November 17, 2015 12:50 a.m.

Meet the Residents of MacDonough Street

“I remember breaking through in order to come in with a flashlight and saying, ‘Oh my God.’”

—Debra Lamb

Tap to see price history of home

Debra Lamb, 57Current Owner, Education Administrator

Lives with: Her husband and daughter

Moved from: Bed-Stuy

My father grew up around the corner. My mother grew up around the corner. My parents are still living here, on Stuyvesant Avenue, which is where I grew up — five blocks away. After my father retired from being a principal, I believe in ’89, he decided to go into real estate. He’s owned many houses in the area. Currently, I think it’s down to six. He would buy, renovate, and sell, for the most part. They were investments, so he had tenants. My father bought this house off of the city auction in 1986. This was an abandoned house. It had been cinder-blocked shut. I remember breaking through in order to come in with a flashlight and saying, “Oh my God.” But I saw that it had good bones and character, and so we brought it back to life.

There have been enormous changes to the neighborhood in recent years. Houses that were once abandoned are now being renovated, and, of course, it’s becoming more diverse. We regularly hear from developers and people interested in buying our home. It is expected because of the interest in this community now. I’m okay with that. People have traditionally used homes as investments, including my father. Everyone wants stability, of course. But at the same time, this community is changing and growing.

Alexis Lamb, 21Current Tenant, Student at Hunter College

Lives with: Her parents

Moved from: Born on the block

This is the house I grew up in. Everybody knows me as Debra’s daughter, Alvin’s daughter. They’ve known me since I was a baby.

I like the area. I hate the fact that it’s kind of far from all of my friends because most of them live in Manhattan. Most of my close friends are from high school, and I went to school in Soho. Maybe five years ago my friends never wanted to come down here. They were like, “Oh, no, something bad is going to happen.” I’m just like, “It’s not like you’re going to die. I’m still here, I’m alive.” Then when they come down here, they’re like, “Oh my God, it’s not what I expected.”

The Lambs’ house on MacDonough Street, in a tax photo from about 1940. Photo: NYC Municipal Archives / Courtesy of Debra Lamb

I remember playing skully down the block. Kids used to come by my house all the time ringing the doorbell: “Hey, is Alexis home?” Because my dad would make sure I had all these things to play with, like a pogo stick and my bike and tons of Play-Doh and Legos. My best friend used to live across the street, and he’s in L.A. now. Now it’s more just older people here. There’s not much to do.

It’s totally becoming gentrified now, which is weird, but it’s comfortable. There’s a lot more diversity on this block now. I guess that makes it better? I see a lot of people interacting more. People are just sitting on their stoop, chilling, working on their plants, and it feels more like Park Slope, except for the fact that this is a lot more diverse than Park Slope. When I was younger, I just remember it being a lot more standoffish. I’ll walk my niece out sometimes now, and they’ll try to engage in a conversation. Most of the time when I was growing up, they’d just walk straight by, so I learned growing up: Okay, I’m going to walk straight by you.

It’s good because it’s easier just to hang out around here. I feel safer just walking around the neighborhood by myself. There’s more police. But then again, everything’s starting to become more expensive. There are a lot more stores that are more expensive than it should be for a low-income neighborhood. Like, I can go to this deli on Decatur that I’ve been going to for years and buy a half-gallon of milk for $2 something. But if I wanted to go to another store farther into Stuyvesant Heights, they’re selling soy milk now and almond milk, but it’s crazy expensive. If I wanted to buy a house here, it would be impossible. The parts that aren’t too expensive aren’t parts that I really want to live in. The city is looking pretty bleak right now for people moving in. I want to get out there and explore. Just to get away from Brooklyn for a bit, I just feel so … not trapped. But I know everyone and I know everything.

