Are you savvy to your building's history?
The most curious aspect of my Bushwick apartment, after the painstakingly hand-painted portrait of Capt. Jack Sparrow on one wall, is the one room that’s about six inches off the ground. A drunken neighbor explained the history of 308: previous tenants turned that room into a grow room and needed floor space for the hardware (the painting, however, remains a mystery). If you don’t have a neighbor with a deep well of hyperlocal history, the New York Public Library is ready to help, as long as you’re ready to dig. Gothamist tells us the library has laid out step-by-step instructions on how to find out who lived in your building, why it was built, what changes were made and other neat things about the ghosts of the city’s past. Read the rest of this entry »
Don't pack up that car just yet
Did you know that rents in Brooklyn can vary as much as $600 depending on what time of year you move? That’s according to the latest monthly rental rundown from MNS, which is full of helpful info if you’re trying to figure out whether you can stand another six months of your roommates’ creepy cuddliness. The site also tracks price trends over the past year, so you can see that, par exemple, renting a Williamsburg studio in October is for suckers because July is when rents are lowest. It’s interesting that there’s no consistency through all the stats and each neighborhood has different seasons of savings: Fort Greene rents dip during the summer while Park Slope’s shoot way up, for instance. The stats are worth studying if you’re juggling apartment options and actually considering factors other than the nearest train.
"Hey, Roomie, I made a chore wheel!" via RoommateRobot.com
Why is it so hard to find a good roommate? Brokespeare wrote, “Miserly living acquaints a man with strange apartment-fellows.” Yes, he’s a sexist – but in this case he’s right. Whether your roommate is an apathetic frog (whose Dad still has to PayPal you the last month’s rent), an overly-ripped body builder who yells into your face that you “can’t talk to him like that” (causing you bolt in the night with your valuables), or your run-of-the-mill hard-partying slob, we all have Roommate Horror Stories. And there’s something comforting in sharing them.
September means new apartment keys are being issued all over the city, so we wanted to collect tales of our least favorite co-habitants. Team Brokelyn weighs in with theirs below, but tell us your best worst-roommate story in the comments, and, most helpfully, now did you escape it? Kvetch here and complete the circle of co-misery (we love company!). Read the rest of this entry »
Joe probably had poor landlord-tenant relations
Living in New York City means we are paying more than our fair share of rent, but it doesn’t mean we have to pay even more money for conditions or repairs that are not our responsibility. The following is a short guide to what you should and should not pay for when you have certain apartment troubles. It’s intended for market-rate buildings, which is what most of us live in these days. Unlike in rent-stabilized or rent-controlled buildings, market-rate tenants do not have many rights besides the Warrant of Habitability and court precedents. But there are certain things that need to come out of your landlord’s pockets, not yours.
NOTE: This article is based off of my experience in government community work and should NOT be a substitution for legal advice! Read the rest of this entry »
Rare is the Brooklyn apartment that actually qualifies as “affordable” that doesn’t involve subletting from a fraternity of bed bugs or living somewhere at the end of a train line you didn’t even know existed. A Child Grows in Brooklyn tells us about a new Fort Greene apartment complex now accepting applications that actually count as “affordable” to people who don’t have tidal pools of money collecting in their backyards: If you make just the right amount of money, monthly rent on a studio at 45 Clermont is just $461; a one-bedroom will only run you $493. There’s only 100 available so don’t wait too long! Read the rest of this entry »
Squatters photo via Mike Brodie
Did we miss a law change or gutter punk call to arms that’s making squatting all the rage again? First came the Trade School’s “Squat the Condos” class aimed to inspire a new counter-culture movement, and now two more squatting seminars are planned in coming weeks” ”The Once and Future Squatter,” at the always entertaining Pete’s Candy Store on Monday will discuss squatter’s efforts to create a research archive with evidence of the there’s-no-place-that-isn’t-home movement, plus a discussion of squatting as a global phenomenon; this Saturday at the Judson Memorial Church (in that other borough), pro squatters and scholars will host “Squats, Social Centers and Autonomous Spaces” to discuss the political aspect of what they call ”organized trespass,” as part of the Anarchist Book Fair, obvs. Both events, naturally, are free. Is this the sign of a new kind of gentrification coming to the city? Hell, maybe Brooklyn’s landlords are worse than we thought.
