OuterB on Queens Real Estate

Astoria
Condo: 1 bedroom/1 bath
$320,000
22-25 77th Street
Sunday August 26, 3-4pm
NY Times listing [Prudential Douglas Elliman]

Forest Hills
House: 4 bedroom/4 bath
$1,699,000
112-50 69 Avenue
Sunday August 26, 1-4pm
NY Times listing [Re/Max]

Long Island City
Condo: 3 bedroom/2 bath
$1,488,990
5SL, 509 48th avenue, #7F
Saturday August 25, 11am-2pm
Sunday August 26, 11am-2pm
NY Times listing [Halstead Property LLC]

Richmond Hill
Condo: 2 bedroom/1 bath
$375,000
Saturday August 25 Call (718) 441-1400
NY Times listing [Weichert Realtors]

Poor Joe Berger - he and his wife had their bikes stolen in Manhattan last weekend. It’s always a terrible feeling to have your bike, or any property, stolen from you. However, he did recount his great day in Queens prior to that - they explored Douglaston, had lunch in Richmond Hill. It sounded like a really nice time. And no one screwed with their bikes. It wasn’t until they hit Chelsea that their bikes disappeared. My sympathies, Mr. and Mrs. Berger.

• Urban Lesson: A Tale of 2 Bicycles [City Room]

Zipcars are starting to become an amenity at many new developments. They’re already available at CityLights in LIC. [NY Post]

“Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted this afternoon to authorize a $10 million installation of protective bollards in front of the Marine Air Terminal at La Guardia Airport.” [City Room]

Hot preservation news in Douglaston, Maspeth, and Forest Hills. [Historic Districts Council Newsstand]

The bungalows on 129th Ave. [the progressive southside]

ForestHills72 explains that it might be cheaper to buy than rent in Forest Hills. At least currently. [ForestHills72]

Grody stuff is dripping from the El in Richmond Hill [NY Times]

Bjork’s big black boat spotted in LIC this week. [Curbed]

Check out the “challenge course” at Alley Pond Park in Queens. Activities include a climbing wall and a 60-foot-high pulley called a “flying squirrel”. [NY Magazine's Daily Intelligencer]

Photo credit, Flushing Meadows Park: Meg Cotner

Should be a nice weekend for open houses - no rain in the forecast so far!

Forest Hills
House: 4 bedroom/2.5 bath
$679,000
68-27 Olcott Street
Sunday July 22, 1-4pm
NY Times listing [Re/Max]

Jackson Heights
Co-op: 1 bedroom/1bath
$345,000
Berkeley, 78th St.
Sunday July 22, 1-3pm
NY Times Listing [NY Times Web Listing]

New Hyde Park
House: 3 bedroom/1 bath
$639,000
512 North 6th Street
Saturday July 21, 1-3pm
Sunday July 22, 1-3pm
NY Times Listing [laffey.com]

Ozone Park
House: 2 bedroom/1.5 bath
$394,500
84-16 Sutter Avenue
Saturday July 21, 11am-1:30pm
NY Times Listing [Re/Max]

Richmond Hill
House: 3 bedroom/1 bath
$429,000
91-35 109th Street
Friday July 20, 5-6pm
NY Times Listing [Foxtons]

“It looks more like an A-bomb shelter from the 1950s.”

That’s the description Thomas Lucas gives John Hsu’s “dream home” in Flushing, according to an article in amNY. Flushing is one of the areas of Queens that has given rise to the McMansion, a kind of house that almost overshadows the lot it’s on. Many consider them ugly and overbearing and certainly not in the character of the surrounding neighborhood. Other parts of Queens, often referred to as “suburban” are also home to these leviathan buildings, including Bayside, Douglaston and Richmond Hill.

In places like Jamaica Estates, home of many old tudor homes and plenty of old trees, both are falling to the desires of “younger tastes”. These tastes lean toward the need for more space, which usually means tearing down an existing structure and rebuilding on almost the entire lot. Long time neighbors find this frustrating and say it’s disrespectful to the character of the neighborhood and the quality of life they are used to. There’s an awful lot of cement in these new buildings, too. They become mini heat islands, especially with the trees gone.  Frankly, I find the exurban aesthetic rather grotesque and find the exurbanization of the suburban areas of Queens - with regard to the concept of space in both home and vehicle - repulsive.

Related:
‘McMansions’ pit neighbors vs. dream homes [amNY]
Tudor Charm Loses Ground to McMansion Space [NY Times]
We’re Losing Our Capes! Part 2 [progressive southside]

Bellerose
House: 3 bedroom
$529,000
250-19 88th Road
Sunday July 15, 1-3pm
NY Times Listing [laffey.com]

Forest Hills
Co-op: 1 bedroom/1 bath
$309,000
Holland House, 73-37 Austin St., #3J
Sunday July 15, 2-4pm
NY Times Listing [FSBO]

Little Neck/Douglaston
House: 4 bedroom/4 bath
$950,000
243 Street
Sunday July 15, 1-3pm
NY Times Listing [NY Times Web Listing]

Long Island City
Condo: 2 bedroom/2 bath
$650,000
Queens Plaza, 41-26 27th Street, #5H
Sunday July 15, 1-3pm
NY Times Listing [The Developers Group]

Richmond Hill/Woodhaven
House: 4 bedroom/1 bath
$599,000
84-08 104 Street
Saturday July 14, 1-4pm and Sunday 1-4pm
NY Times Listing [NY Times Web Listing]

• Lessons from Japan (The Walk-Through)
• What the Rate Inversion Means (The Walk-Through)
• Landmark Fight Over Theater in Forest Hills (Daily News)
• City Sweeps Biz Away, Richmond Hill Firms Say (Daily News)

• Area home prices rise (Newsday)
• Deathtrap landlord finally shows his face (Daily News)
• Beep pushes old home zone (Daily News)
• Illegal Conversions and Overcrowding in Elmhurst (About.com)
• Gunfire in Rockaways Housing Project Kills 2 and Injures 2 (NY Times)

2-Family Detached House in Richmond Hill (close to Kew Gardens),     86-51 110th St Richmond Hill, NY $989,000, Open House - 5/14 and 5/15  1 - 4 pm. A two-family with a finished basement and a large third floor sounds like a gravy train for an investor able to rent out all floors.  The neighborhood is very good, close to subway and to Forest Park. Taxes are only $3,588.  For sale by  owner 917-991-9026.  See Craigslist for details.

1-Family Detached House in Bellerose. 244-26 86th Rd, Bellerose, NY, $550,000  Open House - 5/15/05, 12 - 2 pm.  Okay, it’s almost sitting on the Cross Island Parkway, but the price is decent for Bellerose these days (see more on Bellerose real estate). Taxes are $2,440.  See Craigslist for details. Okai at Crossings Realty.

4-Br One-Family House in Flushing, $349,000 (opening bid), 45-16 167th Street, Flushing, NY. Open House - April 30 and May 1, 2005, 10 am to 6 pm.  $349,000 is a great teaser of a price for a big house in a good neighborhood.  But it’s the opening bid in the auction to be held on Sunday night. See Craigslist for details.
Guess it was too-good to be true.  Listing got deleted 10 minutes after I posted about it.

1-BR Co-op in Richmond Hill. $119,000, 86-03 102nd Street Unit 2J, Richmond Hill, NY.  Open House -  5/15/2005 / 1:30 to 3 pm.  The way co-op prices are north of Forest Park this listing sounds like a bargain. Sure, there’s no LIRR, just the J subway, but the co-op is walking distance to Forest Park, a real plus.  See NY Times listing # WLBR0048379 . (Foxtons)