"The Connecticut Part of Brooklyn"
This weekend, the NY Post shined a light on a neighborhood that’s gotten a lot of attention around here this past year, Victorian Flatbush. We bet there’s not a hardcore brownstoner out there who hasn’t gazed at those photos of lush front yards, vast front porches and two-car driveways and had second-thoughts. Like many parts…
This weekend, the NY Post shined a light on a neighborhood that’s gotten a lot of attention around here this past year, Victorian Flatbush. We bet there’s not a hardcore brownstoner out there who hasn’t gazed at those photos of lush front yards, vast front porches and two-car driveways and had second-thoughts. Like many parts of Brooklyn with top-notch housing stock, prices have zoomed in the past decade: The article notes that a large Victorian house could have been picked up for under $250,000 ten years ago, now a run-down comparable will run you close to a million bucks–if you can find one. Mary Kay Gallagher notes that there’s only one house available in Prospect Park South–and a long waiting list of folks who want in. That may be over-dramatizing the situation a little: There have been several cases of overpriced houses sitting on the market for a while this year. Nonetheless, as more and more people hear about the ‘hood, it’s easy to imagine it continuing to grow in popularity.
Good Manors [NY Post]
I am buying a house in st. george staten island and cant wait to get out the of the ghetto you call brooklyn. Yeah, being able to walk places is great, but also being able to get away and have your space is ever more valuable. The fact is that St. George is going to have 20 story condos with commercial space underneath all of them. This will bring stores people and increased ferry and transportation services. St. george staten island will have the urban feel with a suburban inlay that provides for life and attractions, but space when it is necessary. Who wants to live on top of the next person. I have a 4600 sq ft lot and a house with 10 rooms. Its land-marked and the land is so good that the structure hasn’t settled in a hundred years. Before looking in st. george, i looked in south slope and found houses that were not only built on top of each other, but were so crooked and destroyed that I would rather skateboard down the slope of the floors rather than live there. Keep brooklyn for yourselves. As my name says, my coop sucks, but my new nabe is hot. Maybe I should change my name.
Staten Island definitely does have less of an urban feel than the Slope or PPS. It developed along entirely different lines and was only connected to the rest of NYC when the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964. The neighborhood that BigBubba moved into is one of the oldest on the island. It’s urban but not oppressively so. You can still walk to plenty of places, but a car might still be required.
The ferry is not the only way to get to Manhattan. NYCTA runs coach-style express buses from most S.I. neighborhoods to downtown and midtown. (An express bus to Metro-Tech may be in the works too, with possible stops in Park Slope and Bay Ridge on it’s way to/from S.I.)
I live in New Dorp which is on the east shore of the island and is more in the semi-suburan model with ranch homes the norm. I can walk to some stores but still need a car in my neighborhood. Since two large shopping centers are nearby I only put about 75 miles a week on my car, and with gas at $3.19/gallon, it helps. The commute to downtown from here is o.k., miidtown less so, but I knew that when I moved here.
Now, to all my PPS friends. I grew up on Webster Avenue, which is sort of west of the PPS border. I pray to God that what happened to PPS in the 1970s and 80s doesn’t happen again. Your neighborhood was virtually terrorized by robberies and burglaries for years. Your beautiful Victorian homes are surrounded by a dangerous and run-down Flatbush on the east and north. You must hope for two things, First, that Bloomberg is re-elected this year. Second, that once he is gone in 2009, that some anti-police moron like Charles Barron doesn’t become mayor.
And another thing, what does poster ‘sba’ mean by ‘too many guidos’in Bay Ridge. I’m not surprised that none of you fine liberals criticized him for that. If someone said ‘too many niggers’ you’d be justifiably all over him, you little phonies.
Get a life dude.
Imposter? You expect us to believe that horse shit? I’d have a lot more respect for you if you just apologized and went about your business. I “almost” feel sorry for you. You’re so pathetic to come up with the imposter story and then basically set the record straight (i.e. accept responsibility for your comment.)
And just for the record, while I might love where I live, I certainly do not begrudge anyone their own preferences. So, I would never come into a thread such as this one and intentially diss anyone.
If you love S.I., then more power to you. I hope you’re happy too.
Just for the record that last BigBubba post was NOT the real BigBubba – just a BB imposter.
Gotta say, however, that whoever it was must know me pretty well.
I recently bought a big, gorgeous old house in St. George, Staten Island. I’m an artist with a studio in Manhattan. It takes me about 35-40 minutes to get there from SI. I lived in Park Slope previously and it took exactly the same amount of time, however, the subway ride was stressful and the F train was frequently broken. The ferry is so reliable and enjoyable that I look forward to the time spent on it. I never feel like it is a long trip. It is always over so quick that I wouldnt mind it being a little longer. I make phone calls, check my lists, and sometimes I sketch. I have a big old house which came with a beautiful garden. My neighbors are really friendly. I met 3 of them on my first visit to the house. While I liked living in Manhattan I did not enjoy living in Park Slope. I hated the F train. I only found 1 or 2 restaurants that I really loved. My neighbors were unfriendly and unsociable. Perhaps it was my apartment or location (not near the park) but honestly I did not like it there. I do think that Ditmas Park is a great place to live and it is very similar to parts of Staten Island. There are wonderful restaurants here. SI is known for its amazing italian food but in St. George, where I live, there are all types of ethnic foods. I don’t drive so I live near the ferry. That was a big consideration for me. I like having the best of both worlds. The urban feel with big apartment buildings on one block and around the corner, shady tree lined streets with unique old homes. People care for their yards here and somehow they all know how to garden. Maybe they learned at the nearby botanical gardens at the historic Snug Harbor Museum and arts complex? They offer gardening classes there. I personally need to learn that now that I have inherited a large yard with heavily planted gardens from the previous owners. There is very little litter and crime. There are stunning beaches, a beautiful boardwalk, huge parks, marinas, fog horns, and crickets at night…in NYC! It’s unique. Staten Island makes me happy. I looked everywhere in NYC and nearby NJ and I chose SI.
I’m the poster who moved to Ditmas Park from Manhattan with the pit stop in Park Slope. We, too, could afford a house in Park Slope, even WITHOUT rental income, but chose Ditmas Park instead, precisely because Park Slope was overflowing with a strain of people we much rather do without. Big Bubba’s last post smug attitude embodies what we fled. Like I said, the community is what really makes Victorian Flatbush.
Bigbubba I just lost any respect I ever had for you. You got lucky and bought at the right time and therefore could afford a huge house in your number one neighborhood. I doubt you could afford your big brownstone if you were a bit younger and were just entering the market today. You should feel happy, at one with the universe and grateful for your good luck. Instead, you sound smug, self-important and condescending. I guess even your huge brownstone by the park can’t make you truly happy if you still feel the need to gloat and try to make others feel bad. It is because of people like you that I fled Park Slope for Victorian Flatbush like a few others who posted below even though I could actually afford it. I wanted to like my neighbors.