1. Hottest
New
York
City
Neighborhoods
By
Giro
Katsimbrakis
January
14,
2014
The
New
York
luxury
market
has
been
roaring
for
awhile,
and
it’s
about
time
for
the
middle
market
to
start
seeing
the
good
times
too.
Big-­‐time
developers
are
getting
more
and
more
construction
loans,
and
recent
improvements
in
infrastructure
and
retail
access
are
driving
slowly
but
steadily
up.
The
way
things
are
looking,
it
might
be
the
perfect
time
to
start
building
your
NYC
real
estate
empire.
Here
are
the
neighborhoods
to
watch
in
the
coming
year.
Williamsburg,
Brooklyn.
The
hottest
place
on
the
planet
right
now–youngsters,
hipsters,
artists,
and
families
are
flocking
here
by
the
hundreds.
There
are
waterfront
condos,
fashionable
restaurants,
trendy
bars,
and
best
of
all,
the
neighborhood
is
still
underpriced.
You
can
get
one-­‐bedroom
in
East
Williamsburg
for
$365
thousand,
or
a
two-­‐bedroom
slightly
farther
out
for
$500
thousand.
Experts
say
properties
in
this
region
could
go
up
by
40
percent
in
value
in
just
a
year
or
so.
Long
Island
City,
Queens.
New
shops
and
restaurants
are
opening
up
on
pretty
much
a
weekly
basis
in
this
water-­‐front
neighborhood,
and
so
far
home
prices
have
remained
relatively
stable,
so
it’s
just
a
matter
of
time
before
the
numbers
skyrocket.
Studios
are
currently
going
for
as
low
as
$385
thousand,
one-­‐bedrooms
as
low
as
$410
thousand,
and
penthouse
studios
as
low
as
$560
thousand.
Battery
Park
City,
Manhattan.
Battery
Park
provides
a
greener
alternative
to
midtown
Manhattan,
with
buildings
rife
with
swimming
pools,
skylights,
sun
decks,
and
fitness
centers.
For
New
Yorkers
on
the
move
who
like
the
outdoors,
Battery
Park
offers
an
eco-­‐
friendly
response
to
city
grime.
Studios
are
currently
starting
at
$520
thousand,
while
one-­‐
bedrooms
are
as
low
as
$645
thousand.
LES,
Manhattan.
The
Lower
East
Side
has
plenty
of
bars
and
music
venues,
but
is
also
just
10
minutes
from
Wall
Street.
While
traditionally
the
turf
of
Orthodox
Jews,
Asian,
and
Latino
populations,
it’s
drawing
more
and
more
young
singles
looking
for
nightlife
and
young
couples
looking
to
start
a
family.
A
co-­‐op
with
its
own
private
playground
has
a
two-­‐
bedroom
with
a
bath
and
balcony
for
just
$439
thousand,
and
a
one-­‐bedroom
with
a
balcony
is
going
for
just
$345
thousand.
Downtown
Brooklyn.
The
new
Barclays
center
is
sure
to
drive
up
property
values
more
and
more
in
the
coming
years,
but
you
might
want
to
look
about
a
half
a
mile
away
for
the
optimum
locations.
Downtown
Brooklyn
on
one
side
and
Prospect
Heights
on
the
other

2. have
some
great,
relatively
inexpensive
buildings
and
apartments
that
would
make
a
terrific
investment
in
the
years
to
come.
Central
Harlem,
Manhattan.
Above
116th
Street,
Frederick
Douglass
Boulevard
has
morphed
into
one
of
the
most
happening
places
in
the
city,
especially
due
to
Columbia
students
and
youngsters
who
work
in
Hell’s
Kitchen
and
other
places
along
the
1/2/3.
There’s
currently
a
one-­‐bedroom
going
for
$499
thousand.
Rockaway,
Queens.
Not
all
beachfront
properties
in
New
York
City
cost
as
much
as
the
Hamptons.
Rockaway
Beach’s
Averne
by
the
Sea
has
a
twenty-­‐year
tax
abatement,
and
homes
for
around
$559
thousand,
and
one
historic
bungalow
for
$400
thousand.
Stapleton,
Staten
Island.
Economic
Development
Corp
has
paired
up
with
Ironstate
Development
Co
to
bring
a
waterfront
retail
complex,
a
newly
renovated
railway
station,
and
a
waterfront
park.
The
project
is
still
a
couple
years
away
from
being
finished,
so
surrounding
retail
and
residential
real
estate
values
static
but
will
be
on
the
rise.
Three-­‐
family
homes
for
$400
thousand,
historic
houses
for
$500
thousand,
one-­‐bedrooms
in
a
condo
with
harbor
views
for
just
over
$300
thousand.
Is
your
mouth
watering
yet?
Pelham
Parkway,
the
Bronx.
Buildings
are
selling
fast
in
this
residential
neighborhood,
where
houses
are
just
a
third
of
the
price
of
equitable
homes
in
the
other
boroughs.
Hudson
Heights,
Manhattan.
Just
a
25-­‐minute
express
ride
from
midtown,
Hudson
Heights
is
close
enough
for
convenience
but
far
enough
to
be
a
getaway
from
the
noisy
city
life.
These
days,
it’s
especially
popular
with
Broadway
artists,
couples
from
Europe,
and,
surprisingly
but
not
surprisingly,
Buddhist
monks.
Giro
Katsimbrakis
has
twenty
years
worth
of
real
estate
industry
experience.
He
began
as
a
leasing
agent
for
Kiska
Developers
in
New
York
City,
and
quickly
worked
his
way
up
the
company
ladder
to
Director
of
Sales.
After
bringing
the
company
out
of
the
red
and
expanding
its
office
to
over
twenty
agents,
he
started
his
own
commercial
and
residential
real
estate
company,
East
River
Properties.
After
taking
over
the
Las
Vegas
and
Arizona
markets,
Giro
Katsimbrakis
relocated
to
the
Dallas/Fort
Worth
area
and
founded
DPW
Properties,
which
he
is
currently
in
the
process
of
expanding
nationwide.
Throughout
his
long
and
successful
career,
Giro
has
rehabbed
over
four
hundred
properties,
and
bought
and
sold
millions
of
dollars
worth
of
real
estate.