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“So Bad It’s Good” Launches on Brownstoner Queens


Queens has a lot of great things going for it. This architectural specimen isn’t one of them.

Categories: Architecture, Queens
By Brownstoner | 05/22/2013 1:40 PM | Comment

House of the Day: 204 Park Place



Here’s a Neo-Grec brownstone in Prospect Heights on an extra deep lot. The catch: It’s a five-family. But it will be delivered vacant, the listing promises, and some of the detail,  such as fireplaces and shutters, appears to have survived, although the floors are new. What do you think of it for $3,900,000?
204 Park Place [Donawald Realty] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Brooklyn, HOTD, Prospect Heights
By Cate | 05/22/2013 1:30 PM | Comment

Condo of the Day: 105 Lexington Avenue, #2F



This loft at 105 Lexington Avenue in Bed Stuy strikes us as a pretty good deal at a time when those are few and far between. The open-plan apartment has over 1,100 square feet with high ceilings and nice aged wood floors. And with Classon and Franklin Avenues getting more amenities by the day, the location seems like a good long-term play too. The asking price is $699,000.
105 Lexington Avenue, #2F [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Bedford Stuyvesant, Condos
By Brownstoner | 05/22/2013 12:58 PM | Comment

Rental of the Day: 320 Washington Avenue



This three-bedroom, two-bathroom rental unit comes from one of our favorite buildings in Clinton Hill, the Graham Home for Old Ladies. This condo-unit-for-rent is quite lovely, even if it might be a tad cozy. One bedroom is set up as an office and the other one pictured doesn’t look very large, although there is lot of closet space. The asking rent comes in at $3,750 a month.
320 Washington Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Clinton Hill, Rentals
By Emily | 05/22/2013 12:30 PM | Comment

Williamsburg Cinemas Commissions Mural


mural-cinemas-1-052213
We caught a few photos Friday of this mural going up on the back wall of the Williamsburg Cinemas on North 1st Street near Driggs. The artist is Frederico Massa, according to Street Art Walk. Click through for a close-up of the artist at work and a photo of the mural in its entirety. (more…)

Categories: Arts, Brooklyn
By Cate | 05/22/2013 12:00 PM | Comment

What Anthony Weiner Would Mean for Real Estate


“For every developer who has seen an investment turn into a real estate bonanza, there’s a family in a neighborhood like Sunnyside trying desperately to keep up with a rising property tax bill. For every strip of stores that celebrated the opening of a more convenient Starbucks, there’s a hardworking middle class family struggling to put their kids through college on the profits earned by a family-run business,” writes Anthony Weiner in his “Keys to the City” [PDF], a policy document that was released a few weeks before Wednesday’s announcement of his mayoral candidacy.

The term “middle class” is prevalent throughout, as it was in the 2012 presidential campaign. But campaign-speak aside, Weiner does articulate a number of specific changes through a list of 64 reforms. For transit, he supports the expansion of ferry service to serve Rockaway, Sheepshead Bay, Riverdale and Harlem. He wats cell phone service on every subway platform – probably a daunting cost for the cash-strapped MTA. He wants city tax breaks for employees who bike to work.

Weiner’s real estate proposals would likely be contentious. He wants…

(more…)

Categories: Politics, Queens, Real Estate
By Brownstoner | 05/22/2013 11:39 AM | Comment

Open and Shut



Coney Island
Nathan’s Famous has reopened! Eater found the above photo from the Nathan’s Facebook page. They say that the layout of the dining room is slightly different and Nathan’s added a new clam bar which serves oysters. In other Coney news, a Nets boutique opens tomorrow right across the street from Nathan’s. It will sell beach balls, flip-flops, visors, Nets gear, and Nets bikinis. Finally, an Applebee’s will open this summer on Surf Avenue between Stillwell Avenue and West 12th Street.

North Brooklyn
Greenpointers has a great roundup of bars, restaurants, and cafes just open and soon to open in the nabe. Oslo Coffee opened its Bedford Avenue location after a fire ripped through the space four months ago. Andrew Tarlow’s newest bar/cafe, called Achilles Heel, is now open at 180 West Street. Odd Fellows Ice Cream, already getting hype for its crazy flavors, will open on Kent Avenue for Memorial Day Weekend. The owners of Boerum Hill’s Rucola are opening a second outpost, a Ligurian-inspired restaurant, on the premises of the 3rd Ward workspace in Williamsburg. It’ll be called Fitzcarraldo.

