Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Renovations, Race and Affordable Housing

Top 10 Things You Should Know Before Renovating an Old House
If you’ve ever renovated an old house, chances are there are some things you wish you’d done differently. Here are the top 10 things to know before you start.

Community Boards Mostly Reject Mayor’s Zoning for Affordable Housing Plans
New Yorkers may have voted for Mayor de Blasio and his promise of affordability, but they’re torn on voting for his plan to enact it. As community boards vote on two proposals that would help the mayor meet his goals of creating affordable housing, it’s a mixed bag of approvals and rejections from Brooklynites.

Tech Giant Amazon Expands to Sunset Park, Near Industry City
One of the world’s biggest companies, e-commerce behemoth Amazon, is coming to Brooklyn. The tech giant, which has a bigger market cap than Wal-mart and is No. 35 on the Fortune 500 list, is opening a distribution center in Sunset Park.

Race, Change and Sweet Potato Pie: Understanding Bed Stuy One Resident at a Time
Through a combination of census data, sweet potato pie recipes and interviews with 62 block residents, both current and former, New York Magazine reporters attempted to gauge the essence of one block of Bed Stuy’s MacDonough Street, from Patchen Avenue to Malcolm X Boulevard.

5 Great Neighborhoods Where You Can Find a One-Bedroom Under $2,600
The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn is $2,617, according to the latest market report. For those of you looking out for a good deal, we set out to find five popular neighborhoods where rents are below average.