Urban renewal

[Ed note: This story has been extended with online bonus content.]

Like many New Yorkers, you’re probably at a tipping point when it comes to your pad—you want fewer roommates, or more space for your kid, or a cooler ’hood, or a safer block, or a gayer gay-tto, or something better.
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TONY tipping points

You want to live in Manhattan—no matter what

If you needed to ride your bike down a tree-lined street while waving to the kindly shopkeepers who know your name, you’d move to motherfucking Kansas, right? There’s only one New York experience worth having—the one you’ll pay through the nose for in Manhattan, where, according to the Real Estate Group, the average rental cost of a studio apartment is now $2,021.79.

Consider avoiding the traditional methods of real-estate hunting (classified ads, brokers, etc.), which will have you fighting with the masses over the same selection (e.g., the recently listed $1,500 studio with a shared bathroom in Chelsea). Stop by Sublet.com (if you can stomach shorter or more flexible leases) and Rent-Direct.com—both offer a roommate search option, personal consultations and e-mail alerts of open houses, all for a fee of $195 to $245.

Otherwise, if you’re willing to part with that dreaded broker’s fee, there are bargains to be found. According to agent Nicole Paikoff at Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy, the Lower East Side (especially near Chinatown), Hell’s Kitchen and the Upper East Side still offer deals. The average LES one-bedroom goes for just under $2,400, but you’ll find plenty of listed apartments for two thirds of that price.

Another good bet for living in the city: Find love and share. A few places (the Upper West Side, the LES and Midtown West) offer one-bedrooms for an average of $2,300 to $2,400 a month, and most of those are not simply re-formed studios, either. You might even have room for a bike.—Kirk Miller

What we found:

• 3BR, Chinatown, $2,800/mo
• Studio, Chinatown, $1500/mo
• 2BR, East Village, $1,790/mo

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

You need more room for your kiln

Your tiny studio was fine when you spent all your time at work, but now that you quit your job to be an artist, you’re going to need more space, on the cheap. For just a second, forget what you know about the South Bronx. Visualize SoBro (perky real-estate parlance for the area), specifically Mott Haven: the industrial waterfront under the Third Avenue Bridge that has emerged as one of New York’s last affordable artist retreats, a mere 20-minute subway ride from Union Square.

Rents at the Clock Tower, a renovated piano factory and the ’hood’s most established work/live loft space, range from $1,500 to $2,000(check out rent.com)—with even better deals to be found in the renovated brownstones and warehouses dotting nearby Alexander Avenue (as low as $1 per square foot). You’ll also find a handful of interesting stores and restaurants—including antique shops—and the LES-like hangout the Bruckner Bar and Grill (1 Bruckner Blvd at Third Ave, 718-665-2001).

Yet the life of a working artist is not all about cheap rent and grilled portobello sandwiches; it’s about community. Once a month the Bronx Council on the Arts sponsors a free trolley tour highlighting local galleries and performances, while residents of the Clock Tower and other loft spaces throw more-informal exhibitions. “The scene is kind of small, but very dedicated and growing,” says Mitsu Hadeishi, an experimental filmmaker who moved four years ago from Portland, Oregon, to a giant loft at 140th Street and Third Avenue. “The tour doesn’t attract the typical museum crowd, or even too many hipsters. It’s mostly locals from the Bronx, and there are some serious art fans living here.”—Matt Rodbard

What we found:

• Studio, Mott Haven, $1050/mo
• Studio, Mott Haven, $700/mo
• 1BR, Mott Haven, 1,150/mo

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

St. George, Staten Island

You’re tired of hip, gritty and edgy

Stepping over passed-out drunks to get to your front door has lost its charm.  You want something safe, quiet and affordable, but still interesting. Consider St. George—Staten Island’s most proximate neighborhood to the ferry landing. Rents are cheap ($1,500 can get you three bedrooms plus a yard), and if you squint it looks a hell of a lot like a tony San Francisco nabe—hills, clean streets, rustic Italian bistros like Enoteca Maria (27 Hyatt St at Central Ave, 718-447-2777) and a ballpark on the water. What you won’t find are high-rises popping up anytime soon. “There is certainly an anti-Manhattan sentiment with some of the longtime residents, and the local political machine takes care of unwanted growth,” says Graham Smith, a 28-year-old advertising engineer who moved from Long Island City to a quiet block on Daniel Low Terrace. “And when the gentrification wars do occur, they will be bloody.”

