111 Hicks has some kind of major mortgage issue -- I think it was locked into a mortgage which didn't allow for a refi - I am not sure, but that place is a bad deal too. I don't know how long this place has been cooped but that monster maintenance is due to a monster mortgage. So for the priviledge of paying 2800 dollars a month, you get to own a big bucket of debt -- probably badly priced debt too -- somewhere along the line, that building was mortaged at what is over 100% of the buildings value. Bad news.

Posted by: donatella at November 19, 2009 5:58 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 150 Joralemon Street, #5F

If this is the Coop of the day, which assumes that it is chosen above others, I am doing a happy dance that I took out a big mortgage and tortured myself for 2 years doing a basic gut renovation of my brownstone. Because if this coop is a deal of any kind, I am a genius. First, it is ugly as original sin (I don't even think you could sleep in that bedroom, much less anything else) and then you get to enjoy holding hands with the coop board in a communal Kumbayah to run the place. Arghhhh....

Posted by: donatella at November 19, 2009 1:08 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 150 Joralemon Street, #5F

I think it is possible to buff the top layers of the semi-gloss off. That's pretty upsetting but try to get as much info as possible here. I think that you might try to have him buff down the top layers of finish (good you have poly). I don't know why that last coat would change the appearance so much, but try to get him to take that off and see if you can get it back to what you had before the final coat. You would probably need to put some satin back though.

Posted by: donatella at November 18, 2009 11:37 PM in response to Wood floor disaster

I love them. I had an agent from hell -- the Dennis Miller agency in Long Island, horrible, horrible, horrible--- that I got through my closing broker and I kept trying to transfer the broker of record for my insurance when I remembered Gotham from years ago when I had renters insurance from them. They handled the transfer quickly and professionally. Jeff has an encyclopedic knowledge of the various policies - I have him for my building's insurance. Anytime I have a question he is right there, takes the calls, and deals with matters right away. He is really great. Use them.

Posted by: donatella at November 18, 2009 1:18 AM in response to Gotham Brokerage

Best cure for hangover, water, aspirin, GREASY FOOD and a nap.

I am aggravated about markets....after coming to the conclusion that the dollar was going to continue another leg lower and the commodity and equity rallies had more life, the dollar has spiked today bringing down commodities and equities. I thought we had another leg downward... maybe we still do...

Posted by: donatella at November 17, 2009 10:13 AM in response to Open Thread

Rob, it depends. A miscarriage happens when the pregnancy is not developing normally. By defination a miscarriage means the baby didn't make it and the body goes through a kind of rejection of the fetus and placenta etc. A miscarriage is a very sad thing and telling your friend that and saying how sorry you are will help your friend. So sorry.

Posted by: donatella at November 17, 2009 10:02 AM in response to Open Thread

All those rental units were making me a little nervous about the effect on Brownstone rentals. I think they will have a negative effect, because in the end I don't think the highrise owners will get those prices and they will need to come down in order to fill the new buildings up. The selling points of renting in an old brownstone would include hopefully an attractive, charming space, living on pretty human scale streets with beautiful architecture, a sense of neighborhood and history. The "intimacy" of living in a 2 or 3 family house can be comfortable and peaceful if the place is well maintained and the landlord takes care of things and leaves the tenants alone (me). But there are hassles about these old buildings, i.e. the fact that they are old buildings and "it's always something". Landlords will need to work a little harder to keep their good tenants.

Posted by: donatella at November 15, 2009 11:45 AM in response to All Is Revealed at Avalon Fort Greene

All those rental units were making me a little nervous about the effect on Brownstone rentals. I think they will have a negative effect, because in the end I don't think the highrise owners will get those prices and they will need to come down in order to fill the new buildings up. The selling points of renting in an old brownstone would include hopefully an attractive, charming space, living on pretty human scale streets with beautiful architecture, a sense of neighborhood and history. The "intimacy" of living in a 2 or 3 family house can be comfortable and peaceful if the place is well maintained and the landlord takes care of things and leaves the tenants alone (me). But there are hassles about these old buildings, i.e. the fact that they are old buildings and "it's always something". Landlords will need to work a little harder to keep their good tenants.

