P.S. 8 Rezoning May Be Affecting DUMBO Apt. Sales

By on May 31, 2016 10:31 pm in Brooklyn Heights

According to a Brownstoner post today, a three-bedroom apartment in DUMBO “used to be the real estate equivalent of a total eclipse or Halley’s Comet: Rare.” Now, there is an unusually high number of three-bedroom units available. Real estate agents also noted a general slowdown of high-priced two and three-bedrooms sales in DUMBO. Halstead agent Terrence LeRay told Brownstoner that “this slowdown may be economy related, election related, concerns over P.S. 8 or a combination thereof.” While new construction has added to the newly available inventory, both LeRay and Brown Harris Stevens agent Elizabeth Lind Johnson said they believe owners of existing units may also be selling due to concerns over all of the new construction slated to begin in the area.

Anyone in the market for a $3 million to $5 million unit in DUMBO?

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  • AbeLincoln

    Sweet. I still cant afford one. But I do know people who are moving because of the whole thing. It’s really a shame.

  • Concerned

    Real estate agent: “I have a 3 million dollar three bedroom in lovely DUMBO.”
    Wealthy family: “Great! That’s in our price range. Where will Lewis and Penelope be going to school?”
    Agent: “Well, there are private schools, which they’re not guaranteed to get into. And those cost $40,000.00 a year. Each child. And then there is PS 307, which has really great programs, like Mandarin and violin.”
    Family: “That sounds great. Anything else we should know about PS 307?”
    Agent: “Oh my gosh, did I tell you about their mandarin and violin programs? They are truly wonderful!”
    Family: “I do like the sounds of that Mandarin program. Anything else?”
    Agent: “Mandarin and violin.”
    Family: “Hmmmmmmm. Mandarin and violin, you say. Anything…”
    Agent: “I SAID MANDARIN AND VIOLIN!!!! WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW!?!”

  • Heightsman

    Or is it the selling point that cars will be pouring fumes on three sides into the neighborhood 24/7 (B and M Bridge + BQE) with the great opportunity for limiting public transportation via the subway….just wondering.

  • Mary Kim

    Pardon me, but this comment is so offensive. If it violated our TOS, I would ask Claude to delete it. It doesn’t, it’s just very offensive. I hope no PS 307 parent or staff reads it. You’d be surprised who reads this blog and the comments.

  • Concerned

    Respectfully, I was only attempting to make a joke. I understand there was some bite to it, but I think the amount of bite was appropriate considering the very low test scores and the labels of danger that have been attached to the school by the DOE. My apologies if I offended you or anyone else. I hope in the coming years the school does better. But, the current state of the school (on objective terms i.e. Test scores, danger label) juxtaposed with the cost of real estate is, I think, solid material for humor.
    Be well, neighbor.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    I read the joke very differently than Mary Kim. I thought you were satirizing a situation in which a real estate agent was trying to conceal PS307’s demographics from people s/he anticipated would not be receptive to the idea of their children attending school alongside so many…of that demographic.

    I suppose you left the page a little blank. Well done.

  • Concerned

    Thanks. It was satire. I’ll leave it at that.
    By the way, you said to someone the other day that you made a “concerted” effort to do something. A concerted effort means an effort with several involved working together, at least how (I believe) you were using it. But I looked it up to check myself and this is what I got, so maybe I’m not correct. Either way, it’s interesting. Enjoy.

    http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2011/04/concerted.html

  • StudioBrooklyn

    You may have just pointed out my first use of malapropism in years. I would have meant something more like a deliberate effort. If there’s not a simile sounding word for that, then it wasn’t even malapropism!

  • Concerned

    I thought you might appreciate that.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    I might indeed!

  • Mary Kim

    Thank you. A factual correction: the school was never labeled “dangerous” by either the DOE, the State Ed. Dep’t, or any other entity. The school’s community takes great pride in the school they’ve built. Have a good weekend.

  • Andrew Porter

    You could flag it (that little thing in the upper right corner) and let Disqus decide.

  • Andrew Porter

    Frankly, there’s a heck of a lot of pollution right here in fabulous Bklyn Hgts, from the bridges and BQE. I’ve given up trying to keep the dust from covering everything with a fine layer of gray grit, now tell visitors my place is “neat but dusty.”