If you’d rather stay in Brooklyn, Carroll Gardens is a good idea. The ’hood used to be strictly Italian, and there remains a handful of old-world butchers, barbers, hardware stores and delis. Many of the enclave’s brownstones are still family owned, and there are deals to be had ($1,600 to $1,800 for full floors) if you don’t mind owner/occupants and dated interiors. All you need is a broker who knows when a Great Aunt Mary, the one with the pristine four-story walk-up on 2nd Place, decides that Tampa ain’t so bad year-round. Ronda Savoy of Urban Underground Realty has lived in the neighborhood for more than 17 years and is just that person. Call her at 718-522-2020, or visit rondasavoyrealty.com.—MR

What we found:

• 2BR, St. George, Staten Island, $1,575/mo, Seaview Estates (718-815-3334) (see floor plan below)
• 1.5BR, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, $2,000/mo
• Two-family home, St. George, Staten Island, $649,000

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

You’re ready to buy

Tired of pissing away rent and ready to become your own landlord? Brokers say it’s a good time to buy, because interest rates are still relatively low. Just don’t expect great deals—NYC is bucking the soft-housing trend affecting much of the rest of the country, and prices are still going up.

Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan brokerage president Steven James advises you to start your search by visiting a mortgage broker who’ll help you assess your finances and figure out what’s really in your price range. Because they work with multiple lenders, brokers can typically get you a better rate on a loan (and faster processing) than you’d get at a bank, even when their fee, generally paid by the bank, is included.

For those seeking one-bedroom apartments, James recommends perennial favorite the Upper East Side, followed by the Upper West Side. Both are established residential neighborhoods with plenty of stores and restaurants and a good supply of apartments. Expect to pay $300,000 to $400,000 for a studio, and $450,000 or more for a one-bedroom in those markets.

If you want a lower mortgage or more space, consider heading uptown. The average price for a two-bedroom apartment in Inwood was $391,000 in the first three months of 2007, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. In Harlem, two-bedroom apartments went for an average of $904,000. On the Upper East Side, the average price for such units was $1.55 million. Or try Queens, where the average apartment sold last year cost half as much as the average Manhattan flat. Popular choices include Forest Hills (current listings start at around $350,000 for a one-bedroom) and Jackson Heights ($175,000).

James also recommends figuring out what area or street you want to live on before you focus on buildings. You’re not just moving into the neighborhood, after all. You’re investing in it.—Scot Meyer

What we found:

• 2-room studio, Upper East Side, $293,000
• 1BR, Upper West Side, $425,000
• 2BR condo, Harlem, $660,000

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

Washington Heights

You’re gay but can’t afford Chelsea

Over the past 50 years, as the West Village has gone from housing dockworkers to hosting Diane von Furstenberg, New York’s industrious and often priced-out gay community has migrated north, moving first to Chelsea (now home to $7 million condos and Google’s NYC HQ), and most recently to Hell’s Kitchen (a.k.a. NoChe, Hellsea, Hell’s Pantry and, our favorite, Hell’s Kitty). “Hell’s Kitchen is probably the most gay-friendly neighborhood, where you walk down Ninth Avenue at 10pm on a Tuesday and you see nothing but guys holding hands, which is sometimes even shocking,” says Benjamin Solomon, listings editor at gay nightlife guide Next Magazine. Solomon attributes the trend not only to economics, but to the neighborhood’s proximity to the Theater District and a major boom in gay-friendly clubs and lounges, including Pacha, Therapy, the Ritz and HK Lounge.

