House of the Day: East Flatbush Under $600K
This house sure looks cheap to us at $585,000, but, frankly, we have no idea what this block of East 32nd Street between Beverley and Cortelyou in East Flatbush is like. It seems like there must be a catch. Given that it’s a three-story, three-family, the layout’s probably not ideal for a family buyer; on…
This house sure looks cheap to us at $585,000, but, frankly, we have no idea what this block of East 32nd Street between Beverley and Cortelyou in East Flatbush is like. It seems like there must be a catch. Given that it’s a three-story, three-family, the layout’s probably not ideal for a family buyer; on the other hand, there are original floors and moldings as well as a bay window that sweeten the deal. The footprint of the house is large–20 feet by 53 feet–and, as the listing points out, there’s another 1,500 square feet of buildable FAR as of right. Whether this is a “deal” or not hinges on what the immediate nabe is like. Help please?
3-Family Bow-Front Limestone [Craigslist] GMAP
Also, Fort Greene is gentrified, and whites are in the minority. As a white person, I don’t use “gentrified” as code and frankly, don’t know anyone else who does. If someone wants to say a neighborhood is black or hispanic or whatever, they just say it. Then again, my friends are not racist jerks… Maybe its a generational thing.
I would not say that Bensonhurst is gentrified and its Italian (read “white”). I know it can be hard, but give people the benefit of the doubt, especially on a blog where it is easy to take things and misconstrue them based on your own experiences or cynicism.
I don’t know CHP, I’ve heard people say Greenpoint in starting to feel the effects of gentrification too. I wouldn’t read too much into it.
Ok 3:40, whaddaya wanna know? Do I think HWG is getting treated unfairly, of course I do. I don’t like to hear stories about anyone, anywhere, who is picked on, called names, harrassed, beaten up, or worse, because they choose to visit or live in a neighborhood where local a@@holes have taken exception to their presence. I don’t care if it’s Harlem or Howard Beach. I hope HWG realizes that those people are the minority with in a minority population although I am well aware, (cuz I’ve been in her same situation,different neighborhood,) that it doesn’t feel that way while it is happening. Good luck to you, Ms HWG, and I sincerely hope the situation improves.
As for the rest, I’m sorry, but I am still too cynical to think that when someone called a neighborhood “non-gentrified” they don’t just mean that Starbucks and the Gap havn’t arrived yet. I have never seen that phrase used to describe Greenpoint, or even Sunset Park, or any other neighborhood except predominantly black nabes. If that is not true, I am more than happy to be proven wrong.
Sorry to hear that HWG. I hope you are resilient, but living in a hood with fear is not a place I’d continue to reside. It’s not worth it.
As for the debate about this house, yikes. If they were giving the crapper for free, I’d pass. Maybe Ms. Sensitive (Crownheightsproud) will respond to this post
First time poster – have been lurking for a while. I have been renting in Harlem for 7 years now and I wonder if there are parallels with certain parts of brooklyn. . .
When I first moved here, people in the neighborhood were almost uniformly friendly and welcoming. This was before Settepani (the cafe) and Bill Clinton. I was one of Harlem’s biggest champions for years. People from the neighborhood would recognize me in midtown: “Oh! You’re the girl who lives at. . . . ” It was very congenial.
Over the last 9-12 months something has changed. Yes, there are more restaurants & shops; yes, there are more white people, rich people, and million dollar condos/2MM brownstones; but I am more concerned for my personal safety now than before.
People (black people) have approached me aggressively and told me to get out of the neighborhood. Someone came over and kicked my dog a few weeks ago. I now frequently hear people walk by and say in loud tones meant for my ears that they hate white people and wish we would leave. A guy assaulted me on the 125th St subway platform last week. Yes, there are still so many wonderful people here, but the ‘few bad eggs’ seem to be growing in number. Makes it harder to focus on the good things.
Don’t know if this is similar to any parts of brooklyn, but wanted to share.
Anon 10:12
The logic is “non-gentrified” folks ought to sell their property below market so that other “non-gentrified” buyers can afford to purchase and stay in a neighborhood where they grew up, like and want to stay.
Since when did the ills and social inequalities of home purchase fall on the very backs of those who you so willingly condescend on?
What sort of moronic logic would lend truth to such an asinine assumption?
Speaking of code words used here and more so in NY media in general is ‘Manhattanite’.
Doesn’t matter if only lived in that boro for 2 weeks- we know it means affluent white college educated.
And Manhattan means only those areas south of 96th Street. (as in ‘priced out of Manhattan’)
It is right by Holy Cross – my dad grew up on East 32nd between Beverly and Tilden, the next block up. The neighborhood was largely Irish from the time it was built up through the 70’s, when crime took off, the city went bankrupt and Brooklyn overall experienced a massive flight to the suburbs. (Just reporting the history, folks – I don’t care for some of what’s been said here.) The numbers for the precinct are what they are – massively improved over the last fifteen years, but still not great with respect to the proportion of violent crimes. Statistics aside, the homes were built with gorgeous paneling, heavy wood doors, pocket doors, etc. and the residential blocks around there have always been tidy and nicely kept. Per my dad, the houses on East 31st are even nicer.
no, they wouldn’t live there to prove a point they’d live there because maybe they’d realize that hardworking black people of any class want the best for themselves and their family just like them and they’re no different. maybe they’ll get off their high horse and throw away their presumptions about black people or any minority and buy the house because its nice and its affordable. black people go where they aren’t very comfortable all the time and many of us spend a significant amount of time in environments that are prodominately white but that doesn’t necessarily mean that white people are going to attack us or we’re unwelcome. if we had that kind of attitude we’d never get ahead. obviously the majority of people feel most comfortable around their own kind which is why a lot of neighborhoods have cultural identities but that doesn’t necessarily mean that other people aren’t welcome and people who automatically assume they know something about the neighborhood because they have assumptions about people who live there are exactly the kind of that make others uncomfortable.