Uploaded by horseycraze in the Prospect Heights Photo Pool:
“the lot of the former vanderbilt products building. to be replaced by a condominium.”
Photo pool founder Frank Lynch: “Gang, the Vanderbilt Products building is now kaput. Underberg is kaput.”
“Get those lenses out: we can be the preservationists of the memories of what this neighborhood was pre-Ratner.”
MikeWalton718 reports in the Prospect Heights Message Boards: “The ‘Park Slope Garage’ on Sterling Place btw Washington and Classon is being rennovated, or more likely torn down to make way for brand new condos…”
“I know what you all are thinking: ‘Park Slope Garage’? Isn’t that in Crown Heights? The answer would be yes, but on the other hand, they’ve been abandoned for like 8ish years, I hear and they were infested with rats. I think it’ll be neato. I hope anyway.”
“Came home to find this letter taped to my door a while back. I’d put in up in the message boards but I haven’t figured out Flickr and besides, there’s really nothing at all to discuss. It’s all here. Totally amazing.”
Find out on Daily Slope, Park Slope, Brooklyn.
BrooklynSwordStyle says: “Man, this whole nabe has gentrified all to hell. I remember when it was a just cooled mass of magma and noxious gasses. Those days rocked. Only the hard-core lived here, and the vibe was great.”
“Old school? Fuck that, man. We were single celled! I had this kick-ass bit of rock, but then these yuppie lung-fish started waddling in on their fancy-pants fin-legs and drove up the cost of everything. I tried dividing myself a few times to share the rent, but then one of me mutated and became a total dick to be around. It’s all those damned lung-fishes’ fault. If they hadn’t moved in, then those hairy-assed mammals wouldn’t have shown up. Now this place is so lame.”
Ground Breaking
Originally uploaded by Atomische.
*OK, OK, we know a million dollars ain’t what it used to be… So let’s propose a new definition of Millionaire: anyone who won’t think twice about plunking down a record-breaking (for Brooklyn, at least) $1000+ per square foot for a condo.
…That’s the sale price predicted a few months ago for units in Richard Meier’s “super deluxe” 15-story glass tower on Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Heights, now under construction (photo, right). This price is still a screaming bargain, of course, next to the current price of luxury apartments in Manhattan, which according to the Daily News are now almost $1500 per square foot.
But there’s a bigger story here about a smaller public space… at least for those of us Prospect Heights residents who are already making way for millionaires every day as we try to squeeze past the blue plywood wall that’s blocking the public sidewalk.
The construction company drilled the foundations for this wall more than a foot into the cement sidewalk!
Is that legal? No idea – we are simply too dense to translate those obtuse building permits.
Is it annoying? Just ask any pedestrian who’s forced off the sidewalk and onto the muddy, garbage-strewn strip of “grass” by oncoming strollers, dog-walkers, or the weekend hordes of PHers making their way to Prospect Park and the GAP Greenmarket. Hell, try to get past a single XXL pedestrian, for that matter – the sidewalk simply no longer adequately allows two-way traffic.
Is this what life will be like for the next two years? When the subject came up on the Prospect Heights Parents group on Yahoo!, there was some talk that local politicians (Tish? Marty? Hello?) could pressure the developer to move back the wall.
Somebody got in touch with somebody who actually knows something at the DOT, and according to them, the permit says they have to maintain a pedestrian walkway 5 feet wide. Uh… what pedestrian walkway? We don’t see any. Anybody handing out citations yet?
No. In fact, somebody called 311, and they said, “Get over it, crybabies!” Well, not exactly… but apparently they claimed it had been inspected and that the passage is adequate. Uh… no.
What next? You can make noise, too: If this annoys you, then call DOT and reference complaint # C1-1-203530336. Now who’s got their phone number? Let us know in the Prospect Heights Message Boards.
–
Construction photo: Thanks to Atomische for capturing this and uploading it to the Prospect Heights Photo Pool.
Lucas writes to Daily Heights about the coveted Rap-Id-Wrap building on Bergen St.: “Walked by last night (Dec. 9) and it was gone. I never got to say goodbye. Folks on the forum noticed, too….
Before (photo © 2005 Frank Lynch):
After (from Lucas):
Guest writes: “I saw them tearing it down at about 11 am yesterday morning. I spoke with one of the demolition crew and he said they could tear the whole thing down in just a few hours. It was pretty fantastic to watch this giant machine with a claw tearing into the building as snow was falling.”
The status of the permit was called into question, but Ben writes: “hard to say if there is a permit or not. None shows up on the DOB website, but in a complaint from 12/9 a permit No. is referenced…”
danaeo asked: “I am trying to ascertain how many other developments are in the works in Prospect Heights (which might add additional units). I thought I’d turn to the dailyheights experts on neighborhood development…”
Answer: A lot. On the Prospect Heights Message Boards, jml posted this quick list, “based on my experiences as I drive around looking for parking”:
The Washington, 35 Washington ave - 11 units
35 Underhill Ave., 39 units (same building?)
Dean between Washington and Underhill
Something is going on on St. Marks between Underhill and Washington
Park Place between Carlton and Vanderbilt
Richard Meier building on Plaza
Sterling between Classon and Washington
Washington between St. Marks and Bergen
Washington between Bergen and Dean
The new 3-story buildings along Underhill and running down Dean
More on new developments: Prospect Heights Message Boards
Current condo development in Brooklyn: The Real Deal [PDF]
Real Estate Message Boards: Wired New York Forums
Hey, guess who was just here in the neighborhood?