  • mlcraryville

    The best bet is to stick to the record. How far behind is the school? How poorly do the kids perform in english, in math, in reading comprehension, in critical thinking? All else is commentary.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    It should be mentioned that test scores are only a crude metric for assessing the quality of a learning institution. They might have incredible teachers and resources but, for example, a large number of parents who don’t actively participate in their children’s intellectual growth may be reflected in the children’s academic performance. The reverse may also be true. The point is, there are many variables that the test scores and curricular offerings themselves do not reveal.

  • Concerned

    You like Disqus, do you, Porter?Well, I’m flagging you right now.
    You’ve got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

  • mlcraryville

    So it’s crude. It isn’t perfect. Do you have any better measures for telling the impact a school is having on its pupils?.How about its comparative graduation rates? And where the kids have gone afterwards. Tell us the good news. We are all ears.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Tour the school. Talk to the teachers or observe them in action. Talk to parents of students there. Read about it on Wikipedia. Jump to conclusions based on what the building looks like. You have many ways to assess the quality of a school that don’t involve test scores!

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Hah! I was going to make an argument against censorship, or something like “if something offends you, confront that instead of trying to silence it”…I’m sure Andrew is hip.

  • SongBirdNYC

    AMEN. There are definitely sources of information out there besides test scores. Having reported on the re-zoning for over a year (albeit, I’ve taken a bit of a break lately) I will say this: It takes WORK to be the parent of a child in public school. The learning curve is steep. IMHO it behooves every parent who plans to send their child to public school to get to know their local schools before they apply to Kindergarten or universal pre-k. Not just their zoned school but the surrounding schools. Go see them, meet their Principals. Then attend a meeting or two of their District’s CEC. There parents will hear about the issues facing the entire district, not just for one school (it certainly puts things in perspective). The Superintendent attends the CEC meetings too and from them, parents will get a general sense of what the Chancellor’s policies are too. D13’s Family Advocate, Precious Walker-Jones is phenomenal and would be happy to speak with any parent that has questions. Chalkbeat’s Schoolbook is a great resource. WNYC has excellent education reporting as well.

  • AbeLincoln

    I’ll never understand DUMBO. It’s polluted, overpriced, crowded with tourists, no transportation and loud.

  • mlcraryville

    It’s elementary. Those are all subjective, tunnel views and will yield only personal stories replete with personal prejudices. Look at the records.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    “It’s elementary.”

    I like what you did there.

    If you’re buying a house or a car, do you only look at the specs on paper? If you’re using a dating app, do you propose marriage based on someone’s profile?

  • Andrew Porter

    Gosh, my comments are still all up. Do you think Disqus is run by robots? Nope, it’s people who make judgements based on the content of the comment.

    By flagging my posts, you bring attention to yourself. Ever heard of the boy who cried wolf? Or shouting “fire!” in a crowded theater?

  • Andrew Porter

    But it’s hip, trendy, “now.” OTOH, once all the Walentas plans for urban malls and shopping reach fruition, the place will be so crowded with tourists no one will want to live there.

    For example: Powerhouse Books is closing, moving to a smaller space which will just be a bookstore, after Two Trees more than doubled their rent (sound familiar?). Full details here:

    http://brokelyn.com/dumbos-powerhouse-arena-closing-june/

  • Concerned

    AP, I was joking about flagging your post. The “Dirty Hairy” quote didn’t tell you that? Oh well, Arch Stanton would have gotten the joke.

  • AbeLincoln

    That’s a shame about Powerhouse. Love their books and the space. At least they’ll still be around though. Wonder how Galapagos is doing in Detroit.

  • Lilian

    I live in DUMBO and I was actually really happy to hear that they rezoned the schools. I didn’t want to deal with the stress of overcrowding…Also, my sister is a public school teacher, and talking to her, I am pretty confident that formative years determine pretty much everything about a kids academic success. Many studies bear this out. This school struggles because it serves struggling families, not because the teachers are bad. Ultimately, I would be most disappointed in my child if she or he turned out to be a smug and unlovable douchebag. It is love which lends value to price, after all. As Steve Harvey says, if you ain’t in love, your ass is lacking. You done missed the whole ship…