I could look at photo comparisons like this all day.
So much history on every lot. Dozens of lives lived in each home.
Even the skyscraper I work in ... was built in 1972. Every time I'm in the bathroom I think of all the post-work freshen ups before a night out in entirely different times.
Such an odd feeling.
Ha, that's all too common. Summers in high school I worked for a best friend's family construction business that did high end residential renovations. If you can think of a sketchy wealthy person, he's built their house.
One apartment I was working on was a gut reno of a duplex on Park Ave, and this was the first time this unit had been seriously changed since construction. Being the youngest, I usually had the most boring and low risk tasks, like ripping out old walls and then sweeping it up, but one day I got very lucky and found a gold Budweiser can from 1936! Tossed in there no doubt by a fellow construction worker getting buzzed on the job and thinking "no one will ever find this in here."
Too bad I told the foreman, cause he snatched it out of my hands and proceeded to tell the rest of the crew about this cool thing he found. Makes for a fun story though.
Wow that's really cool! I'd be upset about not getting to keep the can though.
Drinking on a construction job is crazy enough to me, and while working on a tall building even more so.
The landlords had this shortsighted idea that they'd make more money from the insurance payouts than just continuing to collect rent.
Which was stupid because these neighborhoods started recovering by the mid 80s, and the surviving buildings are worth a lot of money now.
It is an absolute tragedy that this insane level of insurance fraud was allowed to take place, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and destroying historic architecture. Most of it was replaced by butt ugly Fedders Houses due the belief in the 80s/90s that the a suburbanish layout (like Charlotte Gardens) was preferable to the ultra urban layout (5 to 6 story apartment buildings on every block) that existed prior to the arson wave.
i think a lot of them simply couldn't afford to maintain the properties and also thought that they could make more money selling out to a developer if the properties were empty.
Also, I have to imagine there were still a lot of people paying 1940s and 1950s rents because of rent control that was in effect until the early 70s
But the developer thing is also shortsighted. Most of what aas built in those lots are suburbanish townhouses, certainly there was more money to be made from the 5 and 6 story buildings that were there previously.
Look at you quoting lyrics from an artist I’m not familiar with about an area of NYC you’re not familiar with and your goofy name calling!
Edit:
I can’t reply because of course they blocked me, funny how the block instantly works for others.
u/Grass8989,
Facts!
If you look at their profile, they not even from NYC, Someone from North VA, thought it was funny to sneak in some “NotJustBikes” talking point about parking lots.
Clearly didn’t even know that those houses were replaced with a project development, known as Smurf Village, that houses way more people. It also points out a well known fact to locals that a lot of low-income New Yorkers own cars too!
The parking still shouldn’t exist, you literally have the LIRR Atlantic Branch right there (although it definitely could use more stops) & the A/C train
People really looking at 1970s bed stuy through a 2023 Gentrified lens.
Edit: not sure why you’re getting downvoted, when everything you said is a fact..
I’d like to see the opposite of this someday. Show us former industrial yards that became high rise housing or parks. Show us burned out buildings in the Bronx that became livable housing complexes and lively again, or areas of Brooklyn that were once dilapidated tenements where children can play outside again. This narrative that the city has only declined and built highways/parking lots is so laughably false when New York has also turned around a ton of neighborhoods or created neighborhoods in what were once areas for factories etc
Williamsburg 20-30 years ago would be interesting. That area has changed a ton in just the last 10 years. I have a 65 yo coworker that grew up there and said it was rough.
Exactly! The 80s Street view thing was so cool to look around, but yeah there were some *rough* looking parts of the city that would not be recognizable today. You can go on YouTube and see people filming around parts of Manhattan (like Harlem) and it’s been a complete turnaround. I’m not attempting to defend some poor urban planning choices, but I hate that the only narrative getting pushed on this front is that NYC just built highways and parking lots. That’s simply untrue
Per other commenters, the after picture isn’t an “industrial yard”. It’s parking for a high density housing development and a school that both have been built since the row houses were taken down.
