Friday Links

yard
Tower, Flatbush Avenue. Photo by bondidwhat
Housing in Rehab Crisis [NY Post]
Outrage Over Red Hook Death [NY Daily News]
Staving Off a Scar for Decades [DDDB]
W'burg, We Hardly Knew Ye [Gothamist]
Red Hook/Park Slope Food War [Curbed]
Wamu Cans Residential Appraisal Dept [Soapbox]
When Reality Hits [Gates Reno]
Bat Watching in Prospect Park [Dope on the Slope]
Rotor Window Panels [Design Sponge]

Comments

This groovy tower, right opposite the Prospect Park B/Q station at the northern tip of the Botanic Gardens, should by rights be a visual 'gateway' to Flatbush and PLG, but instead is a sorry old wreck, literally "timeless" with its ruined clock, and occupied by a beer distributorship and a few other skanky commercial tenants...a gateway to sleaze. (Things have not been helped by other responses to this "jump-gate" location, like the sorry-assed "Ebbets Field" mural, gone now I think, and a sad reminder it was...at least the zoo murals on the renovated subway stop are holding up.) If I Were King, I'd buff it up and turn it into a community arts and meeting space worthy of marking the transition from atrium to ventricle in the heart of Brooklyn. Who knows anything about the building?

Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at July 14, 2006 9:24 AM

I've been told it was a bakery for Bond bread for many years. I'd be interested to know earlier history, I can't imagine it was actually built to be a bakery. It reminds me of a train station.

There has been some discussion about the current owner and sorry state of the building on planetplg.com.

Community arts would be a great use of this space, with decent retail on street level.

Posted by: leffres at July 14, 2006 10:12 AM

"Phat Albert's", the business that occupies most of the "tower" building, has the lead position in Planet PLG's "PLG Hall of Shame":

http://www.planetplg.com/shame/

Phat Albert's was also discussed on Across the Park last February:

http://acrossthepark.typepad.com/atp/2006/02/index.html

It would be great to see some better use of this potentially beautiful building. That was an unrealized goal of Marty Markowitz when he was our State Senator. I understand that PLUS (Prospect Lefferts United for Services) has been negotiating with the owner, but I don't know the details.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 14, 2006 1:17 PM

The owner bought the building for cheap. I was built to make BOND bread. It was one of their big factories. They used to put baseball cards in the loaves (you can buy them on EBAY). Nice when it was in the shadow of Ebbets Field.
The current owner has a chain of Dollar stores PHAT ALBERT. This buidling houses one of his stores and also serves as his warehouse for his merchandise. He is not going anywhere soon unless someone gives him a bundle. Too bad bcoz the location is PRIME. Across from Subway (20mins to NYC) across from Prospect Park and the Botanical Garden. tsk tsk tsk. Would make for some nice Loft Condos and street level retail....

Posted by: TomPLG at July 14, 2006 4:25 PM

I totally agree -- loft condos and maybe we could somehow build on top of it on the sides while preserving the clock tower. This is a great building in a fabulous location -- however, the environmental remediation costs involved in cleaning up the car wash part of the site, I'm sure, would be pretty high.

Posted by: babs at July 14, 2006 8:13 PM

i am soooooo glad that this buidling garnered a thread, for i have been dying to find out the story behind it. thanks to all for sharing the 411. frankly, i think that it's just a matter of time before phat albert sells. there will eventually be a high end condo developer that shows mr. albert enough green. it's the prospect park corner syndrome. new lux condos next to synagogue at tip of eastern parkway. new lux condos at tip of coney island ave off of sw pp circle. new lux condos at ....

Posted by: csk at July 15, 2006 9:45 AM

csk,

If the rumors about the Pavilion theater at Bartel Prichard Circle turn out to be true, that would mean luxury condos at three of the five Prospect Park "corners." The other two are in PLG--Flatbush, Ocean, and Empire (near the "tower"bldg) and Ocean and Parkside. Who knows?

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 16, 2006 12:31 AM

When I was a kid (1950s) we would get off the Pacific Ave station to visit my uncle a few blocks away. I remember the wonderful smell of baking bread coming from the Bond bakery. I'll bet it doesn't smell so nice now.

Posted by: guest at March 11, 2008 5:27 PM

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July 14, 2006

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