Just Closed in Brooklyn
SUNSET PARK $752,500 439 54th Street 100 year-old, 3600-sq.-ft., 2-family limestone house; 20-by-53-foot house on 20-by-100 lot; 3 1/2 floors with a 600-sq.-ft. extention added to top in the 1940s); 4 bathrooms, 3 kitchens; taxes $2,800. Broker: Coldwell Banker. GMAP Submitted by owner
SUNSET PARK $752,500
439 54th Street
100 year-old, 3600-sq.-ft., 2-family limestone house; 20-by-53-foot house on 20-by-100 lot; 3 1/2 floors with a 600-sq.-ft. extention added to top in the 1940s); 4 bathrooms, 3 kitchens; taxes $2,800. Broker: Coldwell Banker. GMAP
Submitted by owner
Sunset Park has Public Grade Schools. The new High School is under construction right now on 4th Ave.
Amenities are definitely not at Slope/Cobble Hill/Ft. Greene levels, but there is an abundance of shopping and the slope (and Altantic Center/Bam) is a quick ride by train (4th ave) or bus (5th ave).
My take on the various blocks is that the real difference is whether there are apt. buildings on a particular block. Where you have all 2 and 3 family brownstones/homes, the loitering and noise issues are minimal.
Schools?
We bought our Brownstone here in Sunset Park 8 years ago. I’ve seen change, we gained some amenities but it’s been slow compared to Smith Street, or 5th ave in the Slope. I expect to see more amenities as people who support them move in. I think Sunset Park is getting noticed now because it’s becoming harder to buy a quality brownstone with original details for under a million. The express D is fantastic too and can get you to West 4th in a half hour.
2:23…this was your sweeping generalization:
“Also it’s best to not be between 4th and 5th.”
along with
“Look at properties between 5th and 6th and 7th.”
i’m not saying the neighborhood is perfect, i’m only saying that you are incorrect and there are many great blocks between 4th and 5th. not that anyone should take advice from people on here, but i’m assuming some do and i think it would be good for people looking at sunset park to make their own opinions. it is silly for someone to say that every single block in sunset park between 4th and 5th is scary.
it’s just not true.
Anon at 1:11 —
Do you live in the neighborhood? I suspect not, or you would not repeat the canard that properties between 5th and 7th are always more desirable than those between 4th and 5th. Agreed that noise can be an issue, but this is definitely a block by block question and simply cannot be put down to which avenue you are between.
As for amenities, bolletje is absolutely correct that it is easier to find excellent fruits and vegetables in SP than in Bed-Stuy (I work in Bed-Stuy and there is absolutely nowhere to grocery shop anywhere near my job). Fresh fruits and vegetables are to be found at both Hispanic and Chinese shops.
As for transportation — I live in the 40s and use the 36th St. stop, where there are not one but two express trains (N & D) that only stop once more in downtown Brooklyn before hitting Canal St/Grand St., and then the Village/Union Sq., and then 34th St. There are also two local trains at rush hour — the R and the M. Agreed that evening train service leaves something to be desired throughout the system, but I do not believe that N trains are scheduled to run less frequently than F trains in the evening hours.
When did I make a sweeping generalization, 1:28? I pointed out specific areas that are better than others, and I said it was a good investment.
I just don’t think it helps a neighborhood to puff it up so much you end up disappointing buyers who venture out to look at it. Tell them the shortcomings. Why not? You want your neighbors to be happy, not grumbling they didn’t get what they thought they were buying. Plus everyone in a community has to have dialogue and take action to improve things like amenities and schools and transportation. A lot can be accomplished. I personally think the homeowners in Sunset Park and Bay Ridge should be hounding the city to put more N/R trains on the line. It’s ridiculous to offer such spotty service to such densely populated areas of NYC.
I feel pretty happy with the “amenities” in Sunset Park, I’m about to move there from Clinton Hill and I would possibly qualify as part of a “young professional” couple.
The food/grocery situation is one of the reasons I chose SP over other places I could have moved to. While I’ve been waiting years in Clinton Hill for some “gourmet” grocery to open and gouge me as the only game in the neighborhood, I’m still schlepping organic milk, butter and meat from whole foods/various greenmarkets and I probably will be for a long time no matter where I live in Brooklyn.
i don’t agree at all. i was just at a friend’s apartment two weeks ago between 4th and 5th…much closer to 4th actually and it was quite nice, well kept, quiet, very lovely. i was surprised. i really liked the area a lot. there may not be all the amenities, but 5th avenue was bustling even at 9 or 10pm…in a good way. more foot traffic and interesting people walking and eating than you see on 7th avenue in park slope at that hour.
these things go block by block so please refrain from making sweeping generalizations about a neighborghood that spans a couple miles.
i live in park slope and have no interest in this neighborhood other than the fact that i just explored it for the first time and enjoyed it and wanted to share an opinion. thought i should throw that in there…