Boerum Hill
May 14, 2008
Brownstoner Bits: The Devil Hangs at Moutarde, And More...
Lights, Camera: Yesterday the cast and crew of "Julie & Julia", a flick about Julia Child starring Meryl Streep and directed by Nora Ephron, was rolling tape outside Moutarde, on 5th Avenue and Carroll Street in the Slope. Anyone spot Streep?
House of D: The controversial proposal to reopen and expand the House of Detention on Atlantic and Court is going to be discussed tomorrow afternoon at a budget hearing in the City Council Chambers. Dept. of Corrections Commissioner Martin Horn will submit testimony from noon to 12:30. An email that's circulating from the plan's opponents says community members are expected to show up in full force to protest the jail's reopening.
Columbia St. Demo: L&M Equity is tearing down a building on Columbia Street, according to Lost City. The developer intends to build more than 170 units of housing near Columbia and Warren.
The New Gowanus: Per GL, The Dept. of City Planning is going to give an update about the effort to rezone about 25 blocks in Gowanus on May 29.
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Photo by McBrooklyn
Neighborhood Newcomer Bashes Bar Tabac
Food blogger Andrea Strong recently moved to Brooklyn, and while she loves the Grocery, she's got nothing but hatred for Bar Tabac: "You see, I live down the block from Bar Tabac, a wannabe faux French bistro owned by the same folks that own Jules, Café Noir and Cercle Rouge, that recently and unfathomably to me, was voted best neighborhood bistro in the Time Out Awards... From where I sit, which is just a few yards from this hellacious restaurant’s front doors, it’s a rude, self-important, obnoxious cave (with al fresco seating) for French ex-pats and ubiquitous hipsters in the Brooklyn area." Yowch!
This Week on Chowhound
One Chowhound has good things to say about the newly opened South Brooklyn Pizza (Court at 4th Street, Carroll Gardens), and another spotted Uncle Louis G's "iconic blue & white striped awning" on Smith Street near the New St. Claire. Meanwhile, Chowhound's Outer Borough Digest shares a few positive reviews of the new Israeli restaurant at 641 President Street, Delicious on the Slope.
Now Open: Lookout Hill Smokehouse
230 Fifth Avenue at President Street, Park Slope; (718) 399-2161
Time Out New York reports that Lookout Hill Smokehouse has opened in the old Biscuit space: "Two smokers pump out the expected lineup of brisket and ribs, along with a few wild cards such as lamb, hanger steak and kielbasa from nearby butcher Jubilat." Heart Fish shares some photos of the place.
After the jump: Lost City ponders the new 360 signage, a review of the Olive Vine Café, BeerMenus.com expands to Brooklyn, and a big-time pastry chef sets her sights on Clinton Hill...
May 8, 2008
House of the Day: 162 Bergen Street
We're not sure how we've managed to not discuss 162 Bergen Street yet, given that it's been on the market since October of last year. Despite not selling for more than six months, the price has remained constant at $2,300,000. While hardly a give-away, we're actually a little surprised that there hasn't been one buyer out there who's fallen in love and been willing to meet the ask. After all, this place has tons o' charm and is in a hot location. What's the catch? Does it need more work than the photos suggest?
162 Bergen Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
May 7, 2008
Wednesday Food & Drink Round Up
Photo by Eating in Translation
Tasteworthy: Blue Marble's Organic Ice Cream
420 Atlantic Avenue (between Bond and Nevins), Boerum Hill
Ice cream season is upon us, and Brooklyn Based is raving about the fresh flavors at Blue Marble: "a Strawberry that actually tastes a little tart (just like in real life!!), a Mocha made with rich cocoa and studded with fat chocolate-covered almonds, and Blackberries and Cream that no one should ever share." This Sunday, they'll be setting up shop at the Flea and offering a rotating selection of four flavors.
Loads of Openings
The NY Times reports that Abigail Abigail Café & Wine Bar (807 Classon Avenue at St. Johns Place, Prospect Heights) will open this Friday, South Brooklyn Pizza (451 Court Street at Fourth Place, Carroll Gardens) opens tomorrow, and the owners of Fatty Crab are getting ready for a summertime opening of a Southeast Asian barbecue spot called Fatty'Cue (91 South Sixth Street, Williamsburg). Time Out New York says that Plan B, a "sports den that boasts an 800-square-foot garden," has opened at 626 Vanderbilt Avenue (between Park and Prospect Place) in Prospect Heights, and Organic Heights, an "organic bakery and takeout spot, featuring 30 varieties of tea and fair-trade, shade-grown coffees," has opened at 460 Bergen Street (between Flatbush and Fifth Avenue).
Now Closed: Chicory Brooklyn
243 DeGraw Street (between Clinton and Court), Cobble Hill
"Just taking a moment to mourn the neighborhood's best fried chicken, greens and various roasted veggies. Also, I'll miss the burger." [A Brooklyn Life]
After the jump: Prices rise at Sweet Melissa and — you knew it would happen eventually — somebody's opening a burger joint called "Williamsburger"...
