#adrian thompkins

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Jana and Adrian Thompkins at BeyChella. We love talented sibling duos! (via janabthompkins)

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Bronx Beat 2.0 - Parkchester 

By The Thompkins Hunter-Green Team, Lic. R.E. Agents in our Westside Office

When one thinks of Parkchester, The Bronx, inevitably one thinks of the huge Parkchester (North and South) condominiums. With over 2,000,000 square feet of residential square footage, it is without a doubt the star of the show in this South Central Bronx neighborhood. This square footage translates into 12,271 apartments in 171 buildings! With a long–standing Macy’s (the second Macy’s in the world), a Starbucks, a Boston Market, florists, banks and easy transportation via the express 6 train, and condos under well under $200 PSF, it’s becoming a highly desired destination for home buyers. (Long-timers remember the Zaro’s Bakery, which opened in 1927 and closed in 2015.)

The boundaries for this community, north and south, are East Tremont and the Cross Bronx Expressway, respectively; east and west are bound by Castle Hill Avenue and White Plains Road. The name is derived from Park Versailles and Westchester Heights, two former neighborhoods nearby.

According to Untapped Cities, the area was originally named The Mapes Farm in 1851, after Leonard Mapes. One of his children sold off the land and additional lots were auctioned off as well. Enter MetLife. Metlife bought the land from the Roman Catholic church for $5 million, and developed the housing complex between 1939-1940. (This is why the buildings that comprise the now condominiums resemble Peter Cooper Village, which was also owned by MetLife until fairly recently.) Before the gargantuan development, the area housed the Catholic Protectory, an orphanage that stood on the former farmland.

In 1940, the new housing complex opened by MetLife. The insurance company, which had for years sold insurance to the African-American community “used those same funds to build a development that would exclude blacks and people of color” until 1968. (Welcome2theBronx “Parkchester: 75 Years Later”)

In 1974, a portion of the complex became condominiums and the remaining portion converted in 1986. Today, the complex has gained momentum as first stop for starter apartments and for budding investors. And though the complex resembles Peter Cooper Village, Parkchester is distinguished by decorative medallions above the entryway as well as classical statues. In addition, the complex includes the famous Metropolitan Oval fountain. These aesthetic details, along with upgrades by the complex, the prewar spaciousness of the units, the convenience and the price, make Parkchester a top choice for Bronx condominium buyers.

To Connect with Adrian and Shebrelle, visit their team page.

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Thoughts and opinions presented in this post are those of Adrian M. Thompkins and Shebrelle Hunter-Green and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Halstead Property, LLC.

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Bronx Beat 2.0 - Morris Heights 

By The Thompkins Hunter-Green Team, Lic. R.E. Agents in our Westside Office

In a New York Times article dated September 17, 2010, a journalist summed up Morris Heights as a neighborhood “with a troubled past and optimistic future.” Seven years later, that still holds true. Bound by Burnside Avenue to the north, the Cross Bronx to the south, Jerome Avenue and the Harlem River to the east and west, this hilly West Bronx neighborhood’s history features stunning landmark architecture with magnificent townhouses along Morris Avenue; curiously, it also claims, though controversial, to be the true birthplace of hip-hop!

The landmark townhouses have classic elements, though comparatively modest, of Victorian “free classical,” a style largely used for non-residential structures.  Still, the elements are clearly seen:  rounded facades and Moorish like entrances.  Located basically from East Tremont to East 179th street, these homes are mostly two families, three story homes with cellars—as was required by law! All this is in contrast to the predominant architecture, which includes larger tenement buildings, newly built subsidized housing, and newly built multi-family homes, and one the largest concentrations of public housing (NYCHA) in The Bronx.

And there goes that name again: Morris.  However, this Morris is not Gouveneur Morris Jr. or Sr.—but of course, it is the same family of royals who at one time owned most of The Bronx.  Later joined by brother Lewis, Richard Morris sailed from Barbados in the 1600s to purchase what would be known as the Manor of Morrisania.  By the 1900s, most of the land had been sold off.  The historic housing was built and  financed solely by two mortgage companies, one for the land and the other for construction.  In the 1800s, Strict rules in terms of stories and heights were established  in terms of what could not be built in the small area. By 1907, the IRT came to the area and the neighborhood was off and running.  Later Robert Moses, between 1948 and 1972, “rammed” the Cross Bronx Expressway through the neighborhood, destroying it according to many present day historians.  (One author asserts that Robert Moses was “insensitive, tyrannical and corrupted by power.”)

