House of the Day: 54 St. Felix Street

Most new buildings designed in a traditional style end up failing, in our opinion, but this two-family house at 54 St. Felix Street in Fort Greene is actually quite charming. The windows and overall design lend the building a lofty feel, and the ground-floor parking is a nice perk. The price of $1,500,000 isn’t bad for the neighborhood, though this block, while perfectly nice, is a far cry from South Portland Avenue.
54 St. Felix Street [Prudential Real Estate] GMAP P*Shark
New House Rising at 16 4th Street
The skeleton of a single family residence has started to go up in the space at 16 4th Street between Smith and Hoyt where a one-story garage used to stand. We’re curious to see how this one turns out. Care to place an early bet? Here’s hoping for the best. GMAP
Mexican Restaurant Coming to Columbia Street

The new Mexican restaurant 5 Boro Cafe, which replaced the restaurant Pit Stop, has their signs up and looks set to open pretty soon. They’re expanding from Queens, where they’ve gotten pretty good reviews. Looks like this place – especially with its outdoor seating – is going to be a nice addition to Columbia Street this summer. GMAP
Brooklyn Farmacy Gets a Facelift
This is old news (by blog standards) by now, but with some help from a television show last week, Brooklyn Farmacy is finally ready to open at 214 Sackett Street in Carroll Gardens. After years of sitting boarded up, the former Vermont Pharmacy is set for a soft opening the weekend of May 14th after a crash visit from The Discovery Channel show “The Construction Intervention.” Check out Cobble Hill Blog for some more pictures of the interior, which sports an old fashioned soda fountain and will feature lots of local food (much of which will be familiar to regular visitors to the Brooklyn Flea).
Exclusive Photos of Brooklyn Farmacy [Cobble Hill Blog]
Brooklyn Farmacy Rises from the Ashes [Village Voice]
Farmacy’s Vague Reopening [Brownstoner] GMAP
Streetlevel: Henry Street Pharmacy Opening as ‘Farmacy’ [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 132 2nd Place
A while ago (December 2008, to be exact) a tipster wrote in concerning the construction at 132 2nd Place, a brownstone which was getting converted to condos after more than a year being boarded up. It looks like it hasn’t made a ton of progress and is, well, still boarded up. The addition of the 4th story, at this point, looks pretty bleak as well. Anyone noticed any recent work taking place on this one?
Work Beings on 132 2nd Place [Brownstoner] GMAP
“Beer Bar Bistro” to Open on Court
There is some construction going down at 270 Court, and someone inside said to expect a “Beer Bar Bistro” coming into the space soon. That area of Smith and Court is pretty packed with restaurants and bars, so hopefully this place will be able to hold their own. GMAP
Court Street Record Store Opening Soon
The record store at 461 Court Street we told you about a couple of months ago has its signage up now: Tucked right between Frankies 457 and Prime Meats, Black Gold will also be selling coffee and antiques. And if your record collection is taking up too much space in your apartment, lug them down to Court and 4th…they’re buying before they open for business. GMAP
Development Watch: 26 4th Street
Looks like construction is just about finished at 26 4th Street, between Smith and Hoyt. When we passed by all that was left was extensive construction on the front sidewalk, and the building, although complete, doesn’t look moved into yet; nor is there any trace of any listings on StreetEasy. Along with its nearby neighbor 360 Smith, the eight-unit condo is doing its part to alter the architectural mix at the southern end of Carroll Gardens.
Development Watch: 360 Smith Street [Brownstoner] GMAP
Extended Sidewalks on Atlantic
Construction recently started for sidewalk extensions on Atlantic and Clinton Streets in Cobble Hill. This is part of DOT’s larger project to calm traffic in Downtown Brooklyn, in the effort to improve safety and traffic conditions. One of the more recently completed sidewalk extensions was at Smith and Bergen, which was met with mostly positive response from pedestrians, and now that the weather’s nice, a fruit cart has parked in the extra sidewalk space.
Calming Traffic at Bergen and Smith [Brownstoner]
Downtown Brooklyn Traffic Calming Report [NYC DOT] GMAP
A Couple of Closings in The Slope
The Artful Place, a cute little art store on 5th Avenue and Lincoln, is closing up, leaving us to wonder what will become of that wood paneled facade it will leave behind. And not far away, Firefly Clothing, a designer boutique for kids will be shuttering on 7th Avenue and 4th Street. Apparently they specialized in European fashion for Park Slope kiddies. Will these places be missed? GMAP
Pizza Joint for 5th Avenue
The dry cleaners at 187 5th Avenue, off Sackett, is under construction to become a new pizza place. It doesn’t look like it’s destined to join the ranks with the gourmet pizza coming into Park Slope as of late, but there’s also nothing wrong with a no-frills, by-the-slice joint in the neighborhood. GMAP
Looks Like Lucali is Coming to South Slope! [Brownstoner]
Fornino Pizza Soon to Open in Park Slope! [Brownstoner]
Indian Restaurant for Washington Ave.
