How would you feel if your new neighbor....
Whenever a black/Latino or other longstanding family on the block sells their home I always think, “there goes the neighborhood”. Because? It usually means, esp as of late, Manhattanites move in and start doing the most, in my opinion, un-neighborly/brooklyn renovations. Case in point. A family of our has just purchased a four story brownstone…
Whenever a black/Latino or other longstanding family on the block sells their home I always think, “there goes the neighborhood”. Because? It usually means, esp as of late, Manhattanites move in and start doing the most, in my opinion, un-neighborly/brooklyn renovations. Case in point. A family of our has just purchased a four story brownstone w/ 20-22/50′ “footprint”. They are planning to build a 16 to 20 foot 3 story extension that spans the entire width of their lot, thereby changing the block’s backyard “skyline” if you will. This extension will cast quite a large shadow, block light, and if there are side windows, encroach on the privacy of their neighbors. In full disclosure, the lots on our block are on average 150′ foot deep.
Everyone on our block thinks this is overkill and would like to see their expansion stopped. We like the idea of waving to our each other from our decks and feel that this will set a precedence that will change the neighborhood into another Manhattan (which is what I thought they wanted to get away from). Apparently the wife wants her children’s bedrooms on the same floor as her bedroom (so WTF is the top floor going to be…an S&M den, hydroponic pot farm, smoke house?).
It just does not seem in the spirit of the Brooklyn brownstoner. Why move into a home having pissed off all of your neighbors before even meeting them or better yet, does not meet your needs? If they want a McMansion shouldn’t they…oh god whatever.
I also feel that people should be able to do whatever they want with their homes if they want but at the same time I would rather have them crap on my lawn rather than take my sky out…at least I would be able to clean up the crap.
What do other Brownstoners think?
OK OK again BAD jokes. My bad, sorry. I do not think they have any intentions of doing any of those things on the top floor AND you know what if they did I DO NOT CARE, as it does not interfere w/ anyone’s ability to enjoy their backyard. Personally I enjoy smoking a nice ham while wearing a dog collar but I digress.
Anything that I stated that they have said or done, they have said or done. I don’t think that they are bad people, actually they (well the one I met) are quite pleasant, decent, and possibly reasonable. But this is getting off topic (which i will admit is my fault).
Are we (the neighbors who object) going overboard to feel that they should not build an extension for WHATEVER the reason? I really am in a quandry about this. I do feel that they have somewhat of a right to do this BUT I also feel that the neighbors will not be able to enjoy their yards as much as a result.
Their architects delivered two notices that we are aware of, but one neighbor (they are required to inform the two neighbors on either side and the two in the back I believe) failed to receive a notice.
I am afraid that soon the structures will outnumber the trees on our block, where historically it has always been the other way around.
I mean, I wanted a Trader Joe’s as much as the next person, but is the price we all have to pay?
AND 12:33 KUDOS to you and yours! Frankly, I would use the money for a three story extension on a country home…god here I go again.
I have to say that the pre-judging of these people makes me very uncomfortable. To assign them values, make assumptions about their lifestyle, and judge them based on a house (or proposed changes to a house) is, in my opinion, not only dangerous, but narrow minded. I mean, why does the original poster choose such possibilities for the fourth floor as “s&m den, hydroponic pot farm, smoke house”?
Two things.
1. I gave up on the idea of building on top of my existing extension one floor when I started planning precisely because I realized it was unneighborly (and, I eventually understood, I had underused floor space elsewhere — what I needed to do was to rethink the renovation, not necessarily add space). My proposed extension, totally legal, would still have left my neighbors back deck and kitchen pretty dark.
2. In the course of permitting my job, I did have to present some facade modifications to my community board. When a building will be on the community board agenda, the owner is supposed to give out notice to his or her neighbors. I would encourage you to attend that meeting to see what the extent of the extension proposed is, and if appropriate to voice any concerns in that context. I know at my meeting the CB took the character of rear yards quite seriously, even to the point of thinking that my deck door was “too industrial.”
–an architect in Brooklyn
I am a relative newcomer to Brooklyn who hasn’t done any renovation yet but I’m surrounded by old-timers with dogs that bark loudly for hours on end, often in the middle of the night. Another old-timer on our block doesn’t shovel when it snows. Another old-timer never replies when I say hello. You really think all the old timers are so different than all the newcomers? Quite the generalization.
I agree with anon 10:57, please see the posting about the Loud church on Washington Ave. “Old-timers” can be very disrepectful as well.
Anon 10:18, at the risk of raising everyone’s hackles here, I also detect a sense of entitlement among newcomers, and it’s not limited to building extensions. It also doesn’t matter what color they are or what color the “old-timers” are. A neighbor across the street from my house plays the drums (and so does his son) at night past the so-called 11:00 pm cut-off. I personally don’t hear it, but the neighbors on either side of them certainly do and have repeatedly called the police to try to persuade them to stop…to no avail. Do these people not know that drums are noisy? Do they not care about who lives on either side of them and might be disturbed or kept awake at night? Obviously, they don’t. Of course, not all newcomers are selfish and careless about their neighbors, and we can’t generalize about them (my new next door neighbors are quite nice), but it does seem that too many of them are oblivious. Sure, everyone has the right to maximize their FAR and living space, but there was a time when everyone lived within their parameters and respected their neighbors’ property, comfort, and well-being. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, and it’s a shame. It causes a lot of friction and unhappiness.
FYI, just about everyone on our street is more than financially comfortable and just about every house has been renovated w/in the last 20 years. Those houses that are not renovated or in some state of disrepair I personally do not begrudge them the state of their home as I assume if they had the money to fix it they would OR if they do and decide not to. Of course, the potential for burst plumbing aside the state of their home does not affect my or my neighbors’ homes.
Dear All, Thank you for the comments. As a person of color I knew that bringing race into the topic was touchy but apparently not as funny as I hoped, my apologies.
The block is landmarked, and I just don’t know how to feel either way. I think the writer reg. no side windows is right. I guess I want everyone to have what they want, or maybe I should say need. I know that I cannot impose my values of thrift, humility/humbleness, graciousness etc on others. I want them to have a good reason for this and I cannot find one. Is it reasonable to block the sunlight of (at this height of the extension) three other homes in order to have ones children on the same floor?
Here is the killer, when asked how they would feel if their next door neighbor built an extension 16 feet past the back of their new extension, she said that they would be very upset!?!?!?! So that then is the part that just gets me. The sense that somehow others should not do to them, what they have done to others.
But still I have this crazy want for them to be happy and feel bad that they are going to have to face a fight from their neighbors.
And Rob, I do not think that we would break into their home as that was unconscienable, but I do not think your adding your extension, no matter how lovely, was the reason in and of itself that your neighbor was able to sell his home for four times what you paid for yours. But thank you for your comments.
AND, have a new one for everyone! Another newcomer has asked his neighbor if they are willing to rent them their driveway (no garage just a parking spot) when the owners themselves visibly park in it every day! AND, the last people who moved in down the block and also built a HUGE extension did not shovel their walk after the blizzard, though everyone else did (including an 80 yo neighbor). In some parts of the United States not shoveling is a serious offense worthy of a tar and feathering.
Does everyone get this sense of creeping entitlement?
I was waiting for someone to say “white people,” which is obviously what the original poster meant but left unsaid. Go ahead, you can say it …