Today's article on real estate in Crown Heights
Comments
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Please; I can't wait. To Utica and beyond.
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Someday, they'll build the Utica subway.Someday may be 2080.
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What is this talk of a Utica subway? This is the first I'm hearing of it. Do you mean a subway under the full length of Utica? That would be awesome.
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In the same fashion as the Second Avenue subway, the Utica subway, along with the remainder of the Nostrand subway, were casualties first of the Great Depression and then postwar urban decline:Unfortunately, subway construction costs in the US are much higher than they are in, say, Spain, so property values in outer Brooklyn would need to surge far higher to justify any subway construction on Utica.Maybe after East New York and the South Bronx are full of high rises, and there are no pre-existing subway lines left to build up.There's actually a station shell for where the unbuilt South Williamsburg subway would cross on its way down Utica Avenue at the A train's Utica stop:
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it won't. the conditions under which the current subway system were built were atrocious and before the age of worker's safety and fair union wages. think of how long it's taken them to even just build an *extension* to the Q train as part of the "second avenue line" (which won't really extend further south than midtown, mark my words!), considering how wealthy that area is and how badly it was needed. we'll sooner say goodbye to all of lower manhattan due to flooding than see a Utica ave subway.come on down the B/Q train to flatbush. our train is lovely! >:}
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The Second Avenue Subway is "budgeted at approximately $1.7 billion per kilometers while similar projects in Paris and Berlin have checked in at $250 million per kilometer and a London Tube extension cost $450 million per kilometer."And that's why we can't have nice things. It's not just good working conditions & union wages— they have those those in Paris, London, and Berlin.
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Yes, that is why SBS/BRT is being implemented on Utica and other routes.
...SBS will be the closest thing we are going to get to new subway service for decades.
If it isn't coupled with enforcement and limited access, it won't achieve its stated goals. -
Under the road in most of Brooklyn is where you have utilities (electric, gas, telecom, etc). I'd guess that building underneath them without disturbing them would be a nightmare plus you need spaces for ventilation, mechanicals, etc. Think about the substations that are tucked away in various neighborhoods and the ventilation shafts under sidewalks along subway lines. 2nd Ave subway proves it can be done, but not without a huge cost. Add to that NY state's need to load additional costs onto public works projects (prevailing wage, WC, etc) and the failure of government to drive large construction projects to completion in a timely manner, and I don't think that we'll see a new Brooklyn subway line in our lifetimes. If someone could make it happen however, it would be a game changer.My bet is that the Cross Harbor Freight tunnel currently being studied by the Port Authority will be the only new underground rail constructed in the next 50 years. http://www.bondbuyer.com/news/regionalnews/port-authority-cross-harbor-freight-could-impact-future-revenues-1068285-1.htmlThat won't impact Crown Heights directly, but will put a lot more trains on the moribund rail line that runs through Canarsie, Brownsville, ENY and Ridgewood. Meanwhile, CH and the close in parts of Nostrand and Utica will continue to grow in popularity as they are close to subway lines. It remains to be seen if the current gentrification will reach the far ends of the system (New Lots, Brooklyn College, etc) and what impacts will result.
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Yes, and because such projects take so long to complete, my hope is that they won't be started until their necessity and funding is completely established.
My hope is that we no longer live in an age that politicians can start an ill conceived (really risky) project to appease union interests (ie obtain votes).
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It remains to be seen if the current gentrification will reach the far ends of the system (New Lots, Brooklyn College, etc) and what impacts will result.
I don't think it is a matter of if, just a matter of when. Brooklyn College will likely go first. I'd say a couple years. -
Gentrification around Brooklyn College has already started. There were a few new condo developments in the area when I was looking 4-5 years ago. The large-scale commercial changes that started with Target are continuing; they even have a Blink Fitness now. I'm waiting to see if the improvements to the streetscape that were promised (#8 on this list: http://www.flatbushjunctionbid.com/top_10_reasons) will actually happen.
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A few friends of mine have recently moved to Ditmas, purchased condos and are doing their best to have local businesses cater to their means and preferences.
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Yes, that is why SBS/BRT is being implemented on Utica and other routes.
what do you mean by limited access?
...SBS will be the closest thing we are going to get to new subway service for decades.