A sign on 595 Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights says an Indian Restaurant is coming soon, although it looked like they still have a lot of furnishing to do before they open for business. It’ll be nice to see something new coming here, since that stretch of Washington has quite a few empty storefronts. GMAP
Atlantic Ave Wine Store Expanding
Brooklyn Based recently wrote about the Donna Da Vine wine store on Atlantic and Hoyt that will be expanding next door. The addition, a gourmet grocery and beer store called Da Vine Provisions, should be pretty cool. It’ll sell local products, and best of all, have a good selection of local beers and specialty beers from the Pacific Northwest. The owner plans to host beer tastings when they open, in the second week of May. GMAP
Westword Expansion [Brooklyn Based]
Development Watch: 14 Conselyea Street
Things have not been going swimmingly at 14 Conselyea Street. The building permit was granted in August of 2009, and since then it’s had complaints concerning debris falling into neighboring property as well as two stop work orders. The place seems pretty quiet to us but not sure whether or not it’s officially in the dead pool. GMAP
Restaurant and Bar Coming to Berry Street
There’s been a lot of construction going on at 103 N. 3rd in Williamsburg, right across the street from the formerly sinking sidewalk known as 197 Berry. We asked around and it looks like there’s going to be restaurant and bar coming there. With all the developments at or near completion in this neck of the woods, the new spot could be well-positioned. GMAP
Freddy’s Finds Amnesty in Park Slope
As has been widely reported in the last 24 hours, Freddy’s Bar and Backroom, which has served as a makeshift headquarters for the opposition during the fight against Atlantic Yards, is moving to Park Slope. Rather go down in flames, the bar owners have accepted a small payment from Forest City Ratner to move to a new location at 4th Avenue and Union Street on April 30th. “The move is about the employees, and the business, said Donald O’Finn in a press release. “We’re little guys. We can’t run our business into the ground as Ratner has and still survive. We have a lot of mouths to feed and we are not billionaires.” GMAP
Freddy’s Plans to Close on Dean Street [AY Report]
Last Call for Brooklyn’s Freddy’s Bar [NY Daily News]
Freddy’s Bar to Close on April 30 [Courier]
Freddy’s Bar an Atlantic Yards Holdout No Longer [NYO]
Freddy’s Bar to Move [Brooklyn Eagle]
Freddy’s Bar, Defeated by AY, Finds New Location [Eater]
Freddy’s Bar Closes for Atlantic Yards, Will Reopen Nearby [Gothamist]
Freddy’s Gets Eviction Notice from Bruce [Brownstoner]
Freddy’s Bar: Heads Roll in Survival Fight [Brownstoner]
Photo by Tracy Collins
Fornino Pizza Soon to Open in Park Slope!
There was a lot of commotion this weekend outside of the new Fornino Pizza spot at 254 5th Avenue, at Carroll. Looks like it’ll be opening soon! The original is in Williamsburg, and has received mostly rave reviews. With Lucali’s expanding into South Slope, and Fornino covering the North, Park Slope looks pretty set with some awesome pizza options. GMAP
Looks Like Lucali is Coming to South Slope![Brownstoner]
Inside 184 Kent
We took a peek inside 184 Kent in Williamsburg, slated to be completely finished the end of this summer, and we gotta say: the place is pretty cool. The one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental units benefit from 12-foot ceilings and big windows, though they’re not exactly giving them away: Prices right now range from $2,700 to $3,200 for the singletons, $3,600 to $4,600 for the doubles, and around $5,000 for the three-bedders. The amenities, though, are definitely worth some kind of premium: The lobby will be featuring local Brooklyn artists, there’s a nice-sized gym, a big lounge and the courtyard is about the size of a football field. A washer and dryer in every apartment doesn’t hurt either. One-third of the apartments are already leased, though probably not to any of the artist-types who called this place home in the good olde days.
184 Kent Open for Business [Brownstoner] GMAP
184 Kent Almost Done, Painful Marketing Underway [Brownstoner]
The Conversion of 184 Kent Marches On [Brownstoner]
Uncle Louie G’s for Prospect Heights
Italian Ice just in time for summer! There’s an Uncle Louie G’s Italian Ice sign in the spot right off Park Place, between Carlton and Vanderbilt. No word yet on an opening date, but we assume it will be opening in the next few months, alongside the arrival of the summer heat. Update: A reader close to the situation tells us the store is shooting to open as soon as this weekend. GMAP
What’s up on Flatbush and St. Marks?
The space on Flatbush and St. Marks, which previously housed an iSold it on Ebay store, is undergoing some major renovations. No recent work permits have been filed, but if we had to put money on it, we’d guess it’ll end up being a restaurant. Great spot for one, that’s for sure. GMAP
Feb 13, 2012 | 12:02 PM