South Slope
April 29, 2008
Slope Armory Should be Ready for Action by '09
The formal agreement between the city and the YMCA that'll result in the Y running programs at the Park Slope Armory for five years has almost been reached, according to Sean Andrews, executive director of the Prospect Park Y. The new $16 million, 600-seat athletic center will primarily be used for track-and-field events, though a portion of it will be set aside for other sports, like soccer and basketball. "We're very excited about the possibility of getting in there sometime later in the summer," says Andrews. "The plan is to run activities between the time we get in there and the end of the year, and to start to build a core of programs with a full slate of activities to start by early 2009." The Y is unlikely to start overseeing the center completely before '09 because it needs to hire staff and move into offices that still need to be built below the women's homeless shelter on the 8th avenue side of the building, according to Tom Miskel, the former president of the Park Slope Civic Council who heads up the advisory board on the facility. The city's Department of Homeless Services is responsible for building the office component, and the center's opening hinges on "how fast they can complete them," says Miskel.
Slope Armory Athletic Center Comes Out to Play [Brownstoner]
Park Slope Armory Lookin' Hot to Trot [Brownstoner]
Last Lap for Park Slope Armory Renovation [Brownstoner]
Photo by gmpicket.
April 10, 2008
Katan Sells Off South Slope Development Parcel
Isaac Katan's gotten his hands on some notable South Slope/Greenwood Heights development sites, including what's now the Vue on 16th Street and a gargantuan building under construction on 4th Avenue between 12th and 13th streets (formerly known as "The Olive Garden Building"). A developer cannot live on development alone, however. Katan recently sold off some properties he purchased in 2004 on 6th Avenue between 16th and Prospect for $3,525,000. Katan paid $3,100,000 for the large former parking lot and air rights from two adjacent buildings a few years ago, so he didn't clear a huge profit on the deal. Katan never filed new building plans with the DOB for the parcel, and neither has its new owner, a hard-to-unmask LLC. It'll be interesting to see the shape of things to come here. GMAP P*Shark DOB
April 9, 2008
House of the Day: 429 9th Street
This place may be worth it just for the cupola bragging rights! It's a four-story, 19-foot-wide brownstone that's currently divided into four full-floor apartments. All four will be vacant by the end of May and have a combined monthly rent roll of $8,800. At the listing price of $1,700,000, you'll need all that rent to cover your mortgage. What about as a conversion to a single-family or two-family? Well, you gotta figure you'll be in for more than $2 million when you're done. How does that stack up for this location? Well, we just heard that 547 9th Street, which we had called "the best deal we've seen in a long, long time" when it was listed back in January, sold at auction yesterday for $1,820,000. It's a floor shorter than this but richer in detail and location.
429 9th Street [Orrichio-Anderson] GMAP P*Shark
Photo by Kate Leonova for PropertyShark
March 19, 2008
StreetLevel: Cuban Restaurant Cooking in the South Slope
A couple of longtime South Slopers are planning to build a Cuban restaurant, dance studio and recording space in their 7th Avenue building. Felix de Jesus, a pro dance instructor, and his wife, Olga Gomez—who has lived at 460 7th Avenue for the past 36 years—intend to construct an entertainment center called Ache de Cuba in the first floor and basement of their house. The ground floor will host the restaurant and dance space, while the basement will be turned into the recording studio. The plans are probably a year away from fruition, says de Jesus, and the pair needs to clear some C-of-O issues in order to be legit. The name of the future business between 15th and 16th streets comes from Cuba's Yoruba religion (aka "Santeria") and refers to a "universal life force." GMAP
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...
