This photo sums up Bruno and Fritz’s personalities perfectly. I love these guys.
Sigh. Where have I been?
Busy weeks, busy weekends, endless and boring projects that aren’t much fun to document (organizing closets, packing up stuff to bring to Goodwill, scraping paint off a window, etc.). We’re also still in the process of trying to find a contractor that meets ALL of our qualifications (returns calls, shows up, does good work, cares about old houses, affordable…) so we can get started on the exterior work that desperately needs to be done. The massive amounts of rain New York has been getting lately are making it very hard to get anything done in the garden, so the deck remains unstained and the rest of the garden remains a dirt rectangle. Oh, and we also really need a junk guy to come SOON, because it’s becoming increasingly difficult to walk through our basement.
We met a couple of very nice future Newburgh-ers on Saturday! I really hope the often-frustrating buying process goes a bit more smoothly for them in the near future, and that they wind up with a great house at the end of it all. It’s so exciting to see more people moving here with the goal of restoration. Yay!
How are YOU doing? What’s the weather like where you are? I’m telling you, the constant gray/rain situation here is really bringing me down.
You can buy a great house for just about any price (and in any condition) in the the City of Newburgh, but I’m a sucker for a rough & tumble bargain. These are my favorites on the market right now. Don’t let boarded-up windows scare you, either—my house looked like this just a few years ago!
Click the address links for more photos and info.
162 South St / $50,000 / 2040 SF
156 Grand St / $225,000 / 3476 SF (7 Bed, 4 Bath)
191 Gidney Ave / $249,000 / 4100 SF (9 Bed, 3 Bath)
17 S. Miller / $150,000 / 3168 SF (7 Bed, 4 Bath)
139 Lander St / $45,000 / 1452 SF (5 Bed, 2 Bath)
137 Lander St / $65,000 / 1506 SF (4 Bed, 2 Bath)
As you’ve probably heard many times over by now, we got a whole bunch of snow in the Northeast over the weekend. The Hudson Valley wasn’t hit as hard as areas north, but we did get about 10″ by the time it was done on Sunday. It was enough that we weren’t able to travel to New Jersey for Hanukkah as planned, so I instead spent the weekend trying to get as much work as possible done in the long-neglected back room. It is now my mission to have that room FINISHED (as in fully painted—including the floor—and furniture moved in) by the last day of the year.
I think I can do it, and I’m counting on the weather keeping me motivated. Don’t melt, snow!
Somehow, in between hanging cement board in the bathroom (hey, it only took us three weekends! ugh), trying to wrap up everything at work before I go on an 9-day vacation (vacation = working on the house for 8 1/2 days, and taking a 6-hour break for Christmas at my mother’s house), getting my hair cut, doing a gazillion loads of laundry, going over to friends’ houses TWICE in one weekend (that is the most active my social life has been, ever), and commuting 4 hours a day, I managed to squeeze in the time required to print and send (as in by MAIL, with actual stamps) invitations for our New Year’s party.
Since Evan and I tend to be a little hermit-ish, we decided it would be nice to invite our Newburgh friends over to our house to celebrate the new year. We’ve spent the past 3 years worrying that our house isn’t “done” enough to have people over, but enough of that!! We’re never going to finish, so we might as well let people see our doorless closets, toilet-less bathroom, and the plywood ceiling on our front porch. (I am a very selective photographer; you all don’t get to see what goes on outside of the frame.)
I’m totally exhausted. More posts soon, including haircut photos. For now, here are some puppies to tide you over.
Aren’t they just the cutest???
Filed under health, newburgh
It’s getting so cold. We’ve had a bit of snow lately, but it’s melted away. The light is changing, and standing outside on the ferry in the morning (and in the evening!) is becoming just slightly shy of unbearable. I love this time of year. Everything is blue-gray and slightly hard-edged.
How did it get to be December? What happened to the rest of the year?
p.s. If you haven’t already seen the photos of New York City that Sandra has been posting over the past week, get over to her site now and take a look. Fabulousness!
What a weekend we had in Newburgh! On Saturday, we attended the grand opening celebration for our friends’ new local food market, Moo & Oink.
We are SO EXCITED to have a place to shop for food within walking distance from our house. That Moo & Oink’s focus is on local and organic foods just adds to the pleasure! It’s across the street from our favorite restaurant, Caffé Macchiato, on Liberty Street. We’re so used to seeing empty storefronts and dilapidated buildings that it’s a little shocking (in the best possible way!) to see this revitalization taking place. A cheesecake bakery and another restaurant are opening soon, too, and we recently got a lovely art supply store…all on the same street! Newburgh just keeps chugging along, getting better and better, little by little. When we made the decision to move to Newburgh three years ago, we had no idea what would happen—this is all very, very welcome. I feel like I have a community!
