November 4, 2009

East River Ferry Service in Jeopardy—Again

In what can't be taken as anything but a blow to the already challenging marketing campaigns of the handful of high-end waterfront developments in Brooklyn, New York Water Taxi announced that it might have to stop its East River commuter service for the third time in four years after being unable to come to an agreement with the city; to make matters worse, EDC announced that plans to create more routes had been tabled by the recession. The news will definitely create problems for those already living on the waterfront. Take Robert Thorne, who lives at Schaefer Landing in South Williamsburg with his family: “[The ferry] saves us 35, 40 minutes each way,” he said. “That’s more time with our daughter.” A spokesperson for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said that she's “confident we will be able to preserve and expand existing service.” We shall see.
East River Commuter Ferry Service Could Be Halted, Again [NY Times]
Photo by Tom Hoboken

November 2, 2009

Condo of the Day: 85 North 3rd Street, #207

The Mill Building at 85 North 3rd Street has long been a favorite of ours. The conversion hit the market in better times and was popular with buyers. One such buyer is now moving on though and putting his second floor loft on the market. The 1,750-square-foot pad, which originally went for $872,000, is asking $1,200,000, and before everyone jumps to the conclusion that that's too big a mark-up, consider that, despite the plethora of new construction condos clogging the market, there's actually a paucity of nice conversion properties available. Witness the overwhelming demand for Mason Fiske recently. At under $700 a foot, this place is priced competitively with the Mason Fiske apartments.
85 North 3rd Street, #207 [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark

Brooklyn Brewery Staying Put Courtesy of Weak Market

Before the real estate market started to weaken back in 2008, Brooklyn Brewery had been desperately (and unsuccessfully) searching for a new place to set up shop in Brooklyn; after two decades on North 11th Street in Williamsburg, commercial rents had crept up to $30 a year, more than three times what the brewery was paying and well beyond the reach for most manufacturing businesses. Now, however, thanks to the weakening market which has reduced the competition from other uses like hotels, bowling alleys and upscale markets, and a $800,000 grant from the state, Brooklyn Brewery has managed to negotiate a new lease that will let the beer maker stay put for another five years. “When the recession hit in, like, August or September last year, all of a sudden the landlords here in Williamsburg were looking much more favorably on us as a long-term tenant,” Brooklyn Brewery's founder Steve Hindy told The New York Times.
Soft Real Estate Market Is a Key Ingredient at Brooklyn Brewery [NY Times]
Photo by wallyg

October 29, 2009

Development Watch: 260 North 9th Street

They've been planning this project at 260 North 9th Street in Williamsburg for a while, but full approval to build only came through two months ago. The new building, which is being designed by Scarano alum Natalya Donstoy, will ultimately top out at six stories and contain 18 units. GMAP P*Shark DOB

East River State Park Makeover

Since it opened back in the summer of 2007, East River State Park along the Williamsburg waterfront has been marked by its understated lack of amenities which, combined with a couple of artifacts from the site's former industrial life, gave it a kind of rustic charm. But thanks to a private group, the park is now set to get a playground. The "green" addition will feature all-wooden structures in addition to a play train that gives a nod to when the parkland was a railyard. "It's not going to be the same cookie-cutter playground that's usually found in state parks," said Friends of East River State Park President Cathleen Breen. "It's going to be a green, innovative playground."
Train's a Rollin' for Formerly Closed Williamsburg Park [NY Daily News]
Photo by Timothy Caldwell

Report: IBZ's Not Entirely Industrial

Five years ago Mayor Bloomberg created 16 Industrial Business Zones in the outer boroughs in an effort to protect the manufacturing businesses there by preventing residential development. A recent report by the New York Industrial Retention Network is critical of some aspects of the program, citing the fact that there are 39 commercial (but not industrial) businesses that have opened within the IBZ's and the stat that industrial rents have doubled to $18 a foot since 2000. Among the non-industrial businesses cited were two bowling alleys, an art gallery and a few bars in Williamsburg.
City's Industrial Zones Undermined, Report Says [Crain's]
Photo by Katie Sokoler for Gothamist