The days when your Twitter followers are the only people who hear you bitch about your negligent landlord may be over. Craigslist — which, let’s be honest, despite creepsters and secret bed bugs, is how anyone finds anything in this city — today unveiled its partnership with the Public Advocate’s office to keep a watchlist on NYC’s Worst Landlords. The list shows the landlord’s name, address and number of infractions, along with a place to file your own complaint. A link to it now appears on top of the apartments section of CL. So who are the worst landlords in BK? Read the rest of this entry »
Latimer Reef Lighthouse
It’s not often we get to bring you a chance to buy your own island for $10,000, but if this doesn’t count as living really big on small… ish change, we want to know what does. The U.S. government, in a last-ditch effort to rid itself of some obsolete, money-sinkholes-of-properties, has put three working NY-area lighthouses up for auction. The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. tried to give away the structures, all built between 1884 and 1901, to NY State, local governments and non-profits, but that there were no takers. Now the nautical beacons are up for grabs, and all it takes is a few grand to be able to start every conversation with “I have a lighthouse. How are you?” Read the rest of this entry »
Photo by Alan Dickson
As we enter a new decade it’s important to look back on the past one and remember the good the bad and the ugly, and boy was there some ugly in Brooklyn. We’re talking, of course, about the detritus of the real-estate boom: the half-completed glass towers, the ham-handed “luxury” details, orphaned construction sites covered with scaffolding and graying plywood. Owing to the economy, that era in Brooklyn history is mostly past, and to cap it, we’ve decided to put together a little Brokelyn Ugly Buildings Contest pool on Flickr.
Is there an aggressively tacky edifice on your block that deserves a spot in our architectural hall of shame? Take a snapshot of that eyesore, and upload it to the pool. Enter as often as you’d like, but please stick to the subject at hand. Read the rest of this entry »
Is there a better way? Via Flickr's Abecedarium: NYC.
A reader at real estate blog BrickUnderground asks a question on the mind of so many of us who cart our dirty undies five flights of stairs and four blocks every week (well, at least once a month): why can’t i just install my own damn washer and dryer under my landlord’s nose? The expert’s answer is, like anything in New York, complicated. Short version: yes, you could do it, if your pipes can handle it, but if they can’t, you’ll likely be boned before the rinse cycle. And if you do install one, you probably won’t get evicted unless you cling to it Charlton-Heston style. She recommends a high-efficiency machine that uses less water so it’s less likely to overwhelm the plumbing. You might even win an exception from your landlord based on disability, which can include difficulty traveling to the laundromat or severe allergies, though “allergy to watching daytime Telenovelas” is probably not an acceptable reason.
Are you savvy to your building's history?
The most curious aspect of my Bushwick apartment, after the painstakingly hand-painted portrait of Capt. Jack Sparrow on one wall, is the one room that’s about six inches off the ground. A drunken neighbor explained the history of 308: previous tenants turned that room into a grow room and needed floor space for the hardware (the painting, however, remains a mystery). If you don’t have a neighbor with a deep well of hyperlocal history, the New York Public Library is ready to help, as long as you’re ready to dig. Gothamist tells us the library has laid out step-by-step instructions on how to find out who lived in your building, why it was built, what changes were made and other neat things about the ghosts of the city’s past. Read the rest of this entry »
Don't pack up that car just yet
Did you know that rents in Brooklyn can vary as much as $600 depending on what time of year you move? That’s according to the latest monthly rental rundown from MNS, which is full of helpful info if you’re trying to figure out whether you can stand another six months of your roommates’ creepy cuddliness. The site also tracks price trends over the past year, so you can see that, par exemple, renting a Williamsburg studio in October is for suckers because July is when rents are lowest. It’s interesting that there’s no consistency through all the stats and each neighborhood has different seasons of savings: Fort Greene rents dip during the summer while Park Slope’s shoot way up, for instance. The stats are worth studying if you’re juggling apartment options and actually considering factors other than the nearest train.
"Hey, Roomie, I made a chore wheel!" via RoommateRobot.com
Why is it so hard to find a good roommate? Brokespeare wrote, “Miserly living acquaints a man with strange apartment-fellows.” Yes, he’s a sexist – but in this case he’s right. Whether your roommate is an apathetic frog (whose Dad still has to PayPal you the last month’s rent), an overly-ripped body builder who yells into your face that you “can’t talk to him like that” (causing you bolt in the night with your valuables), or your run-of-the-mill hard-partying slob, we all have Roommate Horror Stories. And there’s something comforting in sharing them.