May 1, 2008
Condos of the Day: Price Cuts at 402 Pacific Street
The first month on the market was not a good one for 402 Pacific Street, the four-unit townhouse conversion in Boerum Hill. As a result, all four apartments have just had their asking prices trimmed an average of about five percent. The biggest unit, for example, was reduced from $1,250,000 to $1,150,000, a function, perhaps, of about a third of its square footage being located on the ground floor. By comparison, the cheapest unit (the second floor) came down just $30,000 to $895,000. The overall reno doesn't really move us, but the windowed extension is a nice touch. These condo conversions seem like an increasingly tough sell to us as prices in larger new buildings only get more competitive.
402 Pacific Street [Streeteasy] GMAP P*Shark
402 Pacific Street Gut Job [Brownstoner]
April 30, 2008
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Photo by roboppy
Bars in Battle with Neighbors
Park Slope's Union Hall (pictured above) is up for their liquor license renewal next week, and according to Eater, community members issued a 1200-word press release railing against this stroller-free establishment. Meanwhile, Gothamist reports that Greenpoint's Studio B has received a stop work order from neighbors who are hoping that the club's proposed tropical rooftop oasis will be nipped in the bud.
New Brooklyn Openings
Looks like there's nothing but love for the recently opened Root Hill Cafe on 4th Avenue an Carroll Street. Ed Levine describes their Clover-brewed coffee as "pretty amazing" and Slice loves the cafe's outdoor canine accomodations. Eater reports that a new bar and burger joint called Brooklyn Ice House is slated to open in the old Pioneer Bar-B-Q space on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. And according to Time Out, Appertivo (279 Fifth Avenue at 1st Street) — part of Sotto Voce's mini-empire in Park Slope— is now offering a menu of "pastas like linguine with a chicken liver, sage, white wine and cream sauce," but their liquor license is still pending.
Best Outdoor Bites
Brooklyn Based shares a list of all their favorite restaurants and bars with outdoor seating, calling Rocky Sullivan's "the only rooftop bar in the city that can actually be called serene" and describing the table for two beside the fountain in Palo Santo's tiny backyard as the most romantic outdoor table in Brooklyn.
After the jump: Fresh Direct expands delivery range, the Voice says Barrio is overpriced, Gothamist hits Shachis and the Times visits Jake Walk...
Big Bucks for Downtown's Big House?
Here's an interesting solution for the House of Detention on Atlantic that doesn't involve supersizing the facility: Comptroller Bill Thompson says the city should sell the property, according to an article in today's Daily News. Thompson wrote a letter to Mayor Bloomberg that says selling the facility, which has been closed since '03, will bring cash to the city and prevent a reopened jail from damaging Downtown Brooklyn's economy. "Because our City has already begun to experience economic weakness, communities such as Downtown Brooklyn remain at risk of reversing their economic gains," wrote Thompson, saying that reopening the jail "would ... directly impact the revitalization of the surrounding area." Right now community members who oppose the Department of Corrections' plan to double the House of Detention's size are considering suing the city. We wonder how much a property like this might fetch, and what sort of developer would be interested in taking it on. Guesses?
Sell Shut Downtown Brooklyn Jail to Raise Cash, Bloomberg Urged [NY Daily News]
City Looks to Supersize the House of D [Brownstoner] GMAP
Photo by Funtime Ben.
April 25, 2008
Atlantic Gets its HIP Adjustment
The new office building on Atlantic and Nevins that'll be leased by HIP is looking more or less good-to-go these days. When we last checked in on it in spring '07, it was a big hole. Architecture-wise, we find it to be a "there it is, I've already forgotten what it looks like" kind of building. They do get points for aligning the facade and roofline, though!
Development Watch: 447 Atlantic Avenue [Brownstoner]
HIP's Giving Out Bad Vibrations [Brownstoner] GMAP
April 23, 2008
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Angry Wade's Gets a Makeover
224 Smith Street (at Butler Street); (718) 488-7253
Haven't been inside in a while, but doesn't this place look better in red?
Five Guys Burgers in Park Slope: Hot or Not?
Says one Chowhound: "I was walking past the corner of 7th Ave and 6th street (where that ugly Bank of America is going in) and I saw a work permit on the space next door (the old D'Agostino's) that says a Five Guys is going in. Yea!"
But another replies: "Or is it another nail in the coffin for the charm of Park Slope?"
Opening and Closing Report
According to Eater, Jesse's Brooklyn Kitchen will be closing shop on Smith Street, and Manhattan's Cheyenne Diner will reopen in Red Hook, but Red Hook's 360 is officially gone for good.
After the jump: Luz turns out the lights for Earth Day (and today), bargains at Barrio, and Andrea Strong's move to Brooklyn...
April 21, 2008
StreetLevel: Bodega Goes Up in Smoke
The Vargas Mini-Market, a bodega at the corner of Bond and Warren, was shut down late last week. According to the restraining order affixed to the shuttered business, it was closed for the "sale of untaxed cigarettes." While the closure of a single bodega isn't all that interesting, it's the first time we've seen a store shut down (and publicly reprimanded) for selling untaxed smokes. We're wondering if the city is cracking down on bodegas for this sort of shady behavior, whether it was an isolated incident, or if this is commonplace. Anyone know of this happening at other stores recently? GMAP