Brownstoner writes: “We were driving through Prospect Heights on Sunday when we noticed this development of townhouses on Underhill and Dean. They look to be of the same vintage as the ones Ratner built on Fulton in Fort Greene.”
“Does anyone know how and when these came to be built? How about the quality of the interiors? Have any sold in recent memory?”
LINKS:
Wondering About Newish Townhouses on Underhill: Brownstoner.com
Outlook for Prospect Heights Circa 2002: Set Speed
dina writes in: “Today at the site of the Union Temple parking lot, workers were driving metal rods into the sidewalk. On asking what they were doing, I was told they are guarding off the site in preparation to build a foundation for a 16-story apartment building. Is this the famed Richard Meier building? Does anyone know anything about this?”
metulj: “Yup. There goes my bedroom view of the library and probably the park as well.”
Previously on Daily Heights: “Developers originally and laughably sold this condo project to us as ‘not luxury.’ However, Deb’s conversation yesterday with a “boasting” spokesperson for Richard Meier revealed that ‘It will be the most luxurious building in Brooklyn.’ Local agents speculate a 2-bedroom unit will go for about $1 million.”
Our friend joshb checks in: “got my little treatise about prospect heights and psychosis published in this week’s ny press…”:
Excerpts:
“My rent checks are addressed to a Caribbean gentleman with a toothy smile and a habit of praising God while bagging our recyclables. My landlord’s friendly, though prone to breaking repair promises: Nearly three years after moving in, our ceiling still flakes like cheap baklava. The crumbling paint is always a conversation starter…”
“A couple days later, I asked my landlord, point-blank, ‘You’re not thinking of selling the building, are you?’ ‘Oh, no, Andrew, I like you guys. You’ve got nothing to worry about.’ He smiled with teeth as bright as our flaking ceiling…”
“Am I Prospect Heights? Perhaps. I frequently drink myself incorrigible. I refuse to wear deodorant. I’m prone to shouting at arthritic Hispanic women who block the sidewalk. It is not a glamorous neighborhood, but it is home, the security blanket against the big, bad city. So it is here where I draw the line, my own Alamo…”
Link: Going Postal [NY Press]
An Englishman in New York writes: “A New York institution passed into history last week. The banking hall in the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building on Atlantic Avenue, in Brooklyn, closed its doors for the last time on Friday. Not that you would have noticed.”
“… it’s worth explaining that the banking hall in question is an art deco masterpiece, decorated in marble, adorned with a giant mosaic, lit via 40ft windows and crowned by a 63ft vaulted ceiling … The next time you see this room, it could be a Barnes and Noble or a swanky restaurant.”
Read more… Link: [An Englishman in New York]
See the previous discussion in the Daily Heights Message Boards.
Estate sale. Four stories, two families. All boarded up… You’ve walked by it many times, and quig among others has commented on it in the Prospect Heights Message Boards (somebody, quick! find the link!). Is that the right street address?
Brownstoner says: “all we know is that there’s original oak detailing and it ‘needs work’. (Given the relatively low price tag of $999,000, we’re guessing it needs a lot of work.) As a bonus, it’s on one of those sweet 131-foot lots particular to Prospect Heights.”
UPDATE: Crowhiller writes: “Hmmm… looks like 375 Park, right across the street from me. If it is, it needs more than just a little work. It was Daphne Weeks house, a wonderful Calypso bandleader lady from Trinidad. She’d call over then kiss all the “young men” walking down the street. She passed away early Nov. last year (it was a very sad month), then a couple of weeks later, around 2 AM, the house burned spectacularly–gutted from bottom to top. A bit mysterious. My granny, her friend, died three days after the blaze. They were both 99 or so. Why (or how) would a realtor list the wrong address?”
Links
HOTD: Prospect Heights Estate Sale [Brownstoner ]
Listing: Donawald Realty
Discuss it: Prospect Heights Message Boards
Today on DailySlope.com: “The Daily News reports that ‘as the clock ticks down on plans for a massive rezoning of south Park Slope, developers are scrambling to squeeze in controversial projects… ‘ - Advocates say developers routinely ignore stop-work orders, or pay the fines and keep building.“
“Yeah, yeah, hurry up and give me the fine already… I’ve got a work crew on illegal overtime!”
Image from South Park Slope Blog.
