Props from NY Press "Best Of" Issue

Best New Blog to Feed Our Real Estate Whore: Brownstoner.com

There are countless reasons to hate Mr. Brownstoner. Chiefly, his Clinton Hill brownstone, which serves as the impetus for his eponymous blog. Yet we can’t begrudge him too long; his web site is a refreshing breath of homespun air in the slimy world of real estate blather.

While similarly minded Web sites like Curbed (2004’s Best Blog to Feed Our Real-Estate Whore) attack the housing market with a cynical wink-wink, Gawker-style nudge, Brownstoner purveys a plain-talkin’, no-nonsense approach. It kind of feels like a bearded, know-it-all dad discussing his favorite subject. Namely, brownstone Brooklyn.

While posts on open houses and ephemera are appealing (who knew the house at 233 Duffield Street may have played a role in the Underground Railroad!), we are hooked on the proverbial pipe-watching as the Brownstoner’s renovations unfurl. New molding! Recycled claw-foot bathtubs! Doorframes! We visit the site every morning, breath bated, eager to see how the wood stain turned out. It’s a fine example of living vicariously through others. We dream of undertaking our own rafters-to-floorboard build-out. Except, of course, we can’t afford a million-dollar home, and we’re as handy with a hammer as a paralyzed Eskimo. Whatever that means.

Best Of Media & Politics [NY Press]