Brooklyn Real Estate Q&A and Info

One of the first things I did when I moved to Clinton Hill, Brooklyn was get a parking ticket.  I got another a few days after that, and my car was completely towed away one bright and sunny Monday morning when I parked my car the night before near St Joseph’s College on Vanderbilt Avenue and didn’t move it by 11:00 am.

Well, here’s some good news for anyone who has a car who is looking to move to Fort Greene or Clinton Hill (and for people who already live here).   The DOT is reducing alternate side parking from 4 days a week to only 2 days a week.   Hurray!

In preparation for the new regulation,  starting Monday, May 18, 2009, Street Cleaning/Alternate Side Parking Regulations will be temporarily suspended in the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill sections of Brooklyn’s Community District 2 for approximately six to eight weeks while  2,000 new signs are installed with the new reduced regulations.

The area that is getting the new regulations are within the borders of the following:

North: Flushing Avenue (included) from Navy Street to Classon Avenue.

East: Classon Avenue (included) from Flushing Avenue to Fulton Street.(the true border of Clinton Hill and Bedstuy)

South: Fulton Street (not included) from Classon Avenue to Flatbush Avenue.

West: Flatbush Avenue (not included) from Fulton Street to Myrtle Avenue; Myrtle Avenue (included) from Flatbush Avenue to Navy Street; Navy Street (not included) Myrtle Avenue to Flushing Avenue.

This is another great reason to call Clinton Hill and Fort Greene home.  DOT, myself and my soon to be purchased Caddy CTS thanks you.

Every year the Society For Clinton Hill sponsors a House Tour where you get the opportunity to go inside some of the fabulous historic homes that grace the neighborhood of Clinton Hill Brooklyn.   In 2009, the House Tour will take place on Sunday, May 3, 2009 from Noon to 5:00 pm come rain or shine.  Tickets purchased in advance are $20.00, on the day of the event they are $25.00.

It’s a self guided tour that allows you to get a glimpse inside of one of the Pratt Mansions on Clinton Avenue as well as some of the other spectacular properties in the Historic Section of Clinton Hill.  You’ll also get to tour a working brewery and enjoy a beer tasting and at lease one of the stops on the tour will feature a free concert.

To really enhance your experience, there’s audio tour on CD that you can purchase for $5.00.   Download the information from the CD onto your favorite MP3 player and listen to descriptions of Clinton Hill as you walk between tour stops. 

The tour is wonderful for all, from the history buff to anyone who just loves to look at beautiful houses.  For more information, go to the Society For Clinton Hill website.

I had the opportunity to show two really great apartments to a client, a wonderful women who’s company I enjoy, that are for sale at Willoughby Walk Coops in Clinton Hill Brooklyn. 

I like the complex and the apartments so much that it has prompted me to write this little update about the coop.

Pros:

The lobbies in the coop are very well maintained, the hallways are beautifully carpeted and painted, and the elevators seem like new.  The laundry room is spacious, clean and has a good number of washers and dryers of various sizes.  Add 24 hour security, good financials and location, location, location, and Willougby Walk falls at the top of my list of the best places to live in Brooklyn.  You can get a great 1 Bedroom for between $250,000 to $300,000.   Maintenance payments are typical for Clinton Hill, which is between $600 and $700 a month.

Cons:

Like most things in life, there are cons, but they are not deal breakers in my opinion.  The main con I can think of is that the kitchens tend to be on the small side, but if you’re not much as of cook, that’s probably irrelevant.  The other con is that most apartments have no designated dining are to speak of.  If you don’t usually have a lot of sit down family meals, that’s not much of a con either.

Wrap-up:

Over all, I like Willoughby Walk Coops a lot.  If you’re looking to move to Brooklyn and want to live in Clinton Hill, a neighborhood I also like a lot, then the Willoughby Walk Coop is a great place to consider. For more information about the coop and its amenities, click here!

Want to see an apartment or two. Give me a call or send and email me.

An article in Crains New York Business shows that “The median sales price for the market fell to $490,000, down 7.5% compared to the same period (fourth Quarter) of 2007.”

On a bright note, it was reported that Clinton Hill and Fort Greene saw an increase in prices.

