesting (and scary) article on Sunday about what can happen to condo owners if other owners in their building start to default on maintenance - sounds like a total mess.

I was once told by a friend that one of the buildings on Bayard in Williamsburg was 'structurally unsound' and that in 5 years none of the doors would fit in the door frames - has anybody heard anything like this? I'd love to see some quality analysis on those buildings.

That said, I went to an open house at a toll bros building in LIC yesterday, and the build quality was miles above what I'm seeing in Williamsburg.

Posted by: dbcn at February 9, 2009 9:56 AM in response to Open Thread

I walked over to Northside Piers today with the intention of looking at the apts listed above, but walked away when I got there - that is one crappy part of Williamsburg. And it's got 10 years before the neighborhood gets to a point where it doesn't look like burned out buildings.

The first thing I see when I walk out of my building is a busy, trashed Kent Avenue? Locked into having to use the L-train?

I don't think you could pay me to live there.

Posted by: dbcn at February 5, 2009 4:33 PM in response to Toll Brothers Gets Serious About Selling at Northside Piers

I don't really agree with Sam's observation that the car lifestyle is sustainable, but I do agree that the MTA is a dinosaur.

What's frustrating is that there's been high-profile and pretty rapid progress in auto development recently (at least in terms of getting off gas and having less of a carbon footprint), and virtually no progress in updating the MTA. So the L Train has new electronic information boards. Great. A hybrid bus here and there. Great. There are still B61 drivers that don't even know the route they're supposed to drive.

I lived in the UK 10 years ago and at least in terms of information being given to the passengers, the transit system *then* was ahead of what the MTA provides *now* - you have to figure the MTA is at least 20 years behind the curve, so there's obvious room for vast improvements, but no motivation to actually accomplish anything.

Posted by: dbcn at November 19, 2008 10:12 AM in response to 50% Less G Service Coming Our Way

That doesn't look like Greenpoint. Looks like 'East Williamsburg.'

Posted by: dbcn at November 13, 2008 11:13 AM in response to Distress Signals in Williamsburg

most greenpoint realtors are about a year behind, so it's still bubble land for them, especially greenpointproperties.com. I love the idea that if it's not selling at a lower price, it must be that it looks like a cheap condo, but if we *raise* the price, then it'll actually seem nicer! genius!

it's like a bubble wrapped in a bubble in a bubble wrapped in an enigma.

Posted by: dbcn at October 29, 2008 10:35 AM in response to Price Hikes in Greenpoint? Say What?