Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Balcony problems in NY's tall buildings

Another new building goes up with little balconies sticking out that look unconvincing as to how much weight they will support...

 Restoring balconies on an older building in East Midtown...

 There have been numerous reports, and another fatality lately, concerning faulty balconies in buildings in Manhattan//

You know, I get the feeling that nobody really wants to recognize this much as a probelm-- even though I am always seeing massive baclony renovations being done on buildings from the 60's and 70's all over Manhattan.

Let me see if anyone wants to talk about this on the internet... 

Just this, from the Real Estate Company Street Easy....as to why don't people use their balconies in NYC, few cite safety, but some of the answers are VERY funny

Why NO ONE ever uses their terrace/balcony in NYC

60 comments
about 2 years ago
Posts: 131
Member since: Aug 2010
You can scan an entire building and not see a single person on one of the balconies. (Not fire escapes, but legitimate balconies). This crosses over all times of day, days, and neighborhoods. Morning, afternoon, late afternoon, evening, night, late night. Weekends and weeknights. Midtown, UWS, UES, etc.
What is the huge missing link that I am woefully overlooking? Is there a law? Is there a sniper problem in NYC? Is it considered ghetto, or "low class" (b/c you're not spending or displaying money, or, worse yet, saving money?) Or is it undesirable b/c you aren't out meeting new people (which is why you're paying $2500/mo to live there)

about 2 years ago
Posts: 13196
Member since: Apr 2009
If we're talking about those small balconies adorning some NYC apartments, they are awfully small and often serve as storage space. Some are fortunate enough to have slightly larger outdoor space where one can grill(with restrictions), but how much time is one honestly going to spend there. Seasons, weather and a job will limit time there further. So what are we talking about.. Sunday morning coffee or the occasional evening party?

about 2 years ago
Posts: 4969
Member since: Oct 2008
I use my terrace and rooftop sporadically. Spring is the big season, weather has turned, you're excited to be out. By summer, it's kinda too hot except towards the evening, and you're often out of town. By fall, weather is good again, but you don't give a crap any more. The fact that your neighbors get annoyed at you for "wasting away" your outdoor space is icing on the cake.
Stupidly, though, neighbors who befriend me always get invited.
about 2 years ago
Posts: 4969
Member since: Oct 2008
Friggin' iPhone: "stupidly" should have been "seriously"...

about 2 years ago
Posts: 273
Member since: May 2009
We're on our terrace every day from late spring through early fall. Love it.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 321
Member since: Jan 2009
I constantly use my terrace, all seasons. Great place for guests, drinks, parties, my kid's kiddie pool, smoking... We have ~350 sq feet with a nice view.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 1600
Member since: Sep 2009
inonada, wow, iPhones are capable of Freudian slips too! Amazing!

about 2 years ago
Posts: 4969
Member since: Oct 2008
LOL, Sunday. Because of captive's chiding, this is being written from the terrace. Are you happy now, captive???

about 2 years ago
Posts: 131
Member since: Aug 2010
I can see not using your rooftop, b/c its shared space, and its weird to run into other tenants from the building. You don't want to be "that guy" who is taking advantage of all the amenities. (Ironic, eh?) I get that. Plus, its a whole explicit decision to go up there, etc. I am talking balconies right outside your living room. Even if just to step outside for a few mins, and stare at traffic. Storage is not the culprit, b/c most are clear. Size is not the issue, b/c how much space does a person take up just to sit in the fresh air for a bit, reading the paper, or checking email? They are just empty. Always. I never understood it.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 1843
Member since: Aug 2008
Funny. Lacking private outdoor space, I'm perfectly happy be "that guy" [or gal, in my case] taking advantage of all the amenities. And, when it comes to balconies, size does matter. Larger balconies often get heavily used. Small balconies are often too small to put a chair out, and thus don't count for much or get used.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 1231
Member since: Jul 2008
We have a large terrace, and use it a fair amount (kiddie pool, grill, table, chairs, kids running around, we even have a little slide on it). However, I always catch myself thinking the terrace doesn't get as much use as it "should". Too hot, or too windy, or rainy, or we have other plans, etc. In our prior apartment we didn't have outdoor space, and really craved it. Now that we have it, probably take it for granted too much. Oh well...

about 2 years ago
Posts: 705
Member since: Nov 2008
i believe it's not so much the balcony itself that's not enjoyable but the peeping neighbors literally steps in front of you (9 floors up and block wide) peeping at what you're doing in your balcony..
people like their privacy..
i remember moving into my building with no blinds.
blind contractor took 1 month to custom install, leaving me to use random boxes to cover half of my floor to ceiling windows giving the neighbors multiple orgy shows..
awkward yes, but once i got the blinds up i was able to double the number of participants in the gangbang as i was able to utilize all of the freedom brought on by my full privacy.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 2779
Member since: Feb 2008
Have breakfast on the terrace every morning. Use it during the day with the awning out to block strong sun. Definitely use it in the evenings - drinks, dinner, after dinner. It is a set back terrace - no one above, so very private.
there is definitely a difference between a terrace and a balcony (most balconies seem to be used mostly as storage space - very rarely see people out on them)