This 2-story building, which some neighbors refer to as the Kee House after the previous (or still current?) residents, was the target of a bidding war, with an opening bid of $1.3 million, as reported a few months ago on Brownstoner, and a deed for $1.4 million was recorded on July 25, according to Property Shark records. Incidentally, a $900,000 mortgage was recorded that same day, with a Mark Schildkraut of Fort Salonga, NY listed as “giving lien or ownership.”
Now, it turns out there’s a new record on the books: a building application for a three-floor extension (and 2-story rear enlargement) to the existing building, dated Aug. 24. Owner is listed as Mark Schildkraut.
Those additions would cost an estimated $105,000 ($105,000?! public records say the craziest things) and would add 4,054 square feet, and make the building a total of 5 stories, towering over the existing 2- and 3-story brownstones on that block, which is anchored on one side by the 3-story residential building that houses the Kurdish Museum (currently just about the tallest building on the block). After the additions, this pink-pillared single-family residence would be open to 5 families.
Hmm, 5 stories and 5 families… I wonder how that will go over with current residents on this block?
Discuss: Prospect Heights Message Boards
Still seems much more affordable than Park Slope, or…?
Source: New York Times via Brownstoner.
PROSPECT HEIGHTS $425,000
135 Eastern Parkway
(Turner Towers)
2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,000-sq.-ft. co-op in a postwar building; 24-hr. doormen; dining area; gym in building; maintenance $820, 40% tax deductible; listed at $425,000, 1 week on market (broker: Susan N. Breen)
Discuss: [Prospect Heights Message Boards]
“Any idea as to what’s getting constructed on the corner of 5th Avenue and 1st Street? Looks like a decent sized hole they’ve dug so far.”
One bedroom (with smaller additional room for office, etc.) floor thru (3rd Fl.) in a really nice brownstone; 1st St. btw 5th and 6th
High ceilings, great closets, dishwasher; Very good condition
Rent: $1,625 / month; No fee, one month security
“Owner indicates that he prefers a single person or couple, as the layout generally does not work in a roommate type situation.” More info: Park Slope Message Boards
*Cringe*… who came up with that headline? The Daily News, that’s who. Today in the Daily News: “For many years, what came to New Yorkers’ minds if you mentioned ‘Crown Heights’ were riots and racial strife… But these days, New Yorkers have something altogether different in mind … and that’s real estate.”
“With demand surging, a two-family limestone at 1266 Carroll St. recently commanded a $740,000 sale price, though kitchen and bathroom renovations are needed. Two years ago, similar houses went for $400,000 to $450,000. Eight years ago, the prices were $200,000 to $225,000.”
“‘people used to have to wait 30 years for this type of appreciation,’ said Camille Logan of the real estate firm Fillmore, who brokered the sale. The houses are spacious and full of original architectural details …”
“Crown Heights wouldn’t be a hot real estate market if it had continued to be torn apart by racial strife. But the neighborhood has mended - thanks to efforts by religious leaders, civic coalitions and even a group of Jewish, African-American and Caribbean-American women called Mothers to Mothers…”
So… speaking of never blending in… how about that thing going up behind the billboard? It’s “145 PARK PLACE,” a new 95,000-square-foot, 50-unit luxury condo building under construction on Flatbush. This is from our friend Transfer:
This is from MIHAI RADU Architects:
What… You were expecting it to be “architecturally correct?”
Ha, ha. Nice one. Welcome to Brooklyn.
BUDDAHPUG asks: “We are moving back to the East (thank goodness) in a month or so. I used to live in the Lower East Side (in the 80’s) and now looking for a place in Brooklyn. I saw a beautiful apt. listed near Prospect Park. I was wondering if anyone could let me know if the area is okay. Since I lived in the LES, I can deal with some funkiness, just want to feel on the safe side. The address is 890 Flatbush Ave., Patio Gardens is the name. It looks like 5 high rises,. They have 24 hr. security. Also How many minutes/stops is ParK Slope from the 1st stop in the city?
“It looks like a great area. My b-friend bikes and it looks like a perfect combo of nature and city!”
LINK: Moving Soon to Brooklyn [Kathy in Daily Heights Forums]
CAN’T HANDLE THE RENT NO MORE
STOOP SALE
371 Park Place
6/19
thoversover writes Daily Heights:
“Go to curbed.com; scroll halfway down the page and vote for our new neighborhood name: FLATenD! Strike a blow for outscale development! Whee! Polls are only open till 1 pm today (Tuesday).”
LINK: Curbed.com “‘Hoodwinked” Contest Curbed.com]
Susan writes: “Ever wonder what the inside of the old Cathedral high school, corner of Washington and Atlantic, looked like? Foxton’s has listed a condo in the building. 13 photos of the interior of the lobby and floor plans for an interesting (and pricey!) 2-bedroom bi-level apartment. The curved wall details and open second floor in the architectural rendering give it a mid-century modern feel. And the gargoyles on the building are fascinating.”
sje writes: “Why should I knock myself out, when for a lousy $200 and a week of my time, I can be pulling in fat commission checks for selling million dollar condos?”
Shot on the corner of Pacific and Vanderbilt.
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