The Novo Going (At Least Partially) Rental?
Despite the fact that it ain’t much to look at from the outside, sales at The Novo were going okay, we thought. According to Street Easy, 58 units—or roughly half—are in contract. Sales must not be happening fast enough though: In recent days, rental ads have started popping up on Craigslist. The two we’ve seen…
Despite the fact that it ain’t much to look at from the outside, sales at The Novo were going okay, we thought. According to Street Easy, 58 units—or roughly half—are in contract. Sales must not be happening fast enough though: In recent days, rental ads have started popping up on Craigslist. The two we’ve seen are touting a two-bedroom for $3,500 and a one-bedroom for $2,200. What does this mean for some of those other Fourth Avenue projects currently in the works?
Oh, Novo: Scaffolding Collapse on Fourth Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP
Man on the Street: How’s the Novo Look to You? [Brownstoner]
5:16p. Fair enough. You troll around this hideous city going about your business, but when you go home to the family, you want to be in your bubble of beauty. Man’s home is his castle.
By the way, found a news story you might be interested in:
IN POLL, 79% OF BROOKLYN BROWNSTONE DWELLERS RANK NATION’S CRAPPY HOUSING STOCK AS #1 PROBLEM FACING COUNTRY
A survey conducted by Gallup/Brownstoner of Brooklyn’s brownstone residents indicated that 79% feel that the nation’s ugly houses and residential buildings are the number one issue and challenge facing the United States. In the survey, 12% chose the environment as their primary concern, 8% chose illegal immigration, 1% chose the economy and 0% chose the conflict in Iraq/terrorism.
“There are essentially only five or six habitable neighborhoods in the entire United States,†said one survey taker, who chose only to reveal his identity as ‘Rehab’, “and they are all in the borough of Brooklyn…This is unsustainable.â€
Rehab went on to say, “as they say, man cannot live on bread alone, and residing in finely appointed, nicely restored, detail-rich brownstones is an essential component of any healthy life. The fact that 99.99% of the nation’s dwellings are hideous, ugly, charmless, and grotesque suggests the dire straits we find ourselves in.â€
Other like-minded survey takers pointed to “generic colonial houses in boring suburbs, tacky faux-Spanish haciendas in Florida and Southern California, and soulless modern constructions, such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘Fallingwater’ in Bear Run Pennsylvania†as examples of blight that degrade the aesthetic sanctity and mental health of the country and its people. Special scorn was reserved for new-build condominiums in major metropolitan regions, which one survey respondent likened to “the hydrogen bomb of residential architecture.â€
When asked whether they were certain that Brooklyn’s neighborhoods were the only ones in the country with suitable brownstone dwellings, survey takers were uncertain. Some claimed to know of brownstones on the Upper West Side of Manhattan but wrote them off as “too expensive†and “filled with rich yuppie scum.†As for the prospect for finding stocks of charming 19th century residential structures in cities such as Boston and Philadelphia, most survey takers responded that they had “never been to those places.â€
Not all survey takers agreed that charmless housing was the primary problem facing the country. “Fuck brownstones and their ass-whipped owners,†said The What, a notorious gadfly to Brooklyn’s brownstone residents. “This goddamn credit depression and financial system implosion are gonna wipe out these lily-skinned brownstone fucks and their precious homes,†The What went on to say.
The survey taker known as Rehab claimed to be in talks with former Vice President Al Gore about the possibility of producing a feature-length documentary about this problem, tentatively titled “An Inconvenient Truth II – Brownstone Living or The End of the Worldâ€. Rehab said that the key take-home from the film would be that a population of non-Brownstone dwellers would eventually perish from spiritual malnutrition, threatening our children, our country and the fate of the world. When asked what the appeal of such a film would be to people living outside of Brooklyn, Rehab predicted that “this documentary will win a Nobel Prize.â€
5:07. You’re wrong on that. B’stoner clearly implied there was a link between what he interpreted as slowing sales (from the sponsor) and the appearance of rental units.
If he thought they were rental units from owners, why then would he care how many sponsor units had sold?
Broker should learn to spell!!!
Marion
Nope…I actually really like ugly things…love the subways, msg…even flatbush!!!
But I don’t care to live my one life on this planet or raise my family in something ugly.
I know…crazy talk.
4:12 and 4:29 (aka the brokers) need to read what brownstoner wrote. he simply wrote that 2 rentals showed up on craigslist.
if you have a problem with other speculation, take it up with the anonymous posters on this thread.
nothing in the write-up was a false, misleading or irresponsible statment. it was a statment of fact.
sounds to me someone is a little pissed off.
i wonder why…
3:23pm. I guess you don’t ride the subways, because they are hideous too. And don’t use the post office, cause most of them are hideous too. And don’t ever take a train to NJ cause Penn Station is hideous. Or go to a Rangers game cause MSG is hideous, or go to the movies because most movie theaters in NY are hideous. Or drive down Flatbush Avenue, cause it’s hideous.
I didn’t know the Novo had even started closings yet. From what I understand, you can’t legally advertise an apartment for rent until you’ve closed on it (because you don’t own it until then). And the DOB website doesn’t show a Certificate of Occupancy (or even a TCO) as having been issued, so I really don’t get it. Has anyone tried calling this real estate person (who doesn’t seem to be affiliated with any reputable organization)?
4:12: agreed. It’s apretty irresponsible post. I’ve seen the apartment at the Novo: they’re crap, but the craigslist ads I’ve seen look like the work of an independent agent representing some unit owners.
Dear Brownstoner,
Hold on a second! With all due respect, are you positive that what you are seeing on Craigslist are not simply ads being placed by buyers/investors who have already closed ar will be closing soon? Did you call the Boymelgreen/Corcoran office to verify this before posting?
According to the corcoran website they are NOT offering any of these units as rentals. 58 have sold and 18 are currently for sale.
The craigslist ads appear to have nothing to do with Boymelgreen or Corcoran. If this is true, then about 50 people made comments that were based on pure speculation – comments which sound pretty silly if it turns out it’s just a few units being rented out by the condo owner.