What a catastrophe.

But, um, I have to admit I like the cabinets in the kitchen--that classic face-frame cabinet with the inset door is nice. Of course, I'd have painted the doors the same color as the frames...

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at March 25, 2009 3:17 PM in response to House of the Day: 442 State Street

You'll want to commit suicide after a few weeks of trying to park your SUV. And yep, it'll cost extra to park it in a garage. Not to mention, if it's at all fancy it's not a great idea to park if on the street--eventually, someone will break in and steal parts, if not the whole car. And it'll get scratched, dents, dings, etc. You should have a "beater" if you're going to park in on the street in the city. Garaged cars can, obviously, be nicer.

I'd strongly recommend against selling it and buying another, smaller car. A lot of times, you'll want a different kind of car depending on what you're doing. For instance, you may want an SUV/Van to pick up a free dresser someone is giving away on the brownstoner boards. But if you're going away for the weekend, or just doing a run for some things to stock your pantry you may want something smaller with better gas mileage, that's easier to maneuver in the city. If you buy another car, you'll be constantly like "dang it! If only we had the old SUV, we could get that awesome free dresser! Now we have to spend $300 and have it delivered...this is a loss!"

So, I'd recommend selling it and banking the cash in a car rental account--that way, you won't feel like you "gave up" your car, you just traded it for MANY cars!

Just a word of warning, for long weekends, holidays, etc you have to book your care WAY in advance. The city cleans out.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at March 23, 2009 12:35 PM in response to BH Parking/Garage question

You'll want to commit suicide after a few weeks of trying to park your SUV. And yep, it'll cost extra to park it in a garage. Not to mention, if it's at all fancy it's not a great idea to park if on the street--eventually, someone will break in and steal parts, if not the whole car. And it'll get scratched, dents, dings, etc. You should have a "beater" if you're going to park in on the street in the city. Garaged cars can, obviously, be nicer.

I'd strongly recommend against selling it and buying another, smaller car. A lot of times, you'll want a different kind of car depending on what you're doing. For instance, you may want an SUV/Van to pick up a free dresser someone is giving away on the brownstoner boards. But if you're going away for the weekend, or just doing a run for some things to stock your pantry you may want something smaller with better gas mileage, that's easier to maneuver in the city. If you buy another car, you'll be constantly like "dang it! If only we had the old SUV, we could get that awesome free dresser! Now we have to spend $300 and have it delivered...this is a loss!"

So, I'd recommend selling it and banking the cash in a car rental account--that way, you won't feel like you "gave up" your car, you just traded it for MANY cars!

Just a word of warning, for long weekends, holidays, etc you have to book your care WAY in advance. The city cleans out.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at March 23, 2009 12:35 PM in response to BH Parking/Garage question

At the Windsor Terrace place, iirc, the previous owner had suddenly passed away and was a serious DIY hobbyist (maybe even ex-construction trades guy). There was a basement FULL of power tools, unbelievable woodworking, construction, and other supplies. Seriously, it was like the inventory of a small hardware store. My understanding was that all came with the place.

That sunroom also felt awesome in the fall, and it was very easy to imagine yourself growing tomatoes and flowers in the winter in that sort of greenhouse just beyond it. Also, everything about the place felt perfectly done. Just, you know, that feeling that someone had taken real time and care to make sure edges lined up and everything was done just right. And yep, the yard was large and very actively gardened; there were planted beds and lots of pretty things.

That said, the place had been renovated and decorated with a VERY specific taste, as the pictures barely begin to indicate. The floors in the entryway were all large black marble tiles, and I think some of the bathrooms were floor-to-ceiling marble.

Still, I think someone will be very happy there, and I'd be shocked if they had any kind of maintenance problem, the place felt so well-maintained. Even though IMHO, they overpaid.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at March 6, 2009 5:09 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

"Forget about who "was more than happy to facilitate" the crime of overborrowing (banks, brokers). The crime was committed by the BORROWERS...I will probably lose my financial job this year because a bunch of flunkies had to have the awesome kitchens that their friends had."

I'm sorry you're worried about your job, but I just don't believe your conspiracy theory that poor people figured out how to trick Wall Street into giving them billions in loans they couldn't pay off, and thereby brought down the financial system.

