Some Friday nights when we come home, we see a jazz session through the parlor windows of a beautiful Macon Street brownstone. I always say to my husband “We have to become friends with THOSE people!” Thanks to a frieneighbor who forwarded this NY Times article, I now know that we don’t have to be invited over to 107 Macon on jazz nights. We just have to show up with 20 bucks and we’re in!
Hostess Debbie serves up a fish fry along with the music and welcomes people up to the open mic every week.
Something else I didn’t know. 107 Macon is also the Sankofaaban B&B. You learn something new every day.
Over here in Bed Stuy, it’s been awhile since the Fulton Street sidewalk was dug up and temporarily filled with black asphalt. Word on the street was that we were going to get benches and trees, but some of us (me) were worried that they would forget about beautifying this neck of the woods.
Well, the trees have arrived! This lazy author only walked between Nostrand and Restoration Plaza so don’t ask how much of Fulton is getting dolled up. Alls I know is that it’s near my house and I don’t get paid enough to get any more information.
Anyhoo, yay Bed Stuy!
(I know. File under “lame post”.)
Bedford Stuyvesant is a huge area broken up into a few neighborhoods such as Stuyvesant Heights, Weeksville, Ocean Hill and Bedford. No, Bedford Corners Historic District is not some new name the realtors just came up with. This part of Bed Stuy exhibits some of the finest architecture in the city but it does need to be preserved.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission will be answering questions and discussing the landmarking process of Bedford Corners Historic District this Wednesday, March 21st. This meeting is said to be the deciding factor as to whether or not the area will be receive landmark designation. The community is urged to come out and show it’s support.
If you live in the south west end of Bed Stuy, please join us at the meeting on Wednesday at Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton Street, lower level. 6:30pm.
Thanks to SuperVegan for filling us in on the recently opened vegan bakery at Greene and Classon on the Bed Stuy/Clinton Hill border.
Clementine Bakery will be serving up sweet pies and pastries, but they do have some savory treats as well. The dill and mozzarella biscuits sound delish. Yeah, that would be vegan cheese.
They use 100% fair trade and 90% organic ingredients. Drinks? Roasted Kitten Coffee using the Japanese Hario pour over method and also French press.
See ya there.
This home was listed as having “historic details” on the Craigslist ad. Perhaps they meant the one mirror.
This one goes out to all of the real estate investors, flippers and brokers. Stop the insanity in Bed Stuy! Yes, yes, I’m guilty of looking for an investment property to flip myself. What sets me apart from these bozos is that I aim to preserve the historic value of the home and respect the community. The state of the market in Bed Stuy isn’t suitable for my needs right now because all I’m seeing is crap renovations.
Flashback to six years ago when I was looking for my own place to live here. The beautiful thing about these brownstones was that they had so much detail still intact. During the “do or die” years people weren’t gutting their homes. Now that Bed Stuy is suddenly getting popular, it’s hard to find a place that needs some tender lovin’ care.
The prices aren’t bad for these gut jobs and one can always add detail. The thing is, I would never trust these fast-n-cheap flippers to do the right thing. What do you think is lurking behind those new walls and floors? Do you think they replaced rotting wood and pointed the bricks properly? Maybe. But you never know. I kind of doubt their integrity.
Listen you guys, leave some homes left for those folks who don’t want glossy oak floors and Home Depot light fixtures. Your cookie cutter shite doesn’t cut it with everyone. Seriously, people will pay more for plaster detail than new sheetrock. They’ll pay more for that gorgeous pier mirror and mantel that you’re dumping in the trash. They’ll pay more for the pocket doors that are lying in your dumpster out front.
I know they will. I’m one of those people.
Now run along and rape some other neighborhood with yucky housing stock. I hear that Long Islanders like shiny, new things.
My Bed Stuy is not a new blog, but I’m sometimes slow in catching on to things. Since the demise of Bed Stuy Blog earlier this year, the local blogosphere has been left with a void. Well, it hasn’t really, but I was unaware it’s been filled.
My Bed Stuy is “just a place for you to come and share all things Bed-Stuy”. Exactly. So, we DO have a neighborhood blog other than the Patch!
And it’s a good one! Go check it out.
When I first saw a group of adults installing a garden at Leadership Prep on Macon Street in Bed Stuy, I thought they were building a movie set. Back in the olden days when I was growing up, NYC public school’s didn’t even have a patch of grass. Well, public schools have turned into fancy schmancy charter schools now and the the kids get to learn about stuff like gardening and catching rain water. It’s pretty awesome.
I thought this Bed Stuy school was special until I passed by Frances Perkins Academy in Williamsburg and saw their fabulous garden. They too, had a rainwater system in place. Wonder who gets to bring home the vegetables?
Daily Press has been open for months now and I finally got a moment to visit even though I live like 2 (avenue) blocks away. It’s not hard to miss this little Bedford Corners (Ok, ok: Bed Stuy!) hideaway as the only signage is on the window.
So, here’s the deal….
Daily Press located on Franklin just north of Fulton, is a French Press and espresso bar. WTF is French press? It’s that plunger type device you see at your mother in law’s house (or at least MY Old-Country MIL). The coffee they serve is Intelligentsia. Pastries and bread from Balthazar. Terrace bagels. Good stuff, good stuff. My hummus-on-a-heated-croissant sandwich was yummy and the peanut butter cookie I had for dessert was amazing!
But what I really loved about the place was the reclaimed materials used in the renovation (Design by Draft Bench). The air conditioning was blasting to my satisfaction on the thousand degree day and I was able to relax on the upcycled furnishings whilst taking advantage of the wifi. There is a lovely backyard, but did I mention it was a thousand degrees?
What I love most about my neighborhood? After hanging in this hipster-yuppy paradise, I get to cross the street and buy an entire bag full of clothes at Goodwill that costs the same price as my lunch (pound of coffee included).
