House of the Day: 160 Maple Street
Since when is Citi Habitats in the Brooklyn brownstone game? We’re not sure, but they can hold their heads high with this listing in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. This bay-front limestone two blocks from the park from under a million bucks is the kind of listing that makes PLG one of the few interesting plays left…
Since when is Citi Habitats in the Brooklyn brownstone game? We’re not sure, but they can hold their heads high with this listing in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. This bay-front limestone two blocks from the park from under a million bucks is the kind of listing that makes PLG one of the few interesting plays left out there in the market. If you can look beyond some of the chintzy interior decoration, you’ll see original parquet floors in perfect shape, pristine wood paneling and some lovely plaster moldings. The kitchen may not be a keeper, but it’s certainly is in move-in condition from a functional standpoint. Sidestepping the same old PLG neighborhood debate, we’ll be interested to hear how locals think this place stacks up to the rest of the nabe.
160 Maple Street [Citi Habitats] GMAP P*Shark
Oh please, give me a break, anon 12:31. How is your 13 -14 year old kid going to survive in NYC period, if you’ve conditioned her to be too afraid to walk to the subway from her house? She needs to learn street smarts wherever she is, and frankly, if you feel that way, you should probably leave NYC all together.
And feel safe from whom? Hmmmmm.
That is a pretty pretty block but with a 7th grader, I’m not sure how much longer we could allow her to walk to that subway station. At that price, are there really offers? Are they from kids with babies who aren’t yet thinking ahead to the freerange teens years? I’m leaning away from LG, even though it’s beautiful. Just doesn’t feel safe for kids who will soon chafe at being walked to the station by dad.
Although the horse may well be dead….
A “cellar” is 50% or more below grade and cannot legally be used for habitation. You can play down there, but you can’t rent it.
A “basement” is not at grade, but is more than 50% above grade. It can be rented out–light and air okay–and usually but not always has a windowless cellar beneath it housing the mechanicals. This is also important for habitation, because if the mechanicals are in the basement (no cellar), a fire safe wall has to be built around it before it can be legally inhabited.
Garden floor is entered at grade or, at most, a step or two below. Legally habitable, and usually has a cellar beneath.
English basement, in Brooklyn, is a basement–and sometimes what would qualify as a cellar under the code–that is at or a step or two below grade, light, and airy, in a short rowhouse or brownstone. It’s not as nice as the parlour floor (or as a garden floor), but it is very usable space and traditionally is used as the main living area, with bedrooms on the parlour floor and tenants on the second floor in short rowhouses.
Yes, the cost of living in NYC is more expensive than elsewhere, including part of the commuter belt, but we have made a choice to live here. We have the means to buy in a very expensive market, even if our purchases do not make us feel as though we are well-off sometimes. But how we spend our money is our choice, and we are fortunate to have that choice. If we would rather be less cash-poor, we could choose to live somewhere else…. We cannot cry poor or pretend that we are just regular middle-class Joe’s when we have the cash to make such a jaw-droppingly expensive purchase. If our choices don’t leave us feeling like we’re well-off, well, that’s our choice.
sorry, I meant suburban sprawl.
I am the poster who raised the issue of getting entitled. What I was refering to is a state of mind that believes that our children must each have their own room, and cannot be made to share a 20′ wide bedroom. It is this attitude that leads to mcmansions and urban sprawl. It used to be the norm for kids to share bedrooms, in or out of the city. A 20′ wide bedroom (as is found in many of the townhouses here in NYC, give or take a few feet) is not a small, or even smallish, bedroom.
Entitled refers to someone’s attitude more than financial status. If you want to say that anyone who can afford a $1 million is wealthy (which we don’t think is the case in NYC–it’s all relative), that’s one thing. But calling them entitled is a loaded value judgement that, unless you know the person well, you are unqualified to make.
I love the chip on the shoulder of those who toss around the “entitled” moniker all the time. You have know idea of the background of those who are on this thread and make assumptions that because they can entertain the asking price that they are entitled. I for one come from a very modest family and have worked hard through school and in my professional life, bought a small place in a good location years ago and have been able to trade up to a brownstone. Go watch V for Vendetta and plan a revolution if you have a such problem with the hard working types who would even consider buying in an area like PLG despite the quality of life issues.
Anyone who can consider buying any townhouse or freestanding frame house in Brooklyn in this market is entitled – period. This is who this forum is about. And if that just happens to be you, get over it.