Monday, June 29, 2009

Listing of the Day: (Sort of?) Arthur Avenue Steal [LOCATION UPDATE]

186th between Washington and Park , 6 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, - $295,000

[UPDATE] The listing did not disclose the full location, but stated it was on 186th Street. When I clicked on the map feature of the listing it indicated the place was on 186th and Arthur Avenue (as the original post indicated). After speaking to the listing agent after a comment of rightful incredulity by resident gadfly, Greg Jost, it was confirmed that the cross street was not actually Arthur, but 4 blocks to the west at Washington Avenue. Not as desirable a location, but at least you'd be closer to Maria's Tacos and the best $5 burrito this side of Oaxaca.

BoodieDowner hearts Belmont pretty hard because of the great foodie options, proximity to the alma mater (Fordham), the Zoo, and the Botanical Garden. Houses this close to the Arthur Avenue/187th nexus of the Bronx Little Italy universe are never this cheap. I was expecting a flophouse situation with this many rooms this close to the main strip and for this price. I was pleasantly surprised by the interior shots. The house is not fancy or redone with granite, stainless steel, and gleaming hard wood floors, but it's not in need of a complete gut. In any case, here is BoogieDowner's homage to Belmont:

Belmont is an ideal hood for the foodie in all of us. There are butchers, cheese shops, fish mongers, bakeries, and fresh pasta shops up and down 187th and Arthur Avenue.

This hood is very close to the Bronx Zoo and the NY Botanical Garden for fun. Fordham University is also a neighborhood presence with tons of cultural things to offer, and lectures, and lots of goofy white kids in the neighborhood. Another added bonus from Fordham University, on top of stability, beauty and the top notch education it brings to the hood, is A-10 division one hoops.

BD Restaurant rundown: My favorite 187th restaurant is Tra Di Noi, but to be honest if you lived here you would be REQUIRED to go to Emilia's on Arthur Ave. - simply the best! And try to get a table at Mayor Bloomberg's beloved Roberto's on Crescent Ave. - very good, but in my opinion, a tad overrated. Also, for BBQ-heads, MoGridder's just opened up a few months ago in Roberto's old location (although ErLu has yet to partake). For brick oven pizza everyone raves about Zero Otto Novo, because it is owned by Roberto of the aforementioned Bloomy favorite, but ErLu prefers Antonio's, which is tucked away on Crescent Avenue. There is a whole host of other restaurants to stop at, but we can't give a review of each...take a trip up here and start eating your way through the hood.

For those who like to cook at home there's the indoor retail market, Borgatti's for ravioli, the Pasta Factory for stuffed shells and tortellini, Casa Della Mozzarella for, you guessed it, mozzarella, and Calandra's for general cheese purchases (although their Mozzarella has been reported to be sub par recently). There are also nice wine stores and great delis like Mike's in the retail market - don't mind the laminated photo of Mussolini hanging in the back - and Tino's.

Ditch some grub impoverished and expensive-ish hood like Bushwick and make an investment in Belmont.

The BX12 bus runs down Fordham Rd. to the B/D at Grand Concourse and further to the 4 at Jerome Ave. There is also a Metro-North station at the Fordham stop at Fordham Rd. and Webster Ave. that can get you in to Grand Central in 18 minutes.

FULL LISTING

~ErLu

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mozzarella from Casa Della Mozzarella and Calandra's compared by a genuine Italian. The latter is the winner! And they'll cut one in half if you're a single.

Gregory Lobo Jost said...

I was intrigued by this listing, but as the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

BD: "Houses this close to the Arthur Avenue/187th nexus of the Bronx Little Italy universe are never this cheap."

Right. There's no way a house like this would be so cheap if it was on 186th near Arthur. But looking at the pictures, there are no houses that look like this in that area. Plus, the listing says it's close to the Bx40 bus which goes across Tremont Ave, and also mentions the Bathgate neighborhood. This house is definitely not in Belmont.

This is a common tactic by real estate agents. Houses for sale near 194th Street are commonly listed as Bedford Park, just to catch attention.

Boogiedowner said...

Just got off the phone with the listing agent and this place is at 186th between Park and Washington (About 4 blocks west of Arthur Ave). The map on the listing made it seem that it was at 186th and Arthur...certainly inaccurate on the broker's map...In any case, less desirable, but still cheap...