From the West Village to Fort Greene, With Few Regrets
This weekend’s real estate section in the Times has a story that’s likely to resonate with many ex-Manhattanites who’ve moved to Brooklyn and find the living across the East River a whole lot easier. The article is about Hali Lee and Peter von Ziegesar, a couple with three kids who uprooted from the West Village,…
This weekend’s real estate section in the Times has a story that’s likely to resonate with many ex-Manhattanites who’ve moved to Brooklyn and find the living across the East River a whole lot easier. The article is about Hali Lee and Peter von Ziegesar, a couple with three kids who uprooted from the West Village, where they’d lived for 15 years, to Fort Greene. The pair bought a house (a former crack den, actually) on South Portland Avenue in late ’05 and say that while they miss a few things about the city (chief among them their old proximity to the Village Community School on West 10th Street, which their kids still attend), Brooklyn has presented a number of quality-of-life advantages. The perks, according to Ms. Lee, include an environment that doesn’t feel like a high-end mall, as the Village did; a space where their brood’s noise doesn’t disturb the neighbors; their new borough’s down-to-earth population (There are mixed-race couples, and black people here who aren’t nannies); and the fact that their kids can now go play on the sidewalk and in the backyard.
In a House, You Can Make All the Noise You Want [NY Times]
Photo by lunalaguna.
12:25’s,
You are both absolutely correct. Working non-profit doesn’t mean that you can’t make more than 100K and people make sacrifices and investments to save money so that they can afford private schools. Instead of renting in Park Slope where there are just so many ammenities, move to less expensive neighborhoods – there are “safe ones” out there (Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, Sheepshead Bay, etc…) so that you can save for a large downpayment. Don’t eat out, buy a new car, or go on weekend trips for a while. It will all be worth it in the end. My wife and I moved with two kids into my parents home in Bay Ridge for a year. The Republicans out there don’t actually bite. I was glad when the year was over but we were able to put down a huge down payment on our home in Brownstone BK, which made the mortgage affordable.
If you ever participated in the Clinton Hill Cooperative Playgroup or seen nannies in the park you would understand the comment.
Yes I am paying attention 12:42. And every chance I get to purchase something under value I will. There are 3 types of people in this world.
1) People that make things happen.
2) People that watch things happen. And
3) People that wonder what the fuck happened.
Based on your postings here, I will assume you to be in the #2 catogory. So keep collecting and watching your stats while I increase my portfolio.
Boy, I hope this nice family doesn’t read this blog! What a perverse welcome to the neighborhood.
By the way, many private schools in NYC offer significant financial aid. Whether or not this family needs such aid, I just wanted to point that out to the many commenters who question families that can “afford” to send their kids to private school.
12:34..you sound frustated. You are probably one of those people who missed the boat. You probably woke up one day and realized that the new definition of middle-class does not include you and you dropped a notch. Get out of NY before you become some kind of serial killer.
of course money is part of the story. it’s the real estate section! please, it would be like not including all the money aspects in The Hunt column. Makes no sense without it!
I don’t think there are too many Irish or German people in Fort Green.
12:37…Are you paying attention to the trends of increasing crime (both hate and violent) in Crown Heights and Bed Stuy??
Are you paying attention to the trend that 1 in every 10 homes in Bed Stuy will be foreclosures by the end of 2009?
I’m wondering if you paying attention to the fact that over 50% of Crown Heights lives off less than 20K a year…
that comment about nannies was unbelievably offensive – so smug