Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Say Hello to Brooklyn's Newest Historic District

Preservationists “Overjoyed” as Landmarks Approves Bedford Historic District
Preservationists and neighborhood residents are “overjoyed” and “thrilled” the Landmarks Preservation Commission finally approved the Bedford Historic District Tuesday, they told Brownstoner. Long in the works, the district contains some of the neighborhood’s most significant architecture. Its preservation comes just as developers are transforming Bedford Stuyvesant with small and medium-size apartment buildings.

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The Sweet Life of Ample Hills, a Brooklyn Ice Cream Empire Expanding to an Aisle Near You
The path to success isn’t always obvious. When Brian Smith reached 40 years of age, he quit his job writing low-budget monster movies, took a weeklong ice cream chemistry course at Penn State, and co-founded — with his wife, Jackie Cuscuna — what has grown into the Ample Hills Creamery empire. It was, to say the least, a very profitable midlife crisis.

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Witnesses Put Three Hot Sites on the Market in Dumbo and Heights, Sure to Get Bonkers Prices
In the midst of crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, tourists and locals alike often wonder at the sign perched atop a Brooklyn warehouse proclaiming “Watchtower.” But not for much longer. The iconic HQ of the Jehovah’s Witnesses at 25-30 Columbia Heights has just hit the market, along with two other Witness-owned sites in Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights. “These kinds of properties are once-in-a-generation in Brooklyn,” Watchtower spokesman Richard Devine told Brownstoner. “Because of their location and size, we expect considerable interest.”

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Colorful Retro-Inflected Style Comes to Life in Park Slope Townhouse
The playful style of this Park Slope townhouse is all about bright color combinations, modern touches, and artful vintage flair. Designed by Lauren Rubin Architecture — known for her colorful, kid-friendly interiors — this home is an eminently livable update on mid-century style. The angular lines of the coffee table and chair legs are decidedly vintage, as are the curved shaped of the ceramic lamps and flower vase.

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Boerum Hill Will Get a New Supermarket to Replace Former Met Foods on Smith Street
Good news for folks who live in Boerum Hill. Looks like the former Met Foods at 205 Smith Street is going to become another supermarket, according to a Brownstoner reader who spoke to a construction worker at the site. Building plans filed last year reveal the owner is adding a second floor to the building, and both stories will be stores.

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