Posted by: donatella at November 15, 2009 11:45 AM in response to All Is Revealed at Avalon Fort Greene

When I bought my house, before I did an extensive renovation, the ground and Parlor floor duplex had a "gas" problem. The tenant complained of the smell of gas, we had the gas company in but they couldn't find a leak. It DID really stink there sometimes but it was more of a sewer gas smell. When I finally started the renovation and did demolition, we discovered that the kitchen and bathroom sinks weren't vented and just fixed it as part of the plumbing work we had to do. I think that it created a really unhealthy situation; sometimes I couldn't believe how nasty that place was.

Posted by: donatella at November 15, 2009 1:03 AM in response to Venting Sink

Good luck with Vinny. He is a piece of work. He is professional, fast and you will PAY THROUGH THE NOSE.

Posted by: donatella at November 13, 2009 2:19 PM in response to Vinny's Ironworkers-Need Tel #

Actually, in reading Vinca's comments, I have to agree with the comment about the neighbor. You can't force anything and you first need to understand the problem and if it involves any significant action on their part which they don't want to do, that's trouble. But check the whole thing out completely.

Posted by: donatella at November 12, 2009 4:18 PM in response to Water Damage/Mortgage Probs?

Oh there is my friend Slopefarm. It seems that we had our share of difficulties in getting our buildings in shape when we bought them. I completely concur with him. You need to get an engineer in there and contractor to assess costs. Everything is fixable. So relax about that. It is a matter of cost and you need to get a realistic handle on that. Then please recognize that you can never force a neighbor to do anything. Any attempt at force of any kind will backfire on you. Also any naive belief in the overwhelming power of love/neighborliness to motivate people doesn't help either. Direct, concrete information presented to your neighbor with a menu of solutions is what you need. Be prepared to do stuff on your own. And good luck.

Posted by: donatella at November 12, 2009 10:35 AM in response to Water Damage/Mortgage Probs?

So what do you do, NorthSloper? I thought that security and effective policing is what prevents teenagers from shooting and stabbing each other. At least, one would hope that the teenagers themselves deserve to be protected when a crowd gets unruly. I think the minimum that a security guard could do is to get real police when there are fights. I can't believe the stuff I am reading here.

Posted by: donatella at November 11, 2009 3:10 PM in response to Two Teens Shot on Fulton in Fort Greene

I was in the east village last week and wanted a slice of pizza. There was one place that had a line going halfway down the block because they sold 1 dollar slices. The crowd blocked the sidewalk and you could barely walk down the block. That is the wing story; it just attracted a crowd of teenagers and the teenagers got into a fight. Wasder is right. The story is about lack of security in the Atlantic Center - private and public.

Posted by: donatella at November 11, 2009 2:01 PM in response to Two Teens Shot on Fulton in Fort Greene

How well run could it be to have a 2,000 dollar maintenance and since when does the fact that banks find financials attractive make a mortgage prudent? I think the fact that lenders found certain lending practices "attractive" is what caused the global financial system to teeter on the edge of destruction. I am sorry but there is something wrong with that picture. The tax situation is something else but I would guess that this is not about tax. It is about a very screwed up mortgage.

Posted by: donatella at November 11, 2009 10:12 AM in response to Co-op of the Day: 96 Schermerhorn Street, PH-L

This is chilling. It really is. This is why we have police; I am sure that a rumble which migrated that far was something that should have been detected by police, who should have been there to break it up. People can theorize all they want about teenagers and guns and family structure and race, but the last thing the world needs is another opinionated gasbag. I remember all the shootings around here -- someone was killed last spring a block from my house at 5 pm during the week, a couple of shootings took place near the famed Putnam, Fulton corner and I have heard gunshots near my house on Fulton near the large apartment building on Carlton. What is really scary are the random victims -- like the 92 year old lady recently who was shot and killed in her living room by a stray bullet in Queens I think. Scares the crap out of me... We don't need police harassment but we need effective policing and every conceivable effort to get guns off the street.

