Bedford Stuyvesant Archives - Page 2 of 3

My New Favorite Coffee House

July 13, 2011 RH

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.

Public Real Estate Auctions

June 30, 2011 RH

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.

Bed Stuy. Do or Goodbye

June 24, 2011 RH 3 Comments

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.

Bed Stuy Walking Tour

May 26, 2011 RH

Spending your Memorial weekend in NYC and thinking of things to do? Free tour of Bed Stuy’s historic Bedford Corners district, led by “Montrose Morris” and “Amzi Hill” will take place on Saturday.

New Bar for Nostrand

April 15, 2011 RH

*This post has been updated with a few corrections.

Another immediately successful business popping up in the amenity-starved Bed Stuy. “Vodou Bar” on Nostrand and Halsey had their soft opening last night. They are now open for business but will be working out the kinks over the next couple of weeks. Thursday was a trial run.

Feedback? It’s gawna rock!

Daphne, one of the owners of Ms. Dahlia’s Cafe right next door, is behind this new venture. Lemme tell you something. She knows how to run a business. The place was packed last night. Don’t know if it was the “little” emails a select few sent out or if it was people walking off the street, but it was biz-zy.

They have some nice bottled and tap beers, but I had to get myself a fun drink. Apart from the usual mixed drinks, there was a “special” drink menu, which is what I deserved. I ordered some watermelon thing. It was really good!

My only complaint? No umbrella in my drink.

No signage on the bar yet. Corner of Nostrand and Halsey.

Related: Wine Shop on Nostrand

Breukelen in da Hizzouse!

March 2, 2011 RH 1 Comment

Who needs to go to Clinton Hill or Stuyvesant Heights for a decent bottle of wine? Not those of us here in southwest Bed Stuy! As of tomorrow at 12:30pm, Breukelen Cellars will be open for business!

Owner John Samuel was kind enough to let me in for some snappies and a chat today. I even got to taste some Riesling, suckas!

John and his business partner Andre are both Bed Stuy natives. Since they decided to open the shop, they’ve been going to shows and tasting like mad. Every bottle on the shelf has been given their personal seal of approval.

Opening Day Tasting!
Thursday, March 3 @ 6pm
504 Nostrand Avenue

Art exhibit by Joseph Bolton

Some of the wines they’ll be tasting are Altadonna Nero D’Avola, Pas si Petit, Petit Chablis and Saint-Bris Sauvignon.

See you there!

New Cafe for Bed Stuy

February 23, 2011 RH 2 Comments

Bed Stuy’s now defunct Food for Thought had so much going for it. It was on a quiet street where the sidewalk seating made sense. Location was great, right between “Bedford Corners” and Stuyvesant Heights. The food was excellent. I don’t know why they went out of business, but I did bitch about the slow service quite a bit.

Well, Cafe Mausaic is moving in! I noticed the sign last week and with a little research I see that they are set to open on April 1st! They are currently looking for staff and artists to take part.

Sounds like it will be a great addition to the neighborhood. Hopefully with good service.

Bed Stuy Landmarks Meeting

February 9, 2011 RH

If you live in the south/west part of Bed Stuy, you better come to this meeting. Or else. Yeah, that’s a threat. It’s kinda important.

Historic Bed Stuy Architecture Snappies

October 18, 2010 RH 1 Comment

Much enjoyed touring my own area of Bed Stuy yesterday with Andrew Dolkart, Brownstoner’s “Montrose Morris” and Save Bedford Stuyvesant‘s “Amzi Hill”. Since I didn’t take notes, I’m just posting some pics and referring you to the links above for your own research. Because I’m lazy that way.

Or…perhaps some kind reader will comment on what we’re looking at. 🙂

Full Flickr set.

Historic Bed Stuy Walking Tour

October 14, 2010 RH 2 Comments

Come see why I love my neighborhood so much! Bed Stuy is HU-UGE! This area is the proposed “Bedford Corners Historic District” aka “My Neck of the Woods”.

