Morning Links: Would L Train Tunnel Closing Make ‘Burg Housing Significantly Cheaper?
In the News Divorced Parents in Brooklyn, Living Close for the Children’s Sake [NYT] It’s Still Looking a Lot Like Christmas on Brooklyn Heights Sidewalks [NYP] Swift Sale of the Parkway Garage on Sunset Park’s 4th Avenue [Eagle] Did MTA Just Kill Williamsburg’s Housing Market? [CNBC] Brooklyn Restaurants Are Already Mobilizing Against Possible Three-Year L…
In the News
Divorced Parents in Brooklyn, Living Close for the Children’s Sake [NYT]
It’s Still Looking a Lot Like Christmas on Brooklyn Heights Sidewalks [NYP]
Swift Sale of the Parkway Garage on Sunset Park’s 4th Avenue [Eagle]
Did MTA Just Kill Williamsburg’s Housing Market? [CNBC]
Brooklyn Restaurants Are Already Mobilizing Against Possible Three-Year L Train Shutdown [Eater]
Owners Hope to Turn Former Underground Railroad in Downtown Brooklyn Into Museum [BK Reader]
Renovations, Retail Expansion Planned for Tenements on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg [NYY]
Top Brownstoner Stories
Six Brooklyn Townhouses With Six-Figure Price Tags — and Plenty of Potential
Yes, the MTA Might Close L Train Tunnel for Years — But Wait, There’s Hope
The Insider: Designer Uses Vivid Color to Infuse Fort Greene Brownstone With Youthful Spirit
The 2015 film Brooklyn, a period drama depicting an Irish immigrant’s experience in Brooklyn, was nominated yesterday for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress (for Saiorse Ronan). Check out the film’s trailer, below.
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Does no one remember the M train? The areas along the M (and by extension the north part of the J, like Mytle-Broadway, Kosciuszko, etc) are going to be hotter. Several reasons why I think this:
— People in WB have already been seeing Bushwick as an ‘extension’ – look at the people moving there, the type of amenities they’re after and the new restaurants and bars opening up, and who they cater to. It smells like East Williamsburg.
— The M is a solid train, M-F, taking you to the LES in 12-15 minutes, and from there all the way up through Chelsea to Herald Square and then back into Midtown east near Bryant Park. Not a terrible commute if you ask me.
— The L and the M get close together at the ‘prime gentrification alley’ section of Bushwick. it’s not a huge leap for people already along the L to move closer to the M. People they know, places they know — less radical of a change.
— Finally, look at the new rentals and condos popping up in Bushwick within walking of the M and J. While mostly centered on part near the L, as I said above there’s a point between the L and the M that’s also experiencing rapid growth. Condo-finishes, stainless steel, and all that usual stuff that’s turning Bushwick into WB 2.0 (at least, the developers hope).
A new building opened up near here, 3K for 2 BR’s, yes, right by the M and J. That “cheap eastern Bed Stuy” might soon be a thing of the past.
This is only for a year. If you own in Williamsburg you will wait it out. If you like your apartment, or you don’t commute to the city every day, you’ll wait it out.
The Williamsburg bridge could get dedicated bus-only lines, with express buses going from Bedford ave 24 hours a day, which might actually make commutes shorter. They should have done that already!
One year is what the MTA is saying; reality will be 18 months or more.
“commutes shorter” … do you really believe using the bus will take short than the subway.
They will need a lot of buses to shuttle everyone that uses the subway now. And dedicating a bus-only lane on the bridge will create major traffic jams during peak time.
Renters will move; why go through all this hassle when you can move to other areas that provide you more convenient commute and most likely much cheaper rent.
Real Bus Rapid Transit can be very fast. Most transit advocates don’t consider SBS buses like NYC has now to be full BRT because they don’t operate in the center of the road. But even SBS can be very fast.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_rapid_transit
Yup, there will be traffic problems, but if the bus lanes are implemented correctly they won’t be impacted. Only cars will suffer. But most transit folks think there are too many cars anyway, so the needs of the many outweigh them.
If you live right on the L and you commute right to 14th st, your commute will suck. But if you live in between the L and the J, or in Greenpoint, and you are going to midtown, or further downtown, you might be faced with a longer walk or a commute through Queens. If this adds 10 minutes on to your commute, is that enough to move? 15 minutes? 5 minutes?
I’ve lived for years in places with 1 hour commutes. I can’t get inside the mind of Williamsburg renter paying $5000 to live in the Edge who can’t tolerate a commute longer than 15 minutes and wants to move every year. I guess those people will be unhappy. But these are the same people who choose apartments based on “good water pressure” or “the dryer must have a vent”.
I disagree with Eastern Bed-Stuy and the J train.
I think Western Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights will benefit the most. People would rather be on the A/C or 2/5 trains than the J train. Also people want the amenities available in Williamsburg that Eastern Bed-Stuy does not offer.
In theory, the NYC system can support 2 minute headways (trains 2 minutes apart). In practice, there are many factors preventing this from happening consistently. Slow boarding, not enough trains, track problems, outdated electrical systems, all around incompetence from the MTA.
check out some of the comments here:
http://secondavenuesagas.com/2015/10/22/with-crowds-at-record-levels-transit-set-to-increase-service-but-not-until-june/
yup. They’re going to have to implement a temporary system like we’ve never seen in NYC. Double-length articulated SBS buses that leave constantly, shuttling people back and forth over the Williamsburg bridge.
BTW from Bedford Ave and North 7th to the Delancey st F stop is 10 minutes with no traffic. Ideally, as I said, they would create bus only lanes, negating traffic issues. Some people are calling for the entire Williamsburg bridge to be bus only.
Need to keep in mind that people in Williamsburg are not paying cheap rent. Western Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights are more expensive than Eastern Bed-Stuy but they are still much much cheaper than Williamsburg.