Posted by: donatella at November 11, 2009 10:06 AM in response to Two Teens Shot on Fulton in Fort Greene

When you buy a coop, you get shares in a corporation and you have a proprietary lease which gives you the right to live in the unit you are "buying". With a coop, once you become infactuated with an apartment, one's job is to sit down and read every sentence in the company's financials, including the details of the underlying mortgage. I suspect with this building, the slickster developers saddled the building with close to 100% debt on a value way above market, sucking every last bit of equity out of the underlying property for themselves. Without seeing the financials, I would guess that the buyer's "equity" in the underlying building will be a share of massive debt. Then on top of that add your own mortgage. Yummy. Then on top of that, you are a coop and you get to make decisions as part of a commune. Here's my advice, run for the hills. Interesting that when you compare the economics of that bs with owning a building, its nuts. Owning a building comes with all the hassles of home ownership and even though you are responsible for dealing with the maintenance, the economics and the control are vastly superior. And the taxes. Shhh....

Posted by: donatella at November 10, 2009 9:05 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 96 Schermerhorn Street, PH-L

Ok, here's another C train food story - cute young girl teenager, jeans, sitting legs wide open like a boy, bent over head between legs, chomping on sunflower seeds spitting hulls directly on floor. Everyone looking on in horror. Thinking she was Andy Petite.

Posted by: donatella at November 10, 2009 11:56 AM in response to Open Thread

OMG, yes. The women who do thier toilette on the train. There is one person who goes from bending her eyelashes, applying 7 coats of ultra mascara, blush, lipstick, slathers her hands and dusts nearby passengers with her Bare essentials powder while dusting her face. It is so disgusting. I try not to look, but it is like a car accident and you can't help rubbernecking. It seems to be the later people, closer to 9 on the C train. ew.

Posted by: donatella at November 10, 2009 10:53 AM in response to Open Thread

Rob, you are right. You have to be ready to really quit - to say goodbye to your little loyal friends, breakup forever. But you can do it when you are ready. I quit 5 times before I really did it - that was a long time ago, so it worked. I did it cold turkey -- was a crazed, sweaty, nauseous, eye-popping lunatic for 10 days and then it was over. Something really helped me. I read a little book by the lady who started Smokeenders - she wrote this great book (You Can Stop) about why otherwise intelligent people smoke cigarettes. Which doesn't insult you, makes sense etc. It really helped. Anyway, the dreams sound terrifying...

Posted by: donatella at November 10, 2009 10:27 AM in response to Open Thread

I second Omar. I'll spare you the long story, but Omar basically rebuilt a set of doors which were destroyed by the 3 stooges which my contractor hired to hang them. (They were hanging crooked like a couple of outhouse doors when I got home with the lockset 6 inches above where they were supposed to be...) Omar rebuilt the doors and created molding for my vestibule which matched the original doors. He is patient, extremely professional and honest. For a while during boom boom time he was getting a little pricey - -- but in the end we haggled and he gave me a good price. People say he has brought down his prices to match the times. I like him too. Very nice guy.

Posted by: donatella at November 9, 2009 10:12 PM in response to Landmark Doors

sorry....my defination of the middle of nowhere is determined by proximity to public transportation. It is in Bed Sty border Williamburg, and you would have a hike over to the G Train on DeKalb (think winter, think ice rain, dark) or a real hike to the A/C. It is the middle of nowhere in a building uglier than original sin for over a half a million dollars.

Posted by: donatella at November 9, 2009 4:06 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 689 Myrtle Avenue, #1G

That is one of the ugliest places I have ever seen. To complete the cranky thought, why or why do people use that cheap Red oak B, where you get the dark brown boards mixed in with the white ones? You start out with a shabby looking patchwork on the floor when the place is brand new just to save a couple of bucks -- it is not much more expensive to get select. I see that and I just assume other hidden things are shabby and poorly constructed. And it is in the middle of nowhere.

Posted by: donatella at November 9, 2009 1:00 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 689 Myrtle Avenue, #1G

very funny, Biff, liked your doorknob comment.

