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Closing Bell: Sh!t Park Slope Parents Say
Comedy has to be based on truth. You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the end. — Sid Caesar
02/09/2012 4:00 PM
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Forum Poster Wants Great But Cheap Neighborhood
On the Forum: Where can I get a yard big enough for a garden, safe nabe and decent public transport? http://t.co/ehIkIstb
@Brownstoner
Brownstoner
02/09/2012 3:02 PM
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Inside the New One Girl Cookies in Dumbo
Given that our office is next door, there’s no excuse for having taken a week since the opening to post some photos of the new One Girl Cookies cafe at 33 Main Street in Dumbo. The new 1,400-square-foot space is the second retail location for the popular bakers–the first shop debuted in 2006 at 68 Dean Street in Cobble Hill. (The company has been baking wholesale since 2000.) The new spot, which includes a large Brooklyn mural by the illustrator Aaron Meshon, has a large central serving and display area ringed by lots of counter seating. It’s light, airy and overall very pleasant. Interior shots on the jump… GMAP
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02/09/2012 2:52 PM
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House of the Day: 476 1/2 State Street
When there’s a fraction in house’s address, chances are it’s gonna be a narrow house. That is indeed the case with 476 1/2 State Street, though in this case it’s nothing too drastic: The four-story brick townhouse is just under 17 feet wide, a perfectly manageable width. The house has some very nice original details throughout. The kitchen’s the only thing that leaves us a little limp. Although the house has only 2,300 square feet, $1,695,000 is not a lot of money for a house in this neck of the woods these days. We bet they’ll end up getting pretty close.
476 1/2 State Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
02/09/2012 1:28 PM
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Co-op of the Day: 298 Garfield Place, #4
Last summer we featured the parlor apartment at 298 Garfield Place in Park Slope which had been listed for $999,000 and ultimately sold for $950,000. Now another floor-through pad in the brownstone co-op has come on the market. This unit, on the fourth floor, doesn’t have quite the same wow factor purely because of the fact that it’s not the parlor floor. (It’s also a little smaller.) That said, it still has lots of prewar charm; in addition, it gets more light than the lower floors. To cap it off, there’s a 350-square-foot terrace off the living room. Very nice. Asking price is $945,000, definitely at the upper end of the spectrum for a set-up like this, but also definitely one of the nicer ones around.
298 Garfield Place, #4 [Warren Lewis] GMAP P*Shark
02/09/2012 12:57 PM
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New Traffic Light Comes to Hall and Park
For Clinton Hill residents on their way home from Williamsburg or the BQE, Hall Street has always been a short cut in no small part because there was no light, only a stop sign, to get across Park Avenue. Well, those days are over. As of the end of January, there’s a new stoplight at the crossing. Evidently there were a number of accidents that happened with people pulling out across oncoming traffic on Park Avenue.
02/09/2012 12:00 PM
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Almost Fully Rented, 111 Kent Up For Sale
Since breaking ground in 2007, 111 Kent Avenue has had a tough road. The construction dragged on for years with the building finally changing hands in 2010 for $43 million (after the original developers defaulted on a loan) and getting a reboot as a rental last year. By October, the 62-unit development was 50-percent-rented. Yesterday, Crain’s reported that, with all but two of the apartments spoken for, owner Stellar Management was putting the property back on the market. “It was always part of our business plan to buy the asset, finish it and to market it,” said Matthew Lembo, vice president at Stellar Management. Studley will do the honors on the brokerage side.
Buyer Finishes, Flips Billyburg Building in a Year [Crain's]
111 Kent Avenue More Than 50% Rented [Brownstoner]
111 Kent Avenue Takes the Plunge as a Rental [Brownstoner]
111 Kent Avenue Preparing for Take-Off [Brownstoner]
111 Kent Development Changes Hands [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 111 Kent Avenue (March ’09) [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 111 Kent Avenue (June ’08) [Brownstoner] GMAP
Development Watch: 111 Kent Avenue (March ’08) [Brownstoner] P*Shark
Development Watch: 111 Kent Avenue (July ’07) [Brownstoner] DOB
02/09/2012 10:14 AM
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An Unguided Architectural Tour of Buffalo, NY
Last month, we had occasion to take a day trip to Buffalo. Despite having spent our entire lives in New York City we’d never been to the next most-populous city in the state. The purpose of the trip isn’t important (okay, we were picking up a Siberian cat for the Brownstoner household–Mrs. B is allergic to regular cats) but we found ourselves with a couple of hours to kill in between flights and decided to take a somewhat haphazard walking tour of the formerly great commercial center. With the decline of heavy industry in the area and shipping traffic, the city began a slow but steady decline that resulted in abandoned buildings, widespread unemployment and overall economic malaise. From what we saw, there are encouraging signs of rejuvenation and gentrification (no one’s complaining up there) happening north of the Downtown area. And they’ve certainly got the raw material to work with: The architecture–from the office buildings of Downtown, to family houses to Allentown to the mansions of Millionaire’s Row–was stunning. Herewith follows a random smattering of buildings that grabbed our attention for one reason or another. Apologies for the less-than-stellar photos. All we had with us was an iPhone and it was still pretty early in the morning on a winter day.
