Construction Maison

Samira Samii attended high school in the Rockaways, but she never thought she’d return to the seaside neighborhood to live. Then circumstances—and a love of all things surf and sand—propelled her back there this month. At the time she signed the lease on her rental in Rockaway Park, she knew that her commute to her job on the Upper West Side would be long, but nothing could prepare her for what that meant in practice. The route she settled on involves taking a shuttle bus to a ferry, then walking to the subway, and making one last transfer before arriving at her work. Read on for Samira's walkthrough of the gorgeous but extreme trip. Living in Rockaway is a little bit like coming back home . See, I heard about the apartment I’m renting—it’s the upstairs apartment in a two-family house—through my high school friend who has lived here all of her life. It’s a block and a half from the ocean. I’m a little bit of a sun worshipper and love the ocean, so I knew I’d love it here. Then th...

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — If you've ever wanted to live in the old Brooklyn home of a notorious gangster, you've got a chance to do it. The Park Slope home where Al Capone used to live is up for sale, and it will only cost you a cool $2.5 million to move in. Capone grew up in a nearby building on Garfield Place, according to realtor.com, and moved into this listing in the early 1900s. "If he had lived here today, he wouldn’t have to go into the rum-running business," listing agent Bren Salamon told Patch . That's because Capone could make some serious dough from the two rental units attached to the condo, which could bring in a pretty penny in 2017 Park Slope . Anyone who moves in, though, won't be looking at any old relics of Brooklyn gone by. The home, as many are in the borough these days, was completely renovated by an investor about a year ago. The main townhouse is 2, 980 square feet spread over two levels. Along with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, t...

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — If you've ever wanted to live in the old Brooklyn home of a notorious gangster, you've got a chance to do it. The Park Slope home where Al Capone used to live is up for sale, and it will only cost you a cool $2.5 million to move in. Capone grew up in a nearby building on Garfield Place, according to realtor.com, and moved into this listing in the early 1900s. "If he had lived here today, he wouldn’t have to go into the rum-running business," listing agent Bren Salamon told Patch . That's because Capone could make some serious dough from the two rental units attached to the condo, which could bring in a pretty penny in 2017 Park Slope . Anyone who moves in, though, won't be looking at any old relics of Brooklyn gone by. The home, as many are in the borough these days, was completely renovated by an investor about a year ago. The main townhouse is 2, 980 square feet spread over two levels. Along with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, t...

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — If you've ever wanted to live in the old Brooklyn home of a notorious gangster, you've got a chance to do it. The Park Slope home where Al Capone used to live is up for sale, and it will only cost you a cool $2.5 million to move in. Capone grew up in a nearby building on Garfield Place, according to realtor.com, and moved into this listing in the early 1900s. "If he had lived here today, he wouldn’t have to go into the rum-running business," listing agent Bren Salamon told Patch . That's because Capone could make some serious dough from the two rental units attached to the condo, which could bring in a pretty penny in 2017 Park Slope . Anyone who moves in, though, won't be looking at any old relics of Brooklyn gone by. The home, as many are in the borough these days, was completely renovated by an investor about a year ago. The main townhouse is 2, 980 square feet spread over two levels. Along with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, t...

There comes a time for most San Diego couples when they get sick of renting and, for the Whites, it came around the 40th birthday mark . Shawna White, 40, spent countless hours researching a place she and her husband Nathan, 39, could afford that wouldn’t break the bank. In addition to getting away from the region’s explosive rent hikes , they saw a home as an investment. Eventually, the Navy couple landed in Otay Ranch on the eastern fringes of the county near the border with Mexico. They bought a new 1,504-square-foot townhouse for $378,000, around $200,000 less than what something similar would have cost them closer to downtown. “We were able to buy something new instead of an older home with issues,” she said. “This was a good buy.” More and more new homeowners are being drawn to Otay Ranch, the largest residential development in San Diego County history at 25,000 acres. After being hit hard in the housing crisis , it has reemerged as a viable option for homeownership in a cou...