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Greene Avenue Lofts Not a Shoe-In So Far
When we wrote about the Shoe Factory lofts on Greene Avenue in early October, the prices had just been cut across the board by 10%. Now it looks like some of the units were cut another 5% just before Christmas. As biased as we are (our place is just a few blocks away), we’re surprised these aren’t moving faster. According to the Corcoran website, four out of thirteen units are now in contract.
242 Greene Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP
Price Cut at 242 Greene Avenue [Natefind]
Condo of the Day: 242 Greene Avenue [Brownstoner]
Mixed Results at Greene and Grand [Brownstoner]
12/27/2006 10:37 AM
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Residential Sales in Brooklyn
PARK SLOPE $530,000
302 Fifth Avenue
2-bedroom, 1-bath, 850-sq.-ft. co-op in a 3-story prewar building; dining area, living room with exposed-brick walls and fireplace, high ceilings; laundry in building; maintenance $559, 50% tax deductible; listed at $549,000, 6 weeks on market. Broker: Brooklyn Properties of 7th Avenue.
From the print edition of last Thursday’s New York Times.
PROSPECT PARK SOUTH $1,200,000
191 Stratford Road
101-year-old 6-bedroom Victorian; wraparound porch, exposed oak beams, 3 marble mantels, 2nd floor balcony, 2-car garage, 50-by-100-ft. lot in historic district; taxes $4,988; listed at $1,299,000. Broker: Mary Kay Gallagher.
Residential Sales [NY Times]
12/27/2006 9:58 AM
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Wednesday Food and Drink Round-Up
Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches
311 Atlantic Avenue
“The classic sandwich has three out of the four main food groups pate, ham, and ground pork (all that’s missing is bacon) encased in a miraculous French loaf (the good kind).” [Clean Plate Club]
The Islands
803 Washington Ave. (betw. Lincoln Pl. & Eastern Pkwy.), Prospect Heights, 718-398-3575
“Steaming platters of spicy baked, jerk chicken ($10) arrived, so heavy our waiter’s arms drooped. With Olympic speed, we wolfed down succulent steamed veggies, speared fantastically greasy plantain slices and sopped up eye-watering sauce with our molehill of coconut-infused rice.” [NY Press]
After the jump: Chowhounders discuss Brooklyn’s Best Egg Cream, Donna Da Vine opens in Boerum Hill, and Brighton Beach residents long for black caviar. (more…)
12/27/2006 9:32 AM
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Reuniting in a Bed Stuy Brownstone
There were a couple of things that stayed with us after we read Sunday’s piece in The Times about the Indian family who moved into a beautiful brownstone in Bed Stuy last summer. The first was their decision to stain the parquest floors cranberry and green. This looks fine to us in the photos but we’re wondering what others think of this idea. We were more struck by Rina Banerjee’s description of the first time she visited the neighborhood:
“I came for a visit five years ago and honestly I was a little scared, Ms. Banerjee said. I walked out of the Utica subway station and there was a gang of boys there fooling around and I was worried, but I decided I had to know the neighborhood and I asked them for directions and they were so kind that I immediately felt comfortable. It’s amazing how a neighborhood’s reputation impacts your thinking about it even before you see it.
Food for thought indeed.
Family Reunited in a Brownstone [NY Times]
12/27/2006 9:04 AM
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Wednesday Linkster
Christmas Eve, Prospect Park. Photo by sandwich!.
Another Building Collapses, Worker Killed [NY Times]
Arena Critics Slam Cams [NY Post]
Bluejake Revealed on Third Street [Bluejake]
Back and Forth with The Times [AY Report]
Sick of the Hate: Thoughts to Blog By [ATP]
ProHo According to Corcoran [Brooklynian]
88 Lafayette Shell Sells for $1.1 Million [Set Speed]
Gowanus Back in the Day [Gowanus Lounge]
Merry Gridlock & Eminent Domain [Gothamist]
12/27/2006 8:33 AM
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Tuesday On The Record
TV and Chair, Crown Heights. Photo by neene.
