Open House on the Park

Brownstoner's loving Sunset Park recently. This house, on BS's Open House list, has dropped in price since its For Sale By Owner days. Word on the block was that they had just added $1 million to the purchase price years ago. Now it's still trying to be the most expensive house on the block at just $925,000, but you can't blame them for trying. (However, considering this and this - neither of which will probably reach asking - I'd say the price needs to get into the 700's.)

The location is fantastic in many ways, but it's also horrible in many ways.

Open House on Sunday from 1 PM to 3 PM.

Here's the craigslist link.

Here's the zillow link.

Here's the older zillow link.

Sunset Park Gets 'Stoner's House of the Day (even though it's called Bay Ridge)

Photos courtesy of Brownstoner

Someone is REALLY on vacation over at Brownstoner.

First, a Sunset Park house gets house of the day.
Second, a house less than a million gets house of the day.
Third, since when is 47th Street Bay Ridge? I mean, okay, a long time ago it WAS called Bay Ridge. But that was many decades ago!

It's a great block, a very pretty house, and if it's empty there is probably room to negotiate. Anyone want to go half-way? I might be able to convince my hubby it's worth the TLC needed. Might.

Walking Tour of Chinatown - Today at 2 PM

Thanks, Brownstoner.

Walking Tour of Sunset Park

Join curator Andy Urban and tour guide Dave Madden for an informative walk through Brooklyn's Chinatown. The walk is in conjunction with the exhibit, "Living and Learning: Chinese Immigration, Restriction & Community in Brooklyn, 1850 to Present."
Saturday, June 27. 2-4 p.m. Free. Meet at 36th Street and 4th Avenue (SE corner near entrance to 36th St subway station).

When Development Attacks

A resident on 47th between 7th and 8th wrote in to Brownstoner for advice on how to handle a "monstrosity" being built next door. The thread has several responses and answers on how to deal with the issue (and subsequent property value drop).

It's a little confusing because the original question states that the block is all brownstone houses, yet the block is actually facing rows of cute brick houses with porches. It's one of my favorite blocks. I always try to walk down it on my way to 8th Avenue, especially when the front roses are in bloom. Let's hope it doesn't turn into what the neighbor fears.

Sunset Park Rezoning Meeting on Saturday

Be aware that the following email contains some claims that are un-proven. However, the efforts of the organizers are positive for the community, and anything that encourages people to get involved and educate themselves about their chosen neighborhood is a really good thing.

Update: Brownstoner has a great map and information about the re-zoning in Sunset Park. PLEASE check it out! The 60 day public comment has begun, so comment if you care.

from the Sunset Park Alliance of Neighbors listserve:

How are City policies threatening to displace

residents and small businesses in the Sunset Park community?

Come and participate in a presentation and discussion at:

Saturday, April 25^th @ 1pm

Trinity Church- 411 46^th Street at corner of 4^th Avenue

(Food and beverages provided)

Sunset Park has become increasingly unaffordable for low-income residents and families. With the increase in condominiums being built, high rents that make it difficult for low income families and small businesses to survive, and increasing costs for food and transportation, just to name a few changes, you may be wondering what is happening and what can I do about it?

There is a rezoning plan under consideration by the City of New York and Community Board 7 that will have serious implications for our community if passed. The proposed rezoning plan will up-zone the avenues in Sunset Park, which will encourage developers to demolish existing buildings to build luxury high rises. As a result, property values will be raised along with rent.

Ultimately, the proposed plan will not provide a single unit of low-income housing and will continue to push out working people and small businesses in the neighborhood. Meanwhile the City of New York under the Bloomberg administration passed plans to downzone and protect properties in the predominantly wealthier white community of Park Slope and Bay Ridge.

From Harlem to Willets Point in Queens, and to the Lower East Side and Chinatown, billionaire Mayor Bloomberg has pushed similar rezoning plans that have devastated communities. He has slashed the budget, while increasing costs, such as for MTA fares, for working people, robbing the working poor to feed the filthy rich. Essentially, Mayor Bloomberg is shifting the economic crisis on to the backs of working people.

Find out what you can do about your community and how to protect it !

For more information, please contact: Committee to Protect Sunset Park at (347) 661-2665

Sincerely,

Wendy Cheung Johnny Trellis

Committee to Protect Sunset Park

Sunset Park House is Most Expensive in New Brownstoner Feature

Yesterday, Brownstoner's new Under A Million feature topped it off with a Sunset Park house that sold for $763,000. Compared to the $730,000 condo in Fort Greene with half the footage, it's a pretty good deal.