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02/09/2012 10:01 AM
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MNS: New Development Prices Up in 2011
The Local has nicely uploaded the MNS 4th Quarter 2011 New Development Market Report market report to Scribd. Here’s the summary:
In Brooklyn, 2011 has fared better than 2010, with a peak median sales price in the third quarter of $575K, and a strong finish in the fourth quarter with a high median sales price per foot of $622/SF. Year-over-Year Brooklyn New Development Condominium sales price per foot numbers are up 8% ($622/SF this quarter versus $574/SF in 4Q10), and median sales prices are up 15% ($542K this quarter versus $471K in 4Q10).
The report also notes that sales inventory dropped 36% and sales dollar volume was down 35% from the 3rd to 4th quarter. Brooklyn Heights had the highest average price per square foot of $944 in the fourth quarter (driven largely by big sales at One Brooklyn Bridge Park), with The Edge taking that prize among individual developments with a whopping average of $1,142. Prospect Heights saw a big fall in prices, but that was largely due to a temporary pause in marketing at On Prospect Park due to a broker change-over.
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02/09/2012 9:00 AM
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Thursday Links
Push to Avert Foreclosures Hits Court Logjam [NY Times]
Community Board OKs New Bike Lane ‘Study’ [NY Times]
Fort Greene and Clinton Hill to City: Slow Us Down! [NY Times]
Teacher’s Aide’s Case in Crown Heights Stuns Parents [WSJ]
81-Year-Old Hit by Bullet in East New York [NY Post]
Forest City: Sky’s the Limit on Pre-Fab Towers [NY Post]
Lawsuit to Block Success Charter School Move [South Brooklyn Post]
Pain Quotidien Coming Along on Montague Street [McBrooklyn]
Black History Month at the Macon Library [Bed Stuy Patch]
Brooklyn School Opened By Mayor Cited For Failure [NY1]
Bruce Bender Bailing on Forest City [DDDB]
Photo by Albert Blackman Jr.
02/09/2012 8:32 AM
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Closing Bell: Bike Sharing Brain Storming
With the New York City Bike Share program set to launch this summer, now’s the time to decide wear the 600 stations (with 10,000 bikes) will be located around Manhattan and Brooklyn Most of the planning sessions seem to be aimed at Manhattan riders, but Brooklynites will their chance to participate in the process later this month. Community Board 2 will host a workshop on February 23 from 6 to 8 pm at 180 Remsen Street.
Photo by NYC DOT
02/08/2012 4:00 PM
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Displaced by Shake Shack, Antonio’s Rises from the Ashes
Everyone seemed pretty excited back in late 2010 when it was announced that Shake Shack was coming to the Fulton Mall. Everyone, that is, except for Tony Casaccio, the proprietor of Tony’s Famous Pizzeria, which spent more than 20 years in the retail space at Fulton and Adams Streets. “This location was like dating Pam Anderson. How can you replace Pam Anderson?” Casaccio said to The Brooklyn Paper at the time. Well, he’s managed to rebound, landing on the other side of Borough Hall in the space at 32 Court Street formerly occupied by Korean-style yogurt chain Yofiore. His new spot, which, at 650 square feet, is considerably smaller and also offers salads, juices and cappucinos in addition to ‘za, opened today. A tipster snapped this photo moments ago. GMAP
02/08/2012 2:40 PM
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Will the Windsor Place Cafe Ever Open?
It’s been almost a year since the Windsor Terrace blog spotted signs of life in a long-vacant space in Windsor Terrace. When we passed by 199 Windsor Place on Sunday it didn’t look like the storefront was much further along, save for some plywood over one section. In fact, it looks a bit like the space has been split in two. Can area residents shed any light on the situation? Do tell. Speaking of the Windsor Terrace retail scene, did you notice that the former Lonelyville space (which closed in 2008) at 154 Prospect Park Southwest is for rent for $4,000 a month? GMAP
02/08/2012 2:00 PM
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House of the Day: 271 Jefferson Avenue
Flip-o-rama! This beautiful corner brownstone at 271 Jefferson Avenue traded for just $600,000 back in September and the new owners wasted no time in getting to work in a top-to-bottom renovation that they hope will bring an asking price of–brace yourself–$1,295,000. Sounds crazy, yes, but if they do a nice enough job, not out of the question. As a commenter points out in a Curbed post about the new listing two days ago, “It is going to be part of the Bedford Corners Historic district if LPC gets around to it one day.” The triple parlor is particularly impressive, with tons of original detail, including a pier mirror and beaucoup woodwork.
271 Jefferson Avenue [Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark
02/08/2012 1:25 PM
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Co-op of the Day: 1 Pierrepont Street, #1B
All right, let’s get this out of the way: This apartment at 1 Pierrpont Street is on the ground floor. Okay, now that we got that out of the way we can wallow in what a gorgeous prewar pad this is. In addition to three bedrooms and three bathrooms, the 2,000-square-foot (we’re guessin’) co-op has a sizable foyer and two (!) dining rooms. The apartment sold in 2006 (presumably pre-renovation) for $1,362,000 and spent a few months last fall on the market for $2,650,000. After some time off over the holidays, it’s back up for sale with a new broker for $2,595,000. (For the same price, you can also get this house a few blocks away.) Maintenance is $2,505. How do you like its chances?
