OuterB on Queens Real Estate

Back in May, we talked about the problems with asbestos over at Parkway Village in Kew Gardens. 9 violations were found and OSHA levied fines of $117,000. Today we heard from a resident/shareholder there, which updates the situation with good news:

There is no exposed asbestos, and tenants are at no risk of exposure.

The residents and shareholders are just as confounded over this issue as anyone.

Any building over a few decades old is going to have underground pipes insulated with asbestos, so Parkway is not unusual in this regard.

I know it can be confusing with coops, boards, management companies, and other entities, but it was the management company (which has since been let go) that was supervising the work. So just saying that Parkway Village [as reported by the Times Ledger] was responsible does not give a clear picture.

The fines are currently under litigation because it is the new management company’s position that the old management company should pay the fine since it was they, not the shareholders of Parkway, who were supervising the work.

There are 675 units in the coop. Of course the number of shares each tenant owns differs based on the size of each apartment, but still, the fine averages out to less than $200 per apartment (assuming that the fine even stands).

Thanks so much to our tipster for this update. Additionally, one of the 1 bedroom units is up for sale for the cool price of $159,900, and there’s an open house this Sunday, from 1-4pm.  I think this is a great deal and worth inquiring about.

• Open House-True Garden Apartment in Kew Gardens Hills [Craigslist]

Related:
Asbestos Violations in Kew Gardens [previously on OuterB]

Our readers have responded strongly to an earlier post, Talbot Gardens Goes Condo, Baby, in Kew Gardens. Renovations are controversial: for some, they feel that the renovations are mostly cosmetic on the 16 units… that the charm of this pre-war Kew Gardens building is being lost when the gardens get ripped out, cheap lighting fixtures get installed, and interior brick walls on the landings get plastered over. There have been complaints that the remaining tenants (which comprise 80% of this rental building) had no say in these conversion plans, too. Not to mention that the elevators have been out several times in a week. And that’s only the start to the bad feelings about this conversion!

On the other hand, some see these newly renovated units as beautiful, well-laid out, and full of natural light. Regarding the current tenants, commenter Galo says:

I was informed that the existing tenants have an opportunity to buy, or they can get an incentive to leave, or, if not, they can stay in the building.

To counter this, commenter Staying put retorts:

The ‘offer’ to tenants is 100% above market rate, when the market was high. Now, the prices are simply astronomical.

That, I can believe. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again - real estate in NYC is out of control. Everywhere.

Now, I won’t spoil the rest of it - head on over to there to get the current complete picture, according to OuterB commenters.

Talbot Gardens is at 83-09 Talbot Street in Kew Gardens.

Related:
Talbot Gardens Goes Condo, Baby, in Kew Gardens [previously on OuterB]
Talbot Gardens Condos in Kew Gardens [Website]
Hocus Pocus Manhattan Views in Kew Gardens Park Lane Condo [previously on OuterB]

The name is just “precious and wonderful” as my mother-in-law might gush. But Talbot Gardens ain’t a doo-dad sold at, er, Talbots, but a rental apartment building in Kew Gardens going luxe condo, and named for the street in Kew Gardens. The idea here is to keep the Tudor-style, but totally renovate the interiors.

The modernized residences at Talbot Gardens, which will range in size from 950-square foot one bedrooms to 1,675-square-foot four bedrooms, will boast nine-foot ceilings, wood-burning fireplaces and walnut hardwood floors. The spacious, family-size residences will also offer renovated kitchens with maple cabinets, marble countertops and stainless steel GE Profile and Bosch Appliances.

So says the press release from Rubenstein. Sounds worth a looksie in one of our fave neighborhoods, just about the only one in Queens with an indie movie theater. Units start at $500,000.

But what are those ads for Victoria’s Secrets and Sephora on the Talbot Gardens website? Looks like Prudential Douglas Elliman wants to relocate the renovate building from Kew Gardens to Forest Hills. Well, they weren’t about to bring up Kitty Genovese! Comments from Kew Gardens folks?

• Talbot Gardens Condos in Kew Gardens -Website
• Previously on OuterB - Hocus Pocus Manhattan Views in Kew Gardens Park Lane Condo

Talbot Gardens photo courtesy of Rubenstein Associates

Apologies for the light posting this week - my computer died Monday night.  But thanks to a local internet cafe and some good friends, I’ve had a little bit of computer access.  Anyway, enjoy the warmer weekend the links below!

The Cooperator is “Flushed with Pride“.

More complaints about the brutalism in Astoria.

Sunnyside residents fault city descriptions of homes.

Is the ugliest billboard in NY in Forest Hills?

A picture history of Kew Gardens.

