WTF in Bed Stuy
Who the hell’s going to buy this crap (this one happens to be in Bed Stuy) now that the market is no longer in a frenzy and lenders aren’t giving money away? Are all these new design disasters destined to wither on the vine to be repo’d by HPD in a few years? Notice that…
Who the hell’s going to buy this crap (this one happens to be in Bed Stuy) now that the market is no longer in a frenzy and lenders aren’t giving money away? Are all these new design disasters destined to wither on the vine to be repo’d by HPD in a few years? Notice that the ad says that the house is ON SALE, not just FOR SALE. Nice touch.
$699000 New 3 Family House ON SALE !!! [Craigslist]
The problem with these types of spec buildings is that they are deeply, deeply cynical. Their mission is profit–they add nothing else to the landscape.
They are ugly because their goal is merely to exist so that they can be sold. They are not thought of as anything other than The Potential To Make Money Quickly… they are never thought of as anything someone would live in.
And so they often screw the hardworking people who buy them, because they are poorly designed and fall apart quickly. They fall apart quickly because they are made with the cheapest possible materials and labor, cutting as many corners as possible.
The good news is that real estate in neighborhoods like Bed Stuy is not going to sustain such a wasteful, cynical practice (the ad says it all–any offer). People are going to start demanding an actual house for their money, and they should.
I own a house here, and while my checkbook wishes for total gentrification, I bought here because my soul says it will never happen. I deeply hope that this will always be a place where real people actually own homes, and don’t fret about Marvin windows or landmarking. And affordable, good new housing is part of that.
The bad news is that in thirty years a lot of cinderblock and sheetrock is going to be dumpstered and trucked out of Bed Stuy, as these crackerboxes get razed and replaced with whatever truly affordable housing makes more sense.
It will probably be the Fankjrkrym modular house system from Ikea or something.
WTF indeed… posters here make a lot of valid comments, there really is no cost difference to build aesthetically pleasing buildings that are within context of the neighborhood in which it is built. There are quite a few new townhouse construction projects that the city is building in bedstuy that are well BEAUTIFUL. These ugly, nasty, out of context buildings are simply from developers (I use the term loosely) who are clueless about the market. Every single time I pass one of these monstrosities I cry.
Those buildings are hideous!!!!!!! Please don’t tell me decent design is out of reach. Tear them down and start over please….
Is it even with in the fire code for new 3 family construction to have a wooden stair case in the public hall? Seems like it would have to be sprinklered at least. I love the picture with the overturned bucket and all the parts spread out on the floor. Great staging.
It’s ugly, but I for one don’t need the “WTF” in the headline. Surely there is a more original way to make your point. IMHO.
“BURN THIS FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT TO THE GROUND AND PUT UP A GOSH DAMNED HOT DOG STAND INSTEAD!!!!!!!”
thank you for saying “GOSH DAMNED”, there are kids here.
Oh, and on the subject of quality of construction in old brownstones versus new crap, some of the posters above missed the point. Sure, the old places need maintenance, as do the new ones. But the new ones are made with paper-thin sheetrock, pine or aluminum studs, and cinderblock. My joists are 4 inches thick, baby, and made out of old-growth oak–something you couldn’t do today even if you wanted to, no matter your budget.
cant blame architects i’m sure its what the developer had in mind.
Thank you, Guest 4:48: With the same or similar materials, you could build a house for exactly the same money that is attractive, has decent proportions, etc. That does NOT mean I think it should have gilded-age cornices, mouldings, dumbwaiters, etc. That means that a decent designer/architect with taste could make a modern, inexpensive house that doesn’t look, well, stupid. The way this one does.
BTW, the person that said “modernism is dead” obviously has no idea what modernism is. Modernism is EVERYWHERE. Jesus, it’s even in chain stores, now, meaning Design Within Reach. (Come to think of it, maybe the person meant that modernism is dead *because* of Design Within Reach– a point that is, indeed, arguable.)
Oh, Architect in Brooklyn, when will someone create an attractive, affordable architecture for regular people? Sigh.