Williamsburg

Brooklyn's hipster haven comes of age

By Cara Tabachnick | Special to amNewYork

January 4, 2007

Once a desolate waterfront littered with factories and abandoned buildings, Williamsburg became the darling of the art-school crowd lured by its relative proximity to the city and the hip night scene.

The "L" train is the thread that runs through the neighborhood, encompassing the still gritty lofts of East Williamsburg, the row house Italian section and the drag known as Bedford Avenue.

Gentrification has been slowly happening in Williamsburg since the mid 1990s, and although there are still vestiges of the once dominant Polish population, most of the residents are hipsters with carefully coiffed hair. These transplants have also crept into the mostly Latino and Hasidic South side, and Italian East Williamsburg, promising for an interesting mix.

In 2005, Williamsburg's extensive waterfront with breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline was rezoned for residential use, prompting a rash of luxury condominium buildings.

Just this past summer New York Water taxi started service from Williamsburg to the downtown Wall Street area.

Claire Stringer, 27, who moved to Williamsburg in 2001 said, "I've been living in the same apartment for four years now, and I still get a thrill from looking out my bedroom window to the skyline of Manhattan."

The Buzz

Residents are worried that the only development on the waterfront won't be just luxury condos and parks. Together with Greenpoint-Williamsburg Task Force, a coalition of 60 community groups banded together to fight the proposal to construct a 1,100 megawatt combined cycle power plant on the Greenpoint/Williamsburg East River waterfront at 1 N. 12th St.

The project will have 300-foot smokestacks and is seen as an enviromentally damaging move that could hurt plans to revive the waterfront. It was recommended last May to a key state board to reject the Williamsburg site, said Adam Perlmutter, a board member on the task force and lawyer working on the case for the past five years. They are still waiting for a decision.

"It's a very important fight for future of Greenpoint/Williamsburg," said Perlmutter. "The water edge needs to be restored for all the people of community and a having a power plant there is a major threat to future."

Real estate
Along with the plush new condos, teak floors and chrome finishes came a new real estate stratosphere. "New development is where the growth is, just few years ago there was no condo development, " said David Maundrell, president of Apts and Lofts, a real estate business catering to Williamsburg. "Now 97% of our sales are new development."

What's renting
-One-bedroom in new development from $1,800 to $3,000
-Two-bedroom in a new development $2,200 to $4000
-Three-bedroom in a new development $3,500 to $6,000
-There are still cheaper rents available in frame houses or older walk-up buildings running from $1,200 for a one-bedroom to $3,500 for a three-bedroom, Maundrell said.

What's selling
-One-bedrooms run $375,000 to $800,000
-Two-bedrooms range from $399 to $1.2 million