Neighborhood Info & Reviews | This Braswellian Life

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Grand Schezuan Chelsea (AKA Chelsea Chinese Restaurant) – Cheap in all ways, but tasty

November 9, 2012

On a sunny and cool day in November, I was craving some hot spicy soup as I biked through Chelsea. Not interested in a quick salt fix if the ramen variety, I pulled up to Chelsea Chinese Restaurant at 229 9th ave. Funny, it its technically Grand Sichuan 24 Inc that runs the joint, but […]

StreetEasy New Development Report for July

August 15, 2012

I’ve already contacted StreetEasy regarding their incorrect ‘Notables’ section (the summary repeated in the email that goes out and the PDF), but the StreetEasy new development report shows reduced inventory (18% down year over year) and increased contracts (up 7.7% not down 32.8% like what they say in the summary). This is a recipe for […]

Great Starter 1BR in the East Village (Alphabet)

January 18, 2012

Corcoran Co-worker Zahra Joudi’s new exclusive in Alphabet City would make a great first 1BR in NYC. The area continues to appreciate as more services move into the area, something that stalled for a bit during the recent downturn. As a former resdent of the area, I greatly approve of the Alphabet (I, Grant, lived on […]

An Ode to the 5 Most Expensive Rentals in Chelsea

February 8, 2011

Originally posted by Grant Braswell on NearSay.com Twas the dawn of ’11, and all through Manhattan, Tenants had hopes rents would fall or be flattened. But buyers were watching the market with care, Fingers crossed that a housing dip would shortly be there. So the sales volume shrank along with rent inventory, Which makes for a […]

One Best and One Worst Asian Restaurants After 1 Year

November 23, 2010

article and restaurant opinions by Grant Braswell I can never seem to eat enough asian food. Be it Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian or other, the spices and flavor combinations of the west almost always please my palate. Sure, a lot of times the food is not as authentic to the region as it could be, but most […]

Moving on Up! Harlem Continues to Attract Investment, Conflicted Feelings

November 1, 2010

Clients and people we meet off the street are constantly asking where to find the next Alphabet City, the next Williamsburg (that hopefully wont stagnate). Those who are thinking more longterm want to find the next good investment, and who could blame them. Our own team has good personal experience with this type of foresight as […]

Push Continues for the No. 7 Line Extension

October 27, 2010

As a Crains NY article discusses, Developers such as the Silverstein Group and Durst Fetner, various construction companies and the city of New York have pooled together $750,000 to apply for a $3,000,000 grant from the TIGER II Discretionary Grant Program, an offshoot of the national Department of Transportation. TIGER II has $660M to hand […]

Intermix Hosts HelpUsAdopt.Org Fundraiser in the UES

October 14, 2010

From Grant Braswell on NearSay.com Last night a sleek and successful charity event for HelpUsAdopt.Org graced Intermix on Madison at East 78th street. The stylish clothing store for women opened their doors and provided event-goers with a space to gather. They also generously gave people a 15% discount for anything purchased during the event. Men and women alike […]

Getting Around NYC – Get NYCMate for your Smart Phone

October 1, 2010

The other day I (Grant) was discussing with a friend the importance of the live mapping feature in Google Maps for when I first moved here about a year ago. Upon getting my 1st smart phone the day I moved here, I had a quick leg up in learning the city’s ins and outs and maximizing […]

‘Gracefully’, Your Alphabet City Gourmet Grocery and Deli

August 9, 2010

Located at 28 Avenue A (between east 2nd and east 3rd streets), Gracefully is a one stop shop for high quality goods – that is if you have already done your primary shopping. It is expensive, but you can find better produce than down the block at Key Foods. Really though, Gracefully’s best attribute is […]