House of the Day: 491 East 17th Street
This 3,500-square-foot one-family house at 491 East 17th is advertised as being on “the best block in Landmark Ditmas Park.” If that’s true, we suspect that this is one of the less good-looking places on the street due, in large part, to the brick addition on the front of the house. The interior, however, is…
This 3,500-square-foot one-family house at 491 East 17th is advertised as being on “the best block in Landmark Ditmas Park.” If that’s true, we suspect that this is one of the less good-looking places on the street due, in large part, to the brick addition on the front of the house. The interior, however, is very charming. And, considering that the house across the street sold for $1,900,000 last year, the asking price of $1,300,000 for this place may look interesting for those with a hankering for the Victorian nabe.
491 East 17th Street [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark
This house has lost much of it’s exterior charm, and if it did not have this blight of a porch enclosure, many of you would be praising it’s original charm. Fluted columns, dentil moldings, etc… These have clearly gone by the wayside, but his was no “average” house in its day. Unfortunately, it is often too cost prohibitive to resore a porch. Red brick was the black plague of Victorian Flatbush.
Gee, nycityguy9, do you mean BLACK people… ?
This house was NOT built in the 1920s. This house is in Ditmas Park (proper)and was bart of the original development built by Louis Pounds.
DOB, and subsequently Property Shark, have mis-dated many, many houses in Victorian Flatbush. My own home, built in 1903 (and I have the original sales photo to prove it), is, according to the DOB and Property Shark, c.1920.
The porch is NOT original. You will find the odd house in the neighborhood has been clad entirely, or partially (first floor only) in brick. You will also find later brick porch enclosures. Although, there are a small handful or houses in the area that were originally brick, or had a brick ground floor (usually pale brick), I know of only a handful that have original brick porches. This house is NOT one of them. The window mullions are dead give-aways – 1930s porch enclosure, most likely influenced by houses built in Midwood in that era.
As for Archie Bunker… Whoever is posting that stuff is talking out his rear end.
I take the train to the city all the time from Church Ave. B/Q stop, so I would certainly have noticed the “gang bangers” allegedly getting on at Beverly or Cortelyou; but I’m afraid I haven’t seen too many stereotypical ghetto-youth or homeboy types, banging actively or otherwise. I see what appear to be lots of working-class Caribbean folks, Russians, and Mexicans. (You can tell the Russian gals by their makeup.) Now I feel positively deprived and understimulated.
This is an utterly uninspiring house, by the way; I’ve always wondered what it’s like to buy an ugly house in a neighborhood renowned for its lovely, historic houses. One would think the price would reflect that, but apparently not. In our neck of Victorian Flatbush, many older homeowners had long ago bricked in their porches and felt quite superior to us, whose porch was still intact (well, okay, falling apart).
7:54
Nothing on that block sold for as low as 800K two years ago.
December 2007 – East 18th Street, Very Small 3 bedroom Bungalow, adjacent to tracks at grade, one bath, needed new kitchen, partially finished basement went for 935K. This one has that ugly enclosed porch but is priced about 35K over what it will go for.
Archie lived in Corona ar 704 Hauser Street. The facade of the home shown in the opening credits was in Glendale. Anyway what makes you think that Victorian Flatbush doesn’t have bakeries (Italian, Russian, Pakistani, West Indian and Spanish) coffee shops (No not Starbucks) and artisan butchers (Halal, Kosher & West Indian)? Yuppies would not frequent the already established shops in Glendale anymore than they patronize the many thousands of shops within walking distance of them in Victorian Flatbush. They tend to think that there wasn’t a thriving community out here before they came and they prefer the newer trendier spots or going to Park Slope over the longtime neighborhood businesses.
Actually, Archie Bunker lived in Glendale, Queens and the houses are absolutely nothing like Ditmas Park. However, they are not bad either for people who want a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, good neighbors, reasonable commute from a few million good jobs. Glendale is nice. Many of the amenities that are just coming to Ditmas Park (bakeries, coffee shops, artisan butchers(Italian and German)) are long term residents in Glendale. Of course, you miss out on the museum piece bragging rights that go with a Brownstone or Victorian in Brooklyn. All you get is a community.
There are posts on this thread about demograhics of the Victorian Flatbush buyer but not one mentioned the Jewish families that buy there. There are both Conservative and Orthodox temples all within walking distance. Avenue J and 18th Avenue are only short bus or train rides away. They also seem not to be as afraid as Yuppie stroller mom types to live in racially diverse neighborhoods and they don’t have to worry about schools because they send their kids to yeshiva. There are definitely buyers out their for these homes who will pay a premium. I don’t think it has to do with greed. It is simply supply and demand.