4th Avenue
February 9, 2010
StreetLevel: New Cafe/Bar in the Works on 4th Ave
For the past couple weeks workers have been renovating the ground-floor space in one of the old apartment buildings on 4th Avenue between 2nd and 3rd streets, and according to DOB records the storefront will eventually be the home of a cafe. More specifically, the permits say: "Cafe bar and multipurpose room for cultural activities (art gallery, music performance, poetry reading, book signing, video and film review, art class's ..)." GMAP
February 5, 2010
Checking in on 500 4th Avenue
Way back in June, the folks marketing 500 Fourth Avenue beamed out a press release saying that the mammoth 12th Street condo was 20 percent sold and closings were slated to start in the fall. The latter didn't happen, which isn't too surprising given how long it takes for most new condos to be move-in ready, and there's still no TCO. At this point, StreetEasy is showing that 39 of the building's units are in contract and there are active listings for another 77. What is a little surprising is that there haven't been any price cuts: Listings are ranging from $342,000 for a 539-square-foot unit to $1,077,000 for a penthouse, as they have been for nearly a year. This big boy's still got a long sales slog ahead of it!
500 Fourth Avenue 20% Sold; Opening in Fall? [Brownstoner] GMAP
500 Fourth Avenue Listings [StreetEasy]
February 3, 2010
Development Watch: 255 4th Avenue Getting Bricked
It's nearly impossible to tell in the photo above because of the construction netting, but the brick facade on the development at 4th Avenue and Carroll Street is starting to be put into place. Work resumed on the stalled project late last year, after its developer sold it off. It's unclear from DOB permits whether a new architect has been hired for the job to replace KSQ Architects following the shift in ownership. If not, the building is supposed to eventually look something like this.
Stalled 4th Avenue Site Sold; Work Resuming? [Brownstoner]
Horror Show Friday: Scary Winds on 4th Ave & Carroll [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 255 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
255 4th Avenue on the Rise [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: 4th Avenue Twofer [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Unstable at 255 Fourth Avenue? [Brownstoner]
January 28, 2010
150 4th Avenue: Past, Present, Future
In honor of 150 4th Avenue reaching its full height of 12 stories last week, here's a reminder of where it's been and where it's going. The site, which is between Douglass and Butler, used to be home to a row of old tenement buildings that were demolished a couple of years ago. In their place is an Ismael Leyva-designed building that will eventually have 95 units.
Development Watch: 150 4th Ave Getting Tall Quickly [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 150 4th Avenue Rising [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB
Development Watch: 150 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
January 8, 2010
So Is This Brooklyn's Most-Littered Street?
Last week, we noticed that someone had proclaimed the development site on 3rd Street and 4th Avenue "the second-most littered sidewalk in Park Slope." Yesterday, we came across the site that appears to have taken first place in the contest, the property next to the Lyceum on 4th Avenue near the corner of Union. There were also some saltier messages printed on the fence relating to bodily waste that have not been reprinted here. This is the parcel where an old Septa car took up space for years; it was sadly removed in July '08 in advance of would-be development that never came to fruition.
4th Ave's New 'Littermark' [Brownstoner]
Closing Bell: Goodbye, 4th Avenue Septa [Brownstoner] GMAP
January 6, 2010
StreetLevel: New Coffee Shop for 4th Avenue
As noted in a Food & Drink Roundup a couple weeks ago, 4th Avenue has a new coffee shop. Cafe 474, which is between 10th and 11th streets, has cups of drip starting at $1.50 and shots of espresso for $2.25. There's also an assortment of baked goods from Blue Sky and Little Buddy. One of 474's owners used to run a coffee truck. GMAP
December 31, 2009
4th Ave's New 'Littermark'
Which begs the question, what is the most-littered sidewalk in Park Slope? This message was scrawled on the ads outside the site on 4th and 3rd Street that was supposedly going to be turned into a Starbucks but instead has gone to the worms.
4th Ave Pit Undergoing Slight Improvement [Brownstoner]
StreetLevel: Starbucks Sweet on 4th Ave.? [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB
December 21, 2009
Booze-plex Brewing on 4th Avenue and Carroll
The former Cattyshack space on 4th Avenue will be born again as a new bar, according to workers who have started fixing the place up. The business doesn't yet have a name, they said, and they also seemed pretty positive that it won't once again be a lesbian bar. It's scheduled to open in January. Meanwhile, Mission Dolores, the Bar Great Harry spinoff that'll share a building with this new place, is also still in-progress.
StreetLevel: Bar Great Harry Spinoff Opening on 4th Ave [Brownstoner] GMAP
Brooklyn Guitar School Getting New 4th Ave Digs
The Brooklyn Guitar School, which is currently located on the second floor of a 4th Avenue building between Pacific and Dean, is moving a couple blocks down, to 4th and St. Marks. The school's new space will be an a building that (formerly?) housed industrial supply company at 81 4th Avenue, according to its website. GMAP
December 4, 2009
Development Watch: 150 4th Ave Getting Tall Quickly
Workers at the development on 4th Avenue between Douglass and Butler have really been jamming lately. They've added a story to the building every week and a half or so, and it's now more than halfway to its final height, 12 stories. A reminder of what the finished product is supposed to look like right here.