March 13, 2008
Changing South Slope Gets Some Ink From AMNY
This morning the South Slope gets a big writeup in AM New York with a focus on how the area is different from mainland Slope ("There are way less strollers and dogs," says one resident. "There's more of the remaining community present and it feels more authentic. There are more twentysomethings here, too.") but also how it's also beginning to look a lot more like the North Slope. Brokers and residents say the South Slope's influx of boutiques, cafes and residents priced out of Slope prime are all contributing to the area becoming more like the blocks north of 9th Street. We half buy this argument but think South Slope's completely different aesthetic, buildings-wise, is always going to set it apart from its neighbor to the North, and it also seems evident that exciting retail has been a lot slower to come to the area than it has to the North Slope—especially 5th Ave.—in recent years. There isn't a whole lot of treatment of the area's new condo building boom, though a sales manager for the Vue (a Brownstoner advertiser) says the condo's been well-received because "The newer residents of the area have demands that need to be met." A South Sloper named Jarrett Shamlian, who has lived in the neighborhood for four years, has the article's most interesting commentary about how the area is changing. "Four years ago it was more affordable—my rent's raised $100 every year," he says. "The Latin community has been pushed out. For example, there was a small Latin cafe where I could get Tres Leches at 3:00 am that closed. The 99-cent stores are going under, with banks filling the empty spaces. People are being pressured into putting up new facades, perhaps in a community effort to 'clean up' the area's image."
New York Real Estate: South Slope [AM New York]
Photo by imbyblogspot.
March 4, 2008
New South Slope Condo: 317 16th Street
Given the amount of buyer interest there was in Parc Maison, a Windsor Terrace condo which sold surprisingly well this fall, we’re intrigued about the prospects for a nearby South Slope development on 16th Street. Seventeen units at 317 16th Street just went on sale via Brown Harris Stevens, and prices are a bit steeper than at Parc Maison: The cheapest, a 944-square-foot 2-bedroom, is asking $645,000 (common charges $258), while the most expensive, a 1,517-square-foot 2-bedroom duplex, is priced at $940,000 (common charges $378). The listings tout the gourmet kitchens, outdoor terrace/balcony space, a common roof deck and on-site parking. We spied folks streaming in and out of the open house this past weekend—anyone have a report?
317 16th Street [Street Easy] GMAP
317 16th Street [Brown Harris Stevens]
February 14, 2008
StreetLevel: Puppets Jazz Bar Reopening Soon
We've been kind of worried about Puppets Jazz Bar, which had to move out of its old North Slope digs in June and was supposed to start the show in its new location between 11th and 12th streets awhile back. The venue has yet to open for business, though, and we got even more concerned when we noticed the for-sale sign above Puppets' new home. No need to worry, though: The building sale won't affect Puppets, which has a 10-year lease, and one of the co-owners says that construction has simply proven more challenging than expected and they'll probably open within the next six weeks or so. GMAP
February 13, 2008
Condos of the Day: 639 6th Avenue
After starting out on the wrong foot, the six-unit condo at 639 6th Avenue turned out to be a little more interesting, in our opinion, than the standard fare going up in the South Slope and Greenwood Heights these days. While the ceilings could be higher, the layout feels pretty lofty for a 976-square-foot apartment and the kitchens are the nicest we've seen in a new development in a while. So far, though, buyers appear to be less enthusiastic. Although the lower duplex is in contract according to A&H, none of the five floor-throughs, priced from $569,000 to $675,000, has a taker yet. Theories?
639 6th Avenue: The Vanguard [Aguayo & Huebener] GMAP
Where Does a Tree Stand in Development Hierarchy? [Brownstoner]
February 5, 2008
Athena Prices a Big Fat Myth?
A reader writes in to say he feels misled by how prices were determined for 245 16th Street, aka the Athena:
I was one of the first to be shown the new 245 16th St. building. We met with the listing agent prior to the internet launch and saw all units, which were listed at 695K. After two weeks of being advised of considerable interest, we submitted our bid. After two days of deliberation, we received news that the units were now being offered at 795K and not 695K. This may be legal, but wrong. Buyers beware that this building has gone up in price only after testing the market.
On the one hand, this sounds like some welcome positive news about the market (though it's hard to imagine a whole lot of buyer enthusiasm for this place). On the other, it's tough luck for the buyer above. What do you think? Uncool on the part of the seller or just a case of "You snooze, you lose" for the buyer?
BK Developers: What Are They Thinking? [Brownstoner]
245 16th St. Listing [Douglas Elliman] GMAP