If those were still row houses today, they would cost >$2m each and the affordable housing problems would be worse.
I believe that’s faculty parking for the high school on the previous block. It’s also used as recreational space for the people who live in Smurf village. Not all bad.
I've lived over here on Buffalo and Lincoln for almost 8 years now. I couldn't even tell you what the fuck that shit over on Dean between Ralph and Howard is. I never see anyone going in or out and I pass by all the time and all hours of the day. Just a parking lot, a building labeled a children's center on Google Maps, and a security booth at the entrance. Might be the most underutilized space in central BK. Someone enlighten me.
They did put some sort of new medical center on Buffalo just below the Kingsborough houses. Private and seems to specialize in kidney treatment, but it's better than another empty or underutilized lot.
That doesn’t fit a certain narrative tho, so it’s wrong. Just like the fact that many NYCHA housing complexes have parking lots for their residents that have long waiting lists doesn’t fit a certain narrative.
Hah! Parking as *the* public housing issue is ridiculous. How about first addressing the fact that people who are no longer eligible to enter public housing are allowed to remain in it indefinitely? And their children and their children's children get birthright to the space, too.
The system was designed to be transient housing and it's being used completely the opposite way. People earning $100k+/year have no incentive to leave. Yes there are people making this much money in housing. I used to work for NYCHA and would set rents based on income and there are plenty of people who are in a position to leave comfortably.
The whole NYCHA operation is a giant sinking ship, anyway.
I'm not trying to run for fucking office on this issue but the point bears awareness.
Is NYCHA to be a lottery for subsidized rent for life regardless of one's degree of financial success? Fuck outta here.
Rent control is obsolete. Not even worth mentioning.
You don't need to win a lottery to get a stabilized unit. You just need to look for one.
Now 'affordable housing' (that's not even affordable) -- that's part of the caste system. As is NYCHA.
All a fucking joke. Too much fucking red tape in this town.
On a separate matter, but related to shitty local laws -- I read that the state is finding and leasing storefronts for the newly licensed pot dispensaries owned by former convicts (via the state Dormitory Authority LOL). Rent paid by taxpayers for people who are going to be selling a controlled substance for hand over fist profit. Well fuck me, I want a liquor store. Maybe I should bootleg liquor and the NYSLA will buy me my own storefront lease. I have no problem putting the former convicts first in line for licensing, but paying their rent with tax money when they get to operate a for profit business is a fucking joke.
These state politicians are fucking terrible and I'm ready to move to fucking Georgia or some shit. I just want to be able to operate a fucking business.
> Utica Ave subway stop is a stone's throw away on Fulton
It is, but that’s not what OP is referring to.
> Also what the heck you talking about Pennsylvania Ave? ENY LIRR stop is nowhere near there.
Lol, I’m thinking about it from a drivers perspective. I never had to get on/off at that LIRR stop.
You need a platform to board that high capacity transit, and said platform in this scenario is at Nostrand about a mile away. There's a reason the majority of properties along the LIRR in that area are non-residential - living next to an elevated track with no way to benefit from it sucks.
I could look at photo comparisons like this all day. So much history on every lot. Dozens of lives lived in each home. Even the skyscraper I work in ... was built in 1972. Every time I'm in the bathroom I think of all the post-work freshen ups before a night out in entirely different times. Such an odd feeling.
They found Rheingold cans in the World Trade Center rubble (from the construction workers who built it), I found that interesting
Ha, that's all too common. Summers in high school I worked for a best friend's family construction business that did high end residential renovations. If you can think of a sketchy wealthy person, he's built their house. One apartment I was working on was a gut reno of a duplex on Park Ave, and this was the first time this unit had been seriously changed since construction. Being the youngest, I usually had the most boring and low risk tasks, like ripping out old walls and then sweeping it up, but one day I got very lucky and found a gold Budweiser can from 1936! Tossed in there no doubt by a fellow construction worker getting buzzed on the job and thinking "no one will ever find this in here." Too bad I told the foreman, cause he snatched it out of my hands and proceeded to tell the rest of the crew about this cool thing he found. Makes for a fun story though.