If it isn't coupled with enforcement and limited access, it won't achieve its stated goals.i do love a good SBS bus. The B44+ is the only decent way i can get to williamsburg these days.My boyfriend bought a house close to the "end" of the 2/5 train. Church ave--not quite the end, but close. Apparently a neighbor told him the reason parking is impossible in their area is because everyone from east Flatbush just drives their cars, parks on their street, and takes the 2/5 to work every morning.i've heard people in east flatbush, flatlands, and mill basin, etc don't want a subway line at all, however. For a lot of reasons i'm sure but most of all because they don't WANT newcomers having easy access to their neighborhood. Not to mention the easiest way to build a utica line south of empire would probably be an elevated track--Utica is a wide, mostly commerical street. sounds like a homeowner's worst nightmare.as for the freight project, god i hope that happens. Caton Ave in flatbush is full to capacity with giant horrible freight trucks, especially in the mornings. anything to lighten the load. -
Curbed would like us to vote on which neighborhood should advance toward the Curbed Cup.
Round 1: Crown Heights vs Astoria
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/12/16/curbed_cup_1st_round_5_crown_heights_vs_12_astoria.php#more
A few of the Big 16 local developments I watch are noted, but they are missing a lot of them: http://www.brooklynian.com/discussion/44634/links-to-the-big-16-developments-in-western-crown-heights/p1 -
Astoria's shown improve but they barely have a team. We're going to mop the floor with them. Let's hope for some real competition the next round.
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This article jabbers about Crown Heights past and present:
http://www.6sqft.com/get-em-while-their-cheaper-a-look-at-crown-heights-real-estate-past-and-present/ -
This article is running in Monday's AM NY. I believe the writer is a Brooklynian reader:
http://www.amny.com/real-estate/crown-heights-real-estate-continues-to-boom-1.10033129 -
I saw that AM NY article this morning... it doesn't say anything new, but DOES include a photo of a now-defunct store!
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The nice thing about old news is that it sounds new to a new audience. This one talks about how neighborhood homeowners are being repeatedly offered cash for their homes.
As it points out, this is not a new thing. It is actually slowing down: http://gothamist.com/2015/04/08/crown_heights_family_cant_escape_of.php
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According to a report I heard on CBS radio this morning the average home price in Brooklyn went up 18% last year with the median of co-ops, condos and 1-3 families coming in at $618,000. So I guess that anything you can buy for about $300,000 would be considered affordable housing.
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$300k
If we use the old "2.5 times salary, and 20% down" rule, that means that a buyer should put $60k down, which would leave them a balance of $240k. They then need to earn $96k a year for 30 years. -
Btw - as a homeowner I don't see a slow down in calls, flyers or random people at my door offering cash for my home.
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The nice thing about old news is that it sounds new to a new audience. This one talks about how neighborhood homeowners are being repeatedly offered cash for their homes.
It's not new, which makes it even more of a pain in the ass. No, I don't want to sell to you. I didn't want to sell to you last week, or last month, or last year, and when you call me the next time I won't want to sell to you either. The people that show up in person are even worse.
As it points out, this is not a new thing. It is actually slowing down: http://gothamist.com/2015/04/08/crown_heights_family_cant_escape_of.php -
To many owners, the offers to buy come with an implicit assumption that the owner is not savvy and/or desperate.
...which, needless to say, the owners find quite annoying.
Said annoyance is often exacerbated when the buyers are of a different hue or class than the owners.
...even if they hire people to pass out the flyers that "match" the owners. -
While it may appear that the 4 college students splitting the $3500 cost of a 3 bedroom are insane, they may actually be making a good financial decision:
https://blog.personalcapital.com/financial-planning-2/big-city-living-provide-higher-return-investment/ -
What I like about this article is that it appears in a website aimed at a US audience of quite wealthy people, yet simply refers to the neighborhood as Crown Heights.
They feel no need to state in the headline that Crown Heights is in Brooklyn.
...it as if they assume their audience knows the area. They might be right.
http://www.designsponge.com/2015/04/a-crown-heights-family-makes-it-work-in-style.html -
According to this article, Crown Heights is the Number 1 neighborhood in NYC new graduates should live:
http://www.brickunderground.com/blog/2015/05/10_best_neighborhoods_for_college_grads_in_2015
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This one targets people who are still in the stage of their life that they have roommates:
http://blog.yournewroommate.com/neighborhood-highlights-new-york-rentals-in-crown-heights/
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