After a plague of arson and gang-related crime ravaged the area in the 1970s, the neighborhood began to be rebuilt.  This plague is explained by many as the reason that Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc, the father of Hip-Hop, later moved from 1520 Sedgwick to the South Bronx.  Both the building on Sedgwick and SoBro are considered the birthplace of the genre.  

Today, the neighborhood continues to grow, benefitting from the renewed interest in The Bronx, especially in landmark areas.  This neighborhood also includes Roberto Clemente State Park, formerly known as Harlem River Park, a 25-acre waterfront area that recently underwent a $20 million makeover.  According to the New York State website, it now offers “a multi-purpose recreation building, an Olympic-size pool complex, ball fields, basketball courts, picnic [sic} areas, playgrounds and a waterfront promenade.”

With growing infrastructure and a rich variety of homes, this neighborhood is an attractive alternative.  With a SoBro townhouse having been sold recently for over $900,000, the range of prices for current townhouse listings provides an attractive alternative.  Prices range from handyman specials around $300,000 to multi-family units for up to $600,000.  Though a few are testing the market at higher prices, the prices are lower than other homes further north.   One bedroom apartments can be bought for under $150,000.  Though not close to Manhattan from the south, it is just minutes away via the east to Upper Manhattan.

To view The Thompkins/Hunter-Green Team’s new exclusive in Clason Point, click here.

To Connect with Adrian and Shebrelle, visit their team page.

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Thoughts and opinions presented in this post are those of Adrian M. Thompkins and Shebrelle Hunter-Green and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Halstead Property, LLC.

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Bronx Beat 2.0 Crotona Park

By The Thompkins Hunter-Green Team, Lic. R.E. Agents in our Westside Office

According to The New York City, Crotona Park is “one of the most important public parks in The Bronx” for over one hundred years.  Indeed, it was listed in 2015 in the National Register of Historic Places.  For starters, Crotona Park hosts The EmblemHealth Bronx Open, part of the International Tennis Federation tournament.  Featuring the top 100 ranked players, it’s a battle for a whopping $100,000 purse.  Further, it hosts, as well, the US Tennis Association’s National Junior Doubles.

The true charm of this park is much older and natural.  The sixth largest park in The Bronx, this serene spot has a 3.3 acre lake, originally a natural pond, and 28 varieties of trees.  It was bought from Andrew Bathgate, a very familiar name in The Bronx, in 1888.  In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal work initiative for the unemployed, built the boathouse which still stands near the lake.  Under Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, a large pool was built (1936) 5 baseball diamonds, 26 handball courts and 9 playgrounds.  

Of course, the history of Crotona Park is not all nature walks—especially when it comes to real estate.  January of 1917 witnessed a rent strike.  Struggling tenants, many from the Lower East Side’s Russian community, were battered by cold weather and lack of heat and hot water. To make matters worse, tenants faced constant rent increases.  Disgruntled tenants formed the Bronx Tenants League.  After an initial defeat in court, the strikes and protests continued and grew in 1918.  Though legislation was introduced to maintain a minimum temperature in rentals and to allow rent reductions if this was not done, the bills were shut down.  Though several attorneys managed major victories for hundreds of families, it would be years before specific heat guidelines would be set in stone.

Today, the tone of real estate is considerably kinder to tenants. Recent new developments include an 8 story supportive housing facility for the homeless, several 80+ units of senior citizen housing, and a 290 unit affordable housing building along with many market rate rentals.  With HDFC coops directly facing the park, spacious multi-family homes, rapidly rising, but still quite a bargain, many Manhattanites are flocking to the hub of natural beauty.  Looking to buy?  There’s lots to do while getting to know the neighborhood.   Check Out the Sundays New York Road Runners Open Run, during the month of February.   Or check out Kids Bronx Week: Birds of Prey at the Crotona Nature Center, an event focusing on the red-tail nest. There’s plenty here to explore and love!