Ditmas Park
Ditmas Park Corner checks out the new facade at under-construction Milk and Honey. They are hoping the venue, at 1119 Newkirk Avenue, will open within the month. They also checked out the grand opening of Anarkali, a new Indian restaurant at 1125 Church Avenue. Also coming to Church Avenue, Noah’s Ark Pet Store, which should open in August.

Park Slope/Prospect Heights
Melt Kraft Grilled Cheese, a grilled cheese restaurant from the folks behind Slope cheese shop Valley Shepherd Creamery, will open in the old Almondine space on 9th Street. Popular New York City restaurant Fonda, which serves high-end Mexican food, applied for a liquor licence at 427B Seventh Avenue, the old Beer Table space. And over in Prospect Heights, a mac and cheese/BBQ spot is under construction on the corner of St. Marks and Flatbush Avenue.

Elsewhere
Eater picked up some juicy details about new restaurant planned for Red Hook by the guys from Frankies Spuntino, to be called RES. Not far away in Carroll Gardens, PJ Hanley’s Tavern is set to reopen after it was closed due to financial issues. Dinosaur BBQ will open on Union Street in Gowanus later this month. Gowanus is also getting a bridal boutique on 3rd Avenue and 12st Street in about a month. Out of the Closet Thrift Store is open in Boerum Hill, at 475 Atlantic Avenue. The store benefits the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. And finally, a Caribbean restaurant called Island Seas will open in the next month in Crown Heights, on the corner of Franklin and Sterling.

Categories: Commercial Real Estate, Food and Drink, Streetlevel
By Emily | 05/22/2013 11:30 AM | Comment

Montrose Morris: Just Can’t Get Enough


For all you dedicated readers of Montrose Morris’ posts here in Brooklyn, here’s a quick heads up that she’s started doing her thing on Brownstoner Queens as well. Here’s her initial post, all about the St. Albans neighborhood.

Categories: Queens
By Brownstoner | 05/22/2013 11:03 AM | Comment

Affordable Housing Planned for Fulton Street Lots



More information has come to light regarding the empty lots on Fulton Street between Grand Avenue and Downing Street, thanks to the Greene Hill Food Co-Op. The Co-Op (lot No. 16, above) backs up to these empty plots, some owned by the city and some owned privately. In March the private owners met with Community Board Two because they were in talks with the city to buy the two city-owned plots and develop the entire site. The folks at the Co-op found out that this will be an affordable housing development and building will begin in about two years. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development will first have to prepare a land-review process application to transfer the sites. The Co-op is putting up a mural on the back wall of its building this September. According to them, “This [development] is in the very early stages, but we will continue to be in contact with them through the process to potentially preserve the artwork that will be done, or incorporate some of it into the building project.”
In Our Backyard [Greene Hill Food Co-Op]
Meeting Tonight on Fulton Street Redevelopment Proposal [Brownstoner] GMAP

Categories: Affordable Housing, Clinton Hill, Development
By Emily | 05/22/2013 11:00 AM | Comment

818 Dean Street Rentals on the Market



Earlier in May Halstead began leasing units at 818 Dean Street, a Scarano-designed building in Crown Heights that has been under construction for many years. (Aguayo Real Estate Group had the listing, and was acquired by Halstead last month.) Seven of the 14 apartments are on the market. Prices range from $3,000 a month for a one-bedroom to $4,500 a month for a two-bedroom. Here’s what the listing says about the spaces: “Many units have soaring double height windows with 14-foot ceilings, tremendous natural light, and private rooftop terraces, balconies, or landscaped backyards… Throughout each apartment you will notice condo quality finishes including washer/dryer units, designer lighting, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, beautiful hardwood floors, central heating and cooling, and a video intercom system.” The units are no fee with one month free. Like what you see?
818 Dean Street Is Going Rental [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Crown Heights, Rentals
By Emily | 05/22/2013 10:30 AM | Comment

