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  • Union Sq. Home Prices Hold On

    ByDon

    Comparing 3rd quarter 2007 to 3rd quarter 2008, real estate prices around here have actually done pretty well, according to the Times.

    Neighborhoods that experienced price drops include the Lower East Side and the East Village, where median prices fell 5.5 percent; and Carnegie Hill, where co-op prices decreased 7.2 percent. Median prices in Hamilton Heights and Morningside Heights dropped 30 percent, with sales decreasing to only 19 from 67 in 2007. In Washington Heights, median prices went down 6.3 percent, but the number of sales increased to 24 from 18 in 2007.

    The neighborhoods that fared the best through the third quarter included Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue from 59th to 96th Streets, where median prices went up 35 percent. In Lincoln Square, an area between 57th and 72nd Streets from Central Park West to the Hudson River that is home to high-priced apartments in 15 Central Park West and the Time Warner Center, median co-op prices went up 18.6 percent and median condo prices went up 25 percent. Prices also rose in Lenox Hill, where median co-op prices went up 19 percent; and Chelsea, where median co-op and condo prices went up about 6 percent.

    Other neighborhoods that experienced increases include Greenwich Village, where median prices for co-ops went up 3.9 percent; Union Square and the Gramercy area, where co-op prices went up 3.3 percent and condo prices went up 2.6 percent; and the Upper East Side, where median co-op prices went up 2.3 percent and condo prices went up 9.1 percent.

  • Like Waffles?

    ByDon

    The upscaling of 14th St. continues just three doors down, where Le Petit Belge has opened. Stop in for a Belgian waffle. $3.50 is a bit pricey for what’s essentially a zeppole, but they are pretty good, and who would have ever thought we’d have a takeout place on our block that features not one but six crystal chandeliers? New York magazine says: “When the waffles-to-go kiosk that Belgian expats Maor Livni and Greg Galel had planned for Logan Airport was nixed by a security-crazed fire marshal, the partners transplanted the business to Manhattan, where they’ve converted the former Tavalon tea shop into Le Petit Belge. A shrine of sorts to all things Belgian—or at least to Liège waffles, various imported chocolates, and paper cones full of mini-pancakes they call “poffys”—the shop takes a cannily ecumenical approach to New York snack food. That’s why it also serves frozen yogurt, provided by Berrywild, and rugalach made with Callebaut chocolate. And tea drinkers will still find the Tavalon line, in hot, frozen, and bubble varieties.”