1 Pierrepont Street, #1B [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
02/08/2012 12:53 PM
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Inside the New(ish) Brooklyn Bridge Park Offices
After a couple of years of camping out in a construction trailer, the folks in charge of building and operating Brooklyn Bridge Park finally moved into new offices in the old Building 50 at the corner of Furman and Joralemon Streets last November. Our poor photography skills probably don’t do it justice, but the million-dollar renovation of the 7,500-square-foot ground floor (which the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation shares with the Conservancy) created a really beautiful workspace–high ceilings, clean lines, modern but inviting at the same time. The two upper floors remain for the time being in their original state. We’ve provided lots o’ photos on the jump because the offices are not open to the public.
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02/08/2012 10:32 AM
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Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows
From The Wall Street Journal:
Real-estate website Zillow Inc. (Z) said Tuesday its real-time rate on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to a new record low in the last week. Zillow said the 30-year fixed mortgage rate on its Mortgage Marketplace is at 3.66%, down from 3.72% a week earlier. The rate is the lowest since Mortgage Marketplace launched in April 2008, Zillow said. The company said the 30-year fixed mortgage rate peaked at 3.7% on Friday and steadily declined through the weekend, dropping to its current rate Tuesday morning. Erin Lantz, director of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, said despite strong employment figures on Friday, the rate has remained historically low and has been hovering between 3.65% and 3.7% for the past week. “Although European headlines may drive more volatility in the coming week, we expect rates will stay near this range,” Lantz said.
02/08/2012 10:15 AM
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Owner Gives Up on Selling Spike’s Firehouse on Dekalb
After almost four years of trying, the owner of the former firehouse that most famously housed Spike Lee’s production company 40 Acres and a Mule has given up and decided to rent the two residential units out instead. Last time we wrote about it, the 6,000-square-foot building was asking $3,900,000, down from an even $6,000,000 in 2008. What was the problem (other than the price)? Bland interiors and an unfortunate location right across from the hospital entrance would be our guess.
House of the Day: 124 Dekalb Avenue [Brownstoner]
40 Acres Former HQ Now For Sale [Brownstoner]
02/08/2012 10:00 AM
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Details on North 6th Street Church Purchase, Conversion
When we reported the sale of the St. Vincent De Paul Church at 167 North 6th Street in Williamsburg just before Christmas, the sale hadn’t hit public records yet so neither the buyer nor the price were known. Now we know both: An outfit called The North Flats paid a combined $13,700,000 in December for the 33,00-square-foot church and 6,300-square-foot parish house. And on January 30th, the DOB approved a permit to convert the five-story side building into 10 apartments. Meanwhile, it appears that plans for converting the church itself to residential have not passed muster yet; they have the go-ahead for the interior demolition.
Williamsburg Church Sells, New Owner Plans Conversion [Brownstoner] GMAP
02/08/2012 9:30 AM
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Downtown School Trying to Spurn P.S. 8′s Advances
In this town, everything comes back to real estate, even schools. Tensions can run particularly high when public and charter schools with strong track records and involved parents seek to expand by moving in on unused turf at schools where the student body has been shrinking. Just witness last year’s heated battle between the well-funded Arts & Letters and the less stable P.S. 20 in Fort Greene. A similar scenario is now playing out in Downtown Brooklyn, where P.S. 8, an elementary school in Brooklyn Heights which has enjoyed surging popularity over the last decade and recently completed a physical expansion of its own, is making a play to launch a middle school at the Westinghouse and Polytechnic High School on Tillary Street which is less than 80 percent full. (Great building, by the way. It was a Building of the Day last month.) According to the Brooklyn Eagle, more than 30 P.S. 8 parents turned out on Monday night to express support for the plan. Council Member Steve Levin was also there to speak in favor: “The expansion into a middle school will mean that students from P.S. 8 will be able to continue their education at a local, quality public school.” Levin is joined in his support of the expansion by State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblymember Joan Millman. Though everyone in the P.S. 8 crowd is saying the right things (we’re going to be good neighbors, this is not a take-over, etc.), parents of the vocational high school aren’t buying it. “I hear everyone talking about being a good neighbor,” said Khem Irby, first vice president of the District 13 Community Education Council. “A neighbor doesn’t live in your house.” She also warned that mixing middle school and high school students could be trouble: “High school students might be having sex in the hallways.” In addition to the obvious class and race tensions just barely below the surface, there’s also the conspiracy theory that city has been deliberately shrinking Westinghouse to make room for the P.S. 8 expansion.
P.S. 8 Middle School Plan Meets Westinghouse Resistance [Brooklyn Eagle]
02/08/2012 9:00 AM
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minard
Feb 02, 2012 | 12:31 PM