More Problems on Spencer Street; Condos on Market



A neighbor contacted us about a new development at the long-troubled Spencer Street condos. The building at 209 Spencer Street has sat empty for years because of fraud on the part of the developers, and a few weeks ago homeless people and kids broke into the building, above, which is now exposed, he said. Neighbors are worried it will burn down, and have called 311 and filed reports with the DOB, but so far no action has been taken. Curiously, the building appears to be for sale, although it apparently never received a certificate of occupancy. Owners of condos in other buildings in the same development have been unable to sell their units because the buildings do not conform to zoning laws. The listing says only the building “needs cosmetic work completed throughout” and “is well-positioned to be utilized as a rental building in an area growing more popular with young professionals.”
Spencer Street Condo Saga Drags On [Brownstoner] GMAP

Categories: Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Condos, Controversial Development
By Cate | 05/22/2013 10:00 AM | Comment

Critics of Triangle Housing Worry Judge Will Favor Hasids



A new judge has taken over the Broadway Triangle case after the previous judge retired, and critics of the proposed housing development worry the new one will approve it because he’s Jewish and has ties to its political backers, such as now-resigned State Assemblyman Vito Lopez. An unnamed “community watchdog group” is considering asking that the judge, state Supreme Court Justice Shlomo Hagler, to recuse himself but has feared to do so because of possible reprisals if he stays on the case, The New York Daily News reported. Legal experts said there was no basis to pull the judge off the case. The project would add about 1,800 apartments on a nine-block area located at the Bed Stuy-Williamsburg-Bushwick border; critics have charged the housing is unfairly intended exclusively for the Hasidic community.
Critics of Triangle Development Worry Judge Will Clear Way for It [NY Daily News]

Categories: Affordable Housing, Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bushwick, Williamsburg
By Cate | 05/22/2013 9:30 AM | Comment

Heights Board Said Citi Bike Did Not Follow Process



Citi Bike asked Community Board 2 in Brooklyn Heights, Downtown, Dumbo and Cobble Hill not to take a position on the bike share program, and only 30 people, mostly cyclists and not homeowners, attended its presentation, according to the board’s district manager, Robert Perris, The New York Post reported. By that time, the locations of the racks had already been chosen, he said. Usually the Department of Transportation asks the board to vote on its proposals, but the bike share program was presented more as a fait accompli. The DOT “did not do enough to engage the public” about rack locations, which have proved controversial in the Heights, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and elsewhere, with one building suing the City over placement. “We were instructed that they did not want us to vote on bike share,” Perris said. “To me, that seems to indicate a kind of bunker mentality…The DOT brings a lot of initiatives to our board — bike lanes, bike corrals, modifications to the traffic pattern, pedestrian plazas — in almost every single case, we’re asked to take a position.” A DOT spokesman said the allegations were false and the department held 400 public meetings about the program.
Furor Over Cycle No-Vote [NY Post]
Photo by DNAinfo

Categories: Bicycling, Bike Share, Brooklyn
By Cate | 05/22/2013 9:00 AM | Comment

Wednesday Links



Bike-Share System Is Built With Ideas From Around the World [NY Times]
Six Injured in Brooklyn School Bus Crash [NY Times]
Save My Ample Hills Nutella Ice Cream — Please! [Daily Forward]
Bed-Stuy Man Found Stabbed to Death Tuesday [DNAinfo]
Grilled Cheese Shop and Stationery Store Headed to Park Slope [DNAinfo]
“Unite the Beards” Campaign Connects Hipsters to Hasids [DNAinfo]
Brooklyn Grooming Carries Scents Inspired by Brooklyn’s Neighborhoods [DNAinfo]

Categories: Brooklyn, Daily Links
By Cate | 05/22/2013 8:30 AM | Comment

Tuesday Blogwrap



A Status Update on City Beaches [Brooklyn Based]
Official Citi Bike Mobile App Now Available [Streetsblog]
The Case of the Crumbling Wallabout House [The Wooden House Project]
Lunchapalooza at Brooklyn Public Library Starts Tomorrow [FIPS]
Nominate a Local Library So It Can Win $10,000 [Kensington BK]
Nathan’s Famous Retools as Opening Draws Near [Sheepshead Bites]

Categories: Blogwrap
By Emily | 05/21/2013 4:30 PM | Comment

Closing Bell: Fulton Trees Now Barkless


A bizarre thing has happened in front of the Met Foods on Fulton Street, between St. James and Cambridge places. Three newly planted trees have been totally stripped of their bark. A tipster spotted the naked trees and sent the following photo. Why the heck would anybody be taking bark off the trees?

