We have an electric call button at in the front hall on the parlor floor which was wired to a bell at the base of the cellar stairs. This seems to have been used to summon a servant when the owner entered the front hall. It no longer works, and I have searched everywhere for the sevant to no avail.

Posted by: probopop at November 24, 2009 12:32 PM in response to Button Identification?

Nice property for multifamily, with all the windows, etc. I'm not sure anyone wants to have a 6,500sf single family house these days, at least not in Park Slope.

Posted by: probopop at November 2, 2009 1:35 PM in response to House of the Day: 49 8th Avenue

11217- Your long-term strategy worked for me. Bought my Park Slope brownstone in '86 for what was then alot of money. Paid the 30 year mortgage every month. Even in today's depressed market it's worth 4 times what I paid for it (it was worth 5.5X), and my current mortgage balance (which is shrinking fast)is less than 10% of current value. I kept the place up, making improvements when the money was available. In 7 years my mortgage will be paid off, I'll be in my mid '60's, I'll own the place debt free. And I raised 3 kids with room for a nanny and plenty of elbow room in a great neighborhood.

My parents did the same thing- bought a house in the suburbs for $23k in the mid 50's- lived there until the mid 80's and paid off their mortgage after raising 5 kids. Sold the house for about 15 times purchase price.

Maybe this phenonemon is over and won't work for the next generation, but I wouldn't bet on it. If you believe that New York City will remain an important place in the 21st century world, and you recognize that they're not building any more single family houses in convenient locations in the city, buying a house in a place like Park Slope is a solid bet.

Posted by: probopop at October 30, 2009 11:40 AM in response to House of the Day: 902 Union Street

21.5 X 55= 4,750 square feet. At $3M this is $631/sf. This would be a reasonable price for a condo in the neighborhood. The condo won't have nice details, high ceilings, big closets, wood-burning fireplace, a backyard, but it will have a gym (maybe), new appliances, bigger windows (probably) and alot less wasted circulation space. It's alot of money, but on a per square foot basis, it's not really that much (and most brownstones have basements which aren't even included when calculating their size). I agree that it's a troubling location, but at least you have a parking garage on the block, so you don't have to worry about double parking.

However, brownstones have traded at lower $/psf than condos. At $500 psf it's around $2.4M, and at $450 psf it's $2,137,000. It should trade somewhere between those two numbers.

Posted by: probopop at October 29, 2009 4:23 PM in response to House of the Day: 902 Union Street

Generally true, 11217, but when they passed the new zoning for Greenpoit/Wmsbg they gave incentives for building affordable housing, including bigger buildings and longer 421a. That's why Edge and Northside have 25 year 421a benefits; they both built the requisite affordable apartments. The taxes start increasing in 20 years and go up to full taxes by the 25th year. So if I buy an apartment at either of those projects, I can sell in 10 years and the person who buys from me still has another 10 years of full benefits, then 5 more years of partial benefits. That ought to have a positive effect on my resale, don't you think?

Posted by: probopop at October 28, 2009 10:21 PM in response to The Edge Is Making a List, Checking It Twice

I shopped the Edge recently & checked out a model. The place is pretty nice- the kitchens are beautiful and have pantries, which makes a huge difference. The floors are nicer than most and the master bathrooms have a good warm feel to them. Like all new development, storage space is inadequate, but I bet you could get a storage space in the basement (which they're selling) for nothing! I'm skeptical about the "green" thing, does it really make a difference? Will it save any money?

One of the things about the WBurg waterfront is that the taxes are absurdly low, like $5 a month per apartment for 25 years, which is basically forever. This is true for Edge and Northside Piers. Big news: Taxes are going up in this city. If you're locked in for 25 years, that's got to be a good thing.

How much will people really use the pool, basketball court, "plunge pool (?)", virtual golf, massage rooms, gyms, petting zoo, lunar landing module, on-call sushi chef, etc., I'm not sure. It could be one big party, or just another bunch of stuff to pay for out of common charges. I'm betting on the party, but who knows?

Posted by: probopop at October 28, 2009 4:55 PM in response to The Edge Is Making a List, Checking It Twice

I seriously considered buying an apartment in this building. But even for a person like me, who has owned a brownstone in Park Slope for over 20 years and who has accumulated big equity, the apartments seemed overpriced. The whole place has a certain zen-like spareness, which is an aethestic opposite from the parquet, woodwork, decorative plaster etc of a brownstone, which might be a welcome change of pace or might seem too austere to someone who has grown accustomed to victorian excess. I'm not sure. With prices seriously reduced, I think I'll take another look.

Posted by: probopop at September 28, 2009 11:16 AM in response to The Darkness at Richard Meier's Brooklyn Tower

People are thinking too narrowly about the potential traffic mess. Of course, the intersection itself will be a nightmare, as it often is right now. Anyone headed south in Brooklyn by car from downtown will be affected. Secondary roads, like Union Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, which take cars through Grand Army Plaza and south on Flatbush will be impassable, and this overflow will work its way through Prospect Heights and Park Slope, as well as along Atlatic Avenue and 4th Avenue. No real traffic study was ever done. Phil Habib, who did the pitiful traffic study which was part of the EIS, casts his eyes downward and shuffles his feet when asked if he thinks this was a meaningful and professional study.
Ourousoff's more interesting article on the same day took on Amanda ("the Chair") Burden more directly than anyone has done in print that I've seen. Bravo!

Posted by: probopop at September 11, 2009 2:28 PM in response to Ourousoff Weighs In On Barclay's Center Design

DOT is planning to put stop signs in a variety of places on Kent. N 5th for sure, probably N7th as well. I'm guessing that we'll be seeing traffic lights on Kent when the highrises on the water are occupied.

Posted by: probopop at August 25, 2009 4:20 PM in response to Kent Traffic Shifts to Wythe

Heather: "back to concrete" is great. Sign me up.

Posted by: probopop at August 25, 2009 4:10 PM in response to Streetlevel: Traif Bike Gesheft

The main thing is to check the reputation of the developer and builder. There is a huge difference between a reputable developer using a seasoned builder and some of the newer entries to the NYC development scene. Things can go wrong with new construction and you need a "stand-up" team with a good name.

Posted by: probopop at August 6, 2009 1:06 PM in response to Risks Buying New Condos

Don't worry about mice & bugs. Our kitchen is on the ground floor facing rear year. Once a year or so we may see some little ants, but that's about it. About a year ago we had a racoon in our backyard, so you might want to keep that back door closed!

Posted by: probopop at August 6, 2009 12:55 PM in response to Garden Apartments & Pests