Community Corner
Eva Daniels: Fort Greene's Real Estate Agent
She was working in the neighborhood before it became all the rage in the realty scene.
Eva Daniels was working Fort Greene real estate before it was all the rage, putting the longtime local in the right place at the right time.
Daniels, a New Jersey native, came to New York in the late 1960s to study music and later became a music teacher. Seeking a career change, she entered real estate on a whim and moved to Fort Greene. She got her start at Century 21, working primarily in Brooklyn Heights. Determined to set out on her own, Daniels left Century 21 to start her own business in 1985.
“A lot of agents had left and started their own real estate companies and I was ready to move on, plus I was getting a little bored there and I wanted to do something different,” said Daniels. “But then a friend offered me her house to sell and I said ‘ok, how many co-ops do I have to sell to make this kind of commission?,’ and that’s what really pushed me out on my own.”
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By the time Daniels opened her storefront on Fulton Street in 1986 folks weren’t exactly clamoring to live in Fort Greene. Rising crime, abandoned buildings, vacant lots and shell houses all pointed to an area in serious decline. Daniels’ own block was surrounded by boarded up buildings and only one bar, Frank's Cocktail Lounge, supplied the nightlife scene.
“Fort Greene was pretty dangerous at that time, there was a lot going on and nobody really wanted to buy anything over here,” Daniels recalls. “But then a big change happened because places in Manhattan and other parts of downtown Brooklyn were so expensive, people said, okay, I'll look in your area."
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Soon, longtime African-American residents of Fort Greene, recognizing an opportunity, sought out Daniels to sell their property — from “suburban house to shells to homes that needed a lot of work,” she said. In the spring of 1998, Daniels knew she was on to something when she sold "a beautiful brownstone" on S. Portland Street for $555,000.
Approaching nearly 30 years in the business, Daniels now runs her company from her home.
“Because honor and integrity are very important to me I have a high referral business,” said Daniels. “I’m a hard worker and I’m very fair,” Daniels said. “Money is not number one on our list, because if you satisfy people and you do your job right, the commission is always there at the end.”