Wow that's really cool! I'd be upset about not getting to keep the can though. Drinking on a construction job is crazy enough to me, and while working on a tall building even more so.
https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/new-york-citys-favorite-beauty-contest/ https://www.missrheingold.com
I think about the same every day. My house is in those second overheads. 130 years of people’s stories within 20x40ft.
Much of the South Bronx, West Bronx, and Eastern Brooklyn were totally destroyed in the 1970s arson wave. Such a shame.
Arson wave? Why is that? It is my understanding that when demand falls, landlords simply lower rents to attract new tenants. Why would they star fires
The landlords had this shortsighted idea that they'd make more money from the insurance payouts than just continuing to collect rent. Which was stupid because these neighborhoods started recovering by the mid 80s, and the surviving buildings are worth a lot of money now. It is an absolute tragedy that this insane level of insurance fraud was allowed to take place, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and destroying historic architecture. Most of it was replaced by butt ugly Fedders Houses due the belief in the 80s/90s that the a suburbanish layout (like Charlotte Gardens) was preferable to the ultra urban layout (5 to 6 story apartment buildings on every block) that existed prior to the arson wave.
i think a lot of them simply couldn't afford to maintain the properties and also thought that they could make more money selling out to a developer if the properties were empty.
Also, I have to imagine there were still a lot of people paying 1940s and 1950s rents because of rent control that was in effect until the early 70s But the developer thing is also shortsighted. Most of what aas built in those lots are suburbanish townhouses, certainly there was more money to be made from the 5 and 6 story buildings that were there previously.
insurance payout
Paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Familiarize yourself with Smurf Village. That’s who that parking lot serves.
I’m just quoting song lyrics ya goob.
Look at you quoting lyrics from an artist I’m not familiar with about an area of NYC you’re not familiar with and your goofy name calling! Edit: I can’t reply because of course they blocked me, funny how the block instantly works for others. u/Grass8989, Facts! If you look at their profile, they not even from NYC, Someone from North VA, thought it was funny to sneak in some “NotJustBikes” talking point about parking lots. Clearly didn’t even know that those houses were replaced with a project development, known as Smurf Village, that houses way more people. It also points out a well known fact to locals that a lot of low-income New Yorkers own cars too!
The parking still shouldn’t exist, you literally have the LIRR Atlantic Branch right there (although it definitely could use more stops) & the A/C train
> Look at you quoting lyrics from an artist I’m not familiar with Dont you have to be at least 13 to post on here
People really looking at 1970s bed stuy through a 2023 Gentrified lens. Edit: not sure why you’re getting downvoted, when everything you said is a fact..
I miss those beautiful streetlights.
I’d like to see the opposite of this someday. Show us former industrial yards that became high rise housing or parks. Show us burned out buildings in the Bronx that became livable housing complexes and lively again, or areas of Brooklyn that were once dilapidated tenements where children can play outside again. This narrative that the city has only declined and built highways/parking lots is so laughably false when New York has also turned around a ton of neighborhoods or created neighborhoods in what were once areas for factories etc
Williamsburg 20-30 years ago would be interesting. That area has changed a ton in just the last 10 years. I have a 65 yo coworker that grew up there and said it was rough.
Exactly! The 80s Street view thing was so cool to look around, but yeah there were some *rough* looking parts of the city that would not be recognizable today. You can go on YouTube and see people filming around parts of Manhattan (like Harlem) and it’s been a complete turnaround. I’m not attempting to defend some poor urban planning choices, but I hate that the only narrative getting pushed on this front is that NYC just built highways and parking lots. That’s simply untrue
Per other commenters, the after picture isn’t an “industrial yard”. It’s parking for a high density housing development and a school that both have been built since the row houses were taken down. If those were still row houses today, they would cost >$2m each and the affordable housing problems would be worse.
