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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

This brief little article which will help take the guess work out of finding the local schools in the Clinton Hill /Fort Greene area.

Elementary Schools

P.S. 20 Clinton Hill School
225 Adelphi Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
Phone: (718) 834-6744
Public School
Pre-K to 5th Grade
P.S. 20 Website

P.S. 11 Purvis J Behan School
419 Waverly Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-638-2661
Public School
Pre-K to 6th Grade
M.S. 113 Website

P.S. 46 Edward C. Blum
100 Clermont Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718-834-7694
Public School
Pre-K to 5th Grade
PS 46 Website

Queen of All Saints Elementary School
300 Vanderbilt Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718-857-3114
Private School
Kindergarden to 8th Grade

Junior High Schools

M.S. 113 Ronald Edmonds Learning Center
300 Adelphi Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718-834-6734
Public School
6th – 8th Grade
M.S. 113 Website

High Schools

Benjamin Banneker Academy
71-77 Clinton Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-797-3702
Public School
9th – 12th Grade
Benjamin Banneker Website

Brooklyn Technical High School
29 Fort Greene Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718-804-6400
9th – 12th Grade
Brooklyn Tech Website

Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School
357 Clermont Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-857-2700
Private School
9th – 12th Grade
Bishop Loughlin Website

Well, I’ve lived in Clinton Hill for seven years now, and when I ask the old timers, people who have lived in Clinton Hill for 25 years or more, they all tell me that the borders of Clinton Hill are Park Avenue to the North, Atlantic Avenue to the south, Vanderbilt Avenue to the west and Classon Avenue to the East. 

Of course if you ask some of my fellow realtors, they will probably tell you a different story.  They will often move boundries around so that they can advertise that a property they are selling is in a “hot neighborhood” even if its not.  Let the buyer beware.

Regarding the news story I talked about earlier, the corner of Franklin and Lafayette Avenues is in Bedford Stuyvesant, not Clinton Hill.

Tall and majestic, this co-op has terraces that let you enjoy the great out of doors without leaving your apartment (technically), and breathtaking Manhattan views that rival any postcard.  Here is a list of the other great features that makes Willoughby Walk an ideal place to call home:

1. 100% owner occupied.
2. Only 10% down required by the co-op!
3. Large windows bring a lot of light into the apartments.
4. This is a gated community with 24-Hour Security.
5. The Co-op is Pet Friendly.  Dogs and Cats are welcome.
6. Some apartments have terraces.
7. Some apartments have picture postcard Manhattan views.
8. The Co-op has great Financials and cash reserves.
9. Brand new laundry facilities on campus.
10. Storage is available.
11. Steps away from The Pratt Institute’s Brooklyn Campus and St Josephs College.
12. Fort Greene Park, Myrtle and Dekalb Avenues are also steps away.  Both streets are lined with marvelous shops and restaurants. 

View Larger Map

Apartments in this co-op do not become available often, so when one does, its an event not to be missed. If you’re interested in finding out about apartments for sale at Willoughby Walk Co-ops, give me a call at 917-544-2662 or Click Here.