October 28, 2009

The Edge Is Making a List, Checking It Twice

The Edge may still be holding out on cutting prices, but the massive Williamsburg development is finding other, more creative, ways to try to attract buyers, according to Curbed. Condo hunters are now invited to use the Edge's handy 70-item checklist of amenities and features to compare the waterfront project with other competing developments. Sustainably harvested floors and kitchen cabs? Check. Plunge pool with waterfall? Check. Bosch Cooktop and wall oven? Bien sur. (See the entire list here.) What's more, in a show of bravado, The Edge is offering potential buyers a free car service ride to the competition as long as they visit The Edge first.
Williamsburg's Edge Does a Bit of Trash Talking [Curbed]
Development Watch: The Edge [Brownstoner]
The Edge Tops Out [Brownstoner] GMAP
The Edge Sells Burg's Most Expensive Condo [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: The Edge [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: The Edge [Brownstoner]

Breaking Up the B61

Changes are in store for residents of Brooklyn who rely on the B61 bus line. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it is breaking up the route in hopes of cutting down on delays and improving service. The line, which currently serves 18,500 riders a day, will now run from Queens Plaza to Downtown Brooklyn. Riders will then have to hop on a new second line, the B62, to travel the rest of the way from Downtown Brooklyn to Red Hook. The agency hopes to have the plan in place by early next year. Update: The NY1 article had it wrong. This is from the MTA press release: "The southern B61 route will travel between the Ikea Terminal in Red Hook and Downtown Brooklyn (Smith Street and Livingston Street). The northern B62 route will travel between Downtown Brooklyn (Boerum Place and Livingston Street) and Queens Plaza and will be rerouted past the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal."

October 27, 2009

Dive In at 80 Met

Just a few days after the first closings were recorded in public records, 80 Met opened its doors up to a photographer from Curbed, who put together quite a slideshow of the just-about-finished development. The biggest eye-catcher for us was this shot of the swimming pool. Pretty swanky.
Williamsburg's 80 Met Comes Out to Play [Curbed]
80 Met Makes it Official [Brownstoner]
80 Met Receives TCO [Brownstoner] GMAP
Price Cuts at 80 Met [Brownstoner]

October 26, 2009

Closing Bell: Diner's Halloween Costume

Diner has a new look for Halloween.

October 21, 2009

The Northside's Haunted House

With Halloween only ten days away, Forgotten NY today takes a look at "one of Brooklyn's more notable 'haunted houses'"—Williamsburg's 539 Driggs. In addition to the all the original, decrepit details and odd detritus visible through the windows, 539 Driggs is also notable for its rear house, accessible through a narrow side path. We still remember taking a quick duck down the alley shortly back in the early days of Brownstoner when we were still living in the 'Burg. Neat stuff. More photos and descriptions on the link.

October 20, 2009

Condo of the Day: 55 Berry Street, #5D

55 Berry is positively old-school when it comes to the condo-ization of Williamsburg—some listings at the converted knitting factory came on the market as long ago as late 2005. This particular 1,168-square-foot loft on the fifth floor has been kicking around since then, with its asking price getting as high as $930,000 in early 2006 before selling somewhere south of that in 2007. Halstead got the listing for the resale last month and just trimmed the asking price last week to $839,000. We love this kind of large-windowed, high-ceilinged space. Bachelor paradise.
55 Berry Street, #5D [Halstead] GMAP P*Shark
Building photo from Curbed

A Step Forward for Broadway Triangle

The big affordable housing project that the city wants to build at the Broadway Triangle in Williamsburg took one step closer to becoming a reality yesterday when City Planning voted 12-1 in its favor, reported the Gotham Gazette. As we reported earlier this month, yesterday was also supposed to be the first day in court for the coalition of 40 local groups suing city to block the 1,850-unit project on the grounds that the development is biased in favor of the Hasidic community that is prevalent in the neighborhood and that the planning process failed to include input from the broader population. The next step in the ULURP process is for City Council to weigh in.
Broadway Triangle, Kingsbridge Armory Approved [Gotham Gazette]
The Fate of the Broadway Triangle [Brownstoner]
Community Groups Sue City over Broadway Triangle [Brownstoner]

