Brian Elgart In Eagle

Brooklyn Heights Has Many Enhanced Nooks & Crannies
How much value do prospective renters or purchasers put on light and air – access to some sunshine to keep the back of a building from feeling cave-like and breezes to reduce the need for air-conditioning, at least a little?
This is a question with even deeper meaning when asked in Brooklyn Heights, a neighborhood of historic – and supremely pricey – real estate, and a center of high contrasts on the subject.
The Heights attracts die-hard preservationists who want to protect every sliver of light and air and maintain the 19th Century scale that prevails in much of the neighborhood, which in 1965 was the first in the city to receive a Historic District designation. Because of stratospheric property values, the Heights also attracts die-hard developers who want to build out to the fullest extent allowed by law – finding opportunities are easiest to seize on blocks outside the land-marked district.
When the moment comes for money to change hands, will the Brooklyn Heights renter or buyer pay more if additional light and air are part of the deal?
“You can't put a number on it,” landlord Brian Elgart said of the bird's-eye view that the back-of-the building flats at 148 Willow St. have of somebody else's private garden. “But it's an easier sell when you're renting these apartments.”
The garden, which belongs to co-op building 1 Pierrepont St., is a grassy expanse with shade trees that stretches to Columbia Heights and is visible from that street behind a fence and shrubs.
Brooklyn Heights rentals are in hot demand with or without a garden view – but for prospective tenants of 148 Willow, “if it's a choice between an apartment in my building or another apartment, it's mine first,” Elgart told Eye on Real Estate.
“We have light – light is what it's all about,” he said. “For the rear apartments it gives tenants a better quality of life than staring at the backs of buildings.”
All the rear apartments in the five-floor walk-up have access to a deck or a balcony, he said.
When Elgart was in the market to purchase property in 1999, the 1 Pierrepont garden was a factor in his deciding to buy 148 Willow.
“I was impressed by it,” he said of the grassy refuge. “It's very rare to have something like this. It's pretty special.”

To read more please see:
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/what-price-light-air-neighboring-lot-2013-07-24-120000