NEW YORK CITY — Memorial Day and outdoor entertaining go hand-in-hand. Though open houses are thin this holiday weekend, here are three that feature private outdoor spaces. And if you buy now, you should be able to close in time to host a joint Labor Day/house-warming barbecue.
4901 Henry Hudson Parkway, Apt. 8D, Riverdale, Bronx
2 Bedrooms/1.5 Baths
Co-op
Approximately 1,000 square feet
$345,000
Maintenance: $1,145 per month
Open House: Sunday, May 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Lowdown: The sellers completed a gut rehab on this two-bedroom Riverdale apartment when purchasing it about 10 years ago.
“We replaced everything down to the concrete,” said owner Sheldon Reich. “The workmanship is spectacular."
Reich removed walls to open the galley kitchen and install a 9-foot-long granite peninsula with cabinets underneath. There are also two pantries, GE Profile appliances and a Fisher & Paykel dishwasher, he noted.
With no tall buildings near the Windsors Cooperative Apartments, views stretch above treetops and out to the Hudson River.
There’s “no need to worry about privacy,” Reich added.
The terrace, at about 70 square feet, has an electric grill and artificial wood flooring “that you can walk on in your bare feet.”
The doorman complex features smart-card laundry, a playground, seasonal pool, fitness center, basketball court and “a lot of green space.”
Maintenance is 50 percent tax deductible and includes all utilities — including central A/C, which provides “exceptional value.”
There's also no waiting for parking, which costs $110 per month, Reich added.
Location: Nearby Wave Hill garden and culture center “is like having a mini New York Botanical Garden in our backyard,” Reich said. Van Cortlandt Park to the east has a cross country running trail, equestrian center and public golf course.
It’s just under a quarter mile to the Riverdale/254th Street Metro North station, which also has a stop for three express buses to Manhattan. It’s about a mile to the 1 train at 242nd Street-Van Cortlandt Park.
Why put it on your open house calendar? With this "value-priced" renovated apartment, Reich said, "You get all the amenities you want from Manhattan, but just a little farther away you also get green spaces, breezes and sunsets.”
Note: Interested buyers can schedule a private showing by contact Reich at 914-819-8871.
547 Gates Ave., Apt. 1, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
2 Bedrooms/1.5 Baths
Condo
806 square feet
$475,000
Common Charges: $211 per month
Real Estate Taxes: $45 per month (abated until 2035)
Open House: Saturday, May 24, by appointment only
Lowdown: This two-bedroom in Bed-Stuy sits in a pre-war building that was redeveloped in 2009. When the seller purchased it from the sponsor, she replaced fluorescents in the kitchen with track lighting, planted the backyard and installed a Murphy bed in the second bedroom that “is a perfect use of the space,” said Jesse Temple of realtors Temple Morrow.
The “sun-flooded” open living room/kitchen area faces south and has a “lofty feel" that's "good for entertaining," Temple said.
The roughly 400-square-foot yard has planter boxes around the perimeter of the main tiled area and a walkway to a smaller tiled section.
The open house is by appointment only because the sellers have a dog and cat and want to "space out the attendance to make sure the pets do not feel intimidated by large crowds in their home,” Temple said.
Location: The building, located between Marcy and Tompkins avenues, is near multiple playgrounds and gardens and is three blocks from Herbert Von King Park, which houses a cultural arts center. Two new vintage boutiques are just over a half-mile away: Harold and Maude Vintage on Lafayette Avenue and Stellah’s Vintage Groove on Bedford Avenue.
It’s just more than half a mile to the Kingston-Throop A and C subway station or the Bedford-Nostrand G train station.
Why put it on your open house calendar? Even though you’re in a condo development, with its private outdoor space, “you feel like you’re in a house,” Temple said.
451 E. 84th St., Apt. 1, Yorkville, Manhattan
2 Bedrooms/2 Baths
Co-op
Approximately 1,200 square feet
$1.65 million
Maintenance: $1,342 per month
Open House: Sunday, May 25, noon to 3 p.m.
Lowdown: Owner Gregg Kwarta gut renovated this Yorkville duplex about 15 years ago and “stripped it to the bare brick walls and created an open, flexible floor plan,” he said.
Highlights include a heated greenhouse where “you can grow and maintain herbs year-round,” 9-foot French-door windows on the north and south exposures, a terrace next to the greenhouse, and clear plexiglass flooring in the second bedroom which “is a skylight to the bedroom downstairs,” Kwarta said.
The terrace leads to a common garden with a pond. Kwarta laid the stone and bought the furniture for that area and uses it for entertaining. “It’s almost like a private space because three of the five other owners use their units as pied-a-terres, and it’s rare to see them use the garden,” he noted.
The building — which has a new roof, lobby tiles and repointing finished on two of the three facades — features restored original cast iron work from the early 1900s. It’s also self-managed, which keeps the maintenance low. “It’s gone up only $100 since we moved in 16 years ago,” Kwarta said.
Location: There’s “very much a small neighborhood feel, with mom-and-pop shops all in the area,” Kwarta said. Dorian’s Seafood Market and Ottomanelli’s are around the corner on York Avenue.
Kwarta added that the block association is active and hosts an Oktoberfest street fair each year to raise money to maintain the plantings around the sidewalk’s trees.
It's a bit of a hike to the 4, 5 and 6 trains at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue.
Why put it on your open house calendar? “This is an apartment for all seasons,” Kwarta said. “There’s not only the garden and heated greenhouse, but also a wood-burning fireplace. There’s a space and comfort to be had at any time.”
