We visited one of the oldest houses in Brooklyn yesterday. The late 1700′s Lefferts House is located in Prospect Park, but did you know that the original location was six blocks away on Flatbush and Maple? And did you know that the 1783 structure was the second Lefferts home to be built after the original 1687 homestead was burned down during the British invasion of 1776?
It’s all good now. The home was donated to the city back before it was moved and has been a museum ever since. It’s a small house by today’s standards so if you visit, don’t expect a full day trip. Bring the kiddies as the Prospect Park Zoo and Carousel are within spittin’ distance.
Suggested admission is a mere $3 for adults.
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.
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.
Yes, that’s right. A six unit bungalow colony is up for sale for $93,900. The buildings sit on 5.45 acres in Kerhonkson, which is actually more desirable than most colony locations. Kerhonkson is Ulster County, close to Minnewaska State Park and Stone Ridge/High Falls/Rosendale.
The 1940′s bungalows are listed to be in “fair condition”. Sounds too good to be true? Well, yeah, it is. Maybe.
Most of the structures do not look to be in salvageable condition, so really, you’re buying the property. My thoughts on empty property lot vs. tear down is as follows: I’m figuring that the electric, water, gas and sewage lines are already run with a preexisting colony. Many places we saw had propane and the lines may need updating, but am I wrong in thinking it’s still easier than starting from scratch?
Pop some cute pre-fab cottages in or vintage air streams and you’ve got yourself a colony…right around the corner from the Hudson Valley Resort and Spa.
*Photo help from Miss Wit
Even though The Catskills were severely damaged by Hurricane Irene last year, some parts will bounce back. Areas like Woodstock and Phoenicia are year round vibrant communities that have always remained popular destinations for tourists. But exploring Sullivan County this week was rather shocking.
The Borscht Belt towns have seen more financial devastation and decay than any hurricane could have caused. This isn’t news. I’ve blogged numerous times on photographers capturing images of the old resorts and bungalows, but I had to see it with my own eyes to consider the scope of it.
Main Streets died out with the advent of the malls and the resorts and colonies started losing popularity with the arrival of air travel. The Catskills as my generation knew it still existed well into the 1980′s, but it’s a shell of it’s former self these days.
There may be hope of a revitalization. Post baby boomers like myself have been very excited about the opening of Kutsher’s Restaurant in Tribeca and the preview of the Kutsher’s documentary film was sold out almost instantly. The newish Upstater blog is waxing nostalgic about the area and they’ve proven to be quite popular.
Does this mean The Catskills are coming back? Not quite. It just means there is hope. I’m not the only one whom has had the idea to bring back a modern day bungalow colony for this generation.
Kutsher’s still exists, although it was closed the day we were there. I heard rumors that it’s for sale, but cannot find any news on the current status.
I’ll be posting some colonies that are on the market in the upcoming weeks. They are in bad disrepair, but prices are negotiable. Come on. Let’s do it. Let’s bring back The Catskills!
Reclaimed Home is going back to its roots! After moving back to Brooklyn, where space is an issue, we stopped collecting larger salvaged items for reuse. Well, it’s time to expand again.
Starting a tiny home based business was a breeze. Starting a small business with a team is a bit more challenging. But you know what? It’s important that we do this now for a variety of reasons.
Saving building materials from the landfills. Mother Earth is screaming for help. Tons of demolition rubbish goes into dumpsters every day.
Presenting restoration options for folks of all income levels. We’re going through some rough economic times. Why shouldn’t everyone have the same access to beautiful architectural details and furnishings for their dwellings?
Preserve our history! Old homes are being torn down to make way for new construction. Historic details are discarded of during renovations. The skilled craftspeople who created these materials are long gone. Let’s give their work a second life.
Here’s what you can do to help us achieve our goals. If it can be recycled, please don’t throw it out! We’ll take reusable materials off your hands. If you’re doing a renovation or know of someone who is, contact us before you allow your contractor to destroy house parts and throw them in the dumpster. We’ll carefully remove the items for you so someone else can make use of them.
It will save you demolition fees. It will save you disposal rates. Most importantly, it will save our planet from overflowing landfills.
You can email us by hitting the “contact” link at the top of the middle column. We thank you and Momma Earth thanks you.
What’s better than looking at internet house porn? Participating in house porn! Yes, all you house whores, it’s time for the 5th Annual Crown Heights North House Tour!
When? Saturday, October 1. 11am-4pm
Where? The kick off ceremony and breakfast starts at 10:45 at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church. Brooklyn Avenue and St. John’s Place.
What? A self guided tour of nine homes, one church, one community garden and a nonprofit location.
Tix? $20 in advance, available at Barbara’s Flowers, 615 Nostrand Avenue and Yanatiba,714 Washington Avenue or on-line from Crown Heights North Association. Tickets can be purchased for $25 at door on October 1st.
The death count for Hurricane Irene is now up to 40. We joked that it was non-event here in the boroughs, but looking at the damage she caused elsewhere, we should thank our lucky stars it wasn’t worse.
This NY Times photo struck a chord. This poor woman was in the middle of restoring her 200+ year old house. You know she loved that house because she took the time to scrap the paint and brighten it up instead of slapping on some siding. I can sympathize with her loss because I know how I’d feel if I put in hours of work for nothing.
People’s homes and businesses are damaged all the time in natural disasters. As long as everyone survives (pets included), it’s just a building. And possessions. Hopefully, insurance covers enough so that people don’t end up with nothing. But you can’t replace the intangibles. The memories. The time spent working to make it yours.
Memories fade and time passes no matter what. Money comes back. It must hurt to have them stolen in a single day though.
Interiors still need to be stained.
After months of research, planning and estimates on replacement windows, we finally had them installed in July. Any window that’s worth a damn is not cheap. (*Worth a damn=NOT vinyl replacements!!) At the end of the day we came in just shy of $30k for 14 windows. The front is custom wood as we have some odd shapes going on and the rear is fiberglass with wood veneer interior. They are historic windows even though this area is not yet landmarked.
So, here’s how it went down.
For the front of the house, we wanted brick to brick as opposed to replacement. Meaning…everything comes out so they can insulate behind the frame. That’s often where the drafts come in, not from the windows themselves. There are less air pockets in the rear of the house, so we got away with replacements there.
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Me and The Moms took a trip upstate for a couple of days last week. We drove the Old 17 Route so we could pass the Red Apple Rest Stop. The Red Apple was THE place to stop before the NY Thruway was built. Back when it took 5 hours to get to Sullivan County. It was still open up until 2007 when it became condemned.
While we stopped to get pictures, there was someone else swinging by to have a look, remembering the place from his childhood. I wonder how many people go out of their way to check out the old rest stop. Could be a great restoration project and business venture.
The number is on the “For Sale” sign below. Just sayin’.
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We owned a house on Project 32 Rd, right down the road a piece from this property. This is a great location.
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Comment by priscilla — February 21, 2012 @ 9:40 pm
We were on Project 32 Road briefly. We were wondering where the name came from. Sounds like a UFO or nuclear testing area.
Comment by RH — February 22, 2012 @ 7:10 am