Yet Hell’s Kitchen hasn’t been cheap for a while (tenement-style one-bedrooms average around $1,800). For the true gay-tto, one must look farther uptown. “You go up to Washington Heights and it’s not very pretty and not so bustling at night, but the neighborhood has tons of gay guys and women living there,” says Solomon. The rent is cheap (two bedrooms for $1,400), and the ’hood is becoming less and less granny-pants at night. No Parking (4168 Broadway at 177th St, 212-923-8700) hosts weekly Latin, pop and hip-hop parties and features go-go boys five nights a week, while Umbrella (440 W 202nd St between Ninth and Tenth Ave, 212-942-5921) presents a monthly gay disco. Solomon believes it’s inevitable that more spots will open. “The rapidness of growth uptown in the next couple of years is going to be unbelievable.”—MR

What we found:

• Studio, Hell's Kitchen, $299,000
• Studio, Washington Heights, $900/mo
• 1BR, Chelsea, $1,637/mo
• 2BR, Washington Heights, $1,950/mo, Coldwell Banker (coldwellbanker.com) (see floor plan below)

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

Sunset Park, Brooklyn

A Starbucks moved into your ’hood

In search of one of New York’s last untouched neighborhoods? Known more as a foodie tourist destination than an emerging nabe, south Brooklyn’s Sunset Park is an untapped resource for Midwest-cheap rents and straight-up livability—it is common to find three-bedroom apartments for under $1,500. (Look for signs in store windows and on lampposts for advertised vacancies; many apartments are owned and offered by Asians or Orthodox Jews, as well as Barbara Corcoran.)

The area is sandwiched between Park Slope to the north and Bay Ridge to the south, and only 25 minutes on the D train to West 4th Street (or a five-minute ride on the B63 bus to the Slope). Look to Fifth Avenue, between 40th and 65th Streets, for one of the city’s largest concentrations of Mexican immigrants, with endless reggaetón record stores and taquerias like Tacos Matamoros (4503 Fifth Ave at 45th St, 718-871-7627).

The major downside is a lack of any bar, club or even coffeeshop that would qualify as nightlife. “There are only a couple old Irish bars left over from when this was a more European neighborhood,” says 34-year Sunset Parker Jason Hernandez-Rosenblatt. “But I remember all Williamsburg was 10 to 15 years ago was a bar and a bulletin board near the L stop. And look what happened there.”—MR

What we found:

• 1BR, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, $995/mo
• 2BR, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, $1,200/mo
• 2 or 3BR, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, $1,600/mo
• 2BR, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, $450,000 to buy, Corcoran Group Real Estate (corcoran.com) (see floor plan below)

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

You’re moving in with your significant other

You’re ready to take the leap, but she has roomies and your studio isn’t big enough to accommodate her shoe collection, so you have to set up your love shack somewhere else. Try Bushwick, where you’ll get a lot for your combined income. “Once people realize they can get a 1,000-square-foot loft with skylights for $1,300 a month and still be only ten minutes from Manhattan, the 300-square-foot, fifth-floor walk-up with the shower in the kitchen on Ludlow Street for $2,300 doesn’t look so great anymore,” says Chrissy Rossettie, an ArdorNY agent. Sure, you won’t find trendy cafés or galleries, but give it time. If you’re buying, lofts start in the $400,000 range for 800 square feet.

