Here's What Happened on Brownstoner This Week: Bye Bye Bookstore, Debate, and More

A Great Reason to Go

The charming eyesore of a bookstore at 212 Court Street in Cobble Hill is about to close. But before you tut-tut the Community Bookstore’s demise, you should know that the owner, John Scioli isn’t being pushed out by sky-high rent hikes or other oft-lamented reasons. Rather, the former cabbie sold his building for a sweet $5,500,000 (he bought it for $500,000 in 1985).

If you’re looking to drop that kind of cash on a new house in Gowanus, check out the first of our Open House picks — a recently built neo-traditional home on Degraw. It’s got everything from a built-in wine fridge, walnut flooring and marble countertops to radiant floor heating, a wireless surround sound system and multizoned a/c.

Getting Passionate About Preservation

Is historic preservation elitist? Commenters got feisty this week debating the social and economic implications of architectural protectionism. One commenter argued that preservation only creates “special rich people neighborhoods” while another brought up the point that home prices can skyrocket even without landmark status.

The conversation got so interesting, that it spun-off into the most-commented post of the week. A Brownstoner reader purchased an affordable home some years ago that has since dramatically appreciated in value. Are they automatically wealthy?

But we can pretty much all agree that the affordable units in the landmarked, nearly-restored John and Elizabeth Truslow House in Clinton Hill will be a great marriage of preservation and affordability.

Check Out Dumbo

If you’re looking for a great excuse to visit Dumbo this weekend, dreamboat artisan woodworker Mark Jupiter showed us around a few of his favorite places — including the bar at 68 Jay Street and restaurants like Superfine, Vinegar Hill House, and AlMar. Jupiter’s own workshop and showroom is just a few blocks away on Plymouth Street between Jay and Bridge.

Before you’re done in Dumbo, pop over to Brooklyn Bridge park to tour the outdoor photography exhibition on “The Fence” and take part in the free kayaking between Pier1 and Pier 2. Kayaking hours are Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Prison Condo, Functional Two-Bedroom, Or Fedders Building?

New renderings were released this week showing Hidrock Realty’s plan to convert Park Slope’s Pavilion Theater into condos. Neighborhood residents who attended last week’s Community 6 Landmarks and Land Use Committee Meeting said that the design resembled a “penitentiary” or — even worse — a building you’d find in Washington, D.C. But the committee still approved the plans with a few conditional changes.

If living in a prison-like condo isn’t your style, you might try this modest two-bedroom in the more northerly section of Park Slope, on Carroll Street just off 5th Avenue. $899,000 could get you its functional layout and ultra-beige bathroom.

Or maybe you could just rehab a Fedders building instead? A reader recently purchased one of the much-maligned no-frills apartments and is looking to snazz it up. Commenters suggested they “Go modern and replace the small windows with large floor to ceiling” or even “Hire a 20-something Bushwick muralist for $10k to do whatever they want to the facade as long as it doesn’t have nudity.”

We’re voting for the latter option.

Bed Stuy’s Fanciest SRO

This four-story Renaissance Revival brownstone at 176 MacDonough Street in Stuyvesant Heights has some eye-popping details but a serious catch: it’s classified as an SRO, or single-room occupancy dwelling. The listing doesn’t show the kitchen or bathrooms. We’re guessing that any new owner will need to keep a bit of change in reserve after the $1,400,000 sale to do some additional work.

Ten blocks away, Bread Love — the bucolic cafe and farm stand in Stuyvesant Heights — has reopened after an arson fire in May 2014 forced it to close. Menu items change daily and prices are reasonable — a recent dinner was $12, including sides.

Maybe you’ll meet Brownstoner pups Coco and NOLA on a stroll around the neighborhood (the cats don’t go out much).

The Six Towns That Became Brooklyn

In the beginning, before there was Bed Stuy, there were six separate towns that came together to become present-day Brooklyn. The sensational six were: Brooklyn, Flatlands, Gravesend, Bushwick, New Utrecht, and Flatbush. We suggest you check to see what original town your neighborhood was once a part of.

Makes for great Brooklyn cocktail conversation.