To Connect with Adrian and Shebrelle, visit their team page.

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Thoughts and opinions presented in this post are those of Adrian M. Thompkins and Shebrelle Hunter-Green and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Halstead Property, LLC.

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Bronx Beat 2.0 - Clason Point: A Supreme Court Justice, Sylvester Stallone & Betty Boop

By The Thompkins Hunter-Green Team, Lic. R.E. Agents in our Westside Office

Clason Point (pronounced “Clawson”) is one of many well-kept secrets in. Probably known best for being the childhood neighborhood of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Clason Point is a peninsula of several neighborhoods, including Soundview, Bronx River and Harding Park. Its boundaries are the East and Bronx Rivers, White Plains Road and Cross Bronx Expressway.  

In one of its earliest incarnations, it was known as “Snakapins” as well as “Land by the Two Waters” to its earliest settlers, Native Americans of the Siwanoy tribe, according to the NYC Parks and Recreation guide. The European influence began around 1630ish, with Dutch, English and Scottish settlers coming in to buy large swaths of land.  The English Cornell family began farming here in 1654. In 1720, Isaac Clason began to develop the area, known first as Cornell Neck and then Clason Point, though Cornell Avenue remains. The transition was not easy and led to the “Pig Wars,” which ultimately sent the Cornell family back to England. 

By the time Isaac Clason came to town and bought up 1,000 acres, Cornell Neck was in full swing as a resort and seasonal refuge for the wealthy. The twentieth century saw the area, now estates, farms and swamp land, become a day trip destination with a ferry that traveled to the area from College Point, Queens. With its amusement parks, boat docks, saloons and novelty shops, it was once known as the “Coney Island” of The Bronx. There was also access to and from downtown Manhattan via ferry and steamboat. In the 1920’s, Kane’s saloon singer, Helen Kane, a singer, coined the phrase “boo-oop-a-doop.” She became the model for the cartoon flapper, Betty Boop. (Kenneth Jackson, author of Encyclopedia of New York City, asserts that the phrase was actually coined by Cotton Club performer Baby Ester and “borrowed” by Kane.)  

The 1940s saw the first Bronx housing complex by NYCHA.  With this development, others that followed, and the construction of Bronx River and Bruckner Expressways, the area saw a dramatic increase in population.  By the 1970s, Mitchell Lama had contributed co-op development and high rise rentals to the area, adding both more population and home ownership. 

Today, one of the biggest and most sought after condo complexes is Shorehaven, a suburban style complex with a gym, a pool, a 20,000 square foot clubhouse, a riverfront esplanade looking on the East River.  Though it continues to develop, the original Shorehaven condos were developed by a group of investors including Sylvester Stallone.  With many spacious waterfront condos well under $350,000 and monthlies topping out at $300 or less, this complex is in high demand!  Add large spacious homes, many multi-family, under $600,000 and amenities present and future, like nearby Bruckner Plaza with K-Mart, Sleepy’s Rite-Aid and GNC, and you’ve got a vibrant housing market in Clason Point.

Soundview Park, the largest in The South Bronx, has been renovated with a boat launch and fishing areas, and new walkways.  With support from then borough president Fernando Ferrer, Harding Park became part of NYC Parks and Recreation, and boasted “basketball courts, play equipment with safety surfacing, spray showers arranged inside a decorative compass rose, and a contemporary pergola lined with benches.” And last year, Mayor De Blasio vowed to return ferry service to the area by 2018.  It is no wonder that demand is high and inventory is low in the neighborhood.  

To view The Thompkins/Hunter-Green Team’s new exclusive in Clason Point, click here. 

To Connect with Adrian and Shebrelle, visit their team page.

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Thoughts and opinions presented in this post are those of Adrian M. Thompkins and Shebrelle Hunter-Green and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Halstead Property, LLC.

