Bullish on Bushwick… Due Credit, Not So Much
“We heard two-family houses Bushwick are down 3% this year. Lame. We’re outta here.”
Yoinked from tamisevens’ flickr stream
You don’t realize how many mistakes reporters can make until you read an article about your own neighborhood. It’s probably inevitable that someone from outside would get a few things wrong. So when Claire Levenson, in the Real Deal, says Maujer Street is in Bushwick, we forgive her. It’s when she says things like “many old buildings have not been restored” that we might get a bit annoyed, considering how many old buildings have been and are being restored.
I object to the assertion that Bushwick has “fallen prey” to the real estate price downturn — more people are moving to Bushwick than ever. More things are slated to open than I can keep track of right now. Real estate agents — no, hell, almost everyone, thinks that a neighborhood’s fortunes are tied directly to real estate values, but that’s only a post-2000 bubble idea. Park Slope began gentrifying in the early 80s, if not earlier. Brooklyn has been steadily improving and upscaling in parts for decades. South Beach has steadily cleaned up over the last 20 years, through two real estate busts. All of this ignores that the vast majority of people moving to Bushwick right now are renters, who don’t care what houses sell for.
The rest of the article is a jumble of price per sqft and quotes from brokers. Snore. Let’s get to the part where info I gave the reporter was used without acknowledgement!
“Construction has started on Troutman Gardens, a 140-unit condominium by developer Mayer Schwartz, who built [sic] the Opera House lofts in East Williamsburg [sic]” and “There are also new developments and conversions on Jefferson and Troutman streets…” are pretty much from my fingertips, the first from a post I wrote, the second directly from me to her after she emailed me for info. Bloggers are really shit on by journalists, huh? Go ahead, grab all the info you want without citation! It’s a free-for-all.
Anyway, the article has a bullish tinge to it. Bushwick is no worse for any wear, and lower prices mean more and younger people can afford to buy. We’re just getting started here.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:26 pm
hmm so Maujer street is in bushwick, but the opera house is in east williamsburg?
the article sounds like it was supposed to be about Red Hook, a neighborhood that had far more riding on it to be the Next Big Thing and still hasn’t really hit its stride.
I do enjoy that “many buildings have not been restored” line. jeez Claire, yah THINK?
April 24th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Interesting article, if you can focus on the facts and ignore the generalizations. Volume of sales of single and multi-family houses is down by half — that’s an amazing decrease.
Sales are probably down because banks have tightened credit, so not as many people qualify. In 2006, you could buy a two-family in Bushwick with 5 percent down and now you need at least 10 percent, plus a household income over $80,000 and a credit score over 70.
The article seems to be written for the real estate trade. It doesn’t cover rentals at all. Tons of recent college graduates are moving into the area. The asking rents around the Morgan and Montrose stops are ridiculous. $1,800 for a three-room tenement, same as Lorimer the year earlier.
BTW, WTF is a “stone row house”? Is she talking about a TENEMENT? A brick tenement?
April 26th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
I read that article. I agree with mopar. The banks have tightened up on everyone. The Real Deal is a real rag… It’s not NEWS by the time it gets into that thing.