Today in Brooklyn
Saved by the Beer
New MTA Website Leads the Way
Politics in Central Brooklyn
Beware of the Phantom on Cropsey Ave
12/26/2006 12:29 PM
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Lost in NY? New MTA Website Leads the Way
Finally, the MTA launched a website offering transit directions that actually work. We tried out their new Trip Planner and were surprised to find that the site offers bus directions as well as subway directions, and best of all, it even includes scheduled times for bus and subway arrivals and departures. After many years of wrestling with the Brooklyn bus map to visit our friends around the borough, this is a very pleasant surprise. According to the NY Post, the website will soon be accessible to cell phones and PDAs, and there is talk of installing Trip Planner kiosks in certain stations, but there are still some bugs to work out… (more…)
12/26/2006 10:32 AM
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Saved By The Beer
We found ourselves on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope on Saturday afternoon, still short a prezzie for a couple of the dudes in our extended family, when we whizzed past Bierkraft. Eureka! Within minutes, we had opted for the 64-ounce “growler” of the DeKoninck Winter Ale and watched James as he worked the new double-tap system. One slightly messy mishap later (they were still working out some kinks in the tap), we had paid our $36 (each bottle is $4.50 plus $13.50 for the beer, refills encouraged) and were headed out the door, wondering whether we should have also picked up the game of beeropoly that we’d seen on the shelf. Maybe next year. Bierkraft is at 191 Fifth Avenue, 718-230-7600.
12/26/2006 9:33 AM
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Boxing Day Linkage
Bed Stuy Brownstones. Photo by ultraclay.
Family Re-unites in Bed Stuy Brownstone [NY Times]
Planning a New Life in the City [NY Times]
Gotham Architecture’s Own Dynamic Duo [NY Times]
Affordable Housing with Subsidy [NY Times]
Condo-maxium Pain of Unfair Tax [NY Post]
Boro Park Man Beats Litter Ticket [NY Post]
Churches Selling to Survive [NY Daily News]
Easing Traffic With Better Data Collection [NY Sun]
New York State Losing Residents [NY Sun]
Toll Bros Opening Windblown W’burg Sales Office? [Curbed]
Laying Down A Salvaged Floor? [Bed Stuy Reno]
Demo’ing House, Lots of Salvage Available [Forum Comments]
Northern vs. Southern Garden? [Forum]
Just links today then we’re back with regular posting tomorrow. There will be plenty of fresh posts over at Brooklyn Record today.
12/26/2006 8:36 AM
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Friday On The Record
Dyker Heights 2005. Photo by nomatovu.
This Weekend in Brooklyn
New Businesses at the Navy Yard
Next Hurdle for Atlantic Yards: Lawsuits
Time to Shop ‘Til You Drop
New Year’s Eats (and Drinks) in Brooklyn
12/22/2006 2:02 PM
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New Year’s Eats (and Drinks) in Brooklyn
No matter how far behind your are on Christmas shopping, you can still get a jump on your New Year’s plans — but you’ve got to act fast. Over on Chowhound, there’s a thread where users are posting New Year’s Eve prix fixe menus from their favorite outer-borough spots. So far, they’ve listed menus from Convivium Osteria and Cocotte, and both are looking pretty tasty. Any other recommended restaurants to enjoy the final meal of 2006? And for the barflies out there who prefer to ring in the New Year in a blur, which Brooklyn bars have the best parties going on?
New Year’s Eve in Brooklyn [Chowhound]
Photo by Evan Sung for the NY Sun
12/22/2006 12:08 PM
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House of the Day: Circling Back to the Pfizer Mansion
When we discussed 280 Washington Avenue earlier in the week, noting that it had been reduced on the Corcoran site to $3,399,000, we didn’t realize that its twin sister at Number 282 was getting a face lift. Know anything? Nor did we realize 280 was being simultaneously marketed by Brown Harris Stevens for $3,999,000. We’re used to seeing minor price discrepancies on Craigslist over open listings, but a $600K difference between two major firms? Waddup?
280 Washington Avenue [Brown Harris Stevens]
280 Washington Avenue [Corcoran]
How Low Can the Pratt Mansion Go? [Brownstoner] GMAP
12/22/2006 11:45 AM
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Getting Head in Clinton Hill
We’ve noticed this sculpture on the Pratt campus a million times walking down Hall Street but never took the time to find out more about it. Turns out it’s the work of the reknowned portrait sculptor and Yale prof Philip Grausman. Here’s what the plaque says about the piece (while spelling the artist’s first name wrong!):
In a [sic] effort to universalize and idealize the female head, Grausman has chosen a technique of skillfully modeling these overscale heads with an impersonality that reaches back to the ideals of Greek sculpture. (However they all start with actual models)[sic] Becuase of scale, head becomes body, the pure white of the fiberglass has the glow of pure marble. They command, they invite, they have a lively presence.