The fault lies with the professional financiers whose entire job was deciding who to give loans to and who not to give loans to, and who chose to give loans to people they knew couldn't pay them off. There's a big share of fault also to the geniuses who bought these loans because they thought they'd figured out a way to make money even if the creditor defaulted. And the insane masters of the universe who allowed ridiculous leverage and ignored every warning sign that this was insane.

All these guys, frankly, knew full well that a LOT of the little fish wouldn't be able to pay off these loans, but gave them the loan anyway. Because, hey, there's money to be made in loan origination, selling bundled securities, etc. And, did we mention, these GENIUSES have figured out a way to make money even if the people borrowing money default?

Seriously, it's kind of crazy to blame unsophisticated people who took free money on what they were told were incredible terms. It makes a LOT more sense to blame the so-called financial geniuses who gave them free money on false pretenses, and thought they'd be able to make a fortune doing it.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at February 24, 2009 8:04 PM in response to Quote of the Day

If you want to get people more involved, put a note under their door telling them how much more they're paying because the co-op board is not following the by-laws. Include the big assessment this year, and any prior assessments. And then propose a solution.

For instance: "My fellow owners: The condo board is not following our bylaws with regard to the apportionment of costs, leading many members to pay more than their fair share, in a violation of our condo agreement.

In this unit, you are paying $1,000 more per year than you would if we followed the bylaws.

Molly Jenkins, Joe Blow, and Ernesto Rizzuto have all pledged to follow the bylaws of our condo agreement when it comes to shared costs. I will be voting for them at our board meeting on June 10 at 8PM in the laundry room, and if 45 members join me, we will have a majority of the vote. I ask you to attend this meeting, and support Molly, Joe, and Ernesto.

Thank you,
LaDonna Smith
Apartment 7C
718-555-1212

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at January 29, 2009 11:00 AM in response to Advice Regarding Abusive Board?

It sounds high to me. Frankly, I have no idea, and want to get the same question answered.

My bill for 12/16-1/27 was $735.

Details:
Attached brownstone (both sides). Approx. 4000sf. Basement totally underground. 8' ceiling in garden level, 11' ceiling in parlor level, 9' ceiling in floor above, and 7' ceiling with mansard roof on top level. 30+ year old gas boiler, gravity water system, cast iron radiators. Pretty traditional brownstone floorplan with dividing walls between hallway, parlor level, etc.

Programmable thermostat of 72 in mornings and evening, 60 degrees daytime (at work, and sun through windows keeps house pretty warm) and at night.

Incredibly non-responsive system; in the evening and in morning, it takes about 3 hours to heat house to 70 (and if it's freezing outside, it never makes it that high). At which point, we're either going to bed or leaving for work.

Insulation: Windows are fiberglass double pane on garden, parlor level & wood-frame with storms on top 2 levels. No idea if the cockloft has been insulated, assume walls have not, know floors have not. Wrapped exposed basement heating pipes ourselves in fiberglass. Went up to roof and stuffed soft foam in the skylight vent.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at January 28, 2009 1:05 PM in response to Cost of monthly heating?

Haven't used her, but have heard good things about Cynthia Eng. cynthia.eng@archytecs.com, 347-564-7587.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at January 22, 2009 9:07 AM in response to Architect Recommendations

I have never cooked on induction, but the gas vs. electric is simply no contest. Gas is trillions of times better--heating power, ability to precisely set your temperature, speed, responsiveness, etc. I believe it's also cheaper.

You should rule out electric. Induction, however, may be worth considering.

I have heard induction is good because it's more efficient. It is also supposedly very fast to get to a high heat using it, as long as you have a sort of power boost burner that has a lot of electricity going through it. Not to mention it's safer because the element doesn't heat up without a pan on it, and heats down very quickly once you take the pan off it. Another advantage is that it heats your house up a lot less, especially in the summertime in a small kitchen. Another bonus is that some of them have auto shut-offs, which means you can set an egg to boil for 3 minutes and walk away. That's pretty cool.

Some downsides on induction:
--you can't use aluminum or copper pans unless they're specially made (there has to be an iron component so it can be magnetized). To test your pots, see if a magnet sticks to them. If it doesn't, they won't work on your new stove.
--they are lousy with round pots (woks), because the surface area of the pot isn't in enough contact with the heating element to build up heat. Though, frankly, you can't really do wok cooking on a normal gas stove because none of the burners are hot enough.
--they may be less responsive, because you have to use thicker pots

Here's a good roundup from people who have used both:
http://ask.metafilter.com/71258/Which-is-a-better-stove-gas-or-induction

But ELECTRIC RANGE SUCKS. I used to use a 70 year old gas stove that you had to light with a match, and it was a bazillion times better than my mother's brand-new fancypants high end electric.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at January 17, 2009 1:28 PM in response to Induction or electric cooktop?