Development Watch: 150 4th Avenue Rising [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 150 4th Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB
December 1, 2009
Checking in on the Argyle
This summer the sales team for the Argyle, the 60-unit condo on 7th Street and 4th Avenue, touted that the building was "above 70 percent sold." So far, however, there have only been 31 unit closings in the building, plus a bunch of parking spot sales. Meanwhile, 10 condos in the building are currently on the market, according to StreetEasy. Move-ins began in June, and at around the same time prices were raised (?!) a bit on a couple of pads. As it stands, asks are ranging from $459,000 for a 646-sf, 1-bedroom to $965,000 for a 1,239-sf, 3-bedroom.
Argyle Listings [StreetEasy] GMAP
How the Argyle Greets 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
Argyle Closings Happening, But Watch That Punch List [Brownstoner]
First Closings Recorded at the Argyle [Brownstoner]
DOB OK's the Argyle [Brownstoner]
The Argyle Unveiled [Brownstoner]
Slope Dog Run Egging On At Least One Novo Resident
The talk of the dog run behind the Novo condo is about how someone living in the 4th Avenue building threw an egg down into the run a couple weeks ago, evidently to show that he/she was not at all pleased with a dog's barking. The incident happened after 8 p.m., when the run is technically supposed to be closed. (Its official hours of operation end at dusk.) Nevertheless: Extreme measures! According to a guy who was in the run at the time, the egg came very close to hitting him, and he thinks it would have been quite painful if it had connected. Another person who frequents the dog run says a Novo resident came out one morning recently and asked owners to quiet down their dogs because his baby was sleeping. Novo owners have previously complained about noise from the nearby handball courts and skateboard park, but this is the first instance we've heard of in which someone from the condo went crazy over the dog run noise. Neither the dog run or condo are going anywhere, so it'll be interesting to see how they coexist in the long term.
The Novo Sells Out [Brownstoner]
Should We Feel Sorry For Novo Contract Holders? [Brownstoner]
C-of-O Woes for the Novo? [Brownstoner] GMAP
November 13, 2009
Stalled 4th Avenue Site Sold; Work Resuming?
Yesterday the sale of the stalled site on 4th Avenue and Carroll Street was recorded in public records for a hair over $9 million. The incomplete building, which has been a no-go for many months now—and, on occasion, scary as hell to behold—may yet be completed. A construction crew has come back to the site in the past week and appear to be doing remedial work, which is all the SWO on the property allows. There hasn't been any new permit activity in the past year, but hopefully all these signs are pointing to a future non-carcass on 4th Ave.
Horror Show Friday: Scary Winds on 4th Ave & Carroll [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 255 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
255 4th Avenue on the Rise [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: 4th Avenue Twofer [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Unstable at 255 Fourth Avenue? [Brownstoner]
574 4th Avenue: The Full Monty
We took a look at progress on the big 4th Avenue rental near the expressway only a few weeks ago, but since then the construction netting on the project has all come off. And there...it is.
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue Gets Going [Brownstoner]
October 27, 2009
StreetLevel: Pediatrics Office Coming to 4th Ave
Premier Pediatrics, which, according to its website, already has two locations in Brooklyn, will be opening an office in the rental at 110 4th Avenue, on the corner of Warren Street. It's nice to see a ground-floor tenant of any stripe in a new 4th Avenue building.
Checking in on 110 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
110 4th Avenue Starts Renting [Brownstoner] GMAP
Facade Revealed at 4th and Warren [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 110 4th Avenue Topping Out [Brownstoner]
October 21, 2009
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue
Last time we took a look at the big 80-unit development on 4th Avenue and 16th Street, its construction netting had come down partially and the facade was starting to be visible. The finished product is starting to come into clearer focus, with the exterior's shiny metallic stuff now on display as well. No question: This one is classic 4th Avenue and classic Bricolage. By the by, a poster on the Forum said yesterday that there's a rumor swirling around the neighborhood that this building will be housing for recovering drug addicts, but we called the developer's office and they said that's bull—it's just going to be a regular rental.
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue Gets Going [Brownstoner]
October 20, 2009
4th Ave Pit Undergoing Slight Improvement
The would-be retail site on the corner of 4th Avenue and 3rd Street that's been in awful disrepair for awhile now was getting backfilled on Monday. The crew on the site said the work was mandated by the DOB, which has recorded a bunch of violations on the property for stuff like its crummy construction fence, copious debris, etc. The site was at one point rumored to be a future Starbucks location, but that obviously didn't happen and it was put on the market about a year ago. The parcel's price, originally $3.25 million, is now down to $2.75 million.