What Bed Stuy Needs

October 1, 2010 RH 4 Comments

Bed Stuy is home to some of the most beautiful historic architecture in the city. Countless people (including myself) have called it the “friendliest place” they’ve ever lived. The express A train takes less than 15 minutes to downtown Manhattan.

So what’s it lacking? Well, nearly every newbie and lots of old timers agree that the neighborhood could use more amenities.

Before I share my own wish list, please know that Bed Stuy is HUGE and I’m referring to my specific area which is near the intersection of Fulton/Nostrand.

Ok, so here we go:

1. Wine Shop. You can see what my priorities are. Well, it turns out that my prayers have been answered! Brownstoner reported that Breukelen Cellars will be opening on Nostrand and Halsey. They call themselves a “wine and art boutique”. I don’t care how pretentious that sounds, it beats pointing to a bottle through bullet proof glass, which is what we have now. Yesterday I walked into the local wine store (liquor store) and told them to give me their most expensive bottle of red. They handed me a $10 bottle of Merlot. Ok, I’m kidding. But seriously, the most expensive bottle was ten bucks. Hey, not that I have anything against inexpensive wine! I’ve been known to drink Three Buck Chuck. I just want a choice, man. I just want a choice.

2. Organic Grocery/Farmer’s Market. Ooh, the organic grocery is coming, but I’m sooo impatient! Organic Bed Stuy promises to be everything I’ve dreamed of, but I don’t think they have the funds to open yet looking at their Kickstarter campaign. For now, they are selling at the Malcolm X Farmer’s Market. Yes, Bed Stuy has a farmer’s market. So, why am I listing it? Because I am one lazy beeatch and I want it closer to my house! Here’s the deal…On Saturday mornings, I bring my dogs to Prospect Park in the car. The huge market is right there, so it’s more convenient for me to stop at Grand Army Plaza than to head farther east passed my house. I told you I was lazy. And while I’m at it, a Sunday market would be nice too!

3. More food delivery options. Yeah, I’m all about the food. I covered the Bed Stuy delivery options in the past. More please?

4. Bagel shop! Not just any bagel shop. They have to be REAL bagels. And they have to open early. Which brings me to…

5. A place to get a good cup of coffee really early in the morning. Am I the only one who wakes up before 7am? There are a couple of places that say they open at 7, but it usually takes them awhile to get their acts together. One thing lacking in the entire city is a place to get a decent cup of coffee AND a good bagel. I hate having to go to two different places for my breakfast, but I refuse to have a bad bagel and I refuse to have a bad cup of coffee.

6. Old school diner. I promise this will be the last food item on the list. I just want a diner. Oooh, a 24 hour diner! One with a 30 page menu and jukeboxes at the table and a waitress who calls me “Hon”. Is that too much to ask?

7. Um, non-food, non-food…Oh! Pet supplies. Yeah, it’s food, but it’s food for pets. Yeah, I know there are a couple of places on Myrtle. I want to walk from my house, remember?

8. Speaking of pets, we could use more petsitters. I like my Bed Stuy pet sitter just fine, but it was kind of a hassle finding her. There are maybe two dog walkers servicing Bed Stuy. Think about that, entrepreneurs!

That’s good enough for now. I really just wanted to get the food thing out of my system.

Toto, I’ve a Feeling We’re Not in Brooklyn Anymore

September 17, 2010 RH

WTF is it with all of these Brooklyn tornadoes lately? So, I come out of my house last night, lock the door, turn around and “Oh shit!” A tree is down. Look up the block….”Oh shit!!!” Another tree. That sonbitch hit hard.

People are just waking up to the damage this morning. I’m hearing lots of shrieks on the block. That woman in the photo above was all like “Well, how do we know nobody ain’t in the car?! We can’t see!” She could have a point, but nobody checked because this is Bed Stuy where “do or die” may still hold true under these circumstance.

This gentleman ran over to the tree with his cane last night screaming “Take my picture! Take my picture! Put me on the internet!” So I did.

