Author: Brett
Where do Brooklynites go when they are priced out of the boro? To New Jersey, of course! We started looking in The Garden State two years ago. While I spent an entire year living in East Rutherford, NJ the year after college, Andrew has never had the experience of residing on the less glamorous side of the river.
Despite the hideously high property taxes, one can still find more for one’s money and live happily ever after—that is, if you can get over living in “Joisey”. I remember that I was in denial the entire time. It was an election year and I went around the corner from my apartment to vote. When they couldn’t find my name on the roster, I insisted that I was a registered voter. “Not in this state,” The clerk told me tartly. It suddenly dawned on me—I was a resident of New Jersey—yikes! (more…)
I love it! A bathtub couch. A shopping cart chair. Reestore is so clever, they don’t need to use 100 year old salvage. They can make fine furnishings out of everyday crap!
The prices aren’t bad. The couch costs as much as a “regular” couch. Ok, it may not be the most comfortable thing in the world, but who cares? It’s fabulous! And your dog can’t chew it up.
Oh, one catch. Reestore is in the UK.
Via Inhabitat
Have I been living under a rock? When did Home Depot launch their Eco Options site? Forgive me if this is old news, but I just discovered it. (more…)
Caroling. Ribbon cutting. Blessings.
Nine new affordable condos in Bed Stuy are complete now, thanks to Habitat for Humanity.
Each owner contributed 300 hours of labor with help from 4,000 skilled volunteers. Habitat hired a professional contractor for the exterior, core and shell of the buildings. The owners learned skills while basically building their own homes.
The condos are constructed of highly energy efficient “insulated concrete forms” meant to save homeowners up to 50% in energy bills. Eco friendly materials such as recycled glass countertops and cabinets consisting of sunflower seeds were used in the building process.
New homeowners received symbolic keys to the homes, located on Halsey Street, but cannot move in until early 2008.
Via Green Brooklyn
Via NY1
Author: Brett
Recently, Metro New York, that free newspaper distributed on the street, reported that more Park Slopers are moving to Montclair to avoid the alternate side parking. This fact made sense to me since we ruled out Montclair as a potential new home two years ago for their blatant lack of consideration for mass transit.
Many people may not know that the township of Montclair has forbidden NJ Transit from running trains on weekends and holidays. Which means that not a single town along the train line can use the train! I even went so far as to call NJ Transit and ask them why they had such limited service. “Ask the town of Montclair,” the rep told me. Outrageous? We thought so. Sure, there’s the Decamp Bus, but who wants to sit for an eternity trying to enter the Lincoln Tunnel when there’s a perfectly good train line going to waste? That’s why we decided long ago that we would only look in towns along a (working) train route. (more…)
$345k (site not updated): 4 BR
HGTV came up with these 6 Deadly Sins of DIY, but here’s our own take on it.
1. Time. “People often underestimate how long it takes to do a job properly.” Ha! That’s an understatement! Our first home took 9 years to complete. We started out with a bang and got bored with it. Eventually, we got used to living with the construction mess. And we never learned. Bed Stuy is over the 2 year mark and Beacon is going on 4 years with no end in sight. Time…yes, it always takes longer to finish a project. But if you’re talking about a big DIY renovation, consider the fact that you’re going to lose interest in the middle. (more…)
I spent alittle too much time on Trendir last night. Such fabulous finds. Nice to dream, but I can’t afford this stuff. Here’s a sample of the radiators Trendir found over the years.
Via Treehugger
Straight outta Brooklyn. Designers Devang A. Shah and Michael Low created The Sun Table, an outdoor table that stores solar energy and powers electrical devices.
The product “that pushes people to spend more time outdoors will be beneficial for humanity.”
The table stores enough energy to run a laptop for over 3 hours or a TV for 3 to 4 hours. For $3600, I think I’ll stick to running my extension cord outside when I want to work on my computer. As far as watching tv outdoors, what the F* are people doing watching TV outside anyway?
Cool idea or useless gimmick? I bet there are some savvy folks out there who can make their own.
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When we were looking to move out of Brooklyn and my husband suggested NJ, I just flat out said “NO”. There was something about leaving the state I couldn’t handle. At least I’m still a New Yorker (and part time Brooklynite). PS…Brooklynites go to Beacon.
Comment by RH — December 21, 2007 @ 7:56 am
Everytime I see that “oy vey” sign I get angry. What can I say…
Comment by iloveupstate.com — December 21, 2007 @ 9:43 am
Why? I think it’s funny. Am I missing something?
Comment by RH — December 21, 2007 @ 11:09 am
I know it’s meant to be funny. I guess I just get annoyed as I imagine memos, meetings and other bs (perhaps an expensive lunch?) as the bueacrats sat around discussing whether to make a fun sign or not…and wasting tax money.
Comment by iloveupstate.com — December 21, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
You know there’s another one on the Belt that says “Fuggetaboutit”?
Comment by RH — December 21, 2007 @ 3:58 pm