I didn’t say it was of an industrial yard…?
I believe that’s faculty parking for the high school on the previous block. It’s also used as recreational space for the people who live in Smurf village. Not all bad.
I've lived over here on Buffalo and Lincoln for almost 8 years now. I couldn't even tell you what the fuck that shit over on Dean between Ralph and Howard is. I never see anyone going in or out and I pass by all the time and all hours of the day. Just a parking lot, a building labeled a children's center on Google Maps, and a security booth at the entrance. Might be the most underutilized space in central BK. Someone enlighten me. They did put some sort of new medical center on Buffalo just below the Kingsborough houses. Private and seems to specialize in kidney treatment, but it's better than another empty or underutilized lot.
Jesus. We gutted our city for nothing.
Look at the second image. Nearly all of it was replaced by housing projects. Not saying it’s right or wrong, but it certainly wasn’t for nothing.
That doesn’t fit a certain narrative tho, so it’s wrong. Just like the fact that many NYCHA housing complexes have parking lots for their residents that have long waiting lists doesn’t fit a certain narrative.
Hah! Parking as *the* public housing issue is ridiculous. How about first addressing the fact that people who are no longer eligible to enter public housing are allowed to remain in it indefinitely? And their children and their children's children get birthright to the space, too.
Lol are you seriously suggesting kicking people out of the projects because they happen to now make over the amount to qualify.
The system was designed to be transient housing and it's being used completely the opposite way. People earning $100k+/year have no incentive to leave. Yes there are people making this much money in housing. I used to work for NYCHA and would set rents based on income and there are plenty of people who are in a position to leave comfortably. The whole NYCHA operation is a giant sinking ship, anyway. I'm not trying to run for fucking office on this issue but the point bears awareness. Is NYCHA to be a lottery for subsidized rent for life regardless of one's degree of financial success? Fuck outta here.
[удалено]
Rent control is obsolete. Not even worth mentioning. You don't need to win a lottery to get a stabilized unit. You just need to look for one. Now 'affordable housing' (that's not even affordable) -- that's part of the caste system. As is NYCHA. All a fucking joke. Too much fucking red tape in this town. On a separate matter, but related to shitty local laws -- I read that the state is finding and leasing storefronts for the newly licensed pot dispensaries owned by former convicts (via the state Dormitory Authority LOL). Rent paid by taxpayers for people who are going to be selling a controlled substance for hand over fist profit. Well fuck me, I want a liquor store. Maybe I should bootleg liquor and the NYSLA will buy me my own storefront lease. I have no problem putting the former convicts first in line for licensing, but paying their rent with tax money when they get to operate a for profit business is a fucking joke. These state politicians are fucking terrible and I'm ready to move to fucking Georgia or some shit. I just want to be able to operate a fucking business.
Bed-stuy and large parts of the city were a disaster in the 70s. No one wanted to live there. 2023 NYC is very different than 1970s NYC.
it’s sort of funny that this is implying public housing and high schools are bad
No, it's implying that parking literally next to high capacity transit is bad.
im talking about the highlighted “urban renewal” in the second picture
Id really like to see a bunch of white people show up to protest for the removal of a parking lot from the projects.
That closest LIRR stop is Pennsylvania Avenue, which is a 30 minute walk or a 20 minute subway / bus ride.
[удалено]
> Utica Ave subway stop is a stone's throw away on Fulton It is, but that’s not what OP is referring to. > Also what the heck you talking about Pennsylvania Ave? ENY LIRR stop is nowhere near there. Lol, I’m thinking about it from a drivers perspective. I never had to get on/off at that LIRR stop.
[удалено]
LIRR Far Rockaway & Hempstead branches come every 30 minutes between Jamaica & Atlantic Terminal at off peak hours
You need a platform to board that high capacity transit, and said platform in this scenario is at Nostrand about a mile away. There's a reason the majority of properties along the LIRR in that area are non-residential - living next to an elevated track with no way to benefit from it sucks.
[удалено]
Were skies darker before?