We're Losing Our Capes! Part 2

Here are a couple of more examples of cape conversions. This house, located on 156th Street, just behind August Martin High School...


...used to look like the humble brick cape to its right. The house was abandoned and neglected for awhile for reasons unknown. Rather than restoring it to its original beauty, it was gut renovated and turned into a two-family.


This house is located further south on 156th St. The original cape was sold in August of last year. FOUR MONTHS later, the mini mansion was completed. There was nothing wrong with the original cape home. We recall clearly. Noticed how it stands out among the other capes.



Located right at Baisley Pond's east end (Lake View Lane & 122nd Ave), reconstruction of this home happened FAST. We don't recall seeing this a couple of weeks ago! We're not sure if this house was a cape, but there are three to the left of it.

We're Losing Our Capes!

This post is the first in a series we'll call "We're Losing Our Capes!"
Southern and Eastern Queens are filled with what we call a Queens-style cape home. They were obviously built in the 1950s and have individual charm. Some have partial brick fronts. Others have a couple of extra dormers. Regardless, they say "here's a taste of the suburban life."

Well, times have changed. The trend over the past couple of years is to take an existing home and turn it inside out. Make them bigger. Buy a one-level ranch - then build a second story to it. The biggest thing we've noticed are the ones that are taking these cape homes and turning them into small palaces. Yes, we know the home ownership rules has changed. It does benefit a homeowner when they have a two or multi-family home because having an extra tenant can help pay the mortgage. They say it also makes for a better tax break.

It's one thing to buy a plot of land and build a home up from scratch. But we're against those who strip a perfectly in-tact cape home (or any home for that matter) apart and refurbish it into a McMansion. Our motto: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Our pics for this post features a brick McMansion, located on 130th Avenue.




We don't have proof, but we're willing to be a million dollars we don't have that it used to be a Queens cape. Usually where there's one cape, there's two. You'll see the neighboring cape below.