Does anyone know if this is the building with the elevator that looks like it's from a Paris house hotel from the 1920's? You know, the kind with the iron gate and that has the staircase wrapped around it?

Posted by: kimcheater at November 4, 2009 5:33 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 126 Greene Avenue, #2W

We don't like churches because they file noise complaints when we try to sell "quaint" goods across the street every weekend at 200% markups.

Posted by: kimcheater at November 4, 2009 5:25 PM in response to Church Reboot on Clinton Avenue

Correction: The third bedroom is 9' 9".

Posted by: kimcheater at November 4, 2009 5:23 PM in response to Price Cuts at 272 St. Marks Avenue

I looked at these last weekend. They're wanting $900K for a 2BR that doesn't even have a hallway closet (and, really, no place for an armoire, either); the units in the back of the building face a giant pit (maybe 15' or so) dug into the back yard, for God know what reason. Oh, and there's no elevator.

Posted by: kimcheater at November 4, 2009 5:19 PM in response to Price Cuts at 272 St. Marks Avenue

I'm not so sure there's a "right" side of Fourth Avenue.

Posted by: kimcheater at September 19, 2009 11:21 AM in response to Condo of the Day: 500 4th Avenue, #PHG

BHO, I'm curious as to how you arrived as 10-1 being the ratio of home price to annual rent in a "normal" market. That would make houses severely undervalued when compared to other investment vehicles (e.g., P/E ration of 14 for equities over the last 100 years, closer to 18 or 20 over the last 10 years), when houses have traditionally returned far less than the equities market.

That being said, no matter what condition the street is in, I wouldn't consider anything north of Willoughby to be a "nice block," unless you consider guaranteed childhood asthma and being sandwiched between two areas with some of the highest homicide rates in the city to be "nice."

Posted by: kimcheater at July 23, 2009 9:57 PM in response to House of the Day: 186 Washington Avenue Revisited

@saminthehood: You also need to register the copyright before you can sue for damages, which takes about a year to do.

Interestingly, Awaye never actually claims that they were contracted to sell the house, so how it got into "inventory" is a bit fishy. My guess is that they're trying to get a buyer's broker commission out of the bogus listing.

And here's my favorite part of the response: "it is very disappointing that a public venue like this can act to defame a company for no good reason ...."

A venue can no more defame a company than a medium can paint a picture.

Posted by: kimcheater at July 16, 2009 3:57 PM in response to Awaye Realty Caught Lifting Listing from Owner

blowfish, Bed-Stuy is so named not for its borders, but because two separate neighborhoods (Bedford and Stuyvesant Heights) began to be referred to by a combined name around the 1940s and 50s.

The area around this block is notoriously drug-riddled and seems to have a shooting every other month. If the seller keeps trying to hold out, they'll be lucky to get $600,000 for it this time next year.

Also, for what it's worth, I don't think the "rich" would even consider buying on this block. I seem them getting suckered into the Toren or one of the waterfront digs in Williamsburg, but $400 per square foot (which is what this would be lucky to go for) is, sadly, hardly what goes for "rich" in New York.

Posted by: kimcheater at July 13, 2009 3:47 PM in response to House of the Day: 111 Clifton Place

Is there also a mint thief on the lam?

Posted by: kimcheater at July 9, 2009 1:31 PM in response to Basil Thief on the Loose in Carroll Gardens

Anyone who leaves it out in the open like that is at least parsley to blame.

Posted by: kimcheater at July 9, 2009 12:52 PM in response to Basil Thief on the Loose in Carroll Gardens

*I would be surprised, that is. The elevator might be surprised, too, but probably more stunned by its having a consciousness.

Posted by: kimcheater at July 6, 2009 2:08 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 1 Plaza Street West, #8C

Trokenmatt is actually being generous with that elevator. It would be surprised if it were more than 10 square feet. And it takes about four or five seconds to move up or down a floor. Can you imagine waiting for that thing on your way to work in the morning?

A smaller point--no washing machines allowed in the units.

Posted by: kimcheater at July 6, 2009 2:07 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 1 Plaza Street West, #8C

Lechacal, let's not call people "stupid" without exploring their motivations/thought processes. "Green" is not "meaningless," it's just one aspect of influencing our choices. The fact is that people will take vacations and people will move homes (and if the development of higher-density buildings means a growth in the housing stock, it's actually more environmentally friendly to *not* "stay in your home" and allow more people to move to/live in New York City, which has the lowest per-capita energy consumption and carbon footprint of any U.S. city), and organic and LEED certification is but one part of figuring out where to draw the line in the sand (if we didn't draw that line, we'd have to cut out all taxis, flights, plastic, etc.). While I agree that some LEED certification points are silly (e.g., a point bike rack), at some point, you have to put in some fairly legitimate building practices/materials to get a LEED Gold; "greener" design, particularly in HVAC units, seems to have a significant impact on the quality of a resident's life (e.g., http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/nyregion/11bigcity.html).

I think we can both agree that, like "organic," "green" is heavily abused by commercial interests. LEED certification may require independent verification, but plenty of developers just use the "green" adjective as a marketing gimmick. I do hope that most people see through the bamboo floors (high water usage, shipping from Asia, etc.), Energy Star appliances (what isn't Energy Star certified these days), and green roofs (just paint the roof white) for what they really are.

Posted by: kimcheater at June 16, 2009 12:20 PM in response to Price Cuts at 357 Dean Street

Hmm. Can anyone pick out the broker in this lineup?

Posted by: kimcheater at June 5, 2009 3:46 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 328 Clinton Avenue, #3

bkhabitant, I think they are always closed on Mondays. Rumors of their closing seem to circulate every once in a while (apparently, there was a CL post from around last summer that purported to sell the restaurant, or the space at least), but they were still going strong at least a week or two ago. Definitely one of the gems of the neighborhood, if not the whole borough.

Posted by: kimcheater at June 2, 2009 11:38 AM in response to Co-op of the Day: 279 Sterling Place Studio

While I love the quality of the food at Franny's, as well as the emphasis on local foods, I'm in the camp that no longer goes there because of the prices and the attitude. While the pizzas start at $8, that pizza has no cheese and no tomatoes--basically, it's the dough with some oil and salt. To me, that is expensive. Once cheese and tomatoes are involved, you're looking at $15. And that's not too bad for a pie--I happily pay almost $10 more for a pie at UPN. That being said, the pies are a lot smaller at Franny's, and their refusal to slice them seems to have no other purpose than to say "we're better than you." (Incidentally, one can make the same observation that people go go along with 'tude have self esteem issues--i.e., "The proprietor and I obviously know more about food than you, and that's why we're so into the hoity-toitiness").

The beer on tap seems only slightly expensive at $7, but it comes in a glass that couldn't have been more than 10 ounces, and appeared to have been 8 (it's a real pint* glass when you order at the bar--go figure). I couldn't help but chuckle when it came out, to which the waitress scowled at me and said "Is there a problem?" in a demanding tone.

All that aside, I think an earlier poster was right in noting that it's hard to have a lot of attitude when standing behind a counter and selling cheese/cured meat, so I do hope that Brooklyn Larder turns out to be a nicer experience. I'm looking forward to seeing how it shapes up. Hopefully, they'll take their cue from some place like the Bedford Cheese Shop and not from the mothership further down Flatbush.

*With the caveat that most "pint" glasses in the U.S. actually measure in at about 14 ounces.

Posted by: kimcheater at May 28, 2009 6:16 PM in response to StreetLevel: Franny's Cheese Shop Opening Soon