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Brooklyn About to Get a Lot Funnier
Sweeeeet! David Cross moving from E. Village to Brooklyn via @gothamist http://t.co/cKOWzY7V via @gothamist
@Brownstoner
Brownstoner
12/14/2011 3:37 PM
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Closing Bell: Jay-Z, Beyonce and Gwyneth in Carroll Park
Photos via Pardon Me for Asking, which reports that Jay-Z, Beyonce and Gwyneth Paltrow were all in Carroll Park yesterday afternoon for “a little celebration.” According to the blog, news of the celebrity convergence “spread around the Carroll Gardens neighborhood like wildfire.”
Beyonce, Jay-Z And Gwyneth Paltrow In Carroll Park [Pardon Me for Asking]
10/17/2011 4:00 PM
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Westwick in The Burg
Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick shacking up in a one-bedroom rental the @Edge11211 in W'burg http://t.co/S9Qrxp2K via @newyorkpost
@Brownstoner
Brownstoner
09/29/2011 10:20 AM
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Cobble Hill Tips for Martin Amis
It’s been a few months since news broke that literary icon Martin Amis was buying a house in Cobble Hill. That doesn’t stop Slate columnist (and BoCoCa denizen) Troy Patterson from weighing in with some tips to help get the British author acclimated to the new climes. We’re buying the one about the tennis courts on Congress Street, though we’re not so sure about the LICH recommendation. What would you tell Amis to check out or avoid?
08/01/2011 10:44 AM
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Whoa! Is Michelle Williams Really Moving?
Can it be? Will Boerum Hill ever be the same?
07/29/2011 3:08 PM
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Boardwalk Empire Films at Gage and Tollner
Yesterday Gothamist reported that Boardwalk Empire would be filming at the old Gage and Tollner spot on Fulton, where Arby’s closed its doors in August. And indeed there was a crew outside, although the windows were all papered up and we couldn’t see inside. We would have freaked had we seen Steve Buscemi, but the only actors hanging around were a few extras, outfitted in period clothes.
02/25/2011 11:00 AM
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SJP & Christina Hendricks Film in The Heights
Parking was even harder to find than usual yesterday among the fruit streets of Brooklyn Heights yesterday as several blocks were taken over by the film crew of I Don’t Know How She Does It. The movie stars Sarah Jessica Parker as the Wall Street mom who may or may not have it all as well as Mad Men star Christina Hendricks. We happened to be having lunch at a friend’s house across the street from Plymouth Church School on Hicks Street and were able to snag a few photos above.
02/22/2011 9:30 AM
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All’s Not Quiet on Amity Street
The Great Norah Jones Swimming Pool Build of 2010 is in full swing. This multi-platinum singer will be the envy of her Cobble Hill neighbors when it’s done, but in the meantime she’s not making a lot of friends on her stretch of Amity Street: “The noise has been going on for days at a deafening pitch,” writes the tipster who sent this photo in a few moments ago.
04/23/2010 9:29 AM
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Norah Jones’ Swimming Pool Should Be Ready by Summer
Now that the brouhaha over her windows is dying down (the seven new windows are installed and by all accounts they look just fine), it’s time for the next stage of Norah Jones’ townhouse renovation: the backyard swimming pool. Back in January, a New York Post article had a brief reference to the fact that the famous singer was planning to build a pool, but provided no details; DOB filings also confirm that a pool is in the works, as does this pool installation truck parked on her block. Now we’ve got some color on the situation, courtesy of a tipster: If the intelligence is correct, and it sounds like it comes from a good source, we’re talking about a 8-by-30-foot in-ground pool with a hydraulic system that enables the pool to be covered and used as a terrace at the push of a button. This could be the start of a trend!
03/23/2010 9:32 AM
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Norah Jones’ Windows Coming In
As a reader pointed out, workers have started the process of putting in those controversial windows on the side of Norah Jones’ Cobble Hill house. That’s it, there goes the neighborhood!
Norah Jones Cuts Back on Her Windows [Brownstoner]
Cobble Hill Neighbors Irked by Norah Jones’ Windows [Brownstoner]
02/08/2010 11:28 AM
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Norah Jones Cuts Back on Her Windows
There’s peace in Cobble Hill. The platinum-selling singer Norah Jones, who got the neighborhood in quite a tizzy at the end of the year when she received approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to pop in ten new windows along the western wall of her recently purchased townhouse, took a voluntary step at a compromise. According to The Brooklyn Paper, which broke the news, Jones has amended her LPC application to include only seven windows instead of ten–three on the top floor and four on the bottom floor. The president of the Cobble Hill Association, which has weighed in with the concern that the side windows are not historically consistent, expressed mixed feelings about the news: I’m still concerned that this sets a precedent, said Roy Sloane, the president of the Cobble Hill Association. But I’m always in favor of a compromise, if that’s what happened here. One concern that is not raised by either The Brooklyn Paper or The Post, which also covered the story, is whether the seven-window layout might actually look less natural than the original ten-window layout. Any thoughts on that?
Compromise in Norah Jones’ Windowgate Plan [NY Post]
Windows 7 was Norah Jones’s Idea [NY Post]
Cobble Hill Neighbors Irked by Norah Jones’ Windows [Brownstoner]
01/08/2010 9:00 AM
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More on Cobble Hill’s Windowgate
The Brooklyn Paper reports new developments in the Norah Jones’ great window scandal of 2009. First, it turns out that the famous singer’s designer originally applied to punch three new windows in the brick side wall but that it was Jones herself who pushed to modify the Landmarks application to add a total of ten windows. Second, the Cobble Hill Association, which has been up in arms over the LPC’s approval of the request since it was made public, has counted up the number of similar houses with windowless side walls that it says are all vulnerable if the Jones precedent is allowed to stand. The tally? 70.