Posted by: donatella at November 9, 2009 10:21 AM in response to Open Thread

I think Bergenbabe may have recommended Thad Simley to me. He was great! I had a piece of ornamental molding which fell off during some electrical work. The electricians couldn't fix it and it was very globby and messy looking anyway. Thad came over, looked at the molding on the ceiling, just happened to be working on the exact same molding in another house, had two extra pieces and replaced the broken piece and replaced a piece that was missing from when I bought the house. He is a nice guy, worked quickly, was reasonably priced and really knew what he is doing. It was one of those eye-blinking experiences. In 1 hour he had gone back to his site, picked up the pieces he had made, repaired my ceiling and was doine. Good luck with him; he was terrific.

Posted by: donatella at November 6, 2009 6:50 PM in response to Old World Plasterer Needed

Agree with more 4 less. No matter what this turns out to be, it is way better than the shell/wreck it was before. I am a cheerleader for this block.

Posted by: donatella at November 6, 2009 3:48 PM in response to Fulton Sports Bar Signage Revealed

Ftgreenepark, thanks for the distinction. I agree, using your defination, we could use a dive bar. But what I was thinking of was guns -- I guess I am afraid of a scary bar. I could even deal with a "douche bar" as long as the "corporate douche bags" don't bother me. And bucketseats, thanks. I guess I have become extremely lazy, just walking from my house to this block to the subway and haven't ventured further "east" to Washington on Fulton. That's good to know. I'll check it out.

Posted by: donatella at November 6, 2009 2:19 PM in response to Fulton Sports Bar Signage Revealed

I like Diego's comment. I didn't notice the new "sign". I live near there and that block in particular means a lot to me. I watched the renovation on this building from the most incredible wreck to a building that looks intact anyway, but I am a little disappointed to read this here. Already it feels like a dive bar. There was one dive bar on this block (now a t-shirt / clothing store) which lasted a couple of months. Well, at least they cleaned up the building. That's a first step to something. That block now has Imperial Cleaner (Rolando, the new owner) which is great, a new take out place for fish and other food (opened last month), Olivino's wine bar (very nice! owner of Olivino's Wine store Katrina has created a cute little nabe place, very comfortable for neighborhood people on the way home from work,) Yafa the Yemeni bodega makes good sandwiches and very good cheap coffee, (I hate the Thai place, and the Chinese place on that block). Country Diner is owned by a couple of Palestinian brothers who are nice guys but can't get much of a crowd, except for Sunday after church. There are 2 clothing stores which don't seem to get much biz along with 2 Real Estate offices. That's the block. Now we have a Sports Bar. OK.

Posted by: donatella at November 6, 2009 1:59 PM in response to Fulton Sports Bar Signage Revealed

That's a really nice house. Re: exposed brick, covering that up is easy. It is a nice size, maybe not the best street in FG, but it's nice and close to the best retail stuff, easy walk to Atlantic Ave sub or G or C and it looks in good shape and as though you wouldn't have to do anything serious to it. I am just thinking of the other houses in the area -- I think it the price they are asking is off, maybe 1.6/ 1.65 is more like it.

Posted by: donatella at November 5, 2009 2:36 PM in response to House of the Day: 119 Fort Greene Place

God, I am so easy to please. Yes, Rob, you're surprised that there were no bakeries and drycleaners? Over on Fulton Street, there was NOTHING. It was Mad Max. Just nail places and beauty parlors and barbershops and bodegas with sour milk. That was half of the buildings. The other half were empty. A lovely drug rehab place on Fulton and Washington. Like Tinarina says, crack vials and condoms and even now, your spent bullet. There used to be a drycleaner on Fulton - a guy who stuffed your clothes with the equivalent of half a tree of tissue paper and used fumes that took 2 weeks to air off. And I got stuff back with cigarette burns. So it was back to Brooklyn Heights to the nice lady who cleaned my clothes in my other life. Now the man of the year is Rolando, the new drycleaner on Fulton near Clinton, who hails from Washington Heights, and is good, nice and cheap!

Posted by: donatella at November 3, 2009 9:24 PM in response to Closing Bell: Gentrification Indicators

The people posting here are really describing super-gentrified. I was thinking of things like, I now have a dry cleaner, there is a bakery 4 blocks away, the bodega's milk isn't sour anymore. Stuff like that.

