Who's Buying up Fort Greene???

BrooklynGreene, Beny’s Delice is on the North Side of Fulton between Clinton and Vanderbilt. It is a little shop, which has skinny counters facing the street window where you can sit but basically not really a restaurant to sit down and eat.

It sells very nice pastries. David has a French pastry chef, a partner?, who makes really nice and beautiful pastries and little cakes. He also has one half of his display filled with lunch and dinner foods, like quiche and very nice prepared foods, which they will heat up for you and serve to you there (on nice china).

They sell freshly made break, breakfast rolls, choquetes, lots of nice stuff. You should stop by. He is nice and a flexible and hardworking businessman too.

Gee Everyone! Thanks for the insights! I’m noticing there are multiple houses that must have been gut renovations on Cumberland and there’s the house that had the back fall off of in the non-landmarked block of Lafayette to the west of South Oxford (The people who bought that shell are doing a wonderful job! Hats off to them!).

It’s just that I’ve noticed a good number of not-great houses being sold without my even knowing they were definitely on the market. Granted, a few of these were “wrecks” that were on and off the market a couple of times…but they seemed to sell quietly when the time came.

Donatella, I don’t get around enough and keep hearing about Beny’s. We’d better get over there! Where is the shop on Fulton? Now, regarding house values, I have to say that I’m at a loss as well! All I know is the New York City sent the regular yearly assessment…and if we sold our house for the estimated market value, I would be thrilled. I would definitely retire early!

David, the Viking Range?…I heard the ranged all way to Nova Scotia and even possibly northern New England. What have you heard? And yes, all those overpowered/overpowering ranges are a bit ridiculous unless you’re planning on cooking for a 60-person sit-down dinner. Give me my little stove with burner grates I can actually lift on my own. I nearly twisted my wrist trying to pick up the simple burner grate on one of these restaurant behemoths recently.

Borem Resident, I really think some fairly comfortable people MUST be the ones buying these complete renovations. They’re simply counting on it taking time. I would imagine most people who could afford “2-point-something” will buy a finished house but even then, they may not really like the renovation and there’s the group who may even hanker after doing a renovation themselves even if they could slap down $2.5 or $3 million. Goodness knows, by the time you buy these houses and do a major renovation, you may not have saved that much over simply plunking down a couple of million dollars!

Pierre, I, for one, am glad we’re getting more French people in the neighborhood. There were a number of years when it seemed to me that most of the new French people coming to Fort Greene were transient, possibly student, or touring young people, some with atrocious manners and vulgar, slangy French, enough to make your hair curl. But I’ve since noticed (and met) a more established set of French language speakers who are in their 30s and 40s, many of them newish parents in the last five years. No? It’s just my impression, but it seemed there was an influx of students or tourists looking for a cheaper area to rent in in the 90s and early 2000s but now it’s more families and sophisticated, mature people. And yes, maybe I’ll give you first “DIBS”. Oh, sorry, that name’s taken!

Peter, it matters, in part, where they work because it would be nice to know these new community members are not buying houses, taking out huge mortgages and then likely to get laid off! But seriously, I’m morbidly curious. 🙂

Adam, I find that thoroughly fascinating that these houses were so quickly whipped away. And you work in the business so must hear about things early on. Would you say these houses were priced very, very low? Is that why they were snapped up? Or did they have incredible interiors?

And finally, last but not least, Bob, thanks so much for the humor!

🙂

To those who don’t know Fort Greene, come on down and we’ll show you a good time! 🙂

(Okay, I’ll shut up now)…

Dave, you would like that shop. The food is sort of expensive, though not crazy but it is GOOD. Plus one day I ducked in there for a bite to eat — and he bought me my meal. I was there on his first day, gushing about how happy I was to have him in the neighborhood in our retail starved little wreck of a strip on Fulton. I have been there everyday to buy a little coffee. It’s getting a little crowded in there though….

I can put up with Wall Street types and tech geeks but I draw the line at the French. Unless they bring cheeses.