Morningside Heights is another strong contender, especially if you’re first-time buyers. The co-op boards tend to be less strict in the area, and you can find a decent-size one-bedroom for under $500,000. “The presence of Columbia gives the area a collegiate feel, but it’s not rowdy,” says Daniel Levy, president of CityRealty.com. So you won’t find keggers, but look for candlelit restaurants and bars for your date nights, important for rekindling the romance once you discover that she doesn’t really sleep in lingerie and his eyebrows aren’t really separate. —Laura Leu

What we found:

• 1BR, Morningside Heights, $1,875/mo
• 1BR duplex, Bushwick, Brooklyn, $465,000
• 1BR, Bushwick, Brooklyn $375,000

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

You’re ready to move but have bad credit

You’re not totally screwed. Michael Feldman, mortgage officer at the New York Mortgage Company, recommends seeking buildings owned by small owners when renting, rather than big management companies, because there’s more room for negotiation and less emphasis on your faulty finances. Make a good impression and prove that you’re not a deadbeat. Bring along the appropriate paperwork and then some: a letter from your employer or landlord vouching for you, pay stubs, tax forms. Be honest about your credit history, but let them know you’re working on fixing it. Finally, pony up. Offer to increase the amount of the security deposit, so the landlord feels protected should you decide to blow your whole paycheck on a washer-dryer combo at Sears. 

If you’re looking to buy a property, you’ll have better luck in more affordable neighborhoods, advises Highlyann Krasnow, executive VP of the Developers Group. “A mortgage broker has an easier time dealing with credit-issued people when the purchase point is lower, because the risk is lower,” she says, recommending Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, where you can get a two-bedroom for $350,000. It’s an ass-hauling 30 to 40 minutes from Manhattan on the Q train and lacks retail stores, but for you, Debty McSpenderson, maybe that’s a good thing.—LL

What we found:

• 1BR with office, Ditmas Park. $255,000
• 1BR, Ditmas Park, 250,000
• 1BR, Inwood, $299,000

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

You want something new, new, new

Getting in on the ground floor of a not-yet-built condo can be exciting (if you can afford it), but brand-new buildings bring their own challenges, says Neil Binder, president of Bellmarc Realty in Manhattan and author of The Ultimate Guide to Buying and Selling Co-ops and Condos in New York City (Nice Idea Publishing, 2005).

First—and most obvious—is that you won’t be able to move in for a year or so, versus the 60- to 90-day wait when buying in a typical older building. “What kind of discount are you getting for making the investment now rather than when the product is actually built?” Binder asks.

New construction and conversion properties in Manhattan were priced at an average of $1,164 per square foot in the first three months of this year, according to a report from Halstead Property. That compares unfavorably with the $1,023-per-square-foot average price for all co-ops and condos in the borough, according to a Brown Harris Stevens report. But better deals are available downtown (90 William in the Financial District is priced at $669 per square foot) and in Brooklyn ($669 per square foot will also get you into Novo in Park Slope’s Fourth Avenue corridor).

And while we’re talking finances: Any deposits on predevelopment projects should be put in escrow, preferably in an attorney’s account (and not in one belonging to the developer). Even if you do everything right, Binder says you can expect a new building to come with some headaches. The hope is you’ll soon be too busy wearing a  smoking jacket and puffing on cigars to care.—SM

What we found:

• Chelsea Stratus, 253 W 24th St
• @William, 90 William
• 30 West 18th St
• Novo, 343 4th Ave, Park Slope, Brooklyn

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

Hamilton Heights

You don’t want college to end

Graduation doesn’t have to mean the end of keggers, farting in someone’s face and living with your best pals. If you want to keep the party going, six-to-an-apartment style, hop a train up to Hamilton Heights, on the West Side between 135th and 145th Streets. Home to City College and Harlem School of the Arts, this ’hood features collegiate folk, as well as kids playing on stoops and families strolling the 28-acre Riverbank State Park. Although most brokers mark Hamilton’s eastern boundary at St. Nicholas Avenue, developments like a new luxury condominium (thelangstonnyc.com), and a soon-to-open New York Sports Club on 145th Street between Bradhurst Avenue and Fredrick Douglass Boulevard, are expanding the neighborhood in that direction. A little farther north, from 160th to 181st Streets, Washington Heights’ prewar buildings also offer big spaces for DIY frats. We found a 1,700-square-foot five-bedroom on 170th Street (between Amsterdam and Audubon Avenues) with a laundry room for just $2,500 per month.—Alison Rohrs