Sunset Park in Chowhound via Brownstoner

A comment yesterday indicated that this blog has been very useful to some people when it comes to finding/choosing eating establishments. While I'll admit that I have some skill in finding and posting links to other people's opinions, my own palate is relatively limited due to my habit of neglecting to eat anything with a face.

So, in an effort to further assist my neighbors, and inspired by both the commenter (thanks for the compliment Nick D.) and Wednesday's blurb from Brownstoner (go down to the Red Hook Vendor bit) that was from a link to a Chowhound thread about the new Casa Vieja on 5th and 60th, I'd like to direct those who are interested to another Chowhound thread that has been my guide several times. This thread started in August of 2008, and it's been added to by several better-informed-than-I diners in Sunset Park. Bookmark it, seriously. Highlights from this thread include Peter Cherches' posts and a mention of the juice and tamale stand outside on 5th Avenue and 40th Street. But really, the entire thread is chock full of helpful tips about where to go and what to try around the neighborhood. It's heavy on suggestions in the 40's and lower 50's, but I'm sure it can be added to.

The new Casa Vieja (an oxymoron, I know) was also featured in the Village Voice's Fork in the Road.

Another Sunset ROTD for Brownstoner

Not an original choice, since Matamoros gets all the taco attention (poor Xochimilco across the street!), but Brownstoner posting two Sunset Restaurant of the Day items in February (Ba Xuyen was the 'stoner ROTD on February 2nd.) means we've arrived. Doesn't it? Or does it mean we're leaving?

On(e) Sunset Park is Selling Some Units

Brownstoner sure loves Sunset Park lately. Porn, Bahn Mi, and now a return to the rent-controlled turned luxury condo building on 44th and 7th. Phew! They really DO love us! ;)

The "checking in" they do is really an update on the sales going on in the building. Apparently, five units have sold; I only saw three contracts signed on the site, but maybe they have inside information. The comment thread on Brownstoner is full of misunderstandings. Last week's Buy of the Week in the New York Times was in Sunset. It was in one of the coop buildings that hasn't yet gone to mortgages; its price (and low maintenance) is a lot less because of that. Some of the 'Stoners mixed up that building with One Sunset Park (which allows 10% or 20% financing). They are very different animals.

Daily News Article, Commenters, and 3rd Avenue

Yesterday's Daily News has an article that continues the titillating debate concerning the porn shops and peep shows (and Peyton's Playpen?) down on 3rd and 2nd Avenues. Brownstoner had its own blurb about the article yesterday, and of course that brought out the commenters club attempting to be clever.

Most of the comments were just having some goofy Friday fun with the topic. Others sympathized with Sunset Park's residents. And then there were several people who reacted as though the concerned citizens in SP were prudes or just idiots. The comments show ignorance of the area and its residents.

Among the misinformed statements were these:

exposing kids to things they shouldnt see? from the storefront, it just says 'midland video', as generic as any store. i doubt they have xxx material facing the sidewalk.

The photo Brownstoner happened to have in its archives is just one example of the score or so of shops. Besides, the shops are not all that the kids shouldn't see. The shops influence the sex trade on the streets, and some of the prostitutes are still out and about when children are going to school. Even more disturbing and sad is when you see a pimp abusing a woman right on the Avenue. There are several schools located between 4th and 3rd Avenue, and there are several playgrounds that look out onto 3rd Avenue. The remains of the night can also be found on the sidewalks.

another commenter:

Nobody walks on Third Avenue unless they work in those industrial buildings. They've been there for years and years with no complaints. I imagine they used to 'service' sailors off the piers there. As the piers are gone, there's still a large constituency of factory workers and what not near by.

Did you even read the article, or were you in such a hurry to get in on the frenzy of giggles that you skipped that step? Your romantic notions of who was "serviced" needs a little tweaking.

here is a taste of what you missed in the article:

A lawsuit over the city's sex industry dragged on for eight years before finally going to trial - allowing a glut of porn shops and peep shows to open in Sunset Park.

Residents charged in the suit the shops contribute to prostitution and keep the neighborhood from improving.

But the shops aren't breaking any laws because a city effort to regulate them has been tied up in court since 2001. The case went to trial in Manhattan Supreme Court this month.

In that time, the number of sex shops in Sunset Park has grown from a handful to about 25.