September means new apartment keys are being issued all over the city, so we wanted to collect tales of our least favorite co-habitants. Team Brokelyn weighs in with theirs below, but tell us your best worst-roommate story in the comments, and, most helpfully, now did you escape it? Kvetch here and complete the circle of co-misery (we love company!). Read the rest of this entry »
Joe probably had poor landlord-tenant relations
Living in New York City means we are paying more than our fair share of rent, but it doesn’t mean we have to pay even more money for conditions or repairs that are not our responsibility. The following is a short guide to what you should and should not pay for when you have certain apartment troubles. It’s intended for market-rate buildings, which is what most of us live in these days. Unlike in rent-stabilized or rent-controlled buildings, market-rate tenants do not have many rights besides the Warrant of Habitability and court precedents. But there are certain things that need to come out of your landlord’s pockets, not yours.
NOTE: This article is based off of my experience in government community work and should NOT be a substitution for legal advice! Read the rest of this entry »
Rare is the Brooklyn apartment that actually qualifies as “affordable” that doesn’t involve subletting from a fraternity of bed bugs or living somewhere at the end of a train line you didn’t even know existed. A Child Grows in Brooklyn tells us about a new Fort Greene apartment complex now accepting applications that actually count as “affordable” to people who don’t have tidal pools of money collecting in their backyards: If you make just the right amount of money, monthly rent on a studio at 45 Clermont is just $461; a one-bedroom will only run you $493. There’s only 100 available so don’t wait too long! Read the rest of this entry »
Squatters photo via Mike Brodie
Did we miss a law change or gutter punk call to arms that’s making squatting all the rage again? First came the Trade School’s “Squat the Condos” class aimed to inspire a new counter-culture movement, and now two more squatting seminars are planned in coming weeks” ”The Once and Future Squatter,” at the always entertaining Pete’s Candy Store on Monday will discuss squatter’s efforts to create a research archive with evidence of the there’s-no-place-that-isn’t-home movement, plus a discussion of squatting as a global phenomenon; this Saturday at the Judson Memorial Church (in that other borough), pro squatters and scholars will host “Squats, Social Centers and Autonomous Spaces” to discuss the political aspect of what they call ”organized trespass,” as part of the Anarchist Book Fair, obvs. Both events, naturally, are free. Is this the sign of a new kind of gentrification coming to the city? Hell, maybe Brooklyn’s landlords are worse than we thought.
The days when your Twitter followers are the only people who hear you bitch about your negligent landlord may be over. Craigslist — which, let’s be honest, despite creepsters and secret bed bugs, is how anyone finds anything in this city — today unveiled its partnership with the Public Advocate’s office to keep a watchlist on NYC’s Worst Landlords. The list shows the landlord’s name, address and number of infractions, along with a place to file your own complaint. A link to it now appears on top of the apartments section of CL. So who are the worst landlords in BK? Read the rest of this entry »
Latimer Reef Lighthouse
It’s not often we get to bring you a chance to buy your own island for $10,000, but if this doesn’t count as living really big on small… ish change, we want to know what does. The U.S. government, in a last-ditch effort to rid itself of some obsolete, money-sinkholes-of-properties, has put three working NY-area lighthouses up for auction. The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. tried to give away the structures, all built between 1884 and 1901, to NY State, local governments and non-profits, but that there were no takers. Now the nautical beacons are up for grabs, and all it takes is a few grand to be able to start every conversation with “I have a lighthouse. How are you?” Read the rest of this entry »
Photo by Alan Dickson
As we enter a new decade it’s important to look back on the past one and remember the good the bad and the ugly, and boy was there some ugly in Brooklyn. We’re talking, of course, about the detritus of the real-estate boom: the half-completed glass towers, the ham-handed “luxury” details, orphaned construction sites covered with scaffolding and graying plywood. Owing to the economy, that era in Brooklyn history is mostly past, and to cap it, we’ve decided to put together a little Brokelyn Ugly Buildings Contest pool on Flickr.
Is there an aggressively tacky edifice on your block that deserves a spot in our architectural hall of shame? Take a snapshot of that eyesore, and upload it to the pool. Enter as often as you’d like, but please stick to the subject at hand. Read the rest of this entry »