I have a whole bunch of emails from people asking me about Newburgh, and it’s taking me so long to get through them all. I’m so sorry! I promise I’ll get to all of your questions soon (maybe I need to put a Newburgh FAQ on here?), but in the mean time, I thought this article from the NY Daily News might be of interest to those of you considering moving up here. (DO IT!) It gives a pretty accurate description of what the City of Newburgh is like, what we’re all about, and where we’re heading going forward.
Please note: The prices in the article tend to be on the higher end of the deals that can be found here. You can still get a great house in Newburgh for less than $200,000 (sometimes much less).
(photo from newburghonhudson.com)
Strong housing stock, picturesque waterfront help Hudson Valley’s Newburgh
BY JULIA VITULLO-MARTIN
Wednesday, October 15th 2008, 11:58 AM
Can an impoverished post-industrial city cast off its decades-long legacy of slumlords, crime and drugs while developing its waterfront and restoring its once historic neighborhoods?
The leaders of Newburgh, N.Y., a small city 70 miles north of Manhattan, are convinced it can. While at it, they also plan on drawing New York City residential pioneers looking for a more affordable lifestyle in an emerging city with a housing stock in need of some love and care.
>> Read More »
I walk past this house every day while walking the dogs, and I adore it. I love the wraparound porch, the clapboard siding, and the stained glass windows. It even has a driveway (a rarity here) and a cute, fenced-in yard. It’s a block away from the bluff that overlooks the Hudson River. Such a special house.
Oh yes, it needs work, sure—plumbing, electric, and heating to start. The interior looks like it was subjected to a really slapdash sheetrock-fest “renovation” once upon a time, but those angled ceilings make me think that there must be fabulous crown moldings hiding underneath. I’ll bet all of the window casings are under the sheetrock, too. A good plumber, a good electrician, a lot of sweat equity (OK, and maybe a really good plasterer!), and this house would be absolutely stunning.
I hope someone comes along and saves this house before it falls into total disrepair. At the moment, the roof is intact and the house still looks sound. The longer it remains vacant, though, the greater the possibility it will just rot and fade.
Yours for $95,000.
I am woefully behind on everything right now, from emails I need to write to blog reading (according to Google Reader, I have 261 posts to catch up on…) to blog writing to painting to patching to sanding to sewing to working on book covers to sleeping to breathing. I’m desperately looking for a spare day somewhere that I can use to dig myself out. I hate this feeling; it reminds me of being in school. (In a bad way.)
Little pockets of time irresponsibly spent doing things like eating ice cream are saving me from going crazy. One of my favorite things in Newburgh is Dairy Island, an old-school ice cream joint in an area that’s still comprised mostly of industrial buildings (some occupied, others not) and empty lots. It’s less than a mile from our house, but we didn’t discover it until this past summer—we were experimenting with shortcuts, and there it was.
There are disadvantages to living in a city that has fallen many years behind economically, but the upside is that there are still places like this (we have a bunch of old hot dog counters, too) hanging around. Dairy Island feels like an endangered symbol of everything that is good about America. With so much to be worried about in this country right now, it is a relief to feel a sense of patriotism and trust over something as simple as an ice cream cone.
p.s. Dairy Island somehow has access to the freshest Oreos ever. It’s like Nabisco rolls them off the production line directly into their kitchen. If you go, get vanilla soft serve with Oreos (I like it with warm butterscotch, too, but that’s optional). Trust me on this. They also have great counter people who make you feel like a regular after just one visit.
To get to my job in Manhattan, I travel 60 miles from my house in Newburgh. It’s not a short commute, but it is a pleasant one (most of the time), and I don’t need to use a car. The first part of my daily trip takes me across the Hudson River on a ferry. I get to do this on the way home, too. It’s a pretty great way to start and end the day.
Looking south, I can see Bannerman Castle off in the distance. Later, on the train, I go right past it.
This house across the street from mine just went on the market. I’ve never seen the inside, but from the outside it is amazing. I love the mansard roof! I hope someone buys it soon and takes good care of it. (And yes, houses here really are that cheap.)
Offered At: $199,000 Historic Brick Victorian just a half block from Bay View Terrace & “The Bluff” – River Views down street. This 3-level beauty in Newburgh’s Historic District retains its single family integrity – existing mantels, parquet floors, 2 full baths, bi-level front porch w/view of river down street, slate Mansard roof, backyard w/AG pool. With a few of your personal touches, this will really be a wonderful home. Walk to train, waterfront & dining. Home Warranty Included.
