Posted by Leonard Steinberg on March 20, 2011

For years I said the upscale Manhattan crowd would never travel ALL THE WAY to Brooklyn to live in what are arguably neighborhoods as refined and desirable as the West Village, Tribeca and the Upper East Side: I was wrong. About 3 years ago, a friend of mine (and now fellow broker) Aimee Scher moved to DUMBO. I dreaded the thought of traveling ALL THE WAY over to visit…..until of course I did so. I was wrong. It took less time to get there from my Flatiron office than it does to get to the Upper East Side. I was shocked. I’d always loved the Brooklyn neighborhoods and thought they had huge potential, but I never thought of them as being this accessible.

Flash forward, and last Fall, the owner of a recently renovated house in Brooklyn Heights invited me over to see his property on Hicks Street. Again, I dreaded the trip ALL THE WAY to Brooklyn. I left my apartment in West Chelsea and 11 minutes later I was at the front door. Un-believeable! I had been transported in a few minutes to what has to be one of New York’s most beautiful neighborhoods. I walked on gorgeous tree lined streets reminiscent of the West Village, by charming cafe’s brimming with Saturday ‘bruncher’s’ (a good-looking bunch I may add!) taking in the beautiful Fall weather.

We chatted with the owner and my fellow broker and after a tour of this magnificent house I was convinced: Brooklyn Heights has to be one of THE neighborhoods of New York, if not Manhattan. It is an area anyone wanting a strong quality of life should seriously consider. And this house that we recently listed is a prize: 25,5 feet wide, exquisitely renovated (seriously, world-class) and pretty from inside and outside with a picturesque garden too. And minutes from Manhattan. Minutes.

With pricing of similar houses in Manhattan in the teen’s, 74 Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights priced at $ 6,5million is an eye-opener. Certainly a wake-up call to me, the sometimes jaded Manhattan broker.