We lived in a rental on Bergen & Smith for 5 yrs. We moved out the same day Starbucks opened :( I love Smith St as a destination but didn't like living there. We bought a house in Ditmas Park and drive over the Smith St for shopping, restaurants, Los Pisanos, Chop Shop, Dashing Diva etc. Cortelyou Road will never be like Smith St, it's only a few blocks long. Only so much can happen in that limited space. I'd love a Starbucks & a better butcher! In the meantime I'm thrilled to have a driveway so when I head over to Smith St I only have to worry about parking on one end of the trip :)

Posted by: tag482 at February 18, 2009 12:22 PM in response to Cortelyou Road the New Smith Street?

There is plenty of ventilation with exhaust fans in teh front & rear of the basement, we tested for radon, the basement is clean, we vaccuum, etc.... it's just that the floor is uneven. The most even part of the basement floor has the one & only water leak coming in from the wall which we will be fixing... but we figure it may come back so we're planning to build a platform that allows air in.

Posted by: tag482 at March 10, 2008 2:00 PM in response to Level my basement floor for home gym?

My neighbors & I joke that if the water levels rise high enough the sunken B/Q line running through our back yards in Ditmas Park will be a canal and we'll have beach front property.

Posted by: tag482 at March 10, 2008 9:35 AM in response to Future Brooklyn May Be All Washed Up, Says Scientist

what are they doing in that picture?? That crosses many back yards so is a massive new bldg going up on that lot?

Posted by: tag482 at December 8, 2007 12:53 PM in response to Friday Blogwrap

NO, don't be rash. Just call ConEd, give them their name(s) and leave it to them. If the tenant doen't pay you have a lease & they know you called. They'll just shut off their electricity.

Posted by: tag482 at November 24, 2007 5:22 PM in response to Tenant never opened account with Con Ed

denatured alcohol will take it off quickly & easiy provided it's just shellac.

Posted by: tag482 at November 13, 2007 6:19 AM in response to Stripping Shellac

Here's a great map
http://www.brooklyn.com/map-18.html

Posted by: tag482 at November 8, 2007 10:26 AM in response to Newcomers Find Crown Heights Retail Lacking

Wait ... where is Crown Heights? (Loving how funny most of the replies are)

Posted by: tag482 at November 8, 2007 10:25 AM in response to Newcomers Find Crown Heights Retail Lacking

We were so lucky. We started looking for a house/brownstone/Condo the first Sun in September 2007 & found the house we love in DP on Dec 3rd, in contract on Dec 10 & closed Feb 1st. It can happen, have hope, keep looking!

Posted by: tag482 at November 4, 2007 10:03 AM in response to How long did it take you to find the right house?

Not the best corner. I lived on Bergen btw Smith & Hoyt for 5 yrs, moved last Feb bc we found a house to buy in DP. Anyway, Great nabe, the projects and their occupants for better or worse are not going away. If you like the NYC vibe, ala Prada early at Starbucks Sat morning.. you will Love it there. Los Pisanos, the butcher on Smith around the corner is wonderful, terrific fresh fish 2 blocks up on Court & Bergen. Two amaxing chools right there + downtown Bklyn right there. It was way too City for u but if you like that sort of thing you'll love living there.

Posted by: tag482 at November 2, 2007 7:35 PM in response to Bergen & Hoyt--Good location?

That is horrifying. I'd say he was a butcher but my butcher has more sense than he does. Seriously. I wouldn't let him within 100 feet of my house. He's the perfect example of what not to hire in any circumstance.

Posted by: tag482 at October 31, 2007 7:01 AM in response to Video: Replacing a Window

We had a bad experience with them as well. Bidding on the Nantucket Charmer on 23rd St.... saw how screwed up they were & walked away. FWIW, We bid more then they actually ended up getting for the house!

Posted by: tag482 at October 29, 2007 6:41 AM in response to Roslyn Huebener Strikes Again

Okay that's pretty freaking cool.

Posted by: tag482 at October 5, 2007 2:24 PM in response to StreetLevel: Heaven or Hell at New Atlantic Ave. Bar?

Looks like a great read. It's too long to get through all of it now at work but great train reading for my commute home. Thank you.

Posted by: tag482 at October 3, 2007 12:44 PM in response to Commercial Sales in Brooklyn

That strip of Dorchester has a lot of traffic as it connects Ocean Ave to Coney Island Ave. There aren't enough lights so for the most part the cars/trucks are going way too fast. The house itself is very sweet and I know it'll make a nice home but I think a price of $820k would be far more reasonable. The area is still pretty 'hot' but you'd have to fall in love with this particular house to pay current asking.

Compare it to two adjacent corner properties off Ditmas Ave: 494 E 16th recently sold for $930k & 500 E 16th St recently sold for $899k. Both of these are larger homes on corner properties with big side yards (494's side yard is downright massive). Given how much smaller this house is in every way, $950 is crazy.

Posted by: tag482 at September 24, 2007 1:52 PM in response to House of the Day: 1407 Dorchester Road

2:05pm Why in the world did you move here then?

Posted by: tag482 at September 18, 2007 1:37 PM in response to What's on Tap for Cortelyou Road?

Family Tree Services 347 234 8577, honest, reasonably priced & a great track record/reputation.

Posted by: tag482 at September 4, 2007 9:31 AM in response to Arborist

Main Entry: ca·lam·i·ty
Pronunciation: k&-'la-m&-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ties
Etymology: Middle English calamytey, from Latin calamitat-, calamitas; perhaps akin to Latin clades destruction
1 : a state of deep distress or misery caused by major misfortune or loss
2 : a disastrous event marked by great loss and lasting distress and suffering

Posted by: tag482 at September 4, 2007 9:28 AM in response to Tuesday Events

Drew, I think you are wrong about that. I'd love to have you site a source on that. Ditmas Park, Midwood et al is the largest collection of freestanding Victorian/Colonial Revival (etc) homes in the country & I doubt very much that they outnumber Brownstones.

Posted by: tag482 at August 29, 2007 7:08 PM in response to House of the Day: 500 Marlborough Road

The big fence with vines will do it, (try Wisteria) until someone buys the empty lot & builds a massive building that will look right over your yard. SO you should really find out more about that lot, who owns it, what it is zoned for (know full well that zoning changes unless it's landmarked or some such thing). It drives me crazy when people buy property next to an empty lot then years later bemoan someone who builds on it. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Posted by: tag482 at August 28, 2007 5:36 PM in response to exposed back garden advice

Okay Quest, got it. Thank you.

Posted by: tag482 at August 28, 2007 1:57 PM in response to Who is "quest"

I paid cash for a $9,000 project and got a signed receipt from the contractor.

Posted by: tag482 at August 27, 2007 6:39 AM in response to Discount for paying Cash to contractor?

Wow this is a throw back for us... when we started looking to buy a place last Sept we were interested in, if I recall correctly, unit 2C the one with the big terrace/roof. We ended up in Ditmas Park with a massive old house for less than 2C was going for but man I loved that apartment. I hope your closing happens soon & that you are very happy there!

Posted by: tag482 at August 26, 2007 7:12 PM in response to 242 Greene Ave Shoe Factory Lofts