about 2 years ago
Posts: 1670
Member since: Jan 2008
We dress up as Bert and Miss Piggy and re-enact trashy erotic thrillers on ours.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 707
Member since: Jan 2010
Terraces are much better than balconies (size often bigger, feel more solid and relaxing). But a small balcony in the right conditions can be great in nice weather. Also, even if you don't use it much it is nice to feel the weather when you step on to it. But....the mega-issue in a huge number of balconies is NYC is that they are simply unpleasant due to noise from either proximity to traffic or , equally often, sound from air-processors of nearby buildings or the other units in your own building. Personally, I think the noise is the main issue....I had a nice balcony, great view of WTC in chelsea, 12th floor, unobstructructed view...but rarely used it because 8th avenue was half a block away and the sound carried right up. In BPC had a nice apartment in a courtyard with trees and a little sliver of river view -- would have been great but could hear every ptac unit in the whole quadrangle -- just gross.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 707
Member since: Jan 2010
For example, I laugh when I see those balconies in those super-duper condos on the west side highway -- i couldn't think of anything less relaxing than hanging out on top of a freeway.....

about 2 years ago
Posts: 128
Member since: Jan 2009
The amazing thing is that even balconies with spectacular views, like those on the buildings along the promenade in brooklyn heights, go unused most of the time. And those owners paid a huge premium for that view.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 3273
Member since: Jan 2006
I agree, terraces are way more functional, valuable than 5 x 8 balconies..I used my terrace 12 months out of the year..loved it loved it loved it...i can understand not many people using a balcony, or using it for plants, storage, smoking, or the occasional drink outside. In general, I see so many balconies unused..but a huge terrace? How do you NOT use it
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/520482-condo-245-east-93rd-street-yorkville-new-york

about 2 years ago
Posts: 1387
Member since: Mar 2008
I use my terrace. Small 5x8 balconies are useless, but I eat breakfast on my terrace in warm weather, lie in the sun with a book and cold juice on hot days, fall asleep under a blanket when it cools off. Size matters.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 13196
Member since: Apr 2009
I agree once a Terrace encompasses more than 300 square feet it begins to add utility, but in a good building and in a good neighborhood it costs via added r.e. tax , cc & higher purchase price. When one opts for a property with a usable terrace are they making sacrifices in other areas(neighborhood,view,# of bedrooms.. Not everyone is indifferent to cost.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 131
Member since: Aug 2010
I guess I was referring to balconies. Got any pictures of the types of terraces you're referring to? Do you mean something like this? http://nycsapartments.com/ny-apartment-images/apartment-olivia-in-manhattan-terrace-in-nyc!_2203.html
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about 2 years ago
Posts: 1387
Member since: Mar 2008
the one you put a link to is a nice place to chat on the cellphone, maybe sipping java - people do use these things, but you're right, at any given moment you can look at any highrise and see them all unused

about 2 years ago
Posts: 271
Member since: Sep 2006
My girlfriend used our balcony all the time (when we had one). I never used it, though. Depends on the person.
In my current building, we have a roof deck that lots of people use (it's only a 25 unit building, but owners have a key to the roof, which is roughly 13 or 14 units). We even have our board meetings up there in the summer.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 131
Member since: Aug 2010
Broadwayron, that's a clever way to weed out the riff-raff renters. Like a micro-country club. Outstanding.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 630
Member since: Apr 2009
Our balcony is all of 4 x 9. We have a cafe table that can seat two comfortably and squeeze three for dinner or four for breakfast/drinks. We also have a small tree, two window boxes mounted on the railing (one with an herb garden), two more windowboxes mounted on the walls, a small fountain, plus five or six potted plants. Not a day goes by when I'm not out there. Granted, our balcony is rear-facing and quiet.
When evaluating our place against comparables, the appraiser assigned $15,000 in extra value to the balcony. To me (green thumb), it was worth far more than that; to the previous owner, it was probably worth nothing since the existing planters were filled with nothing but cigarette butts.
Now if we can only annex the 400-500 s.f. of empty roof space above our unit....

about 2 years ago
Posts: 315
Member since: Apr 2008
captive914, NO ONE? It's like a fake trend that The Times is so fond of creating. "Everyone" is running in purple shoes now!
Seriously though, my terrace is my sanctuary. The plants, the sun, the quiet, the air. Watching the planes in the sky and the hawks gliding really takes the edge off things. I use the terrace all year long, even in the winter, bundling up for coffee with a smoke.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 29
Member since: Aug 2008
The balconies you see are usually facing busy streets, the ones that are used are the ones facing the back-quieter and cleaner air.
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about 2 years ago
Posts: 12649
Member since: Feb 2008
I was out there yesterday afternoon having a nice cup of freshly brewed coffee, thanking my lucky stars that I didn't live in Long Island City.
Anybody else?
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about 2 years ago
Posts: 1219
Member since: Jan 2008
Once you get above a certain floor height, its just too windy most of the time to enjoy yourself out there.

about 2 years ago
Posts: 12649
Member since: Feb 2008
Depends, printer: 8th Ave. balcony tends to be windy, 52nd Street balcony is calm.
Too bad I live in a crappy rental, eh, LICC?
HAHAHAHAHAHA!

about 2 years ago
Posts: 29
Member since: Apr 2009
how about using the balcony as storage space? nyc people always need more storage space.... does anyone have any suggestions on how to make over a balcony as useable storage space?

about 2 years ago
Posts: 12649
Member since: Feb 2008
"does anyone have any suggestions on how to make over a balcony as useable storage space?"
Move it to Long Island City.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
at

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