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Bronx Beat 2.0 The Grand Concourse, the Champs-Élysées of The Bronx

By: Adrian Thompkins, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, Halstead Property Westside Office

The Grand Concourse, once known as Grand Boulevard and Concourse, has often been compared to the Champs-Élysées of The Bronx, and rightly so; it was modeled after the famed Parisian street. Originally, it stretched from Borough Hall (East 161st Street) to Van Cortlandt Park in 1909 and was later expanded South to Mott Haven in 1927.  Fueled by the 1917 opening of the IRT Jerome Avenue line, the neighborhood became an escape for upwardly mobile Manhattanites.  According to Forgotten New York,  it was "the Park Avenue of middle-class Bronx residents, and the lease to an apartment in one of its many large buildings is considered evidence of at least moderate business success."

With the population increase came construction on hundreds of apartment buildings, many still standing examples of Art Deco and Art Nouveau buildings.  The most impressive Art Deco building isn’t an apartment building, but the Loews Paradise theatre. Another is  the landmark Andrew Freeman House, an Italian palazzo masterpiece, that was originally built as a poor house for formerly wealthy aged persons.  My favorite historical building on the Concourse is the Edgar Allen Poe house, where, scholars contend, Poe wrote The Raven! 

Today, The Grand Concourse is alive and coming back in vogue while still maintaining its magnificent past.  From 153rd Street to 167th Street has been landmarked.  The Loews theater, lovingly restored,  has been leased by World Changers Church. It also hosts live performances as well.  The Andrew Freeman House is now a hotel. And Poe park, where Poe’s cottage still stands, is open to tourists!  

The Bronx General Post Office, another NYC landmark, at East 149th Street, will soon become a retail and office space building. At 425 Grand Concourse, where PS 31 once stood, plans have been filed for a 24 story, 241 unit mixed use building.  With rezoning proposals for Jerome Avenue, one block east of Grand Concourse, the newly hip Bronx Museum of the Arts, and coops along the Concourse in high demand, the future of this grand boulevard looks as bright as its past.

Connect with me over email and visit my agent website to learn more about the neighborhood, and for all of your real estate needs.

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Thoughts and opinions of The Bronx Beat are those of Adrian Thompkins and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Halstead Property, LLC.

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BRONX BEAT 2.0 - LONGWOOD THEN & NOW

By: Adrian Thompkins, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, Halstead Property Westside Office

Welcome back to Bronx Beat!  Since our last blog, so much as happened in The Bronx, particularly The South Bronx.  New structures have gone up, including a state of the art new TV studio, Silvercup North in Port Morris.   New development abounds, and older homes, especially in the landmark areas like Mott Haven, Longwood and Morris Avenue, are seeing bidding wars.  (One of my buyers made an offer after the first open house in Longwood. It was one of 14!) And I, myself, after a decade in Bedford Park, made the move to Longwood, the first subject of our new Then and Now.

Longwood, The Bronx

Why Longwood? The Mott Haven frenzy has peaked for the moment, mostly because of the lack of inventory.  So, like Harlem, the caravan of buyers has moved north in SoBro.  Like its lesser known sister, Longwood has a rich history and a cache of exquisite landmark homes.   The landmark area, still known as Pueblo de Mayaguez, is bound by Longwood and Leggett, north and south, and Fox Street and Hewitt Place, east and west.  This area was landmarked as of July 8, 1980.  In February of 1983, the majority of the one block street, Macy Place, was added to the mix; and like Mott Haven, Longwood, in its Woodstock section, has a New York Public Library, built in 1914, built with funds, like the Mott Haven Branch on Alexander Avenue, from Andrew Carnegie.

According to the Longwood Historic District Designation report, Longwood was originally a township, mostly rural, of Westchester in 1788.  After the completion of the IRT subway connecting this area the main IRT grid, the area spread its urban, residential wings. Developers swarmed in for the next three decades.

The biggest developer then was George B. Johnson, who ran a very successful real estate company out of 734 Beck Street.  Similar to many landmark areas, Longwood architecture was dominated by Warren C. Dickerson.  Unlike Mott Haven’s Alexander Avenue, with its range of Greek to Gothic revival, the historic houses of Longwood were not built over several decades, but instead between 1897- 1900. (Johnson did however design houses in Mott Haven.)  The dominant style here is neo-Renaissance and Romanesque Revival.

