House of the Day: Maple Street Mansionette
In yesterday’s discussion of the House of the Day on Albemarle Road, a couple of commenters cited 51 Maple Street as an interesting comparable. Priced $300,000 less than the Albemarle listing, 51 Maple Street does appear to have more details and what a score that covered driveway is! Beyond that, we don’t know the nabe…
In yesterday’s discussion of the House of the Day on Albemarle Road, a couple of commenters cited 51 Maple Street as an interesting comparable. Priced $300,000 less than the Albemarle listing, 51 Maple Street does appear to have more details and what a score that covered driveway is! Beyond that, we don’t know the nabe well enough to make the call, but we sure would like to hear what readers think is the better buy.
51 Maple Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP
HOTD: Brick Colonial on Albemarle [Brownstoner]
bobby’s is one of the sharpest priced stores around brooklyn. they are wonderful, thank god for bobbys
The house is beautiful. I saw the house about 15 years ago and wondered if i could own such a beautiful house one day. The unfortunate is the location. Flatbush avenue is loud, crowded and full of crime. I wish i could pick up this mansion and put it somewhere else.
And unfortunately, although building violations, brought to the city’s attention by Caton Park residents (who live just across Church from PPS residents) have forced a temporary closure. I don’t think Bobby’s is going anywhere. Though I wish it would! There’s too much established chain shopping on Church as you get closer to Flatbush. Cortelyou is a blank canvas with a small town feel. I also think the Church Ave subway station is not as nice as Cortelyou… Beverely is better, but desolate, which, as you note, is a problem.
Don’t worry, I didn’t forget Midwood HS – it’s so well known in Brooklyn I didn’t think I had to mention it!
As for the owner of the home near church – I’m sure your house is fabulous, in fact, I know it must be one of two….
There are problems on Church that you don’t find on Cortelyou however. I don’t know where you live, but things get difficult the closer you get to Buckingham, meaning the closer you get to Bobby’s Department store. I have friends who have had their garage (on church) broken in to more times than I can count. Also there is a problem with public urination on people’s front lawns since Bobby’s does not provide public bathrooms for their customers (I’m not sure this is a reason exactly). Bobby’s has also lied, cheated, and lied again to purchase homes in Caton Park (the neighborhood just north of PPS on the northern border, closer to the park than PPS, even), so they can illegally expand their operations… They sent a “family” in to buy a home from a woman who had a house next to the store and hated Bobby’s and would never sell to them. They deceived her, tore down the house (but not before stripping and selling all the glass and woodwork), and built an ugly eyesore brick storage facility in its place. The building has caused serious damage to the neighboring house, causing cracks in the foundation. The owner called the city to complain, and the city fined HIM! A lot of money!!! Tens of thousands. He needs a pro bono lawyer, he’s a long time resident in a more modest Caton Park home and needs help, quickly. This is all part of my argument that ALL of VIctorian Flatbush needs to be landmarked, not just PPS, DP and FT….
Yeah – don’t forget my Alma Mater – Did not live there though. Was part of Medical Science Institute. It was never a “bad” neighborhood – never had problems going to and from school I’m sure it’s even better now.
Re Anon 9:31’s post: And don’t forget Midwood High School which has more Westinghouse Science Scholars than any other school in the country. This neighborhood is really one of the last bargains left — big pre-war co-ops can be had for under $200K for a 1 BR and in addition to the 2 and 5 trains at the junction, the B41 bus goes up and down Flatbush (the limited puts you at the Atlantic Terminal in under 15 mins and at Kings Plaza in 10), the B and the Q are at Newkirk Ave, and the Q is at Avenue H. And where else can you live amongst wild parrots (www.brooklynparrots.com)?
I just bought a house in PPS that is a couple of houses in from church over the summer. It was renovated painstakingly over 7 years and sat on the market for while until we got it. We know the reason was due to church ave being so close, however over the last couple of months we have found being near church quite useful including running to get a sandwich or coffee or hitting the c-town for a last minute item and drycleaning. I guess being near courtelyou would be nice too, but I like the fact being able to run in the park everyday. I don’t think church is any more or less dangerous than courtelyou. Maybe that will change in the future, but I think church will change too as courtelyou does. What won’t change is the proximity to the park and the size of the house one purchased. Personally I think the houses near church are a steal. If you’ve lived in nyc long enough you know being near a thoroughfare is safer than walking down a block with no one on it.
I do know how to spell junction – my “t” key is sticky.
For those of you looking for the last remaining “bargains” in Victorian Flatbush, and as I have said before, this means SOUTH MIDWOOD (aka Brooklyn College Neighborhood) Julie Kestyn has this new listing:
http://www.kestyn.com/content/listdetail.html/31178596?proppos=10&ag_id=923509&startpos=1&endpos=10&ids=27815181,18189473,25531469,28751926,9728983,18480899,24005285,30200775,24650920,31178596&propertyCount=15
Very long address. Odd. Anyway, this house is close to Flatbush Juncion, which is why the area is less expensive, and not exactly close to the Cortelyou Rd hub, or the park, again,why it is less expensive.. But you do have the bucolic grounds of Brooklyn College on your doorstep, good schools (including middle schools – hudde is very close, and a fabulous pre-school, Midwood Montessori, which is just darling and well-established). Bedford Road (towards the juncion) is sort of the “Albermarle Road” of South Midwood – some big, ambitious houses. This is smaller, easier to maintain. The block association here is strong. Like I said, this is the last frontier of Victorian Flatbush, so if the 1 million plus price tags are putting you off, maybe you should take a look. Kestyn has good interior pix. Back yard looks OK, too.