I lived over 30 years in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. Though it’s not a place I choose to live now, Queens will always have a special place in my heart. Even now, five years after moving away from New York, I still visit often and keep up by reading Queens blogs.

When I was growing up, the trend was to buy up houses and knock them down to be replaced by apartment buildings and multiple family houses. My area of Queens was the city’s melting pot and more families moved in each month. I couldn’t believe it when developers turned the Colonial next door to my grandmother’s house into a four family home and built a three family apartment building in the driveway.

The house with the arrow is the house I grew up in, my grandmother’s house. The house with two dots was built into the driveway of the white house to the left of it. And to the left of that, with two dots on the roof, is the two family house where I rented an apartment for 15 years.

Now there’s a different trend. Charming old homes are being torn down to be replaced by McMansions. Since space is limited many of the structures are rather narrow, like this:

And this:

Here’s my problem with McMansions. I understand when homeowners want to build on or increase their curb appeal. I don’t even mind McMansions so much. They can’t hold a candle to my mother’s 119 year old Victorian but some of them have charm in a mass-produced cookie cutter sort of way.

Queens is one of “The Boroughs.” Many of us chose to live in the boroughs because it was cheaper than the Manhattan where a one room studio averages about $2500 per month and apartments sell for millions.

With developers tearing down affordable 3 and 4 bedroom homes and building huge, and I mean huge, multi-million dollar homes, only the rich will be able to afford to live in Queens anymore.

Certainly the average Joe couldn’t afford this home:

Or this one:

And especially not this one:

Goodbye Queens. I’m so glad I grew up in the 70’s when all the families on 50th Avenue knew each other and the houses warm, comfortable and quaint.

Please visit Deborah Ng’s other blogs: Freelance Writing Jobs, Simply Thrifty and Celebrity Cowboy.

[Images via Queebs Reborn: For Better or For Worse.]

Post from: Blisstree

Queens McMansions: Making Life Less Affordable in ‘The Boroughs’

Well, the Home & Dining Channel here at b5media has two new amazing blogs for those of you who jump for joy come Oktoberfest, dream of being married at a vineyard, or maybe even like a little wine with breakfast.

Our two newest blogs, Behind the Vines and Brew Ha Ha will cover all that and so much more.

I’m more of a coffee girl myself but still, in honor of the new blogs I did think I might try and bring a little drunken pleasure to Offbeat today. But you know; I used up my one and only alcohol shaped building back on Labor Day. With that in mind I thought I’d be serious for once and address the very real issues of alcohol and judgment.

It’s well know that we should not drink and drive (right folks) but a lesser known fact is that one should not drink and plan architectural projects. You could end up with ideas like this…

Or this…

Or this!

You might even go smack crazy and decide that building rows and rows of look-alike McMansions will make all your dreams come true.

I just love big old land grubbing homes… Let’s take a closer look. This one is awesome!

Yup alcohol enhanced… I can tell.

So, if you promise to drink wisely and think before you build than go ahead and visit Behind the Vines and Brew Ha Ha. Both are smart, interesting, and nicely free of bad architectural ideas — all stellar qualities in a blog.

The love me disclaimer: Before you get on here and yell or try to argue the merits of say, the former PLOT architects let me just point out that I in fact love almost all structures and ideas including other PLOT items. I even love structures made of poop, cartoons, and spam. These building above simply rub me the wrong way. Sorry my opinion. I know there’s stuff you don’t like.

On the other hand, if you feel like leaving a comment that says I suck for hating cookie cutter McMansions by all means feel free — we both know I’m right anyhow.

Post from: Blisstree

Got Alcohol?