October 13, 2009

80 Met Makes it Official

Last week the first closing was recorded in public records for 80 Met in Williamsburg. The unit that sold, according to StreetEasy, was a 555-square-foot studio that was originally listed for $415,000 and wound up going for for $385,000. StreetEasy says that 45 of the condo's 123 units are in contract, so the development still has a long sales road ahead of it. Prices on active listings are ranging from $485,000 for a one bedroom to $1.67 million for one of the project's nine townhouses.
80 Met Receives TCO [Brownstoner] GMAP
80 Metropolitan [StreetEasy]
Price Cuts at 80 Met [Brownstoner]

October 9, 2009

Last Day of the Sukkahs

Sukkot, the seven-day Jewish festival with origins as a celebration for the harvest, is ending today. One of the icons of Sukkot is the sukkah, a temporary hut built just for the week of Sukkot, reminiscent of the structures the Israelites built during their 40 years in the desert, following their exodus from Egypt. Here, we've put up ten iPhone photographs we took while biking around in Crown Heights and Williamsburg, home to large Jewish populations. You'll notice that Jews carry around leafy branches and lemons with them during Sukkot. These come from a commandment from Moses: "On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days".

October 7, 2009

The Fate of the Broadway Triangle

It's going to be a big month for the Broadway Triangle, the city's nine-block redevelopment site in South Williamsburg that has attracted a fair share of controversy. The City Planning Commission was scheduled to vote today on the plan, which calls for 1,850 new apartments with about half reserved for affordable housing, but postponed the vote until October 19 (it was originally scheduled for September 23, but was already rescheduled once before). The City Council will also discuss the vote later this month at the Land Use Committee hearing. Finally, the Broadway Triangle Community Coalition, the meta-organization that formed to oppose the city's plan primarily due to its closed-door process, filed suit against Mayor Bloomberg and the Housing Department and the court date is currently set for October 19. "The coalition’s plan is unlikely to succeed," writes Matt Chaban in The Architect's Newspaper, but he mentions that their actions have raised awareness with the community board and the Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development regarding the nebulous planning process, and perhaps this awareness will trickle down with some positive effect for the coalition.
Gathering Storm [Architect's Newspaper]
Community Groups Sue City over Broadway Triangle [Brownstoner]

October 6, 2009

Seven Windows To Go at 184 Kent Avenue

Two bits of news about 184 Kent, the Cass Gilbert-designed former warehouse on the Williamsburg waterfront currently in the process of being converted into rentals. The good news: All but seven windows are now in on the southern facade, suggesting that the targeted opening date of January 2010 may be realistic. The bad news: The spoofy hipster dating site sponsored by the building is inexplicably still live.
184 Kent Almost Done, Painful Marketing Underway [Brownstoner] GMAP
Austin, Nichols Sorta Landmarked Post-Renovation [Brownstoner]
The Conversion of 184 Kent Avenue Marches On [Brownstoner]

October 5, 2009

Development Watch: 227 Grand Street

The corner of Driggs and Grand was quiet for a while, after Karl Fischer's proposed 16-story tower in Williamsburg was quashed in March 2008 when the City Council downzoned the block, as well as 12 others. The developers of the site tried to lay a foundation before the Council vote, which would have allowed the tower to go forward, but failed. Fischer is still attached to the project, however, and construction has begun, albeit slowly, on what filings seem to indicate will be a four-story, 50-foot retail building. Curbed dubbed the new version "Hot Karl Mini", which will have "8,339 square feet of retail or office space on the first and second floors and 6,000 square feet on a lower level and 6,000 square feet of rooftop space." We took this picture on one of the rare days when we saw construction workers at the site—work might be slow, in part, due to the partial stop work order still active for hazardous conditions and working without a permit. GMAP P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: 681 Driggs Avenue [Brownstoner]
Downzone Not So 'Grand' to Some [Brooklyn Paper]
Grand Street Tower Comes Back as Hot Karl Mini [Curbed]