Do readers have any other favorites in the Pratt sculpture garden?
12/22/2006 10:55 AM
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Sterling Place Crash Site Shaping Up Nicely
It looks like the new building on the site of the 1960 airplane crash at Sterling Place and Seventh Avenue is almost done. Unlike the new building across the street, this one is a contextual success (barring any last-minute flourishes!): Perfectly proportioned windows, unobtrusive brick choice, simple lintels. The two wild cards at this point are how they will finish the bay window sections and whether they choose to add a cornice. This building was designed by the Manhattan-based Danois Architects. Anyone know anything else they’ve done? On a prior thread, a reader mentioned that this building will be condos while the uglier one across the street is a rental. That true? GMAP
Developments Rising at Sterling Place Crash Site [Brownstoner]
12/22/2006 10:15 AM
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Waddup at 166 Carlton?
Anyone know what the plan is at 166 Carlton Avenue? As of now, the owner only has permits for the garbage chute and the scaffolding; no development plans filed. The place screams “conversion” to us though. GMAP DOB
12/22/2006 9:29 AM
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New Businesses at the Navy Yard
Just two months after Mayor Bloomberg broke ground on six new industrial buildings at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, eleven new businesses are moving into the space. The newcomers include a computer refurbisher called Budget Computer, woodworker Christian Galesi, and Thoughts in Grey Circles, a music producer for television and movies. “I got tired of Manhattan,” said Emmy-nominated composer Gil Talmi of Grey Circles. “I love the views from here and I have space to expand. Everything I need is here.”
Brooklyn Navy Yard gets even biz-ier [NY Daily News]
12/22/2006 9:08 AM
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Does Size Matter?
New York Magazine this week discusses the pros and cons of large and small brokerage firms. The boutiques tout their level of personal attention and special knowledge of particular neighborhoods while the biggies point to their marketing reach and resources. If anyone wants to put their record up of how many $10 million [plus] deals they’ve made, we’re happy to do so, says Corcoran president Pam Liebman. How about in Brooklyn? Have you had better experiences with large or small? And does it matter whether you’re buying or selling?
Small Wonders [New York]
Photo from funnyjunk.com
12/22/2006 8:55 AM
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Friday Linkage
Bricks and Bank, Fort Greene. Photo by iilii’n.
AY’s Next Hurdle: Lawsuits [NY Times]
Inflatable Santas: Eyepoppers to Eyesores [NY Times]
MAS Tries to Save Dry Dock [Newsday]
The Transformation of Flatbush Begins [AY Report]
The Times Screwed Up on AY [New York Mag]
Galapagos Site to Become Condo? [Curbed]
Land(mark) Speed Record on Brooklyn Home [Downtown Star]
Mapping a Way to the Bridge [Brooklyn Papers]
Energy Efficient Skylights? [Forum]
81 Bainbridge In Contract! [Corcoran]
Inexpensive Ways to Reduce Noise [Brooklynian]
Hello, My Name Is Brooklyn [Gothamist]
Does Magnetic Paint Work? [Apartment Therapy]
12/22/2006 8:32 AM
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Thursday On The Record
Out of Business, Greenpoint. Photo by meadows.
Events: Today in Brooklyn
State Approves Atlantic Yards
Naked Buttcheeks at Body By Brooklyn
Bloomberg’s Smoking Ban Saves Lives
Time Runs Out for Mechanical Parking Meters
Wedding Bells on the Gowanus
12/21/2006 2:02 PM
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Co-op of the Day: 394 Lincoln Place
Unless the interior of this apartment is a dump (note to broker: put up some darn pics!), this 1,000-square-foot two-bedroom co-op in Prospect Heights could be interesting at $399,000. Only a block from the new Richard Meier building (and pretty close to the park as well), this location will only get better and better over time. The first showing was last weekend. Anyone seen it yet?
394 Lincoln Place [Corcoran] GMAP
12/21/2006 11:52 AM
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zipport
May 21, 2012 | 02:16 PM