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Best I can recall - Wantagh and a lot/most of Long Island back in the 50's was farmland. My father was a (single family) home builder and that's one reason we moved out there. We moved from Wantagh to southern New Jersey in 1963. So my father could build houses there. Again - the area was mostly farmland when we moved there.
Neither area had (m)any houses from the 20's/30's best I can recall. Houses from that era (or earlier) in the NYC metro area (and lots of other metro areas too - including the one where I live now) are mostly in the older "close in" suburbs.* Nice if you're a DIY type and/or have lots of money for "rehab". But definitely not my cup of tea. OTOH - a tract suburb home from the 50's or 60's wouldn't be my cup of tea either. Especially not at my age.
It's where I'd like to live if I lived in NYC. Assuming I came into an extra $5-10-15-20+ million dollars . Robyn
*Close in is of course relative. Where I live - "close in" is like 2 miles from downtown (and it's a pretty awful downtown). In New York and other cities up north - you're probably talking (a lot) more in terms of distance.
Baldwin, I think it's about 26 mules away from midtown Manhattan. And 7 miles away from the border of NYC, which at that point is the outskirts and suburban for NYC standards. Houses from the 10s to the 30s seem to be very common, if not the norm in South Shore Nassau until you go past Freeport.
My house is from 1935, and we moved in about 4 years ago. It didn't need any fixing, but my mom wanted the kitchen redone.
The newer construction (not sure how new exactly) in my town tends to be ugly splanches. My section is mostly houses from the 30s and it's very cozy looking.
We were discussing NYC apartments before, and yes those tend to be older too, my uncle lives in a luxury apartment in Chelsea built in the 20s (if I'm not mistaken) and it's very nice, it has been remodeled though.
NYC is a very old city and has been built up for quite some time, and most of the residential buildings are probably 60-70+ years old.
You will almost never see anyone on this board specify "newer construction" as a preference, in contrast to the boards of other cities.
Baldwin, I think it's about 26 mules away from midtown Manhattan. And 7 miles away from the border of NYC, which at that point is the outskirts and suburban for NYC standards. Houses from the 10s to the 30s seem to be very common, if not the norm in South Shore Nassau until you go past Freeport.
My house is from 1935, and we moved in about 4 years ago. It didn't need any fixing, but my mom wanted the kitchen redone.
The newer construction (not sure how new exactly) in my town tends to be ugly splanches. My section is mostly houses from the 30s and it's very cozy looking.
We were discussing NYC apartments before, and yes those tend to be older too, my uncle lives in a luxury apartment in Chelsea built in the 20s (if I'm not mistaken) and it's very nice, it has been remodeled though.
NYC is a very old city and has been built up for quite some time, and most of the residential buildings are probably 60-70+ years old.
You will almost never see anyone on this board specify "newer construction" as a preference, in contrast to the boards of other cities.
That's interesting.
Why do you think New Yorkers don't prefer newer construction, whereas people in other cities do?
That's interesting.
Why do you think New Yorkers don't prefer newer construction, whereas people in other cities do?
I think cities outside of the Northeast tend to be sprawl cities, and the older construction there (which really isn't that old) might not have aged as well. Whereas Greenwich Village's buildings are a million years old and are timeless.
Also, rents are lower pretty much everywhere else in the US, so they can afford to be pickier.
I think cities outside of the Northeast tend to be sprawl cities, and the older construction there (which really isn't that old) might not have aged as well. Whereas Greenwich Village's buildings are a million years old and are timeless.
Also, rents are lower pretty much everywhere else in the US, so they can afford to be pickier.
Some of the old buildings in NYC tend to have features that they don't make that much anymore. These buildings as long as they are structurally sound can be renovated and upgraded.
I think New Yorkers at all levels are willing to pay for well maintained buildings, but a building doesn't have to be NEW to be well maintained.
New construction in NYC tends to be in former industrial neighborhoods that were underutilized. In other neighborhoods they mostly renovate existing buildings. Some former schools have been turned into apartments, and lofts are former warehouses that have been turned into apartments. Even factories like Domino Sugar Factory are being repurposed.
I think in NYC unless an apartment building is structurally unsound or for some reason just not viable, the trend is towards renovation (in places like Hells Kitchen all new high rises were mostly built on former parking lots, gas station, or other mostly empty real estate as city zoning preserves the tenements. Ditto for the LES).
The new construction I see in Brooklyn and Queens is god awful sometimes
Chrome railings are probably the worst feature these homes contain
They look atrocious and are poorly built. I want to scream wwwhhhyyyyyyy every time I see those god awful chrome railings on any house and those shiny balusters. They look so tacky. I don't know how they became so popular.
Also add colonial and French chalet style homes to my list of old beautiful homes. I tried convincing a retired lady to sell me her house that looked like a chalet. Unless you are spending tons to get a custom built house, houses aren't built like those anymore.
They look atrocious and are poorly built. I want to scream wwwhhhyyyyyyy every time I see those god awful chrome railings on any house and those shiny balusters. They look so tacky. I don't know how they became so popular.
Chrome/stainless steel railings are 99% of the time a sign that the builder and owner are Chinese. That's why you are seeing so much of it, massive amount of Asian immigrants in the boroughs and growing rapidly. For whatever reason they love those shiny railings.
Some of the old buildings in NYC tend to have features that they don't make that much anymore. These buildings as long as they are structurally sound can be renovated and upgraded.
I think New Yorkers at all levels are willing to pay for well maintained buildings, but a building doesn't have to be NEW to be well maintained.
New construction in NYC tends to be in former industrial neighborhoods that were underutilized. In other neighborhoods they mostly renovate existing buildings. Some former schools have been turned into apartments, and lofts are former warehouses that have been turned into apartments. Even factories like Domino Sugar Factory are being repurposed.
I think in NYC unless an apartment building is structurally unsound or for some reason just not viable, the trend is towards renovation (in places like Hells Kitchen all new high rises were mostly built on former parking lots, gas station, or other mostly empty real estate as city zoning preserves the tenements. Ditto for the LES).
Yeah, I agree with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOVEROFNYC
They look atrocious and are poorly built. I want to scream wwwhhhyyyyyyy every time I see those god awful chrome railings on any house and those shiny balusters. They look so tacky. I don't know how they became so popular.
I know it's arbitrary, but I wonder how there are people who actually like the way that looks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DSNY...DirtyStayOut
Chrome/stainless steel railings are 99% of the time a sign that the builder and owner are Chinese. That's why you are seeing so much of it, massive amount of Asian immigrants in the boroughs and growing rapidly. For whatever reason they love those shiny railings.
I think South Asians also do the chrome railing thing.
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. Robyn