Today, with Longwood just one stop away from Mott Haven, Longwood residents enjoy the benefits of Mott Haven, Hunts Point and Melrose.  It has become the perfect mix of antiquity and modernity.  In addition to stunning landmark homes, it offers lots of newer homes, including two and three story condo complexes on Jackson Avenue, mid-sized to large apartment buildings, some moderate income and some free market. Many buildings follow “templates” with several aesthetics becoming quite common despite different architects and developers and different size. (Some of the most fabulous townhouses in Harlem were built with templates.)  With several large condos and cooperatives as well, there are many opportunities for home ownership.  

What I like about my neighborhood is the neighborhood “feel.” Folks walking their dogs before work, children playing in the many playgrounds, homes dressed up for Halloween, neighbors knowing and greeting each other.   The amenities are on the way if not here.  International discount supermarket giant Aldi has opened a branch on Third Avenue, in neighboring Melrose east of Longwood. Blink Fitness has opened on Saint Anns Avenue.  From July through September, Harvest Home Longwood Farmer’s Market offers flowers and house plants, baked goods and of course vegetables! Every national fast food chain is here of course, but there are plenty of great restaurants and diners as well, with prices shockingly low to many from outside the borough such as Symphony Diner on 161st and the Aurora Grill on nearby Washington.  And next year, one of my favorites, Chipotle, is moving in.  Stay tuned; more amenities and developments are on the way—and no doubt more bidding wars!

Connect with me over email and visit my agent website to learn more about the neighborhood, and for all of your real estate needs.

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Thoughts and opinions of The Bronx Beat are those of Adrian Thompkins and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Halstead Property, LLC.

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BRONX BEAT - BEDFORD PARK: THEN AND NOW

By The Thompkins Hunter-Green Team, Lic. R.E. Agents in our Westside Office

Bedford Park, my neighborhood since 2005, is a wonderful little neighborhood located in the north central section of The Bronx.  Originally farmland, like many Bronx neighborhoods, its boundaries are Kingsbridge Road on the south, Mosholu Parkway on the north, Jerome Avenue on the West, and Southern Blvd on the East, specifically, the New York Botanical Garden’s western border.  It is home to the Garden, to Lehman College, the northernmost section of the Grand Concourse.  (It was once home to the Jerome Park Race Course.)

In 1866, Leonard Jerome and August Belmont Sr. constructed the Jerome Park Race Course.  According to HPD, the race course was relocated out of the area in 1890, and the neighborhood became a real planned community based on a section of London known as Bedford.*  ( Just as the Grand Concourse, which cuts through Bedford Park, was modelled after the Champs-Elysees of Paris, France.) The 1890 date explains the trove of Victorian homes throughout the area, and the Parisian influence explains the wealth of Art Deco and Art Nouveau buildings.  In 2009, a collection of Queen Anne row houses built in 1912 on Perry Street, became landmarked.

Today, Bedford Park is a bustling neighborhood, though by no means an all night nabe.  Yet it continues to evolve.  If offers new construction like luxury rental Bedford Park Manor, which opened this year, coops, many with original Art Deco lobby details, and often with attached parking garages.  There is also still evidence of the major Victorian architectural influence despite many of these homes being insulated with aluminum.  Parks abound here and restaurants and bars do brisk business. Two neighborhood staples are across from each other.  On the northwest corner of Webster and Bedford Park Blvd is the ever popular Jolly Tinker pub, which draws a wildly diverse crowd.  On the opposite corner is the Webster Café, a great place for diner fare like burgers and fries.  Next to the Webster Café is my favorite, a small restaurant named, OK Mr. Pancho.  In addition to having a curious name, (it’s named after a movie starring a beloved comic), it has amazing quesadillas and some of the best flan I’ve ever had. And, in another example of the changing times, a new cigar lounge has opened up this summer on Bedford Park Blvd between Webster and Decatur Avenue.

To Connect with Adrian and Shebrelle, visit their team page.

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Thoughts and opinions presented in this post are those of Adrian M. Thompkins and Shebrelle Hunter-Green and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Halstead Property, LLC.