Bushwick view, by somethinghumble, from the BushwickBK.com Photo Pool
Flushing Expressway: Did you see the flares on Flushing last Thursday? A city sanitation truck mowed over a 70-year-old man trying to cross the street to get a cup of coffee.
Irresponsibility Bubble Pops: Deborah Gonzalez bought more house than she could handle, got stiffed by her tenants (and I’m sure New York’s outrageous pro-deadbeat eviction laws), and is now in foreclosure because nobody wants to buy her house. Check out the crazy comments below.
Those Eclectic Catholics: St. Barbara’s Church finds itself under the eye of a Catholic architectural critic — it “lacks the studied erudition and innovative vigor” of west coast Spanish Baroque churches, but it’s still pretty daaaaamn Spanish.
Todo Para la Fiesta: Check out some fabulous and not-so-fab signage from Graham Avenue. I like the Katz sign and the “Farmacia” added on later.
Jimmy Legs October 27th, 2008 at 11:54 am
how much does a ‘mail handler’ make? she bought the house for $455K, and later upped the mortgage to $585K. but apparently it all hinged on the rental income? what kind of buffer are you supposed to have if your renters give you the shaft? not only are you not getting their rent, you end up paying for going to court over it.
ricmac01 October 28th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Facing Woodbine, between Bushwick and Broadway, there are approximately 34 houses and a couple of vacant lots. TEN of those houses are empty and/or for sale! ‘For Sale’ signs go up and come down but the houses remain vacant. Five of these are boarded up. Three of them recently got cleaned out by the Department of Sanitation (weeds had grown to jungle proportions, windows and doors were broken). These have been empty for MONTHS, many close to two years.
I guess some of these houses need so much work it’s just not economically feasible to bother with? There are a couple that appear well-maintained but I guess the owners want to wait for the market to rebound so they can get their price? One family bought the biggest house on the block at the height of the market and wasted a bundle on ill-conceived and illegal renovations, trusting the wrong people, and now may have to just walk away from their fiasco.
How can a bank or an individual afford to just hold onto an empty house for two years? Proper renovations will attract “gentrifiers” as long as the rents are reasonable.
I don’t know which is worse for the house – six families packed into 2/3 family homes or leaving the house empty. No one really wants to live next door to either.
Dresden October 28th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
That old guy always sat in the hardware store. He was 69, and he’s being buried tomorrow back in PR.
ricmac01 October 28th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Regarding the Bushwick signage, notice how similar (crapy) the “checks cashed” and “medical and dental center” are? But a lot of our nasty check-cashing establishments actually look more inviting than the scary medical/dental buildings. One step at a time, I guess.
mopar October 28th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Ricmac, very interesting post about Woodbine. You seem very well informed. You live down there? Any opinion about the blocks just off Broadway at the Halsey stop?
ricmac01 October 29th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
mopar, I do live on the section of Woodbine that I described above and that’s why I am pretty familiar with the houses and neighbors on my block (I’m “respectfully nosey I guess). I think there are other readers that may have more familiarity with the blocks close to Halsey/Broadway. I do shop there from time to time and have no concerns with safety issues (unless trying to navigate the aisles of that Rite Aid). Knowing the area as I do now, I don’t think I’d look to live more than a block or two past Halsey on the J line though – just too isolated and, from what I see, a bit trashy.
Also, until a neighborhood provides a liquor store without the bottles hiding behind bullet proof glass (or whatever that is) and Chinese food that I have to order/pay from a slot in the wall I see no reason for nice (not fixer-upper) homes to sell for more than $500,000 or well-appointed two bedroom apartments to rent for any more than $1400. As much as I thought I liked 99 cent stores (now I can hardly stand them), ten such stores on a ten block stretch is another indicator that neighborhood amenities may be lacking. Oops, I kind of went off there…maybe an “I don’t know” would have been sufficient?