Stuck Inside? Experience The City From Your Couch

Many people living in Brooklyn are currently indoors, away from the rest of the world, as they find health sanctuary in the comfort of their apartments. Undoubtedly, however, dwellers of the city will start to feel an uncomfortable cabin fever take hold of them, as they daydream about the greater outdoors and the fresh air they long to feel on their pallid faces.

Serious measures have been taken to keep the people of Brooklyn indoors, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still pursue a cultural experience from your own living room. We’ve recently discovered that libraries, museums, and parks can all be accessed via the internet. What a time to be alive!

Think The Met and The Brooklyn Museum are far out of reach? Think again! Many museums have virtual tours and access to exhibitions on their websites. You can also take a deep dive exploring the actual buildings themselves. Follow the hashtag #museumathome to catch up on the latest and greatest.

Additionally, libraries - including our very own Brooklyn Public Library - provide access to e-books, research materials, and more. Online courses are also easily accessed through their virtual portal. Who says you cant access a world of cultural knowledge from the comfort of your own couch?

Finally, if you are really searching for some outdoor time, might we suggest taking a virtual tour of Central Park? It’s absolutely possible - and kind of fascinating if we’re being honest. Furthermore, you can access all the major city sites by watching videos produced by 92Y. They tour you around the streets of New York giving you a vast amount of insight on landmarks you may or may not have heard of.

So, for the remainder of your quarantine, try giving these ideas a whirl! It may not be the outdoor experience you’ve been looking for, but it just may be enough to keep you going.

Let’s Talk About Greenpoint

In NYC, each neighborhood holds something that is uniquely different from the other. Be it a cultural vibe or array of eclectic food options - a neighborhood in Brooklyn can have you feeling as if you’re in an entirely different city. This is something that, time and time again, keeps us in awe. There is something for everyone in New York City, and when we visit Greenpoint we experience that feeling even more.

Greenpoint, on the surface, is a charming neighborhood with quirky shops and bars lining its streets. From delicious Polish restaurants to music venues that feature new and exciting indie bands - Greenpoint is never lacking. 

But beyond its appealing hub of rich and diverse boutiques and eateries exists a neighborhood celebrated for its preservation of the past. 

Located near the soothing waterfront, places like Acme Smoked Fish, a marketplace whose history dates back to the early 1900s, are necessary commodities in the neighborhood.

There is hardly a need for any sort of mega chain coffee company when you have Peter Pan’s Donuts, a storefront that has been around since the mid fifties.  Producing delicious pastries and roasted coffee, its checkered floors and cash only policy harkens back to older times.

Find the remnants of the Huron Street Bath Houses, with its neoclassical  architecture designed to appear as if it existed back in Roman times. Other notable buildings include a 1920s movie theater, turned pharmacy, which maintains its same box seats and ornamented dome.

Finally, we encourage those visiting Greenpoint to stop in at Film Noir Cinema and watch some classic films that will undoubtedly make you feel as though you have truly emerged yourself into another century. 

The best thing about Greenpoint is the community that celebrates its history. It’s a must see on your itinerary. 

Scammer Beware: Don't Let Fake Ads Happen To You

It’s a sad but true fact that more than few Brooklyn dwellers fall victim to craigslist ads boasting of low priced apartments with seemingly “too good to be true” rental propositions. If you’re looking at an ad for a one bedroom apartment in Greenpoint with a dishwasher for 1200 dollars a month - you’re probably staring a scam right in the face. We like our clients to be informed about what they want, optimistic about the outcome, but ultimately realistic about their budgets and credit scores. 

Avoid the Bait and Switch method with phony ads that seem to be independently produced. If a company logo isn’t on any picture, or a working office number isn’t provided, you may want to rethink the legitimacy of the ad. Many rental scam artists across the internet disguise themselves as brokers usually seeking one thing: a non refundable application or deposit fee, after which they vanish forever into the depths of the unknown internet.

We recommend fact checking any ads you run across, because if it seems too good to be true - it probably is. If an apartment has been vacant for awhile, you should ask yourself why. 

Familiarize yourself with typical rental data in your desired neighborhood and stay informed to what a fair price may be. If the price is suspiciously low, it’s reasonable to believe that more than a few details have been falsified.

At StayBK, we recommend having your apartment search personally tailored for you by in-house professionals. Having a real estate agent you trust can go a long way! We encourage clients to call or email our office, or any reputable office for that matter, and find your ideal apartment through an agency with current listings on the market. Maintaining a positive relationship with your rental agency will definitely serve its purpose. 

Brooklyn’s Best kept Valentine Secrets

Maybe it’s just us, but we’ve never been wine and dine kind of people. In fact, the pressure that comes with Valentine’s Day has never really been our idea of romance. We like special, but love subtle and cheap even more. Lucky for people like us, Brooklyn is a never ending haven for spots like these. 

Avoid the crowds by finding yourself tucked away in the darkest corner of Freddy’s Bar enjoying true romance with your partner and a basket of tots. Impress your date by telling them the rich history behind the bar, and its evolution from the prohibition years. Freddy’s Valentine event goes on until 3 AM. No tickets required!

