Brokelyn » Brownstoner

Wait, there are houses in the Catskills for under $100K?

Faye — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:16:31 +0000

A humble little slice of the Catskills dream: 576 feet, 3 acres, $54,900.

This we did not know until we were turned on to the addictive new real estate blog Upstater, which has a weekly budget-friendly house roundup called Five-Figure Fridays, featuring rock-bottom Catskills properties. To be sure, not all are beauts, but there are some cute finds. In the latest FFF roundup, “at least three of them seemed inhabitable,” Upstater writes. “A couple of them could probably transform into something closer to adorable with a little love.” The favorite: a 576-foot cottage on three acres of land.

Upstater was launched in April by former Brownstoner writer Lisa Selin Davis, who lives in a rent-stabilized apartment in Park Slope and swaps a bedroom with her brother up in Tivoli. Since she’s perpetually in search of her own pad, we asked Davis where the deals are north of NYC. She told Brokelyn that Sullivan, Greene and Delaware counties are cheaper than Columbia, Dutchess and Ulster Counties. What if $100K is still too much? Try a bungalow:

If you want a serious deal, then, yes, a bungalow is the way to go. We’ve covered bungalows for sale for $6,000! The most expensive one we’ve seen is $59,000. There are annual co-op fees–usually less than $,2000–and most places have a pool and some other communal facilities. They’re vacation houses, three-season places, so you can’t get a mortgage on them. And, of course, you can’t use them in winter, unless you want to “camp” in them. Here’s a sample.

Hmmm… no interiors? Upstater also has winter Catskills rentals that you could split with some friends (this Hopewell Junction place is adorbs) as well as a handy blog item on half-off ski lift tickets at Plattekill, but you may have to use these.

Please help pick our SXSW panel, peeps!

Faye — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 06:54:01 +0000

In late August, our minds naturally turn to end-of-summer beach bonfires, brainy fall pursuits and the South by Southwest interactive conference only seven short months away. OK, it may seem a little early for most of us to start thinking about Geekstock, but not for the organizer elves, who are faced with selecting dozens of panels from hundreds of applications. And what do you know, there’s one about Brooklyn in the pile! Erica from Fucked in Park Slope has put together a pitch on How the Internet Made BK Famous, featuring speakers from the likes of Brownstoner, Brooklyn Based, and some blog about living big on small change in Brooklyn. The competition at SXSW is fierce — and we need your vote if we wanna bloviate, Brooklyn-style. Please pick our panel, and we’ll buy you a beer in Austin. (Long as they have Brooklyn Brewery.)

Public auction for cheap-o homes next week

Jonathan Berk — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:26:38 +0000

Photo via Brownstoner

These public auctions that pop up now and then are always good for a glimpse of what kind of home just might, conceivably, be a remote possibility at some point in our lives. A Kings County Real Property Auction is set for next Tuesday, Dec. 7, and Brownstoner picks out a few items that are likely to pique considerable interest. There’s a three-story MacDonough St. brownstone starting at $295K, a Park Slope brownstone at $950K and a place in Bed Stuy for $290K. But take a look at the full auction ad, and you’ll see some intriguingly cheap listings, with a handful starting around $100K. We’re not sure where some of these places are, but they’re real houses in Brooklyn. And those price tags are hard to ignore. What do you think, would you head to one of these auctions with 10 percent in hand for a shot at a building of your own? The full ad’s here.

via Brownstoner

Jonathan Adler to open a store in Boerum Hill

Faye — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:34:10 +0000

Brownstoner is reporting today that home-design scamp Jonathan Adler is opening a store on Atlantic Avenue, between Hoyt and Bond. Yay! So why is a budget-living site excited about a guy who makes $550 boob vases and other yuppie catnip? Because he’s fun, dammit. He once told us that his favorite-ever holiday party was the one where a guest brought Lee Press-On nails and everyone put them on, men and women alike. And who else but Adler would put a sign in his new Brooklyn storefront window announcing “your 24-hour pot dealer”? Plus he’s always got some affordable little mood-elevators, like this $28 pair of tea canisters (in four colors) or groovy new tea towels for $12 a piece. And his chic summer living tips are totally free. Welcome to Brokelyn, Mr. Adler!

[via Brownstoner]

For Bushwick tent boys, rain is nothing compared to Brownstoner fury

Jonathan Berk — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:36:19 +0000

Louis Frank, Simon Levy and Emerson Brown, weathering the storm. Photo by Stefan Tonio

You pitch a few tents in a friend’s backyard and suddenly you’re the most hated kids in Brooklyn.

Our story yesterday on three happy campers in Bushwick was picked up by media outlets including The Post, Curbed, Gothamist and Brownstoner, whose commenters (142 at press time) unleashed their full fury on the rain-soaked youth.

“Stupid hipsters,” “Lazy ass jokers with iPods,” “white trash” and “asshats” were a few of the many epithets hurled at the trio by the nut jobs on Brownstoner. Others wanted to sleep with them. But there were a handful of commenters (brave souls) who wrote that they actually think the backyard campout is pretty cool.

Like cmar7785, who wrote:

“I’m finding it hard to believe that any of you people live in NYC. Wow! This used to be a place where anything could fly. Now I see where all the snobs live… These dudes are artists and they’re doing their best to make it. Most of the musicians, painters, poets, etc. that you all hail from past years lived in similar conditions or worse. It’s much better than going home to mommy and daddy or having mommy or daddy paying their rent. At least they’re doing the best they can with what they have…”

Right on, cmar7785. Whoever you are.

Levy said he isn’t surprised by a little criticism, but didn’t expect… quite so much of it. “It’s totally bizarre,” said Levy. “The dirty-hipster-scumbag comments sort of run together. But I like the ones that said we were cute.”