"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]
That’s my impression of SI too. Not as much of an urban feel or lifestyle. Not that its not a nice place, but if you are going to live in NYC, might as well be urban living… not to knock SI, its just what you are looking for in a neighborhood and home really.
How close are ammenities in SI? I thought that being able to walk to the grocery/butcher/dry cleaner etc., was all part of the “living in Brownstone Brooklyn” idea, as opposed to hoping in a car to do the same. I see what you are saying about the “only Manhattan” or “only Brooklyn” mindset, but I wonder if it is more about living in something that feels like a city? I live in Brooklyn, but grew up in the suburbs. I’ve come to really love interacting with people just doing those simple things like errands. On my visits to the family, I barely see anyone outside their homes in an entire weekend. My impression of SI was that it was more similar to the suburbs…is that true?
For Ditmas Park money, you could live in the Kings Bluff section of Weehawken and still have money left over for reno. Its a 15 min bus ride to the Port Authority, tops.
First the only-Manhattan mindset, then the only-Brooklyn one… it will take another 30 years for the next nabe/boro/town to hit.
Can anyone say, “tangent?” Brownstoner must be proud that someone in Staten Island is reading his website. It’s not only the commute that differentiates one area from another. After all, it takes me longer to get to work from Prospect Park South than it did when I was just out of college and commuting from Westchester to midtown (the Harlem line of Metro North). The Post article actually was not too informative. The beauty of Victorian Flatbush, I believe, lies in the fact that it is a viable alternative to brownstone Brooklyn but, like brownstone Brooklyn, is extraordinarily beautiful. The housing stock smacks of history and there is a special feel that we of Brooklyn are part of a renaissance, albeit with the grit and social and economic mix that exists rarely elsewhere. By the way, we do get Fresh Direct in our neigborhood.
Red Hook still is way out of the way…
No one is saying there are not beautiful homes in Staten Island, but a 25 minute ferry ride minimum just to get to the ferry terminal means that unless you work at One New York Plaza you have at least 30 minutes of getting to the ferry and ferry ride (if you live close to the ferry on SI) then need to catch a cab or a subway to work (which will likely take more that 15mins). That’s why neighborhoods close to the city have shot up in price so much (e.g. Ft. Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, not to mention Ditmas Park and others further south). I live in Clinton hill and my door to door to downtown is 20 to 30 minutes tops unless something is wrong with the subway. That includes walking and waiting for the subway and my work is a good 4 block walk from the subway. When commutes start to extend over an hour, then it gets tough I think. Midtown, for example, from SI is tough everyday for most people. I used to do that from Fort Greene and it took me about 40 minutes.
I have no doubt that Staten Island is lovely, but for me to get to work in midtown would just take too long- though I would not mind the boat aspect as that seems like a pleasant way to start or finish a workday. Anyway, I would agree with the contention that finding a “deal” in or around ditmas has become very difficult, if not impossible. That being said, the houses are great and close to amenities in the slope. One other issue that has been discussed here before regarding the commute time. I do it every day. Newkirk-Midtown is the same on the B or the Q. It takes me MAYBE 40 minutes tops from Door to Desk. Tops. That includes walks to and from the station, elevator rides, and any waiting time if there is any.
I have to say respectfully that I totally disagree. I used to live in Park Slope, and so I’m very familiar with the subway commute from Brownstone Brooklyn. My commute to downtown, including the walk down the hill to the ferry terminal, is about a half-hour. My commute from park Slope was 45 minutes. The omission of Staten Island as a viable place to live within New York City is baffling to me, and this is clearly the reason that it’s still affordable. It calls to mind the way people used to talk about Hoboken, Jersey City, Williamsburg, Red Hook, and Greenpoint — “too far away,” “too awkward a commute,” “not enough services,” “no arts community,” “may as well go to Buffalo,” etc. Why is comparing the PATH to the subway any more apples to oranges than comparing the ferry to the subway? At least the ferry is free.
This is clearly a case of groupthink, and once the Real Estate Machine starts marketing Staten Island (since the completion of a new multi-million dollar ferry terminal and pending arrival of more waterfront luxury loft buildings) there will be an “aha” moment where everyone realizes that they should have bought something there five years ago, and by then it will be too late. Seriously, how else can you 0explain why decaying row houses in Bed Stuy and Crown Heights are going for more money than 100 year old six-bedroom mansions with panoramic views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Jersey City, which are a seven-minute walk from the ferry, which is, in turn, 25 minutes away from downtown?
After everyone else who doesn’t already own something is priced out of Brooklyn, there will be no other place left with as rich a housing stock which is as close to downtown Manhattan.
I agree. While Staten Island surely has some beautiful areas, the commute to Manhattan is not comparable to most parts of “brownstone” Bkln. Apples to oranges really. It’s as much about location as it is the type of house you can find.