I wouldn’t want [my parents] to sell this house. I could go through this house blindfolded. So losing this house, I feel like I’d lose a part of myself. I remember playing with my little toy cars over there. Or climbing up the stairs and sliding down the banister. Or if there’s something broken in the house, I know exactly what year I broke it and why I broke it and how I got in trouble for it. I think they’re going to pass it on to one of us. Hopefully, that’ll be me. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t know if I want to leave this neighborhood. I do want to leave, but I want to come back. Because I went to day care right up the street and I remember playing with my dad in the park over there and I want to show my kid “Oh, this is where I used to play. Go experience what I used to experience.”

Learn how the diversity of the block has changed over the last century.

The neighborhood has been predominately black since the 1940s. Then, from 2000 to 2010, the white population jumped from less than one percent to 5.7 percent.

Percent White

100% 0%

98.68%

99.66%

100.00%

89.62%

42.10%

6.04%

6.16%

2.88%

0.80%

1.39%

0.70%

5.70%

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

*Estimates based on available Census Bureau data.

Learn more about abandoned houses on the block.

Abandoned Homes

The late 1970s and early 1980s saw a spike in abandoned and foreclosed homes. Many were taken over by the city. One way this might happen was if a homeowner were to fall behind on property-tax payments. Then the city might foreclose on the house. In the 1970s, New York City took over huge numbers of property this way. During the Koch administration, those properties were often passed on to developers that had been given generous loans. Under Mayor Giuliani, rather than take control of the house, the city began selling tax liens to investors, who would then try to collect on the debt.

441	1982	Taken over by the city
443	1982	Taken over by the city
480	1982	Taken over by the city
494	1982	Taken over by the city
471A	1980	Mortgage-foreclosure sale; sold for $7,500
496	1979	Taken over by HUD
450	1977	Taken over by HUD
464A	1977	Taken over by HUD

Learn how to play skully.

Skully

Skully is also known as “skelly” and “skellzies.” It requires only bottle caps, chalk, a sidewalk, and one or more friends. To play, draw this board on the sidewalk, about six feet square:

There are many local variations in the rules, but generally, each player has a bottle cap, usually weighted with clay or melted wax or crayons. The player attempts to flick his cap into Box 1. (It can’t touch the lines.) If successful, or if he or she hits another player’s cap, the player gets to take a turn at the next box, then the next. If not, it’s the following player’s turn. (You can also sabotage other players through a technique called blasting, which involves hitting another player’s cap so hard that it’s knocked way down the block.) Players advance from Box 1 to Box 13 and back, then through the four trapezoids in succession, declaring in turn, on each one “I’m,” “a,” “killer,” and “diller.” Get through that sentence, and you’re a killer; you then can knock other players out of the game by hitting their pieces. Last player on the board wins.

Learn more about the new stores in the neighborhood.

The commercial strips on Malcolm X, Patchen, and Stuyvesant have gone through their own changes in recent years. While the corner bodegas like Decatur Deli and Stuyvesant Deli sell milk for about $3.50 a gallon, newer specialty groceries, like Organic Foods on Stuyvesant and Bed-Stuy Fresh & Local on Patchen, sell half-gallons of local organic, almond, and soy milk as well as fresh produce.

The owners of Bed-Stuy Fresh & Local moved to the neighborhood in 2008. When they couldn’t find a nearby grocery store selling local, organic produce, they decided to open one. Backed in part by crowdfunding, the store opened in 2013. For eating and drinking, the neighborhood’s newer establishments include Manny’s for coffee, Saranghina for Neapolitan-style Italian food, Peaches for neo-soul comfort food, and the new Casablanca for drinks.

See what recent homes have gone for on the block.

Top Ten Home Sales

6/12/2015	$1,560,000
8/7/2015	$1,550,000
5/22/2015	$1,545,000
2/6/2015	$1,410,000
9/8/2014	$1,350,000
6/23/2015	$1,100,000
7/3/2014	$900,000
5/18/2006	$755,000
9/21/2011	$750,000
5/5/2006	$725,000

Next home

Meet their neighbor Leatrice Hinnant who lives across the street.

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