Tidy Fort Greene Floor-Through With Period Charm in Mansard-Topped Brownstone Asks $2,800

It offers a marble mantel, black and white bathroom with clawfoot tub, and quite a few closets.

by Stephen Zacks

03/14/2019 3 minute 0

If you’ve ever dreamed of living à La Bohème in a garret, this floor-through apartment in a circa 1871 brownstone may be the place for you, for a non-bohemian price. With its squared off bracketed door hood and pediments, mansard roof, and oriel window on the first floor, 73 Willoughby Avenue is a typical New York Second Empire brownstone of the mid to late 19th century. Located in Fort Greene a few blocks from the historic district, it has a one-bedroom for rent on the top floor behind the dormers.

The listing offers a floor plan, although window placement and bathroom and kitchen layout don’t agree with the photos. In any case, there’s a marble mantel at least one of the rooms, the bedroom, but the living room is not shown. The floor plan specifies six closets, but at least one of them is configured differently in the photos. The bathroom is proper, with black and white tiles, a clawfoot tub, a relatively new sink cabinet, and two doors — leading to what, exactly, we cannot say.

The kitchen looks decent and there’s a pantry but no cabinets, only open shelves. The listing notes the kitchen is in the process of being updated by the resident owners with “a new dishwasher, cabinetry and counter.” While there’s likely not room for a table, a photo shows an edge of what may be a shelf or, more likely, a passthrough to the living room.

There are short windows on three exposures, making for a presumably airy feel — although we wonder about temperature in extreme weather. Overall, the space looks well-kept and bright, with just enough charm from historic details such as baseboard moldings and doors.

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The location is not bad, close to Fort Greene Park, Dekalb Avenue and the Clinton-Washington G stop, but at $2,800, you’re technically supposed to be earning $112,000, making this most likely a couple’s share. The listing is from Terry Naini and Emilia Sultan of Brown Harris Stevens. Are you feeling romantic?

[Listing: 73 Willoughby Avenue, #3 | Broker: Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP