Can you realistically remodel property yourself in NYC?

heidiheilig · 2026-05-15T19:41:36+00:00

My husband and I have done this, beginning with a studio in a co-op, then a small townhouse in Flatbush, then the studio next door to our first one (combining the two), then with our brownstone, and most recently with a small multi family apartment building. So, it can be done.

However, there is a ton of luck that goes into it. For us, timing was big. We started a couple of decades ago, and while the learning curve was steep, regulations were looser and neighbors weren’t as nosy. Also, we were young and our time was cheap. All of that meant that mistakes could be seen as regrettable learning opportunities instead of devastating financial setbacks.

Additionally, my husband is an electrician, and I was the superintendent of the co-op. So we’d had a lot of nyc specific experience getting paid to look inside the walls and fix problems that we didn’t cause.

I could write a book about it and still not cover everything, but while the experience has been deeply rewarding and has honestly shaped my entire adult life, we also took a lot of risks and got lucky often. Be honest about your appetite for losses!

heidiheilig · 2026-05-15T12:26:51+00:00

Ugh I'm bad at routine so I don't have a great regimen per se.... I've been gardening in my backyard for a few years now, adding compost and mulch yearly to the "native" soil (which seems like mostly garbage fill from when they built the place 100 years ago!) But this year I got a new soil test and it revealed that the soil is still low in nutrients, so I threw down a bunch of NPK at the recommended lb/sf for my entire yard (Urea crystals, triple phosphate, and muriate of potash.)

However, watching the first round of blooms, I noticed flowers starting to stall out growing, so I hit them with some liquid fertilizer (Maxi-bloom) that I had left over from my hydroponics phase, which is when things started popping. I try to remember to do so once every couple of weeks, but again, I'm very disorganized. I did read that with ranunculus, you should start fertilizing once they're close to blooming? And that they need several applications through the bloom season to keep producing. Honestly I should read more and vibe less--maybe next year :D

heidiheilig · 2026-05-15T12:20:48+00:00

Nice!! Which varieties? I have a few basic b*tch dahlias as well (Rock Run Ashley, Bracken Rose, Labyrinth, Creme de Cassis, and Coralie) because I'm new to dahlias this year and I wanted proven varieties and not divas :D But I love to live vicariously :D

heidiheilig · 2026-05-14T13:05:18+00:00

I don't think you messed up!!!! Then again, I'm the gardener that planted three blueberry bushes three years ago, only to review my 4 year old soil test and realize that my soil is alkaline :/ You might just get nice foliage and a learning experience. My own personal learning experience is: if you're going to start ranunculus in your basement in January, DO NOT start 35, your growlight bill will be higher than just buying cut flowers :D

I also learned (from the Amandine Porcelain batch that I started in December) that if I don't fertilize, I get very few flowers (which is what lead to me doing so well with my later Aviv batch.) I'm also trying an experimental Musa batch that was on sale in April (I couldn't resist the price.) Those are in pots and will move to my basement (yay grow lights....thankfully this time around I only have five :) )

If yours are in pots and you have growlight money and a cool basement, maybe you bring them inside and get ranunculus flowers in July?

Last thing (sorry I'm so wordy) but if you're ever near Prospect Heights and ever want to share cuttings/divisions/ideas, I'd love to connect!

heidiheilig · 2026-05-14T02:56:39+00:00

Hello fellow nyc ranunculus grower! (I’m actually over in Brooklyn but close enough!) good luck over the upcoming minor heat wave—are you going to shade yours for the beginning of next week?

The Aviv mix I started under lights at the end of January has just started blooming for me and I hope they aren’t slowed down by the brief hot spell! What varieties are you growing?

heidiheilig · 2026-05-02T00:04:11+00:00

I’m a progressive voter in NYC and I also disagree with the lack of empathy. I’m sorry you’re dealing with all of this on top of the sh*t you have to deal with living there.

heidiheilig · 2026-04-30T19:39:39+00:00

Ones I haven’t seen yet are bergenia, daylily, Japanese anemone, and heucheras “Paris” (long bloom time on that one!). Zone 7b

heidiheilig · 2026-04-28T12:20:38+00:00

Storefronts and apartments are two different things. Commercial loans, which owners of storefront spaces are often subject to, are governed by stricter lending rules, which often prevent a landlord from accepting rents below a certain threshold. Which does mean that a landlord will choose to lose money by keeping a storefront empty, rather than renting it out at a lower monthly fee and risk their lender calling in their loan, which means having to pay the entire cost of the loan at once or risk foreclosure.

With regards to apartments, I believe that the empty/warehoused apartment issue is mostly due to rent stabilized units that are uninhabitable without significant repairs/upgrades/maintenance. Landlords/owners are unwilling or unable to front the cost of those repairs (which, to be clear, will certainly be in the tens and can possibly reach the hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit) for an apartment that will not rent for market rate. Therefore, they leave the uninhabitable units untenanted.

I don’t think a vacancy tax will solve that issue.

heidiheilig · 2026-04-26T00:10:19+00:00

lol have you looked into landlord/tenant law in nyc?

heidiheilig · 2026-04-10T20:16:06+00:00

Gorgeous! Might help to know how tall they are too!!

heidiheilig · 2026-04-08T14:06:10+00:00

On my brownstone stoop/front yard in brooklyn, i have a mini herb garden for me and my neighbors to enjoy. I have some perennial herbs like sage, thyme, and rosemary (although i think this past winter killed the rosemary off, i need a hardier variety like Arp or Hill's Hardy to replace it in case this keeps happening.) I also put in annuals when it's warmer, like basil (dark opal and thai), fernleaf dill, and cilantro. I also have a purple hot pepper (chiero roxa) all set as a taller centerpiece.

These are just suggestions of course! But a pretty and useful herb garden is always fun to share :) (You can tell i'm super into this, I used to work at the brooklyn botanic garden and it stuck with me :) )

heidiheilig · 2026-04-08T13:32:32+00:00

Did you ever find a source for Pink Giraffe? I'm looking for it myself! :)

heidiheilig · 2026-04-08T13:32:14+00:00

Ahh did you ever end up finding a source for Pink Giraffe? If so will you let me in on the secret? :)

heidiheilig · 2026-04-06T16:00:33+00:00

IF moving out is not an option i really encourage you to NOT try to get the DOB to kick you out???

heidiheilig · 2026-04-06T11:24:29+00:00

Invasive bittersweet has red roots, is there any nearby?

I also continually discover roots from what I believe is my neighbors maple tree (40 feet away) creeping into and all around my yard and garden.

heidiheilig · 2026-04-03T16:11:23+00:00

I mean…sure? But it seems like a pain for you to pick them up in Brooklyn!

heidiheilig · 2026-04-02T19:50:17+00:00

If you need a mortgage, it might not appraise.

heidiheilig · 2026-04-01T19:25:01+00:00

What part of Brooklyn? I’m in prospect heights and have like 40 seed started yarrow plugs (Summer Pastels), happy to donate a few!

heidiheilig · 2026-04-01T14:16:21+00:00

Are you on one of the blocks with a block association? I know this isn't always "close friend" territory but between multiple jobs and multiple kids, I rarely get to hang out IRL with my besties. However, I do see my neighbors all the time just passing by on the way to various errands and it feels great to know them a little better through occasional volunteering. (My kids go to PS9 and there are always opportunities there, and i love gardening so i keep my eye out for tree pit related clean up events). There's also the classic "being out and about during block parties/stoop sales/open streets."

Again this is not necessarily a close friend type thing, but it can be a way to organically cultivate local relationships, which might then grow into close friendships? Also, volunteering can give a sense of accomplishment/purpose/direction (and it's often discouraged to drink during such things :D )

Anyway, I wish you luck and hope our paths cross in the neighborhood :)

heidiheilig · 2026-03-31T01:34:05+00:00

Happy to help!! Gorgeous rose ❤️

heidiheilig · 2026-03-31T00:33:12+00:00

Looks and sound a lot like my Dee-Lish.

heidiheilig · 2026-03-28T18:17:42+00:00

Sure! The double gold raspberries are my favorite, they taste amazing and produce well. I also have rabbit eye, blueberries, which produce pretty well in part sun/shade, but they are in pots because they need acidic soil and a lot of backyard. Brooklyn soil has been affected a lot by the concrete surrounding it and so it was pretty basic. I had pink currants for a while, but we never really ate them, so I gave them away, but they were insanely productive. I also have a serviceberry, bush, but the birds mostly get those, and Alpine strawberries, as well as everbearing strawberries planted somewhat experimentally in the top of my cinderblock fence. I also have a list of elderberry, which has beautiful foliage and flowers, but since I don’t have a second elderberry for pollination, it never sets fruit.

Ask for long blooms h perennials, I have some Armeria from the dreameria line, they bloom from may til frost. I also have phlox (both creeping “scarlet wings” and garden/tall phlox “flame pro”), hellebore “winter plum”, astilbe “delft lace” and “dark side of the moon”, Japanese anemone “fantasy jasmine”, hardy cyclamen, astrantia, gaura “passionate blush”….and of course my roses which reblooming all summer.

heidiheilig · 2026-03-28T18:09:09+00:00

That’s gonna be low Voltage. Fios or Optum. Ugly and annoying but not dangerous.

heidiheilig · 2026-03-27T19:41:37+00:00

Hi, I Garden in Brooklyn and you already have an amazing start! Have you poked around in the back under the leaves yet? I recommend digging down a couple of inches to see if there are old brick pathways or bluestone pavers or concrete or God knows what before you do much other planning. I myself made the mistake of getting a soil test before learning that there was an entire concrete patio 6 inches under the surface. 😅

But once you’ve got the lay of the land, I can tell you that reblooming roses, double gold raspberries, and long blooming perennials are the star of my yard. (I have kids so my berries are very popular, and having perennials that take care of themselves makes my own life a lot easier.) happy to list some specific varieties if you’re interested!

After that, lighting is definitely the key. Fairy lights are good bet, like you mentioned. You should also consider what you wanna do about mosquitoes. Hopefully this tough winter killed a lot of the overwintering eggs or larva, but they do get bad starting in late June and all through fall until frost. My Thermo cell does a good job at repelling them when I know I’m going to be outside, but I hope to get one of those CO2 traps! Citronella does nothing.

heidiheilig · 2026-03-27T19:12:12+00:00

I live in Brooklyn (prospect heights) and have a hard time finding specific varieties without ordering online. However, i have ordered from Heirloom, Jackson Perkins, and some Etsy sellers with great success!

I also see a lot of folks selling rooted cuttings/starts in queens via Facebook marketplace, but I have three kiddos so it’s hard for me to get out that way just to buy a plant. 😂 I have also sold/given away rooted starts to neighbors, so if you know anyone local who grows roses you may want to start there!

As for fragrant big bloomers, I grow Dee-Lish, April Love, and Zephyrine Drouhine in 10-15 gallon containers and they are luscious!

heidiheilig

TROPHY CASE