Donatella, i loved that story.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at December 26, 2008 10:08 PM in response to Squirrel Trapper recommendation

Are you people insane? This is a pit bull. It can kill a grown person in seconds.

I find it absolutely ridiculous that anyone thinks we're supposed to just put up with dog attacks.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at December 26, 2008 10:57 AM in response to A Christmas Tale

My better half spent a weekend doing this.

Tools:

--The round scoring tool
--spray bottles filled with a hot vinegar solution in a 4 water: 1 vinegar ratio
--knife with metal blade designed for scraping off wallpaper (like this: http://www.mrhardware.com/wallpaper-scraper-pi-120.html?osCsid=ece412f8e9656db77c9688e1bed0ce3d or like this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-pc-WALLPAPER-SCRAPER-%2F-STRIPPER-SET_W0QQitemZ370121093095QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20081128?IMSfp=TL081128119004r13448)
--TPS substitute to remove remnants of glue (also in a spray bottle)

The trick appeared to be to score a section of wallpaper, soak it heavily with the vinegar solution, WAIT 20-30 mins, and then peel it off, and go at the remaining paste/paper with the vinegar mix and then with the TPS. (and, as you're cleaning up a section, start the score/vinegar soak on the next one.)

GOOD LUCK! It's backbreaking work.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at December 13, 2008 5:27 PM in response to recommended technique for removing stubborn wallpaper???

Hammer and sickle? As I recall, it was a Republican President who nationalized Wall Street with a $700+ billion taxpayer bailout last month.

You nasty ol' haters stole that flag from us when we were kids 30 years ago. We've grown up, and now we're stealing it back. And we're gonna give it to EVERYBODY! Because we're ALL REAL AMERICANS! Even the ones named Barack Hussein Obama! Especially them!

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at November 10, 2008 10:33 PM in response to Flying the Flag in the Slope

All I can think re looking for a tenant in the Irish Echo is the ol' Irish saying: "Drink is a terrible thing. It makes a man shoot at his landlord. And it makes him miss." (full disclosure: I'm Irish. And have never once shot at my landlord.)

Maybe you can screen people on the phone first, and get references? Also, if there are any teaching hospitals nearby that can be good, because residents are dream tenants. You can reach out to the residency coordinator and see if there's a housing liaison.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at October 24, 2008 7:57 PM in response to ADVISE NEEDED ON HOW TO GET RENTERS

If you go to etsy.com, you can find small press people who do this kind of thing. Searching locally is an option, too.

You may also want to call a local chamber of commerce kind of organization--they may have some kind of package deal.

Musicians also tend to print business cards and, so if you are near Carnegie hall, or the Manhattan School of Music or something, you may want to check their bulletin boards or call.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at October 24, 2008 6:59 PM in response to business cards

Thanks all! I look forward to composting clippings in my garden, and fighting the great battle against the Asian longhorned beetle. Gaaaaaaaaah!

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at October 20, 2008 11:29 PM in response to Leaves & Garden Clippings Compost/Recycling?

Our home inspector suggested we put in a second circuit breaker box on the parlor floor of our brownstone, as we only have one in the basement. He estimated the cost of adding it would be $5k. The driver of cost is how far up you go--3 stories is more than 2, is more than 1. What's good about adding boxes isn't just the convenience of flipping a switch--it's also that any future additional wiring capacity you add to those apartments will be cheaper, because they're stringing shorter line from the outlet to the circuit box.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at October 18, 2008 1:24 PM in response to Moving Fuse Box into top Apartments

Not much to say about the current place, except to agree that a garden would do wonders for it. And I think the roof is really cute.

But I'd just like to add that I did some door-to-door political work in this area a few years back, and I was supposed to go to this house but I did not because it FRIGHTENED me. It was just very crazy, and it really seemed like there were dead bodies hidden somewhere on that porch.

Anything is an improvement.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at October 16, 2008 12:12 PM in response to The Charming Paint Peeler Reincarnated

On This Old House's website, I saw a family that had done a kitchen reno and had been quite clever about penny-pinching. They had a dutch door, and I think they found it on Craigslist or ebay for some ridiculously low price. If you google search the site, you'll probably find their kitchen and the resource they used.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at October 5, 2008 7:36 PM in response to Dutch door

The point is, had Pelosi just kept her big fat mouth shut, the bill would have passed.