StreetLevel: Starbucks Sweet on 4th Ave.? [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB
October 9, 2009
Horror Show Friday: Scary Winds on 4th Ave & Carroll
The stalled construction site on 4th Avenue and Carroll Street is spooky no matter what mother nature's up to, but throw in some heavy winds and the scene gets seriously chilling. Above, a video to commemorate what it looked like during Wednesday's big gusts. The winds knocked the traffic barriers in front of the development out onto 4th Avenue and also downed some of the construction fence. A bunch of people called 311 and the problems were remedied by late afternoon. Word on the street is that the developer of the building has finally secured financing and is going to restart the project within the next couple weeks. GMAP
October 7, 2009
StreetLevel: New 4th Avenue Bar On Tap
A bar called The Sackett is scheduled to open in a week or so in the former Latin American Cafe space near the corner of 4th Avenue on Sackett (natch). The watering hole will mainly focus on classic cocktails but will also have four beers on tap and a selection of bottled brews. GMAP
October 6, 2009
Development Watch: 150 4th Avenue Rising
The skeleton of the large, Ismael Leyva-designed project on 4th Avenue between Douglass and Butler is now showing itself above its construction fence. The rendering below the photo represents what the building is eventually supposed to look like, at least as of almost a year ago. The development is going to be 12 stories high and have 95 units.
Development Watch: 150 4th Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB
August 28, 2009
Sign of the Times on 4th Avenue
For many months now there's been a sign on the long-dormant development site at 4th Avenue between 7th and 8th streets advertising that it's for sale and including a rendering of a classic 4th Avenue condo-to-be. A new, bigger sign recently went up that indicates the seller is motivated, since it says that the price has been reduced. This listing for the property says it costs $3.2 million, though it's unclear whether that's been updated with the new price chop. GMAP DOB
August 27, 2009
Raccoons Evidently Digging 4th Avenue
We've heard reports of four separate raccoon sightings on or near 4th Avenue over the past week. Three of the sightings were on Carroll Street—one guy says he saw a raccoon scurrying from the stalled construction site on the corner of Carroll out onto the avenue—while the fourth was close to the entrance of J.J. Byrne Park on 3rd Street. The iPhone pic to the right was captured two nights ago by one of the employees of the car service on Carroll and 4th. The driver says the raccoon hissed at him when he was going in for the close-up. GMAP
August 20, 2009
How the Argyle Greets 4th Avenue
Following in the footsteps of another 4th Avenue masterpiece new condo, the Crest, behold the latest grate addition to the Park Avenue of Brooklyn's streetscape, this time c/o the Argyle. Jane Jacobs would love this! GMAP
July 29, 2009
Taking the Pulse of 4th Avenue's Inventory
Sure, sometimes it seems like there are countless new condos on 4th Avenue, but, in fact, between the expressway and Atlantic Avenue there are only five that currently have units for sale. Some of the recent-vintage builds ended up being rentals, and it's unclear whether the next few that seem likely to actually finish construction, such as 574 4th Avenue, will be rentals or condos. Herewith, the latest numbers available on Brooklyn's Park Avenue condo inventory:
500 Fourth Avenue: Its marketers claimed last month that 20 percent of the 156 units are in contract. So: Around 125 available.
The Argyle: 8 out of 60 units remain, per Corcoran's listings page.
The Novo: 1 unit left for sale, according to StreetEasy.
The Crest: 2 units left unspoken for, says StreetEasy.
The Elan: Broker said last month 7 units were in contract; since then, 18 of the 32 units have been listed as rentals. Thus: 25 available depending on how you look at it. (While this one's about 20 yards from 4th Avenue proper, we're considering it 4th Avenue in spirit.)
Final analysis: Give or take, there are about 160 new condos to sell on 4th Avenue right now. A decent amount, yes, and there are more coming eventually. But it's not a Williamsburg-esque condopocalypse situation. And, at the end of the day, there's really only one building, 500 Fourth, accounting for the overwhelming majority of inventory.
Inside Hotel Le Bleu's Restaurant
A few weeks ago Vue, the restaurant on the 8th floor of 4th Avenue's Hotel Le Bleu, opened for biz. That there above is what it looks like, and the second shot is of the al fresco terrace area with its view stretching from the Gowanus Canal to Downtown Brooklyn and beyond. The restaurant's operators are also going to open a rooftop lounge in about a week and a half. Vue's menu is here; apps run from $7-$12 and include stuff like samurai spiked crab cake, while entrees go from $17 to $28. There have been a few writeups about the Vue, with the Times, for example, talking about the executive chef's background (he "worked at the Monkey Bar and is the chef at China 1 in the East Village"). The most scathing commentary thus far comes from FIPS who says, in part, "The place was decorated in a budget/wannabe hipster/chic style."
Off the Menu [NY Times] GMAP
Da View: Hotel Le Bleu Was Le Ridiculous [FIPS]
Latest Restaurant Additions
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La Mancha
added March 19, 2010 12:00 PM in Brooklyn Heights -
John's Bakery & Pastry Shop
added March 18, 2010 12:00 PM in Ditmas Park -
Amarin
added March 17, 2010 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Kimchee
added March 16, 2010 12:00 PM in Bay Ridge -
Magda Int'l Cafe
added March 15, 2010 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Villa Rustica
added March 12, 2010 12:00 PM in Park Slope -
Happy End
added March 11, 2010 12:00 PM in Greenpoint -
The Blue Stove
added March 10, 2010 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Madina
added March 9, 2010 12:00 PM in Kensington -
Cataldo's
added March 8, 2010 12:00 PM in Prospect Heights