Windows 7 was Norah Jones’s Idea [Brooklyn Paper]
LPC Will Not Reconsider Norah Jones Decision [Brownstoner]
Cobble Hill Neighbors Irked by Norah Jones’ Windows [Brownstoner]
Photo by Stephen Brown for The Brooklyn Paper
12/01/2009 10:14 AM
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Roddick Condo Hunting in Brooklyn?
Just saw this Page 6 item…Andy Roddick and wife spotted at J Condo in Dumbo!
11/06/2009 12:08 PM
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Matt Damon Does Red Hook
We were taking a ride around Red Hook yesterday to scout for development projects when we passed by a film shoot going on right outside 160 Imlay Street. Turns out it wasn’t just any old film shoot. As we rode up, Matt Damon was preparing to run through a man-made rain storm as part of his role as a congressman in The Adjustment Bureau. We wish we’d had a better camera on us, but we were able to snap some fun shots anyway.
10/22/2009 10:29 AM
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Confirmed: Björk and Barney Take the Heights
The rumor about Björk and Matthew Barney buying in Brooklyn Heights was true! The singer and artist bought a sprawling apartment in a transaction that was recently recorded in public records. (No, we’re not going to publish the address.) This much can be said, however: It was a multi-million-dollar purchase at a coveted address. Welcome to the borough!
Björk Moving to Brooklyn Heights [Brownstoner]
09/28/2009 10:15 AM
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Brooklyn’s Nod from the Daily Mail
The UK’s Daily Mail ran a story this weekend pointing to Brooklyn as New York City’s hot spot—a well-intended, albeit embarrassingly ill-informed, accolade from across the Atlantic. Ed Costa quotes Sarah Jessica Parker on how Manhattan has changed for the worse, and continues to list the celebrities who have filmed in or moved to Brooklyn. Besides his red-carpet fawning, Mr. Costa makes a couple references to the Williamsburg Savings Bank. Sigh. One Hanson Place is iconographic, sure, but it seems like Mr. Costa’s approach to understanding Brooklyn was to look at a Google satellite image and read Us Weekly.
Brooklyn Is New York’s Real Gem [Daily Mail]
Image by Colin Brice
09/22/2009 11:13 AM
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Jay-Z Slept Here
New York Magazine reports (and Curbed picks up) that the new single off Jay-Z’s current album references his former “Stash Box” at 560 State Street.” I used to cop in Harlem, all of my Dominicanos. Right there up on Broadway, pull me back to that McDonald’s. Took it to my stash box, 560 State Street. Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons with them pastries.” The magazine goes on to say that 560 State would be an ideal location for a stash box, given its proximity to the intersection of Flatbush, Atlantic and Fourth Avenue. It sounds like Jay may be exaggerating the extent of his activities at his former address, however. One neighbor remembers him as a cordial and respectful neighbor. GMAP
09/17/2009 11:16 AM
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Remembering Michael Jackson
The Michael Jackson memorial birthday party hosted by Spike Lee took place on Saturday, despite the gloomy weather, and The New York Times reports “It went over without a hitch.” Guests included Reverend Al Sharpton, comedian Tracy Morgan, and radio personalities Ed Lover and Free, as well as DJ Spinna, who played classic MJ tracks. “It was a Brooklyn family affair where, for once, being packed like sardines felt like a privilege,” said the Times. The Times also reports in a separate article, that the MTA will not be honoring the late king of pop by renaming the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station after him. The request to rename the station, where Jackson shot the music video for “Bad” in 1987, which was directed by Martin Scorsese, began with City Councilwoman Letitia James and has gathered momentum. Supporters of the idea have been rejected on all counts: the MTA will not rename the station, mount a plaque, nor allow a memorial of any sort. So now MJ fans are investigating the possibility of raising funds to purchase naming rights to the station, as Barclay’s has done with the Atlantic-Pacific station ($4 million for 20 years). This solution seemed more possible than the others, based on the MTA’s response; “I would defer on commenting on any hypotheticals,” said Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the transportation authority. But he added: “We are in the middle of developing some guidelines and protocols and helping us move forward with what we feel is a viable revenue source.”
In Celebration of MJ [The Local, NYT]
Spike Lee Throws MJ Birthday Bash [NY Daily News]
Compromise for the MJ Subway Station [City Room, NYT]
Image from “Bad” video, 1987
08/31/2009 11:15 AM
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Björk Moving to Brooklyn Heights
We first caught wind of this rumor last week and have finally gotten enough confirmation that we feel comfortable posting it: Avant-garde pop star Bjork and artist husband Matthew Barney are in contract on a rather phat pad in Brooklyn Heights. In the name of privacy, that’s all we’re gonna say and ask that commenters refrain from posting the address if they know it. Stick to welcoming two more world-class artists to Brooklyn.
08/19/2009 9:30 AM
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Brooklyn Heights Streets Clogged With Twilight Fans
Unlike when we rode through earlier in the day, Brooklyn Heights was firmly in the grip of Rob Pattinson fever by late afternoon yesterday. There must have been well over a hundred onlookers on Middagh Street waiting to catch a glimpse of the Twilight star when he made his way out of his trailer that was parked between Henry Street and Cadman Plaza West. We didn’t stick around, so we have no idea how long they had to wait. Has there been any backlash in The Heights over the amount of film shoots that take place there?
07/15/2009 9:00 AM
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southelliottseer
Feb 09, 2012 | 11:02 AM