Enjoy the nice weather and check out these open houses:

Bayside
Condo: 3 bedroom/2 bath
$659,000
15-03 Jordan Court
Saturday June 9, 1pm-3pm
Sunday June 10, 1pm-3pm
NY Times Listing [Prudential Douglas Elliman]

Forest Hills/Kew Gardens
Condo: 1 bedroom/1 bath
$349,000
The Park Lane Tower, 116-24 Grosvenor Lane, #4E
Saturday June 9, 12pm-2pm
Sunday June 10, 1pm-3pm
NY Times Listing [Park Lane]

Jackson Heights
Co-op: 3 bedroom/2 bath
$560,000
83-10 35th Ave, #3I
Sunday June 10, 1:45pm-3pm
NY Times Listing [Prudential Douglas Elliman]

St. Albans
House: 1920 3 bedroom/2 bath
$439,000
194th St
Saturday June 9, 1pm-4pm
NY Times Listing [Century 21]

Whitestone/Beechurst
House: 3 bedroom/1.5 bath
$845,000
10-10 157th Street
Sunday June 10, 2pm-4pm
NY Times Listing [NY Times Web listing]

Bad news over at Parkway Village in Kew Gardens - there have been some serious asbestos violations (9 in all), and consequently OSHA has fined the complex $117,000. As well they should - being careless with asbestos can lead to serious health problems and it is very unsafe. Last November both the FBI and the EPA came to investigate potential asbestos dumping at Parkway Village, and with regard to the asbestos remediation:

OSHA said in the release Parkway Village did not monitor the workers’ exposure levels to asbestos, did not inform them of the presence, location and quantities of asbestos, did not institute a training program and did not label material containing asbestos, resulting in $112,000 in proposed fines.

OSHA said it had also cited the co-op for an additional $5,000 for failing to provide appropriate hand, face and eye protection; respirator safety deficiencies; the absence of a hazard communication program, and failing to properly label and dispose of asbestos-contaminated material.

Abby Goldstein, the co-ops counsel, claims “the co-op board had never been informed of the results.”

Related:
Co-op fined for asbestos violations [Times Ledger]
Feds Explore Queens Asbestos Dump [Queens Tribune]
All about asbestos [EPA website]
Parkway Village in Queens [NY Times Neighborhood Report]

Time Out New York came up with a list of the 50 best blocks in NYC. LIC’s Hunters Point Historic District got a well-deserved top pick at number 4, and Forest Hills, Astoria, and Sunnyside Gardens made the cut as well. My fave of their choices, though, was the Greystones in Jackson Heights, a block of facing co-ops with limestone facades “set against an overwhelmingly red-brick backdrop.”

But just straight out shocking to me is that Douglas Manor, Ridgewood, Midland Parkway in Jamaica Estates, Rockaway Beach, Kew Gardens, and Addisleigh Park didn’t make the cut. But if it ain’t in Manhattan or Brooklyn, it’s already far off Time Out’s radar. In other words, it’s OuterB.

So what are your favorite blocks in Queens?

• Time Out NY - 50 Best Blocks

It’s a wonder what you can do with Photoshop these days, but the photo collage of the Park Lane condo in Kew Gardens with a reach-out-and-touch-it Manhattan skyline is awful.

There’s no denying that you can see Manhattan from Kew Gardens, but the view presented is more Long Island City than out on the F express in central Queens.

Park Lane is a new condo — luxury of course - in Kew Gardens. Who doesn’t build condos with granite these days? Granite slab is the Feders of the NYC real estate bubble.

The Park Lane website says pricing in the low $400,000s for a one-bedroom and low $500,000s for a two-bedroom, but the NY Times ad says $740,000 for a two-bedroom. They must have heard that Briarwood condos are getting priced at $500k for a two-bedroom.

Kew Gardens has a neat little downtown, with an indie movie theater, LIRR, F express subway, and Forest Park. Beats Briarwood hands down.

Any one got the inside scoop on Park Lane? Or seen the units?

• Open House - Park Lane Condos in Kew Gardens - 8/26/2006 / 12-2 pm, 8/27/2006 / 1-3 pm, 116-24 Grosvenor Lane, Kew Gardens, NY

• Park Lane Condo [Official site]

Two-bedroom Condo in Kew Gardens, $309,000, The Silver Towers, 125-10 Queens Blvd.#1116, Kew Gardens NY, 11415, Open House: 3/11/06, 1-4 pm. Craigslist details.

The Silver Towers is the biggest building by far in Kew Gardens. Smack on Queens Boulevard it’s across the street from Borough Hall and the courthouse, close to express subway and LIRR.

Kew Gardens is a cool neighborhood. It’s cheaper than Forest Hills, but its movie theater is better. Plus it’s right by Forest Park.

Though I’m not familiar with the buildings’ recent sales and it sound expensive (compared to nearby Briarwood), it would be a fun open house to check out. The views from the Silver Towers should be excellent of central Queens and should be clear to Manhattan on a sunny day.

The neighborhoods of Kew Gardens and Kew Gardens Hills really should be as distinct in name as they are in character. Kew Gardens has the subway, LIRR, and a great independent art-house movie theater. Kew Gardens Hills has a glorified home entertainment center passed off as a movie theater, and a long walk or bus ride to get anywhere.

Once again, this time in the NY Times, a newspaper article has confused the two neighborhoods (in a slow-day-at-the-presses story about collecting shopping carts in Kew Gardens Hills). Sure, the names are close, but the two neighborhoods don’t even touch one another.

On the real estate side of things, Kew Gardens has many pre-war and post-war co-ops, plus a solid stock of beautiful pre-war homes and plenty of crappy new ones. There are gems to be found. (And the Kitty Genovese horror story from the 1960s was an anomaly and should not deter anyone from looking.) Kew Gardens is cheaper than Forest Hills, but definitely more expensive than its other peers in central Queens.

Kew Gardens Hills, in contrast, was developed mostly after WW2, and the housing stock is inferior. However, the neighborhood’s popularity especially with Hasidic families has helped to keep prices high, considering the lack of subway.

• Kew Gardens - Map
• Kew Gardens Hills - Map