Celebrity
April 11, 2008
Tony Soprano Doing Dumbo?
While Liv Tyler may be passing on Brooklyn, it's looking like James Gandolfini may be putting down roots in the borough. He's been spotted on a number of occasions recently in Dumbo. Yesterday, the Sopranos star was out walking his dog and grabbing a coffee on Front Street, according to the tipster who sent these photos in. A search of property records yields nothing. Theories?
April 10, 2008
Closing Bell: Liv Tyler Moving to Brooklyn—Or Not
Liv Tyler was house hunting in Brooklyn this weekend, says UK-based Hello Magazine. According to the tabloid, the story goes thus: Tyler, her husband and their kid, who live in the West Village, "spent the afternoon browsing townhouse-style properties in Brooklyn, including one three-storey, red brick edifice with high ceilings that Liv seemed particularly interested in. On the market for $16 million, the 8,000-square-foot property features period details like doors with etched glass and grand fireplaces, plus views out over the Hudson and the Statue Of Liberty." It's an especially fascinating story since the house described in the story is 140 Columbia Heights, which Tyler reportedly considered buying a few years back and which subsequently sold to someone who is not named Liv Tyler. According to a Brooklyn Heights broker who worked with Tyler a few years back, the actress was in touch a few weeks ago to discuss several Brooklyn listings but Tyler has probably (once again) decided not to move from Manhattan. The broker did not know whether Tyler was house hunting in Brooklyn this weekend, but had this to say about the Hello report: "The townhouse pictured is not 140 Columbia Heights, though the text description is. I’m not sure what property is pictured, but I believe it to be a Manhattan listing."
Liv Tyler Takes Her Boys House-Hunting in New York's Brooklyn [Hello]
Photo by Hollywood Kids.
March 17, 2008
40 Acres Former HQ Now For Sale
A couple of weeks ago we reported that 40 Acres and a Mule, Spike Lee's production company, had moved out of its Fort Greene headquarters of the past 22 years. Now, it turns out, the owner has put the three-story former firehouse on the market for a staggering $6,000,000. We realize the place has the fame factor going for it, but you'd have to be pretty star-struck to shell out $1,000 a foot for something that doesn't even have much interior charm going for it and is across the street from the hospital entrance. The aggressive asking price also kinda makes you wonder wonder whether Spike decided to leave or was forced to.
124 Dekalb Avenue [Citi Habitats] GMAP
Spike Pulls Plug on Dekalb HQ [Brownstoner]
Spike's Gone But 40 Acres and a Mule Lingers On [Brownstoner
March 6, 2008
Spike Pulls Plug on Dekalb HQ
It's official: Spike Lee has moved his 40 Acres and a Mule production company out of its long-time headquarters at 124 Dekalb Avenue. A reader noticed movers coming and going last week and the drive-by this morning confirmed that the company's big red flag had been taken down. A call to 40 Acres a few minutes ago revealed that the company has consolidated its activities into one location. And, luckily, it's not on the Upper East Side, where Lee decamped several years ago with his family. It's just a block away at 76 South Elliott Place.
Spike's Gone But 40 Acres and a Mule Lingers On [Brownstoner] GMAP
November 6, 2007
Correction: Michelle Williams NOT Leaving Brooklyn
False alarm. Apparently, Page Six (and all the blogs that piled on) got it wrong last week: Brokeback Mountain actress and Boerum Hill rez Michelle Williams has no plans to leave Brooklyn in the wake of her break-up with husband Heath Ledger. A source close to the actress tells us that while she's unlikely to stay put in the house they bought together (you know, too many memories), Fort Greene's as far as she's looking to go.
Lonely House [NY Post]
Photo by xon pan
October 29, 2007
Michelle Williams Wants Out of Brooklyn
Another A-lister is fleeing Brooklyn, according to today's Page Six. The gossip column reports that Michelle Williams is likely to follow in the footsteps of her ex, Heath Ledger, and move to Manhattan because the Boerum Hill house she and Ledger bought a couple of years ago too big for just her and her baby. Further proof that Brooklyn is, like, totally over as far as the cool kids are concerned?
Lonely House [NY Post]
Photo by Hollywood Kids
December 28, 2006
Pinpointing Biggie's Crib
A reader steered us to the photographs from a 2003 exhibition at the Robin Rice Gallery in the West Village. The photographer Micheal McLaughlin took a number of atmospheric black-and-white photos of Brooklyn scenes and landmarks, including the childhood home of Biggie Smalls and the Brooklyn Heights apartment of Truman Capote. We know that Capote's place was on Willow Street and we've always been under the impression that Biggie lived on St. James Place in Clinton Hill. Can anyone i.d. the exact address of this apartment building?
BKLYN: Micheal McLaughlin [Robin Rice Gallery]
February 14, 2006
Ledger and Williams Opt to Own, Not Rent
Australia's Daily Telegraph has the goods on the house that Academy Award nominees Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams have purchased in Boerum Hill. According to the article, the Brokeback Mountain stars paid $3.5 million (AUS $4.7 million) for the four-floor house "two blocks south of Smith Street" last year after getting to know the neighborhood while renting a nearby townhouse. Ledger, who's had a rocky relationship with the paparazzi in Australia, has found Brooklyn's residents to be a good deal mellower. "He's very nice and they're very sweet people," said his neighbour Margaret Cusack. "We got to go to the premiere of Brokeback Mountain – he gave us tickets."
Heath's Home is Away [Daily Telegraph (AUS)]
February 8, 2006
Brooklyn's Hollywood East Makeover Continues?
While her publicist is denying she's going anywhere, actress Liv Tyler is rumored to have toured the most expensive brownstone in Brooklyn recently. Initially listed with Brown Harris Stevens last spring for $20 million, the five-story, 8,000-square-foot house overlooking the promenade first had its price dropped to $16 million before being taken off the market and now appears to be listed with Corcoran for $14.5 million. We wouldn't be surprised if in the end someone shells out this kind of money for the house. Hard to beat the location, that's for sure.
Giving It All Away [NY Magazine - 2nd Item]
$20 M House in Backslide [NY Observer]
Columbia Heights Mansion [Corcoran]
Seven Figures is for Wimps [Brownstoner]
August 26, 2005
A True Gut Renovation in Clinton Hill
A certain celebrity neighbor of ours is taking his demolition pretty seriously. He must have quite an entourage of workers gutting the place!