House of the Day: Stuy Heights Gem
Another beauty from Stuyvesant Heights by way of Craigslist. The 4,300-square-foot two-family is configured as an owner’s triplex over a garden rental. By all appearances (and the broker’s flowery prose) it sounds like this is one of those jaw-droppers, complete with original restored woodwork, wainscotting, and pier mirrors. The 1899 house also has a center…
Another beauty from Stuyvesant Heights by way of Craigslist. The 4,300-square-foot two-family is configured as an owner’s triplex over a garden rental. By all appearances (and the broker’s flowery prose) it sounds like this is one of those jaw-droppers, complete with original restored woodwork, wainscotting, and pier mirrors. The 1899 house also has a center stair with an “intricate oak basket weave design” on the railings and restored golden oak lattice work overhead. Located on Bainbridge off Lewis Avenue, the house is only a couple of blocks from the A train. If all this is true, the asking price of $1,235,000 seems a little lower than we would have expected. What say ye?
Bainbridge at Lewis Ave [Craigslist] GMAP
My daughter and I have taken the C train from Clinton Washington to Chinatown for school since she started daycare, and she’s in 4th grade now. Every day there are lots and lots of kids and their parents going to school on the subway. However, until middle school (6th grade, 11-12 y.o.) kids usually travel with an adult. Sure it’s a hassle but it’s worth it to me and she’s at a great school.
As we approach middle school, it happens that there’s a decent one in Ft. Greene (113) so maybe she’ll be able to get off the train. And I would be very happy for her to go to Brooklyn Tech.
Amen, Anon teacher 10:11. I wondered if anyone was ever going to say what you did so eloquently. Since I don’t have kids, I’m often reticent to comment on where people should send their kids, because I have mixed feelings on the issue. But my mother was a public and parochial school teacher, and my aunt is a public special ed teacher, all in NYC and I have heard the gamut of stories for years, both inspirational and horrifying. All kids deserve a good education. Education is the key out of poverty, and the key to an equal footing with anyone in this world.
As to the house, wow, what a beauty. My rental house in BS had that same light fixture, and I always wished I could have taken it with me, but alas, twasn’t mine. I personally love all the detail, but would rather people left woodwork alone than slapped glossy poly on it when they want to sell it. My preferences are a nice, real tung oil finish, with perhaps a subtle shellac finish.
Anyway, if all of that detail is not your cup of tea, then this isn’t your house to be, nuff said. For the rest of you, this is one of the nicest blocks in Bed Stuy, and the house looks like a fine home. Is it too much money? You bet, and doesn’t help to stabilize the market in the area. That said, it does seem to be a special house, and who knows, it may be worth the money to someone for whom it is the perfect house.
My apologies for the intrusion, I’m just visiting the site at a friend’s request to look at pictures of brownstones. However, I became interested in the discussion about public schools. As a teacher in a troubled district, I know that the best way to turn a school around is to get parents involved in what happens in the school. Sadly, parents who send their children to public schools that people with money avoid are unable to be as active as a struggling school needs, and usually it is not because they do not care, they simply have other obstacles that they must contend with.
My point– you have the power to turn a school around, especially if you are putting money into a community. It would be a rewarding experience for children of all economic backgrounds because children see beyond the things that adults come to believe are important. If you’re willing to spend 30K on a private education, put it into a school library or a program or a good music teacher in a school right around the corner. Spence may look good on a college resume, but helping a neighborhood school will get more kids to where they need to go in order to be successful in life.
If you want safer neighborhoods, if you want a 5000 dollar mortgage to make sense, you have to put the money into the schools in your neighborhood. It’s your right to demand a quality public education for your child no matter how much money you make. You just have to be obnoxious enough to demand change. One family can not do it, but many can. For inspiration, spend a day in one of these schools. You might not like everything you see, but I guarantee you, you’ll see kids who deserve the same education as your children. Once again, I’m sorry for the intrusion and the oversimplification of a very serious issue.
this site has become Fame Trackers for houses in Bklyn….it’s effing Bklyn, people! at least dishing on slebs was way more fun than dishing subway stops and PS whatever.
okay anon @ 5:51 I get your point but I always assumed that it was a combination of the value and the people if not only the people that allows you to categorize a neighborhood as middle class. sure, you’re right the lady that lives next to me lives in a middle class home but she’s not middle class so which is correct? this lady is scraping pennies to buy milk I wouldn’t dare call her middle class. if someone bought her house from her for a million dollars and had the type of income to support that purchase they may be considered middle class. thats the point I’m trying to make. the people in stuy heights are prodominately middle class in my experience but I’ll buy the arguement that the properties are, if possible.
Okay, since I am a Bed-Stuy parent, here’s my 2 cents about the school issue: we’re sending our kid to a preschool in Midwood. Pros: it’s a great school which happens to be considerably cheaper than the preschools in PS, FG, Boerum Hill, etc. Cons: we have to hop in the car to get there. But since that’s what 99% of people in America do anyway (outside of NYC), I don’t consider that a dealbreaker.
We’re not sure what we’ll be doing after preschool, but I imagine we’ll figure something out. None of the Bklyn parents I know are in PS 321, but they manage to educate their children nevertheless.
Anon 3.30pm
I lived in Bedstuy for over 10 years now, in fact I’m no where close to FG or CH, I have a couple investments there but I live deeper in Bedstuy, close to Bushwick. So whatchu sayin’?
Any kids whose parents spend 1.25M for a house should deserve private education.
Tuition are only 30K/year.
Correction: It was Anon 5:06 that gets my vote. Sorry, 5:10.