Categories: Clinton Hill, Closing Bell
By Emily | 05/21/2013 4:00 PM | Comment

Building of the Day: 1515 Bedford Avenue


Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Originally the Savoy Theater, then Charity Neighborhood Baptist Church
Address: 1515 Bedford Avenue
Cross Streets: Corner of Lincoln Place
Neighborhood: Crow Hill/Crown Heights North
Year Built: 1926
Architectural Style: Neo-Classical
Architect: Thomas Lamb
Other Work by Architect: Many theaters in Manhattan and Brooklyn, including the Loew’s Bedford, now Washington Temple on Bedford and Bergen, and Loew’s Pitkin Theater in Brownsville. In Manhattan, Loew’s 175th St. Theater and Warner’s Hollywood Theater, now Time Square Church.
Landmarked: No, which is the focus of this story.

The story: I actually featured this building a long time ago, in an early BOTD from 2010. You can see it here. No one commented then; perhaps you will comment today. This last weekend, Morgan Munsey and I were leading a rain soaked but enthusiastic group of people on a walking tour of Bedford Avenue’s Automobile Row, and this building was one of the featured stops on the tour. As I was talking about the building, I noticed that the sign for Charity Baptist was no longer visible, and there was a dumpster in front of the building. One of the guys on the tour lives in Crown Heights, and knew what was going on, and here’s the sad story: The Savoy will soon be rubble. (more…)

Categories: BOTD, Crown Heights
By Montrose Morris | 05/21/2013 3:30 PM | Comment

Fort Greene Parking Lot to Become Med Center



The New York Hotel Trades Council and the Hotel Association of New York City have bought a parking lot in the BAM Cultural District and plan to build a health center for their hotel workers on it, the New York Observer said. The paper speculated that the group may intend to sell its existing facility at 68-80 Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn to be developed as apartments. In any case, they paid $19 million for the parking lot at 620 Fulton Street, which PropertyShark lists as 253 Ashland Place, and they plan to spend about $90 million constructing the new building. Income from retailers on the first floor will go into the employee benefits funds.
$90M Hotel Worker Health Center Coming to Downtown Brooklyn [NY Observer]
Photo by Christopher Bride for PropertyShark GMAP

Categories: BAM Cultural District, Brooklyn, Development, Fort Greene, Sales
By Cate | 05/21/2013 2:40 PM | Comment

Opening Soon in Downtown Brooklyn



We took a stroll down the Fulton Street Mall the other day and there is a whole lot of commercial activity in the works. Pictured above, American Eagle signage up at the old Jimmy Jazz space between Bridge and Lawrence streets. It looks like it’ll open really soon. A Claire’s is under construction at 523 Fulton Street, between Duffield Street and Albee Square. It will open by July. The new Duane Reade is now open at 559 Fulton Street. A new, huge Foot Locker is under construction on the corner of Fulton and Gallatin Street. And we hear the old Sprint store on the corner of Jay and Fulton is becoming a Buffalo Boss wings restaurant, scheduled to open this summer. Click through for lots of pictures! (more…)

Categories: Commercial Real Estate, Downtown Brooklyn, Streetlevel
By Emily | 05/21/2013 2:00 PM | Comment

House of the Day: 930 President Street



This Park Slope brownstone is lavish and large, with three floor-through apartments over a 2,700-square-foot owner’s duplex. The triple parlors have 12 foot ceilings, 10-foot-tall fireplace mantles, and a second staircase going down to the garden floor, plus oodles of Victorian detail such as a built-in china cabinet, inlaid and parquet floors and elaborate wood work, including oak panelling and a screen. The house is close to the park too. How do you like it and the ask of $5,800,000?
930 President Street [Betancourt] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Brooklyn, HOTD, Park Slope
By Cate | 05/21/2013 1:30 PM | Comment
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