What we found:

• 4BR, Hamilton Heights, $2,350/mo
• 2BR, Hamilton Heights, $2,000/mo
• 4BR, Washington Heights, $2,200/mo
• 4BR, Hamilton Heights, $1,700/mo, Corcoran Group Real Estate (corcoran.com) (see floor plan below)

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

Bayside, Queens

You’re having a baby

Congratulations, you’re having a baby! Condolences, you have to move out of your baby death-trap! Relocating to a kid-friendly neighborhood doesn’t mean you have to follow the other lactating lemmings to Park Slope, where a two-bedroom co-op will run you around $750,000. Many new parents are moving to less trendy Bayside, Queens. Two-bedroom detached homes go for an average of $600,000, and rentals are around $1,400 a month. Just 23 minutes from Manhattan via the LIRR, Bayside is a close-knit community, one where neighbors happily loan you their Weedwackers (which you will need, because most properties have lawns). More greenery grows in Bayside’s four major parks, so there’s a lot of space for your spawn to play. And there’s even more room for them to learn: District 26, located within Bayside, is one of the best in all of New York City and has high-performing elementary schools, according to Insideschools.org, a project of Advocates for Children of New York.—LL

What we found:

• 2BR co-op, Bayside, Queens, $229,000, Foxtons (foxtons.com) (see floor plan below)
• 2BR, Tribeca, $3,400/mo
• 2BR, Bayside, Queens, $239,900

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

You still live with your ex and she starts seeing someone else

New York makes people do crazy things, and right up at the top of the list (sandwiched between homicide and public urination) is continuing to live with an ex for the sake of a lease. One former couple built a Sheetrock wall in order to share their single-bedroom apartment in Park Slope. “It was rent stabilized,” recalls Jerry Minsky, vice president of Corcoran realty in Brooklyn, matter-of-factly.

Yet sometimes, it’s better to get the hell out and fast. Manhattan and Brooklyn boast plenty of furnished pads for a temporary fix. (And rents from about $2,500–$6,000 per month will keep you motivated to find a more permanent home.) The special rush feature on www.nyfurnishedapartments.com allows you to pick out available apartments online before speaking with an agent. 

Once you find a proper home, however, you’ll have to pack up the old love nest. If you can’t bear the thought of ever going back, check out allinclusivemoving.com. They’ll pack up your memories ($5–$15 per box) and transport them into your new life ($85–$200 per hour for local moves) while you hide away. This is a hard time, but you’ll get through it with the help of pros. But please remember, as Minsky politely reminds us: “I’m a realtor, not a therapist.” –Alison Rohrs

What we found:

• Studio (min: 1 month), Upper East Side, $2,200/mo
• 1BR, Morningside Heights, $1,650/mo
• 1BR (sublet), Upper East Side, $1,395/month

[These are sample prices as of May 1, 2007; rental rates and availability in these neighborhoods are subject to change.]

More in Apartments:

• Apartments 2007: It's tough out there—still. But it's time you moved on, with our floor-to-ceiling guide.
• Urban renewal: You’re ready to buy, done with roomies or having a kid: You’re at the tipping point and need help making the move. Here’s where to look.
• No-fee apartment!: Think they’re a myth? We found you one—ours.
• Closing time?: Three households are ready to buy—we opened their books to see if they’ve got what it takes.
• It’s not you, it’s we: How realistic is communal housing? We enlist an architect to render the possibility, in a true-life space.
• Peep show: What kind of exhibitionist lives in a ground-floor apartment—and leaves the shades open? We found out.
• What's their deal?: You never can tell who lives where—or can you? Match the people with their apartments and rent.
• Insider’s Look: New condos: Each day this week, the savvy writers at real estate blog Urbandigs analyze one of the city’s new condo developments