Our little tree in front of the house survived! Guess those shorties are pretty strong (and bendable).

Remember when Bay Ridge got hit in 2007? Well, now it was all (most of?) brownstone Brooklyn’s turn.

And to think Allstate dumped us because of flooding.

Bed Stuy Walking Tour This Sunday

July 15, 2010 RH 1 Comment

Bed Stuy Landmark Meeting featuring Cranky Old Guy

July 12, 2010 RH 3 Comments

“But what if I want my white vinyl windows?!” Cranky old guy just couldn’t let it go. Saturday’s meeting to address the landmarking of Bedford Corners was informative and interesting, but it was Cranky Old Guy who stole the show….at least for me.

Before we arrived, I wondered who the hell would hold a meeting on a Saturday in the middle of the summer. I thought nobody would show, but it was standing room only. May I add that my block, which is about 3 feet long, was well represented.

I scribbled some notes, but mostly I just distracted Brownstoner’s Montrose Morris, whom was trying to pay attention like a professional blogger. Hey, I’m sure she’ll have a much more informative post later this morning.

So, here are some fun facts about historic landmarking:

* There are about 100 landmarked districts in all 5 boroughs. Most of them are in Manhattan, followed by Brooklyn.

* Brooklyn Heights was the first landmarked district in the County of Kings.

* Guess which boro is the most resistant to landmarking? Come on, you know.

* Less than 3% of all properties in NYC are landmarked.

* In 1965, it was Mayor Wagner whom started landmarking districts. (Interesting. I was like “Mayor Who?” I can only remember as far back as Lindsay and I guess I don’t remember my history lessons.)

But back to Cranky Old Guy. During the Q&A, he asked if Landmarks was going to tell him what he can and can’t do to his house. The response was that Landmarks does indeed oversee replacement doors and windows on historic homes in the district. There was back and forth for a bit.

“But it’s MY home. What if I don’t want to put in expensive wood windows?”

“Sir, Landmarks doesn’t make you install wood. They will approve wood or aluminum windows. Not vinyl.”

“But what if I want white vinyl? It’s MY home. How can they tell me what to do with MY home!”

“You can do aluminum. Not vinyl. The cost is only a bit more and they will last you longer.”

And on and on it went until someone said “It isn’t really YOUR home because you pay property taxes.”

If you live in the designated area, you really should get involved. The neighborhood needs to get behind these issues. It’s not like a couple of volunteers take care of it. Strength in numbers gets it done.

Please go to the website to learn more.

Bed Stuy Landmarking

July 7, 2010 RH 2 Comments

Looks like this Bedford Corners Historic District thing is moving along. I received the following email as well as a flyer posted on the door of my house on a block not mentioned. This is Phase I. Maybe my block is Phase II? 🙁 It’s all good. Gives us a chance to install new front door and windows without landmarks breathing down our back.

And now to the old cut and paste……

An open forum community meeting regarding the creation of the Bedford Corners Landmark District will be held on July 10th, 2010 at 2:00 PM at the Bedford Branch Public Library. The library is located at 495 Franklin Avenue at Hancock Street.
A presentation by members of the Historic Districts Council will address the conditions and benefits of achieving historic landmark status. After the presentation residents of the neighborhood will be able to ask questions about the process and what it means to the community.

Bedford Corners comprises the blocks of Macon St., Halsey St, Hancock St, Arlington Place, and Jefferson Avenue from Bedford and Nostrand Avenues and extending east to Tompkins Avenue.

Bedford Corners will be only the second new historic district named in Bedford-Stuyvesant since 1971, when the Stuyvesant Heights district was formed. Growing support for the formation of Bedford Corners has been shown with a postcard mailing campaign to the Landmarks Preservation Commision earlier this year. This district has also garnered the support of Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilmember Al Vann.

This district has filed a Request for Evaluation with the LPC and is awaiting surveying and calendaring procedures. Currently the Bedford District Block Associations (BDBA), a coalition of local block associations, is collecting signatures to a petition in support of this designation.

reclaimedhome.com

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