Carroll Gardens
May 16, 2008
Board Gives Blessing to CG Zoning Amendment
On Wednesday night Community Board 6 voted to approve a zoning text amendment for Carroll Gardens that means several streets in the neighborhood will be defined as "narrow" rather than "wide," according to posts on Gowanus Lounge and Pardon Me for Asking. The Department of City Planning-helmed measure basically aims to restrict heights on new development on 1st through 4th places and a few other streets, and it needs to be voted on by the City Council.
Carroll Gardens “Narrow Streets” Zoning Change Passes CB6 [GL]
C.B.6 Approves Carroll Gardens Zoning Text Amendment [PMFA]
City Narrowing Its View of Carroll Gardens Streets [Brownstoner]
May 14, 2008
Hey, at Least One Person Digs the Carroll Gardens Atrocity
Pardon Me for Asking spotted a great advertisement Channel 4 spot from a program called "Open House TV" that features 45 3rd Place, aka the Carroll Gardens Atrocity aka the Carroll Gardens Bastard aka the Carroll Gardens Tumor Building. In the program, above, a current resident of Carroll Gardens is looking for a bigger pad in the neighborhood, and she almost does cartwheels while touring a unit at 45 3rd (sample quotes: "beautiful, beautiful"; "the angels are singing!"; "it's everything I want!"). (FYI, they're now trying to sell the two duplexes as a single residence.) PMFA has the following commentary on the show: "Obviously, she did not buy the place, otherwise, it wouldn't be on the market anymore...Pardon me for asking, but why did they need a car to go from one place to the other? The distance from Ms. Stewart's house and the two condos is ridiculously close. What a waste of gasoline." You know, when the angels are singing, it's tough to worry about the little stuff, like gas usage.
Desperately Seeking Buyer For 45 3rd Place! [PMFA]
45 Third Place Open House: Yuck! [Brownstoner]
Condos of the Day: No Buyers for 45 Third Place [Brownstoner]
A Current Look at Third Place Horror Show [Brownstoner]
Price for CG Atrocity a "Fantasy" [Brownstoner]
Real Photos of Carroll Gardens Bastard [Brownstoner]
Carroll Gardens "Bastardization" Hits Market [Brownstoner]
CG Atrocity: There Goes the Neighborhood [Brownstoner]
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 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 5, 2008
Condos of the Day: Price Cuts, No Love for 45 3rd Place
The developer of the 45 3rd Place (aka the Carroll Gardens atrocity) has finally cried "Uncle!" After 16 months on the market with no reduction in price, the two units in the mangled converted townhouse finally received small price reductions (around 3%) at the end of last week. (Notice how the current listings do not include a single photo of the offending addition.) We wonder whether they've fixed any of the red flags spotted by blogger Pardon Me For Asking at an open house earlier this year. What do you think these will ultimately sell for (if they ever do)?
3rd Place Condo - Lower Duplex [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP
3rd Place Condo - Upper Duplex [Brown Harris Stevens]
45 Third Place Open House: Yuck! [Brownstoner]
Condos of the Day: No Buyers for 45 Third Place [Brownstoner]
A Current Look at Third Place Horror Show [Brownstoner]
Price for CG Atrocity a "Fantasy" [Brownstoner]
Real Photos of Carroll Gardens Bastard [Brownstoner]
Carroll Gardens "Bastardization" Hits Market [Brownstoner]
CG Atrocity: There Goes the Neighborhood [Brownstoner]
Photos by Pardon Me For Asking
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...
Developmentapalooza on One Stretch of Court
While the Clarett Group's project at 340 Court has been the focus of plenty of neighborhood attention in recent months, another block further down Court that's about to host not one but two new developments has more or less flown under the radar. Over at 525 Court, between 9th and Garnet, Basile Builders plans to build a seven-story residential structure (condo or rental TBD). The building (development site shown above) will be designed by Harry Radusky of Bricolage, according to DOB records. (Whatta team! One remember's Radusky's imprint from jobby-jobs like this, while Basile has had a hand in gems like this.) Meanwhile, on the corner of the same block, at 517 Court Street, a developer is demolishing the building that currently stands and has filed plans with the DOB for a six-story building. 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 22, 2008
Carroll Gardens Elder Statesman Talks Development
"For about 30 years I've been on bended knee," says Buddy Scotto, "begging developers to come into Carroll Gardens. It’s hard for people who haven’t been involved to understand how difficult it's been." Scotto, who was born on Court Street and owns several properties in the neighborhood, including the Scotto Funeral Home on 1st Place, is referring to neighborhood residents who've been calling for a moratorium on all new construction over 50 feet. The most vocal of those activists have organized as a group called CORD, or the Coalition to Respectfully Develop. "All of a sudden there are all these people who are concerned about high buildings are going to be," says Scotto, the "unofficial mayor" of the neighborhood who helped create the Carroll Gardens Civic Association in 1964 and played a significant role in getting the Gowanus Canal flushing tunnel reactivated in the late '90s. Scotto says he supports the current plans for the Public Place site, Clarett's project at 340 Court, Billy Stein's development at 360 Smith, and the Toll Brothers' project next to the Gowanus Canal. Scotto answers critics of new development by saying that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," adding, "what I’ve tried to call Clarett is that this intensity of feeling about Carroll Gardens is what will help sell their development. It’s all a plus." While Scotto welcomes the development projects now on tap, he also believes that most of the neighborhood should be landmarked, which he says he's been pushing for since his civic organization helped get four blocks in the area landmarked in 1973. Scotto is working with Bob Furman, formerly of the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance, to raise funds for a landmarking study, while another group, the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, is also independently trying to raise funds. "While I'm excited about all the new development," says Scotto, "I have been anxiously awaiting the landmarking of the whole neighborhood since 1973."
Calls for Reining in Development at Carroll Gardens Meeting [Brownstoner]
Time for a Moratorium on the Moratorium Talk? [Brownstoner]
Photo from nyc.gov.
April 16, 2008
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Top Dish at Good Fork
391 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook; (718) 643-6636
"The must-have entree is 'Steak and Eggs' Korean style: hot and pungent kimchee rice topped with a generous portion of marinated skirt steak and a fried egg, whose yolk leaks and makes the combination ever-more deadly." [Gothamist]
New Gourmet Grocery for Carroll Gardens
437 Court Street between 3rd Place and 4th Place, Carroll Gardens
"Anybody on the south side of Carroll Gardens has certainly noticed the sushi restaurant space formerly known as Fujiya is undergoing some major renovations. According to a guy on site, it's going to be a gourmet grocery store, with involvement by the people who owned the Key Foods. Another source mentioned the store will have hot premade meals." [A Brooklyn Life]
Now Open: Annabelle's
44 Beard Street at Dwight Street, Red Hook; (718) 643-1500
"Chef Neil Ganic (La Bouillabaisse, Petite Crevette) took over the former Lillie's space to open this Red Hook bar named for his daughter... True to Ganic’s kitchen background, the full menu transcends typical pub grub. Expect mini po' boys, ratatouille gratinée and freshly shucked oysters. A back garden, featuring a blue-crab steamer and enough room for 50 landlubbers, is in the works." [Time Out NY]
After the jump: The Times goes arepa-crazy at Shachis, Williamsburg gets a new chocolate shop, and one Chowhound visits Little Korea (so you don't have to)...