October 1, 2009

Streetlevel: Pies 'n' Thighs Getting There

The drumroll for the new Pies'n' Thighs space in Williamsburg has been a long one: Eater's mentioned it more than a dozen times in the last 18 months. A couple of weeks ago the blog mentioned a target opening date of November 1, which looked realistic when we stopped by the new storefront at 166 South 4th Street a few days ago. One thing's for sure: Anticipation is high for the reemergence of the beloved southern-style restaurant. GMAP P*Shark DOB

September 30, 2009

Closing Bell: Williamsburg Street Fair

A few days ago, we noticed that they were setting up for a little street fair at Bedford and Taylor in Williamsburg but we haven't been by in a few days. What's this all about? Has it opened yet? GMAP

Development Watch: 170 North 5th Street

The facade for 170 North 5th Street in Williamsburg has been up for a while now. The 18-unit, 21,000-square-foot building, from RKT&B Architecture and Urban Design, has gone up along with a swath of new developments on North 5th. The facade seems to have been RKT&B's ace-in-the-hole, since their original renderings looked like a large-scale foam core model. It's definitely a break from some of the more sterile steel-and-glass developments in the area (or the large green cylinder development), but what do you think, Brownstoners? Yea or nay? GMAP P*Shark DOB

Condo of the Day: 125 North 10th Street, #NPHD

The new development at 125 North 10th Street in Williamsburg was a little late to the game, hitting the market last March as the world appeared to be collapsing. It took another six months for reality to set in: Across-the-board price cuts were instituted last week. This three-bedroom penthouse, for example, started out at $1,540,000 and is now $1,200,000. Still not giving it away but certainly a step in the right direction.
125 North 10th Street, #NPHD [Core Group] GMAP P*Shark

Checking in on Cassandra Cinema

As we mentioned back in March, the Cassandra Cinema, part of a mixed-use development at 136 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, seemed to be progressing at a speedy clip. Curbed even reported a possible spring opening date. But now spring has passed, and summer's over, but we haven't seen all that much progress over at this much-hyped and eagerly expected theater. We made attempts to contact the powers that be last week, with no response. Anyone know the story? GMAP P*Shark DOB
Lights, Camera, (Almost) Action in Williamsburg [Brownstoner]
Cassandra Cinema [Official site]
Williamsburg Cinema Projects Spring Opening [Curbed]

September 29, 2009

Court Denies Williamsburg Power Plant

On September 9, Transgas Energy Systems began pleading its case in Brooklyn appellate court for its right to build a power plant along the East River near Kent Avenue and North 12th Street. On September 22, however, the court decided against Transgas. Neighbors Allied for Good Growth posted the full decision on its website, mentioning that Transgas still retains the right to appeal, however slim its chances. If the appeal process fails or the courts deny Transgas the right to appeal, then the city will continue the process of condemning the site, the former Bayside Fuel Depot, so that it can be included in Bushwick Inlet Park.
Court Hears Case for Greenpoint Power Plant [Brownstoner]
Power Plant Proposal in Death Throes [NAG]
Photo by Curbed

September 24, 2009

Development Watch: Gene Kaufman's Billyburg Hotel

Architect Gene Kaufman has been busy in Brooklyn. His projects—Dunham, Rialto, Shaefer Landing, Decora, just to mention some in Williamsburg alone—have garnered their share of negative reviews, including when we called Verdi on Adelphi an "over-the-top eyesore", so it's with trepidation that we are watching the beginning stages of Kaufman's new residential hotel project between North 11th and North 12th streets in Williamsburg. According to DOB filings from March 2008, the development at 135 North 11th between Bedford and Berry will include a seven-story hotel, with over 25,000 square feet, and two residential buidlings: one with seven stories, 16,553 square feet, and 15 units, and the other with six stories, 44,308 square feet, and 43 units. Team Kaufman has joined up with old friend Kiska Development for the project, but hasn't released renderings of the buildings yet. So we'll just have to wait and see. GMAP P*Shark DOB
Gene Kaufman Architects [Official site]
Gene Kaufman #2: Williamsburg Triple Play [Curbed]
Verdi's Sales Like Its Architecture [Brownstoner]

Williamsburg