And if you believe that, I have a bridge for you.

Those late night negotiations? Concessions were made on the promise of 110 Republican votes. That's what Boehner promised Pelosi. Then he didn't twist arms and get them. So to cover his failure, he acted like her typical house floor remarks were SO offensive it justified tanking the economy. Give me a break.

And of course the toddlers in the Republican minority voted against an unpopular bill--in spite of the fact that they don't have any clue of their own what to do. Say what you will about the Dems, they have a preferred option for action that's modeled on Sweden's successful response to the same kind of crisis.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at September 29, 2008 10:56 PM in response to Quote of the Day

We just had a house inspected, and the inspector noted that we did not have a lining for our flue. He said that odds are we would NOT need one.

Yes, there is a theoretical danger of carbon monoxide buildup if the suction is inadequate. But the smart thing to do is put a carbon monoxide monitor on each floor of your apartment, ideally near the flue line, and check if it's leaking!

If it's not leaking (which, odds are, it won't), then no liner is needed.

The monitors are, like, $15 apiece.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at September 26, 2008 3:30 PM in response to urgent chimney question

Saw the place, and to say it needs a lot of work is an understatement.

Also, the garden apartment didn't have a stove and only had an electric range, which suggests to me it hasn't been linked to the house's gas supply.

It also felt narrow (hard to tell, with the missing floor), and I thought that while the parlor level ceilings were fantastic, the top two levels were noticeably lower (not claustrophobic, just not ten feet).

I heard about the $1.8 offer, too, which I thought was insane. This place could be really beautiful someday, but it's for someone with a huge amount of cash to burn, or real know-how in rehabbing. And as is, I can't imagine $1.8 million.

Posted by: lookin fer stuff at July 22, 2008 10:05 PM in response to House of the Day: 708 President Street

I lived in the Heights for about 3 years. I found it a much easier time to park it across Atlantic Ave. in Cobble Hill.

Posted by: mrkknox at March 23, 2009 4:09 PM in response to BH Parking/Garage question

If you don't need it, get rid of it. Parking on the streets is a hassle. And Brooklyn Heights had the highest rate of parking tickets issued city-wide last year. Zip Car really is a nice alternative. Their website has an interesting owner vs. rent comparison feature.

The largest parking lot in the Heights is at 75 Henry St. It will run you $350 per month to park an SUV in a non-dedicated spot, and $440 per month for a dedicated spot on the lowest level. It has 24 hour access. As mentioned, there is a waiting list, but the garage seems less full these days due to the meltdown, so that may have changed. The tel number is on the Central Parking site given above. Ask for the manager, Jean.

Posted by: buttermilk channel at March 23, 2009 4:15 PM in response to BH Parking/Garage question

As you can see, the general consensus is to get rid of the car. We actually have a car that we keep in a garage. It's a completely, utterly frivolous luxury.

The only people in Brooklyn Heights I know that have cars actuallyuse them for commuting -- e.g., they work at a hedge fund in Connecticut or are doctors working at a hospital that is not conveniently near a subway.

That being said, if you really want to have wheels of your own, get rid of the SUV (which I assume is less than five years old) and buy a used sedan or small wagon. I'd sell it there, pocket the money and then look around after you get here.

You want something that is manuevarable and reliable, but not too nice. We have a 12 year old camry (less than 60K miles), and it works great. (You can see from the mileage that it is not an overly used car.)

Posted by: Boerumresident at March 24, 2009 10:44 AM in response to BH Parking/Garage question

I am totally impressed with this site- and with the generosity of you members who've spent your time sharing this very helpful information. Thank you all! I get the message loud and clear. My VERY steal-able (Top 5 in most stolen vehicles! Gulp.) pearlized white, frou-frou Cadillac Escalade is going! Zip Cars and Enterprise, here we come!

Another thing I thought of in the consideration is the amount we'll save by not having to carry high insurance on an SUV!

Thanks, everyone! I'm sure I'll be back soon with another dumb newbie question. Maybe I can pay it forward and help out someday when I've earned my 'BH local' stripes. :-)

Posted by: HoldYourHorses at March 28, 2009 3:57 AM in response to BH Parking/Garage question