Posted by: donatella at November 3, 2009 4:33 PM in response to Closing Bell: Gentrification Indicators

I can say from experience that the litigious route is the worst. The best you can hope from an experience like this is to get them out of there as quickly as possible with as much cooperation as possible. For heavens sake, do NOT rely on them or expect them to find you a tenant. Their fabulous judgement is what caused this mess. You should explain that this is a breaking of the lease, that it is a big problem for you, that this is a bad time of year, etc. and see if you can get them to be cooperative in keeping their apartment both very tidy and neat and available for showing. Immediately. And then while we can't control everything, to the extent you can, analyze how you can try to avoid a similiar situation in the future, i.e. do a lot of screening up front. I am sympathetic because s**t happens but see what you can learn from this. And stay out of court. I had to go there as a last resort with an inherited tenant from hell and let me tell you about a way to age yourself.

Posted by: donatella at November 3, 2009 3:07 PM in response to Tenants Breaking Lease

Call Eddie Hibbert, 917-327-2661. He owns the architectural salvage place on Greene and Grand. He does this and would do a good job for you.

Posted by: donatella at November 2, 2009 3:28 PM in response to Help Me Clean Out Estate

I am guessing that you are looking for an electrician. Call Ceriello Electric.

Posted by: donatella at November 1, 2009 11:39 AM in response to Where Are the Electricians?

I don't like dark spaces. The gloomy Victorian vibe is not for me; brownstones are naturally dark, since most have light from front and back and no natural light from the sides, to state the obvious. It was extremely important to me to have lots of light in my place. In the double parlor I have two nice chandeliers which work well with another hanging fixture in an alcove. Downstairs where I have the kitchen, dining room, hallway and bedroom, I have a lot of wattage in the kitchen and that is recessed lighting. The rest of the downstairs I have Center ceiling fixtures. I think you need a lot of light in a kitchen - you need to see what you are doing and recessed lighting is very good for that. But in other spaces I prefer center ceiling fixtures. I also hate ceiling fans. I think they look so awful; I don't know if the increased air circulation offsets the spinning propeller look.

Posted by: donatella at October 30, 2009 10:31 PM in response to Thoughts on Recessed Lighting

We were asked by a film company to use our Brooklyn Heights Brownstone -- hallway, front, steps, etc. for a couple of days prior to the Christmas holidays one year. The money was a pittance compared to what looked like to be 18 hour days leading right up to the holidays. We said no. Film crews also think they own their locations and that includes city streets, like we should be privledged to have them around. There is a little beach community in Staten Island that regularly uses its area for Law and Order episodes and for some reason that is usually not disruptive, but fun for the people there. But it is an open area near the beach and it is a regular thing so the neighbors welcome them.

Posted by: donatella at October 30, 2009 4:26 PM in response to Renting Your Place for Movie

After reading all the comments, I agree with the suggestion to test the color because the colors will look very different depending on the exposure (for northern exposures cooler colors are better and warmer colors better with sun.) The amount and quality of light, your furnishings, the size of the room will all make a difference. Paint some boards and put them in different areas to get a sense of the color. I have Linen white by the way in my hallways and that is different than both the Marble white (which is cooler) and the antique yellow which is a light creamy buttery kind of color (but subtle). The Linen white in my hallway is more beigey. It works fine in the hallway but I wouldn't like it in the apartment -- it is a little dusty as one poster said, not what I wanted in the apartment.

Posted by: donatella at October 29, 2009 8:42 PM in response to Yellow With Wood

My house is pretty much different shades of yellow and cream. I have a cool cream slightly yellow color, Marble White in my living room and a more butter/cream color is Antique Yellow, in other parts of the place. Both Benjamin Moore. I don't know if either would work, but I think that the warm antique color might be nice.

Posted by: donatella at October 29, 2009 8:35 PM in response to Yellow With Wood

Hmmm.... it sounds like 200 Fifth will be a nuthouse, which is good (or it might just be a short ride to Mullane's on Lafayette.) We'll check out 200 Fifth. Thanks a lot! Now it just has to stop raining.

Posted by: donatella at October 28, 2009 2:26 PM in response to Best sports bar in Brooklyn?

