Condos of the Day: 639 6th Avenue
After starting out on the wrong foot, the six-unit condo at 639 6th Avenue turned out to be a little more interesting, in our opinion, than the standard fare going up in the South Slope and Greenwood Heights these days. While the ceilings could be higher, the layout feels pretty lofty for a 976-square-foot apartment…
After starting out on the wrong foot, the six-unit condo at 639 6th Avenue turned out to be a little more interesting, in our opinion, than the standard fare going up in the South Slope and Greenwood Heights these days. While the ceilings could be higher, the layout feels pretty lofty for a 976-square-foot apartment and the kitchens are the nicest we’ve seen in a new development in a while. So far, though, buyers appear to be less enthusiastic. Although the lower duplex is in contract according to A&H, none of the five floor-throughs, priced from $569,000 to $675,000, has a taker yet. Theories?
639 6th Avenue: The Vanguard [Aguayo & Huebener] GMAP
Where Does a Tree Stand in Development Hierarchy? [Brownstoner]
I think the friend is The What. Polemicist spends countless evenings trying to teach The What spelling and grammar.
Polemicist has a friend. Well, that’s encouraging.
I love this neighborhood. There are tradeoffs to every situation. I bought a house no one even dare stay through the open house, 3 years ago. Warped floors, plaster walls, newspaper for insulation…blah blah….I turn it around. Now all my friends, are mumblings “I should ofâ€. Most are headed for suburbia / nowhere near downtown.
The housing stock is a mixed bag. But many neighborhoods are not totally pristine it is all block to block. I have lived in bunch of neighborhoods cobble hill, boreum hill…. more amenities, smaller living space, and more costly.
Pros
More space for your money. (House and lot)
PARKING
Coffee under a dollar
Mixed economic/ethnic/social class neighbors
Near neighborhoods with more amenities
Cons
A few blocks to subway R (downhill) or F (uphill)
Housing stock mixed
Need more amenities.
Decadent dilettantism?
For god’s sake, step away from the Cliff Notes.
Polemicist, first you wrote: “the neighborhood is not diverse in any way we know of the term… the vast majority of new residents are wealthy and white.”
then at 5:19 you write: “I’m not referring to racial diversity”
You don’t know anything about who really lives in this neighborhood. 71% of kids in ps10 qualify for free lunch. But apparently the people who live here still are too white and too wealthy for you.
ccgh
The truth lies between the extremes. The ideal is unattainable, but that does not mean we should not strive for it.
We must always temper our dreams with sober reality; this is the only way to guide humanity on a steady course between nihilistic spiritual exhaustion and decadent dilettantism.
5:19
I’m not referring to racial diversity, so I’m not quite sure how your post is relevant, unless you are insinuating that some racial groups are inherently poor. I’m not going to respond to that charge.
“If you wish to restore one of the modest homes of Greenwood Heights, I’m all for it. But I also believe that your neighbor should be allowed to build a multi-family building.”
Agreed, why did that take you so long to say…perhaps we all had our wading to do through some of the voluminous posts (though I should talk).
Polemicist, I think the lacking foresight comment may have come from the fact I think folks here read you changing your tune within this thread. Flip-flop on what class-ism is. Back and forth on charity vs. affordable housing. And now restoration vs. new construction.
Even I’m confused. I am glad that we can agree on one thing: renovation of existing housing stock can coexist with new development, with the caveat from me it be responsible, contextual and legal.
But, that’s my rhetoric.
-ccgh
4:52
Affordable housing programs like those administered by the NYCHDC, rent ceilings, Section 8 vouchers, housing owned by charitable organizations – it’s all charity.
4:53
No, poor means poor. Diverse means rich and poor alike can afford different product type in the same neighborhood. If a neighborhood was entirely filled with income restricted housing, it would not be diverse because only poor people could live. A public housing ghetto is not diverse for the same reason (see some suburbs of Paris)
Action Jackson
I mean no offense, but you really don’t know what you are talking about in this regard. The NYCHDC affordable housing programs require at minimum 40 apartments, and preference is given to developments where at least 50% of the units are 2-bedrooms, which must be at least 775 square feet.
How are you going to build anything like that on a site with a 2.0 FAR? You’d have to bulldoze half the block. A low FAR makes the vast majority of development sites INELIGIBLE For subsidized financing. The reduced development area further reduces supply resulting in higher prices. I’ll assume you are already familiar with basic supply and demand economics, and your trite insult was merely due to your ignorance of how the various affordable housing programs work in this city.