Apparently there WERE complaints years ago. Apparently more shops have been opening. Apparently Sunset Park gets to receive the fun times that more touristy and chic areas don't want. And guess what? People DO live on 3rd Avenue. And the numbered streets between 3rd and 4th DO have houses...not factories. That's close enough to be bothered by the activities these shops encourage. Also, your picture of a factory worker these days is probably far off the reality.

and another:

Generally speaking when I think about moving to a neighborhood, I go visit it first, so that I know if it's full of porn stores or not before deciding to move in.

Thanks for the advice, but most of the people who want the porn stores out have lived in Sunset Park longer than the influx of the high volume of stores. You also assume a certain monetary ability of choice in domicile. But I'm sure your comments will be helpful to many of the new-ish Park Slopers who complain about children and their parents, the Coop, and dog poop. They should have taken a look around the neighborhood too, I suppose.

Ugh. Sorry about the mini-rant. I have nothing against porn, but it irks me when people need to blab about something they obviously have no connection to and know very little about. Personally, I have nothing against pornography - if it involves consenting adults. But acting like it's not connected to less "innocent" pursuits that negatively affect quality of life and a place that many, many people call home is ridiculous.

Sunset Park is the IT Girl for a Day (or two)

Not only does Sunset Park get to be the number two biggest sale in Brooklyn, according to Brownstoner, but we also get mentions all over the crazy world of news bits. In an earlier post, I mentioned New York Magazine's article (which prompted this blip of attention) and Curbed's highlight of the article.

Now, Brownstoner also picked it up! Woohoo! That in addition to a shockingly expensive three-family house that sold on 8th Avenue makes it two mentions in one day. Please take a look at the photo of the house. (It's NOT the brownstone.) $1.8 million? What?

Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights Slam the Energy Scammers

I found this link on Brownstoner, and it shows how a group of truly concerned citizens can help out neighbors. The Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights put together a flier for the neighborhoods that have been attacked by energy savings scams of late. Is attacked too strong a word? This PDF flier gives a lot of handy tips and encouragement to those who run into the aggressive door-to-door representatives from IDT and other companies.

If you want background to this issue, do a quick search on Brooklynian (in the Greenwood/Sunset Park forum), Brownstoner, or Gowanus Lounge.

Forget the Bridge, Want a Rainbow?

A neighbor sent this information in to me a couple of days ago, but since I'm away and didn't have a photo, I figured I'd let the neighborhood mourn in private for a few more days so I could investigate upon my return. Well, Brownstoner has the scoop, and a really nice photo from the listing.

Basically, the Rainbow Cafe and the building in which it's housed is for sale. The owner passed on about two months ago, and the place has been closed since then. Check out the last post about the closure. If anyone has an extra three million hanging around, wanna go in on it with me?

Sunset Park Resident Has Had It

Do a lot of residents have to deal with all these problems? I think that this person may have incredibly bad luck when it comes to choosing which neighbors to settle in with. She (I'm not sure about the gender, but I'm guessing) said she's had to deal with: harassment while walking her dogs, slashed tires, keyed doors, arguing over parking spaces and loud music, sanitation tickets due to passersby adding to the trash, and today - the kicker - someone throwing unknown edible material into her yard...and her dog ate whatever it was.

Check out the Brownstoner link for the details and an unusually calm bunch of commentary.

Hotels, hotels everywhere in Sunset Park

Besides the long-ago begun hotel on 39th Street and the lovely Days Inn on 39th between 4th and 5th Avenues, there are rumors about a hotel development going in on 3rd Avenue and 49th (?), and even over be the 59th express train. And now, according to Brownstoner.com, 33rd Street between 2nd and 3rd will get its own hotel. I know the jail uses up a lot of current hotel space, but the Days Inn isn't so much cheaper, and I've heard the rooms are tiny. I'll be curious to see what a types of establishments show up. Will we get a Hotel Le Bleu? Now THAT would be something. But where will they find nice neighbors like the taxi depot?

"Sunset Marketplace" Renderings Revealed

I love imaginary pictures of future developments. They are so cute and sunny and clean. No one ever litters or stumbles around drunk. Everyone is thin and there is just the "right" amount of diversity. Brownstoner has the renderings here. I had no idea this was in the works, and I am not at all sure what to think about it - yet. Would Banana Republic REALLY move in to 3rd Ave and 31st Street? Will there be Mall Walking Clubs? Does this mean the end of 24 hour Video and Accessories stores? Say it isn't so!