Greenpoint
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...
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)...
April 15, 2008
Sneak Peek At Lofts 305 in Greenpoint
We noticed 305 McGuinness Blvd., now named Lofts 305, in Greenpoint is almost finished, but found almost no sales information online. Apparently, developer Bronsman Fischer Real Estate Holdings (Issac Hager gave this one up when the two went their separate ways) has just been waiting on the offering plan to be approved. The Developers Group project manager Leonard Chao, who is handling sales of the lofts, said sales should launch any day now. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at the interior of this five story loft designed by Karl Fischer to mimic a Greenpoint warehouse. Ceilings are up to 17 feet high and many of the lofts feature private terraces and mezzanines. How do you think this location will play?
Development Watch: 305 McGuinness Boulevard [Brownstoner]
April 10, 2008
Parks Dept. Reveals Plans for Bushwick Inlet Park
Gowanus Lounge and Curbed have published renderings of the planned Bushwick Inlet Park on the Williamsburg-Greenpoint waterfront, which the Parks Dept. says it's going to start working on this fall. The drawings are for the first phase of the project, between North 9th and 10th streets, which will involve a multi-purpose athletic field that Parks wants to finish by next summer and a maintenance building/community space that the city is looking to get done by summer 2010. When complete, the entire park is supposed to stretch over 28 acres between the Bushwick Inlet and North 9th, from Kent Avenue to the water.
Fall Start for Work on First Part of Bushwick Inlet Park [Gowanus Lounge]
Inlet Park Work Coming, Greenway Advances [Curbed]
Continue reading "Parks Dept. Reveals Plans for Bushwick Inlet Park"
April 3, 2008
Condos of the Day: 118 Greenpoint Avenue
Sales launched only a few weeks ago but already 4 out of the 15 units at the Canvas Condos at 118 Greenpoint Avenue have accepted offers on them. Frankly, we're not surprised. This is one of the nicer boutique projects we've seen in a while. With prices ranging from $359,000 to $699,000, it's well priced for the Greenpoint buyer. The location ain't too shabby either (assuming North Brooklyn is your thing). Hopefully this'll send a message to developers that a tasteful conversion of an old building can still sell in this market. Stop the unnecessary teardowns!
118 Greenpoint Avenue Listings [Aptsandlofts] GMAP P*Shark
March 28, 2008
Rentals of the Week: Greenpoint
Lots of share-worthy looking apartments in Greenpoint posted on Craigslist. Clockwise, from left to right:
1. 2-bed, 2-bath, EIK, private yard. $2,200, Humboldt near Nassau.
2. 1-bed near waterfront. $1,675, Huron at Franklin.
3. 2-bed railroad w/ sep. entrances. $1,695, 197 Green St.
4. 2-bed w/ backyard. $1,600, Calyer at Eckford.
5. 2-bed w/ h/w floors. $1,525, Franklin at Java.
March 19, 2008
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Now Open: Toby's
6th Avenue and 21st Street, South Slope Greenwood Heights
Last Tuesday, Toby's opened its doors with a menu of brick oven pizzas, such as the Margherita ($12), four-cheese ($14), and white ($13). They're also serving up salads and antipasti, like a selection of "artisan Italian cured meats" (prosciuitto, sopressata, Italian ham) with focaccia. Customers can wash it all down with wine by the glass, booze, or beer — they've got a well-chosen selection, with Hofbrau seasonal brews on tap. But over on the Brooklynian boards, folks are already complaining that the pizzas are overpriced and griping about the "No Strollers" sign in the window. Check out an interior photo after the jump.
Now Open: Moxie Spot
81 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn Heights
As we reported last week, the Moxie Spot is finally open and serving up its family-friendly menu. But according to one Chowhound, some parents on a local list-serv are complaining about their "small portions, and out-of-synch serving (tables getting there plates 1 at a time)." On the bright side, the small portions are offered at low prices (burgers cost a mere $4.75), and Brooklyn Heights Blog is singing the praises of the place's creative entryway, which features an adult-sized door, with kid-sized and pet-sized doors built into it.
Roberta's: "Pizza as Art"
261 Moore Street (at Bogart Street), Bushwick; (718) 417-1118
"The 12-inch pizzas ($7 to $15) are the focal point of the short menu. Roberta’s offers a margherita and a tomato-only rosso, but the restaurant is not a destination for anyone looking to stoke memories of Napoli: the heretically creative pies are the thing to get... Roberta’s take on a Hawaiian pizza comes topped with paper-thin sheets of ripe pineapple, shreds of ham, sliced jalapeños and dabs of ricotta cheese." [NY Times]
After the jump: A peek inside Toby's, Brooklyn's first "occasional restaurant," Trois Pommes Patisserie's hamataschen how-to, a look inside the Hideout and the Habitat, and the official details on Brooklyn Restaurant Week '08...
Checking In On Loftology
So far so good at 285 Driggs (or should we say Loftology), one of a pair of Scarano designs at the northern edge of McCarren Park. Since sales of the smaller units kicked off back in December, all six of the sub-1,000-square-foot spaces have been spoken for at price-per-square-foot multiples ranging from $763 to $894. The six bigger units are nearing completion, with an open house blitz to follow. We'll be watching to see whether anyone will pony up $1,500,000 for the 1,589-square-foot top-floor pad. If so, we'll know the market is alive and well in Greenpoint.
285 Driggs Avenue [Aptsandlofts] GMAP P*Shark
March 14, 2008
Closing Bell: New Park on Newtown Creek
By all appearances, Greenpoint will soon have a new park. While not quite on the scale of McCarren Park, the new spot will offer views of Newtown Creek. The new foot-traffic should be welcome by Ashbox, a cool cafe half a block away, and give the artisans in the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center a new option for cig breaks. GMAP
March 13, 2008
Update on Williamsburg/Greenpoint Rezonings
The Department of City Planning has a couple of rezoning actions in the works for Williamsburg and Greenpoint. First up, the Planning Commission recently approved the a zoning amendment for Grand Street, a 13-block parcel left out of the area's wider 2005 rezone. New developments on Grand will mostly be limited to 50 feet in height, pending the City Council's approval of the change. The second rezoning action on DCP's plate will cover a much larger swath of the two neighborhoodsin East Greenpoint, a 170-block area east of the BQE, roughly from Maujer Street north to the Newtown Creek. No info about this possible rezone on Planning's website yet, but public review might begin by fall and it would impose contextual zoning on streets that are already residential.
Burg Downzone in the Works [Brownstoner]
Rezoning East Greenpoint [WGPA]
Real Estate Round-Up [Eagle]
Photo by typografuk.