Bed Stuy Blog‘s write up.
Hubby and I hit our first real estate auction in the County of Kings earlier this week. We know folks who’ve bought at auction before, but we were always suckers for paying market value.
So, here’s the rundown. The auctions of real property are run by the Public Administrator of Kings County. Go to the government website to see when the next auction is and which properties are listed. There’s a preview the weekend prior to bidding, or at least that was the case with the June auction.
If you want to bid you’ll need a certified or bank check for 10% of the opening bid. Bring a blank check to pay the rest of the deposit because chances are the opening bid is not the final price. If you win the bidding that means you go into contract immediately. This is NOT contingent upon inspection or mortgage. You must have all of your little ducks in a row before bidding or else you stand to lose your deposit. No joke.
Auctions are not for the faint of heart. It’s a risky business and you may be bidding against investors and developers whom have been around the corner before. Know what you’re getting yourself into….
You may inherit tenants. The property may even be an SRO. The two places we looked at in Bed Stuy had senior women living there for 30-40 years. Who wants to kick them out? Not me!
Who knows what’s up with the previous owner? Some of these are estate sales of folks who didn’t have wills. Family members sometimes expect something. I’m sure they chill once the property is sold, but I’ve heard some crazy stories about what happens leading up to the auction.
Take your time with the previews because you don’t get an inspection. If you don’t know what you’re looking at, it might be a wise choice to hire an inspector for the day of previews. Or a contractor or architect. Or a friend who knows something about houses. This will cost a good few hundred bucks (not the friend-buy them pizza) so be sure you’re serious about bidding.
If you end up buying at auction, don’t expect the place to be broom swept. The city and the tenants will probably leave a bunch of crap behind. I’d also imagine it’s a safe bet to go the legal renovation route by filing with the DOB as the city will know you just purchased a fixer upper. Am I being paranoid? I dunno.
So, why do it? Here’s a partial list of properties and what they sold for.
582 Bainbridge St. Sort of east Bed Stuy/Ocean Hill/Bushwick. Opening bid: $290k. Sold: $300k
163A Halsey St. Bed Stuy, right around the corner from moi! House needed updating and restoration but had some fabulous detail! Partial SRO status was a bit off putting. Opening bid: $325k. Sold: $400k.
2633 Hubbard St. Sheepshead Bay single family. Opening bid: $300k. Sold: $390k.
1130 Brighton Beach Ave. 1 BR coop apartment. I really wanted to preview this one because the opening bid was $65k, but we just couldn’t make it out to Brighton over the weekend. It ended up selling for $130k. A studio coop apartment on Brighton 1st went for $155k. That was a more modern building (1960′s/70′s?). A 1BR in Bay Ridge didn’t sell at $180k. With coops, you have to deal with the board and then there may be flip taxes and transfer fees.
174 Lincoln Place. Opening bid: $1.75. Sold: $ 2.675. The highest priced “sold” property of the day. An Albee Square property that was going for $3.6 did not sell. Oooh, there were lots of bidders on this prime Slope mixed use building! Four ground floor commercial units and up to 6 residential units upstairs with only a single tenant remaining. Property taxes on this baby? $28k. Ouch! Rent roll? A gazillion dollars.
69 Sterling St. I believe this is Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Opening bid: $499k. Sold: $499k. Looks like someone got a sweet deal, although I didn’t see the interior.
4628 Beach 46th St. This place was getting bid up and we were like “Where the F is that?” I thought it was Dyker Heights or somewhere near there. Looking at the map, it seems to be Sea Gate, a gated community at the tip of Coney Island. Interesting. Opening bid: $$320k. Sold: $425k.
331A Stuyvesant Ave. This was the other house we actually previewed. A 2 family with older tenants that kept the house in decent shape. Some details remain, but the house needs updating and restoration. Really, not major work. A friend of a friend wanted this but got outbid. 
Opening bid: $315k. Sold: $350k.
151 Prospect Ave. Interesting, I thought there would be some crazy bidding on this house because people are going gaga for the South Slope these days. (Yeah, I know…it’s really Gowanus over here.) Starting bid: $250k. Sold: $350k. I’m thinking the buyer could probably do NOTHING and turn around and flip it for $500k.
155 Berry St. First photo above. I saved this one for last because had us floored until we figured out just how much Williamsburg property is worth to developers. Opening bid: $695k. There were maaannnnyyy bidders going nuts. This little shack actually went for $1million and change. Surely, it’s a tear down.
Fascinating, no? Oh, and the nicest thing? Everybody applauds each time someone wins a bid.
Well, this just sucks. After 4.5 years, Petra (aka The Changeling) has decided to terminate Bed Stuy Blog. Guess she wants to have a life or something.
Bed Stuy Blog launched shortly after I moved into the neighborhood and about six months before I started my own blog. Petra alerted us to retail openings, events and even crime warnings. She feels the blog is no longer necessary because Bed Stuy is being represented by other blogs now in a way that it wasn’t 4.5 years ago.
I disagree, but what what are ya gonna do? Petra and her small team of writers (Where the F is MY team?) put a personal face on the blog. Posts and comments were always friendly and never snarky like you might see on other sites. The blog was a microcosm of the neighborhood. A place where everyone looks out for one another and says good morning.
Guess this site is going to have to get more neighborhoody to pick up some slack.
On a bright note, we still have Bed Stuy Patch and Bed Stuy Gateway.
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Street trees are must people don’t realize how much they moderate the micro-climate. There is nothing worse then being on street in the summer with no shade.
Comment by Serge Young — March 28, 2012 @ 4:16 pm
Wow, that’s really great they’re bringing trees in.
Comment by Kelly @ NJ Antiques — March 30, 2012 @ 9:50 am