One thing that the 2008 real estate sales statistics for Brooklyn New York show is that despite the downturn in the market and the economic recession, houses, condos, coops and all types of property are still being sold in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn New York 2008 Sales

One Family Houses Sold – 1,516
Two Family Houses Sold – 2,791
Three Family Houses Sold – 1,043
Buildings With Three Or More Families Sold – 871
Condos Sold – 3,282
Coops Sold – 2,421
Others Sold – 941

Total Properties Sold – 12,865

Of couse I can’t not show the statistics for my three favorite Brooklyn neighborhoods of Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Bedford Stuyvesant.

Clinton Hill

One Family Houses Sold – 3
Two Family Houses Sold – 22
Three Family Houses Sold – 5
Buildings With Three Or More Families Sold – 19
Condos Sold – 45
Coops Sold – 70
Others Sold – 17

Total Properties Sold – 181

Fort Greene

One Family Houses Sold – 3
Two Family Houses Sold – 12
Three Family Houses Sold – 9
Buildings With Three Or More Families Sold – 11
Condos Sold – 133
Coops Sold – 55
Others Sold – 9

Total Properties Sold – 232

Bedford Stuyvesant 

One Family Houses Sold – 32
Two Family Houses Sold – 241
Three Family Houses Sold – 146
Buildings With Three Or More Families Sold – 83
Condos Sold – 125
Coops Sold – 0
Others Sold – 76

Total Properties Sold - 703

These statistics are compiled from data from the NYC Dept of Finance and exclude zero dollar transactions.

If you are looking to sell your house, coop or condo, give me a call at 917-544-2662 for exceptional service with a smile and get it sold.

According to an article in the Brooklyn Eagle, Mayor Bloomberg signed legislation on Tuesday, 12/30/08, that establishes the Fulton Street Business Improvement District (Bid).  The Mayor stated that the BIDS budget for the first year of operation is $300,000.

This is good news for property owners in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene.  The improvement of the commercial corridor along Fulton Street between Rockwell Place and Classon Avenue will help make Clinton Hill/Ft Greene even more desirable to live in (which helps to increase property values) and will hopefully give us a cleaner, more attractive street with more stores and restaurants to patronize.

For more info about the BID, click here.

Here’s a little article posted in the New York Times about the proposed Fulton Street Business Improvement District (BID).

The BID will run along Fulton Street from Rockwell Place all the way to Classon Avenue which passes through both Ft Greene and Clinton Hill. Business that are located in the BID will be required to pay a fee. The fee covers extra security, street cleaning and holiday decorations as well as marketing efforts and other items to improve the area.

Opponents of the BID, particulary in the Clinton Hill end of the mile long stretch the BID covers, are worried that the cost will cause their already failing business to totally collapse.

To see the benefits of a BID, you just have to walk a few blocks over to Myrtle Avenue. When I first moved into the area, Myrtle was not a very inviting place to shop, and I would typically either go to Downtown Brooklyn, or Manhattan to buy what I need. Now, Myrtle Avenue is well lit and cleaner with many new shops and restaurants.  I can now say I shop on Myrtle Avenue weekly.

The Myrtle Avenue BID helps merchants get new signage and provides other benefits that, from my consumers point of view, has only helped to make Myrtle Avenue more vibrant, which in turn must have helped merchants make more money.

Time will tell whether or not a Fulton Street Bid will help do the same for the ailing portions of Fulton Street that the Myrtle Avenue BID has done along Myrtle Avenue.

US News and World Report has published its latest list of the top 100 Public High Schools in the nation. They compiled the list by examining the data from 21,069 schools from the 2006-2007 school year. They used a three step process to determine a schools eligibility for the list, and the schools ranking. For a detailed explanation of the criteria they used, go to usnews.com.

Eight High Schools in New York City made the list, one right here in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene Brooklyn ranked #67. The other New York City Public High Schools that made the top 100 are as follows:

#23 – Stuyvesant High School – New York, NY 10282
#29 – High School of American Studies at Lehman College – Bronx, NY 10468
#31 – Dual Language and Asian Studies High School – New York, NY 10002
#32 – Staten Island Technical High School – Staten Island, NY 10306
#33 – Bronx High School of Science – Bronx, NY 10468
#48 – Queens High School of Science of York College – Jamaica, NY 11451
#67 – Brooklyn Technical High School – Brooklyn, NY 11217
#71 – Townsend Harris High School – Flushing, NY 11367

The inclusion of so many New York City Schools on this list, 8 out 27,000 schools nation wide, is a big accomplishment and shows that the city’s public school system, though not perfect, does have some bright spots.