EastVille Comedy Club is celebrating V-Day with their 80's & 90's Mixtape Party. With a no drink minimum, Eastville is pouring out half-off drinks on Friday. Enjoy the ambience and, most importantly, the jams of the late 80s and 90s all night long.

Friends and Lovers Bar in Brooklyn also turns out a stellar night. They’re hosting MATCH GAME NYC which is proclaimed to be “the funnest & funniest game show in the five boroughs!” Enjoy drinks and a Mad-Lib-esque participatory game night that is sure to leave you actually enjoying Valentine’s Day this year.

“Matchgame NYC is the funnest & funniest game show in the five boroughs!”

— Yelp Customer

Star Barr also rolls out some good times with their Valentine's Day: Ecosystem of Love party. Enjoy a delightful happy hour with awesome ice breaker games for meeting new people. Finally, when you’re good and drunk enough, karaoke through the night and wind down with a Caribbean Dance Party??! Yes, you read that correctly. A frickin’ CARIBBEAN DANCE PARTY. We’re so down.

Finally, you’ll need to re-cooperate after a rambunctious evening, so we suggest heading over to Matt Torrey's Bar on 46 Bushwick Avenue for the inaugural event of the month, Valentine’s Hangover! With great music, prizes and giveaways, this singles event won’t disappoint!

So, there ya have it! Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be tedious and disappointing. Whether you’re looking for love, taking out your date, or just wanting to have a little fun - there’s always a spot for you in Brooklyn.

The Art Of Utilizing Space in Your Brooklyn Apartment

Many may argue that one of Brooklyn’s finest features are its brownstone apartments - and they wouldn’t be wrong. In fact, many of the apartments date back to the late 1800s and hold a history that is unparalleled to other cities. With that, of course, comes certain limitations in sizing and functionality. Some apartments have been renovated, but more than a few have not.

If you’re one of the “lucky” ones to have a rustic, albeit “vintage” apartment and are currently riding the Studio/ 1 Bedroom wave - may we recommend a few adjustments to utilize your apartment’s space to its full capacity

You can definitely make room with a sofa bed, and may we recommend one like this, which includes blanket storage. If you’re the sort of person that needs a bed, maybe purchase a tall one, and use the space underneath to store your guitar cases, Ouija Boards, and juggling set. The taller your bed gets the more space you have, so consider one of these if you’re thinking about putting an entire workstation beneath you! We also love the idea of having a table to eat on, and many of them come with a pull up top that unveils extra storage.

Besides storage compartments, consider that the walls of your apartment are your best friends. Use them to add shelving units, hooks, and rail lighting. Hang pots on the space above the stove, your instruments above your mock shift studio, and your vinyls on sturdy raised racks above the vinyl player. The more wall space you use, the more floor space you’ll have.

Finally, one of the best pieces of advice we’ve gotten is to avoid clutter. Do your due diligence and remove those belongings that are unnecessary in your life. Cleanse your apartment of the additional lamp and bow-flex that you may not need/be using. While all this clearing out of tangible goods may do wonders for your apartment, you’ll find that it does even more for your soul and headspace.

A New Kind of Work Environment

In the past, a lot of my previous work environments have been cold and sterile buildings with people who keep their heads down as they fiddle with their keyboards. This one coworker’s face, I never even saw, as it seemed to be permanently blocked by a monitor.

When I started working for Stay BK, things were completely different. It was a communicative environment complete with group lunches and a collection of memes tossed back and forth via office chats. It was a laid back but oddly progressive office conducive to creating a group of agents who worked harder than you would expect in a this sort of environment.

We’ve all been raised to believe that an iron fist and mild micromanagement can get the work done, but after personally witnessing otherwise, I’m inclined to believe that a person will rise to the occasion when they are given the space to do.

At Stay BK, agents are given the opportunity to communicate with their clients on a personal level. With in house marketing, they are given all the tools to perform their responsibilities to the best of their abilities. They are also provided with transportation, if necessary.

Agents at Stay BK are here to stay because they feel supported daily in their careers. If you, or anyone you know, is interested in a career with Stay BK, hit us up! We’re always excited to add more talent to the team!

Brooklyn Bodegas: You Gotta Love 'Em

Many of us here at Stay BK hail from different parts of the world. I myself have recently moved over from what was once my home base, Los Angeles. The best thing I learned about moving to Brooklyn was how incredibly convenient the shops around you are. For instance, every other block is lined by either a laundromat, bar, or fruit stand conveniently open for ridiculously long hours each day.

Perhaps my favorite discovery, however, was the Brooklyn bodega. These small convenience stores aren’t really a thing where I come from. I never even heard the word until I arrived in the city. But they’re AWESOME.

Nothing fancy or out of the ordinary, Bodegas offer the essentials. They have that one thing you forgot to pick up during your trip to target. They have that bottle of Tylenol you need to pick up on your way to work. I can’t explain to you, reader, how much I rely on the bodega system in NY.