Thanks very much for all of the suggestions and information. I think that the plexiglass idea is an excellent one and I will check out the suggestions. Also, sealing the glass makes sense too from the outside. I think the first step is both getting on the roof to seal from the outside and then measure for a piece of plexiglass on the inside to further insulate the apartment from the elements. We have been struggling with the top floor apartment's heat in transitional October for a while and after fixing the valves on the ground floor and upper floors, I hope that this will resolve the heat loss.

Thank you.

Posted by: donatella at October 28, 2009 2:22 PM in response to Skylight Question

I agree; get a plumber. It is really not such a big deal; once I had Hlad plumbing down to check a few things out and they checked the pipes, found a tiny area near the meter and applied some kind of plastic goop which hardens to cover up the leak. Don't freak out, just call a plumber right away.

Posted by: donatella at October 27, 2009 1:49 PM in response to Gas Leak

Two years ago I had a little time off and decided to take care of the same problem. I live on a landmarked block and followed the lead of a neighbor who went to the DOT for a permit to work on the sidewalk. He did his work at a leisurely pace with his nice little DOT permit in his window. I went and spent a whole day in the DOT office waiting among expeditors who yelled at the top of their lungs, stuffing fist fulls of permits into the little slots in the glass. 5 minutes before closing time, with certification of ownership in hand, I finally got my turn and was told that I had to go to Landmarks. Apparantly, it is hit or miss, depending on who takes care of you how you will be taken care of. I didn't have another day to go to Landmarks, nor did I want to this, since I am told they are just as arbitrary and who wants to get on their radar screen. So I abandoned the project -- for now. When I finally do do this, I will forget the permit and get a crew in on a weekend and have them do all the work then with an arborist to take care of the roots at the same time with no permit. I think it is a laugh, because I was/am planning on doing a nice job with bluestone, unlike the rest of the block which is a patchwork of cracked and buckling blue stone and cement sidewalk patches of every color.

Posted by: donatella at October 24, 2009 11:17 PM in response to Trees & Sidewalks

Rob, I was going to defend you before, but I see people have fun busting your chops. I very much like the motion sensor faucet. A motion sensored shower would be even better. Keep him moving...

Posted by: donatella at October 23, 2009 6:58 PM in response to Tenant Leaving Water On

Oh, yeah, RS/RC, not fun. Only for masochists. But hey, Jimmy, since you have accepted the mission, what you have to do is get some help from the DEP on water usage. Then you need a lawyer. Consult with Marc Aronson on Smith Street. He is pretty annoying himself, but he has decades of experience with tenant/landlord law in NYS. You will get the definative story on what you can do and can't do within the law. Don't torture yourself. Get very cool and very organized.

Posted by: donatella at October 23, 2009 5:01 PM in response to Tenant Leaving Water On

This is a little different, but has some similiarities. I used to come home every day to dunning phone calls from the Municipal Credit Union for a person who used to have my telephone number. It went on forever, despite my attempts to contact them and get my number off their list. It was driving me nuts and when the people started getting nasty to me, I decided to really give them a hard time. I contacted the NYC Department of Consumer affairs who registered the complaint and then told me to write to the NY State Banking Department. I finally wrote a letter to the NY State Banking Department. I got a letter back from them and then a letter from the president of the freaking MDC saying sorry, blah blah blah. And it finally stopped. But for you, it is definately possible that you could be incorrectly tagged with this problem. You should complain to NYC Consumer Affairs, the NYS Banking Department, check your credit reports (three agencies) and if it persists, write letters to the three credit unions telling them of the possible confusion. Good luck.

Posted by: donatella at October 23, 2009 11:54 AM in response to Someone's Using My Address

I like this house (agree that the decorating doesn't help its sale) but I think the area doesn't support such a price. In this marketplace, there is plenty to buy and at reduced prices. I think that this is not the greatest area to plunk down major cash, no matter how nice the house.

Posted by: donatella at October 22, 2009 2:11 PM in response to House of the Day: 177 Rugby Road

Give Hlad a call. He helped me. My issue now relates to drafty skylights I think... It's always something...

