Open House Picks

you are exactly right, 11:58.

nyc has become a top destination, not only in terms of vacation spots, but to live as well. the polarization of the republicans and democrats in this country are also drawing a lot of latter here from other states.

i think someone should write and article on that as well.

nyc, along with just a few other cities in the u.s. are THE place to be for many.

I can’t believe the amount of posts debating the “old lady furniture”. Who cares? If you buy the house, the old lady people take their furniture with them. Look at the actual house, for Pete’s sake. Look at the structural elements, the rooms themselves, the yard and the neighborhood. Someone else’s decor is just that – someone elses.

This reminds me of those homebuying shows where the young couple walk into the house and the first thing one of them says is “Ewww, I hate the wall color.” Haven’t they ever heard of paint?

Well, architectural unity is one thing … the blocks with the early 90s infill housing (middle income 2 families built by the city and they actually did a good job) are also a pretty good bet if you want stability and quiet. My block on Lex is about half and half and extremely quiet (people are always amazed when they visit). It’s true that north of Madison the architecture is less consistent but there are still plenty of gorgeous blocks. And Quincy is nice all the way east from Classon except for one block.

The Halsey house is nice but it’s not located in prime brownstone Bed-Stuy, e.g., Bedford Heights or Stuyvesant Heights. Typically the blocks get worse past Patchen. This block is okay though and the house seems to be reasonably priced at $690K. It has very good bones and a lot of potential. If in Stuyvesant or Bedford Heights (the swath of brownstone blocks that run from Nostrand to Malcom X and Madison to Fulton), it would be priced over $900k. Greene east of Classon is also an excellent stretch but it’s more of an oasis and not contiguous to prime brownstone Bed-Stuy to the south (separated by the less than steller, Lexington, Quincy, Gates and Monroe).

I think I might swing by the Halsey open house for curiosity’s sake. I’m in Clinton Hill and I have a lot of friends in Bed-Stuy but rarely venture east of Malcolm X. I plan to be in Stuy Heights on Saturday so I’ll take a look at the house and the surrounding area and report back on Monday. My friends who live in Bed-Stuy have a some general rules when purchasing in the nabe: (1) only look on predominantly brownstone blocks (must be architecturally uniformed); (2) blocks should be tree lined and very green (the best blocks are); (3) no rent stabilized or section 8 apartment buildings nearby; (4) street must be “one way”; (5) no bus traffic; and (6) the closer to Fulton and mass transit the better.

Like most of prime brownstone Bed-Stuy, if you walk onto a block and your initial reaction is “Wow! This should be landmarked”, then you’re probably headed in the right direction. You’ll know that your in the right area if the blocks are all tree lined, architecturally uniformed, the streets are clean, homes are immaculately kept (window boxes and planters everywhere), very little foot traffic, no loitering and it appears quiet and peaceful. Typically you will only find this in Stuy and Bedford Heights but there are some real jewels sprinkled elsewhere throughout the nabe. The house should be on a good block and in a good section of Bed-Stuy to even warrant serious consideration.