And there is a system. Each Bodega is pretty similar to the next, just a few blocks away from one another, carrying everything from milk, to mouse traps, to mars bars. Hungry? They have just about every kind of sandwich on the menu. Thirsty? My bodega shopkeeper has recently become a bit of a barista behind the counter as he makes his iced coffees with multiple Torani syrup blends. Want something to read? Pick up magazines dating back to 2004. The wide selection will not disappoint.

Bodegas in Brooklyn are indeed a beautiful thing.

Give Back, Brooklyn

In a time so wrought with corporate greed and abused power lies a quiet constant that may never disappear. When we, the people, seem so wrapped up with physical goods, we find that a stronger group of citizens who look beyond their smart phones is among us. I speak, of course, of the quiet force of volunteer work being done in NYC.

To our surprise, we discovered that all the major holiday volunteer spots had been filled up by New Yorkers wanting to help any way possible. Perhaps, people think that sort of thing isn’t something worth noting, but we think it is. In an age where selfishness is almost encouraged, volunteer work seems as though it would be forgotten with the times, buried in the same graveyard the typewriter and the floppy disk have been laid to rest. But it hasn’t. Instead, hard times have encourage a surplus of volunteers in 2019.

So, we ask our readers to look around Brooklyn and see it for what it is. See the beauty in it, but also see that, just like any other city, it can use a touch of humanity and compassion. With the holidays right around the corner, Stay BK feels that the best way to celebrate Brooklyn is to rise above the muddied waters of corruption and egomania, and give back to the city’s people.

Here are a few locations still looking for volunteers this holiday season!

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society

Gobble Gobble Give

Masbia

New Sanctuary Coalition

New York Cares

Brooklyn Living - Money Pit Or Mecca of Opportunity?

As we sit here listening to Uptown Funk, with our espresso from the local kolache bakery in hand, we see one renter after another walk in with that same nervous look on their face. Are they making the right decision? Is Brooklyn really the right place for them? Are the made to last in a city so rambunctious and ever-changing? The truth is, you can never really know that. Even years into the game, you’ll wonder if this city was ever meant for you. There are frequent highs and lows that you’ll experience during your days spent in Brooklyn. Some lows may be transit delays, a homeless man who gave you side eye, or an over priced lunched. It’s our experience, however, that the good often outweighs the bad. Sure, a real estate agency may be biased, but there are few of us who are actually native Brooklyn dwellers. Each one of us moved to Brooklyn looking for opportunity - a quick way to create avenues for ourselves and our families.

Brooklyn does that. It has a way of making you the strongest version of yourself. After some time, the small things don’t phase you because you’re too busy looking forward and onto the next big picture you have in your mind.

You are forced to know your neighbors and communicate like they did back in the 1950’s because you’ll find that, sometimes, you’ll need to count on other people. You’ll try new places, mainly out of convenience and intrigue, something you may not have done in another less cultural city. You’ll make connections, with people you never thought you would even connect with in the first place. It’s a city on Speed, that puts you on a fast track to becoming who you’ve always wanted to be, and that is definitely worth the price of an expensive cup of Brooklyn coffee.

Diving Through Brooklyn's Thrift

Good things come to those who thrift, and in Brooklyn - a city so rich with culture and eclectic findings - it’s not entirely impossible to walk into a thrift store and leave it with what may be the best deal you’ve ever been lucky enough to stumble upon. That is Brooklyn thrifting in a nutshell. A person can enter a place just to browse and end up rearranging their apartment to match their new thrift store purchase.

The beauty about Brooklyn apartments is that their antiquated appearances make them ideal canvases for scavenged goods from the local vintage furniture shop. Items from the late 70’s just look better in an exposed brick apartment, paired with a few modern purchases from your Red Hook’s Ikea, of course.

True story: Once we went into a small vintage shop on Star Street in Bushwick, just browsing around and looking for nothing in particular when suddenly we found what may be the most spectacular armchair. Now, in the back of our mind, we had always been looking for a chair like that, but everything on Amazon seemed overpriced and somewhat risky. Some people had loved the item - others had hated it. With such strong opinions, we never did find that chair until it literally almost fell on top of us in the mildly cramped thrift store. Seventy-five bucks later, we were kings looking at the most spectacular olive green retro arm chair sitting in the corner of our apartment.

Thrift can do that to you. A good purchase can change you and make you float on clouds for a moment. If you don’t believe us, check out these stores for yourself. We highly recommend them.

L Train Vintage

Crossroads Trading Co.

Awoke Vintage

GG’s Social Club

Chess And The Sphinx

A Commentary On Brownstones: Brooklyn's Finest Feature

As cities go, each one carries a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that makes it uniquely different from other places. New York’s boroughs are no different as each one has particular features that set it apart from the other. For most, the term ‘brownstone’ is immediately coupled with Brooklyn, and rightly so. From Park Slope to Brooklyn Heights, brownstones, dating as far back as the late 1800s, line neighborhoods. With worn stone steps leading up to large antique wood paneling that often frames an ornate door, you can’t help but feel like you’re stepping into history. The quintessential charm of Brooklyn homes is consistent, despite the never ending changes made by the artists and academics who live in the area. Storefronts and street art may change frequently, but brownstones never will.