Posted by: donatella at October 20, 2009 9:26 PM in response to Steam Heat on Top Floor

We have one. It was formed in the 60s and is a pale version of what it used to be apparantly. One spring when I got laid off from my job, I had 3 months when I did lots of things I probably wouldn't have thought of otherwise (not proud of it...). But I helped organize one of those block parties and one of the residents arranges a Jazzmobile for another event and once in the late spring there is a block clean up. New people get to meet the old timers and each other which is nice. I guess certain kinds of fights can look amusing to people on the outside, but there was a real conflict (complete with nasty words and tears) among a couple of old ladies who have been on the block for 40 years, so the wounded one withdrew herself from participating and it was clear that she was the energy behind organizing the block. Nonetheless, there are many old timers on this block and they are on the lookout for weirdness and there is a real sense of community here. Including the gaggle of teenagers, who are good kids. While there is stray crime in the area, I feel safe around here. I don't know to what extent the block assn matters, but it the sense of cohesion and connection that fosters a safe environment I think.

Posted by: donatella at October 20, 2009 3:13 PM in response to Thoughts on Block Associations

I had the same problem. To tell the truth, it is still a little bit of an issue but it is better. I had Hlad Plumbing come in and they told me that I should have a valve on the 1st and parlor floor (where the thermostat is) which releases less steam than those on the higher floors. This is to slow the heating of the room where the thermostat is and to allow heat to rise to the upper apartments. I was told also that at this time of year (always an issue in fall), that the boiler doesn't not stay on very long since it is not so cold outside (i.e. stays on pretty continuously when it is cold) and the heat sometimes simply doesn't get through the entire system. It is better since we changed the valves. The tenant also had a poorly sealed A/C in there, and it is always an issue of finding a guy to take it out and down the stairs (it is HEAVY). But I think part of the problem is that there are skylights up there and they are leaky. I have a plug-in radiator for her which warms up oil inside of it and it is a good and safe source of heat until we get over the transition. If you learn something else in the process, I'd love to hear it. It is something I would also like to rectify without turning my ground floor into a sweat box.

Posted by: donatella at October 20, 2009 2:51 PM in response to Steam Heat on Top Floor

I had a place in Brooklyn Heights for 17 years--a coop. I know all the buildings mentioned -- I like 2 Grace Court, 111 Hicks St. has a screwed up mortgage that is why the maintenance is so high, 135 Willow is very ugly. I understand the pros and cons of Brooklyn Heights. I felt that it had a claustophopic feel to it after a while. It is pretty white bread, heavily inhabited by financial industry people, like me, who like the easy commute to downtown. I agree that there are not many restaurants, and it is definately more expensive than a lot of other areas, although good deals can be found. I really got sick of coop life; I lived in a gorgeous 25 foot wide brownstone with 5 stories and 9 apartments and when I had the opportunity to move out of NY for a good job, I just sold the damn place rather than deal with the board to sublet it. And when I returned to NY, after having owned a house, I decided I just couldn't take the commune environment again and no way could I afford to buy a building there.

I have to say that at times my new neighborhood, Ft. Greene, is annoying because of the lack of retail over where I am, but it is getting better and I just LOVE my street, my neighbors, the architecture. I love the fact that there are kids running up and down the street (you do not see this in BH) and after a while, everyone on my block and I gradually got to know one another and become neighborly in a light touch kind of way. I sometimes think that never would I hear gunshots in BH (which I have heard here at night) but I was actually held up at gunpoint on the Promenade with a friend at twilight one September evening in the mid 80s. You don't have that now, but there is still crime there. Anyway, I guess like any place, each person has their own criteria but BH definately has its charms.

Posted by: donatella at October 19, 2009 9:59 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 2 Grace Court, #4T

Thank you so much everyone. I hope you are right. Watch -- now we'll end up with 2.5 coats of satin and it will all wear off in six months.

Posted by: mopar at November 19, 2009 3:42 PM in response to Wood floor disaster

End of story here: We called two more places and got quotes that were more like $10 or $11 a square foot installed. We are going with Marmoleum in the kitchen, vinyl sheet flooring in the baths.

Posted by: mopar at November 19, 2009 5:16 PM in response to Best floor for 1890s bath?

Contact David Seal Hes Good 917-531-7328

Posted by: OldManSam at November 20, 2009 1:40 AM in response to Wood floor disaster