East Williamsburg




September 10, 2009

Community Groups Sue City over Broadway Triangle

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Opponents of the controversial plan to develop the 31-acre area of East Williamsburg called the Broadway Triangle sued the city yesterday in Supreme Court, charging racial and religious discrimination as well as failure to comply with due process. The coalition of 40 North Brooklyn community groups alleges that the plan for 1,895 new units of housing favor the Hasidic community by including a disproportionate number of three- and four-bedroom apartments to house larger Jewish families and by capping building height at eight stories, since Jews can't take the elevator on the Sabbath. The suit points out that nearly half of the public housing in the area is currently occupied by Hasidic Jews, “despite federal court orders requiring the end of discriminatory practices and despite the fact that the waiting list for such housing has remained at over 90 percent Latino and African American for more than 30 years.” It also claims that the Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council and the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg received exclusive development rights in a no-bid process through their connections to Assemblyman Vito Lopez (D-Williamsburg), and that the city failed to submit its plans for review by Bedford-Stuyvesant's Community Board 3, as required by land use regulations. Addressing some of these claims back in July, Councilman David Yassky (D-Williamsburg) said, "I want more housing, but I don't want skyscrapers in the middle of Brooklyn ... I can't imagine that there are real grounds for a lawsuit." GMAP
Racial and Religious Discrimination Alleged in Triangle [NY Daily News]
City Sued over Triangle Rezoning [Brooklyn Paper]
Triangle Debate Goes On over Eminent Domain [Brownstoner]
The Voice Calls Out Lopez [Brownstoner]
Markowitz Endorses Lopez's Triangle Plan [Brownstoner]

Posted by jscheff at 9:30 AM | Comments (115)
Categories: Affordable Housing, East Williamsburg

July 23, 2008

Closing Bell: Bunking in the Burg

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Per Curbed, there's now an option for folks who are priced out of Williamsburg's Hotel Le Jolie: The New York Loft Hostel on Varet Street. The hostel offers accommodations for less than $30 a night in its dorm spaces, bunk bed and wi-fi included. A pool and jacuzzi are on the way.
'Live Like a Hipster King,' Bunk Beds Included [Curbed] GMAP
Live Like A Hipster King! [NY Shitty]
The New York Loft Hostel [Official Site]

Posted by Gabby at 4:00 PM | Comments (4)
Categories: East Williamsburg, Hostels, Williamsburg

July 14, 2008

Eternal Sunshine of the East Williamsburg Kind

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Is French filmmaker Michel Gondry calling Brooklyn home nowadays? Peut-être. Last week a house on Orient Avenue in East Williamsburg changed hands for a little over a million bucks, and the buyer was ID'd in public records as Gondry. The buyer's address on the deed pointed back to a Beverly Hills management firm. Gondry was directing a Microsoft commercial in Brooklyn last week and has shot other stuff in the borough, most notably 2005's Block Party in Clinton Hill. According to an article in the Times from a couple years ago, Gondry moved to an East Village apartment in 2004.
Image from the Times, doctored with Property Shark photo.

Posted by Gabby at 11:03 AM | Comments (6)
Categories: Celebrity, East Williamsburg, Williamsburg

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