House of the Day: 339 Washington Avenue



The listing calls this house “stylistically unique, displaying elements of Gothic Revival and Italianate.” We think we spy some Greek Revival rather than Italianate in there, but whatever. Either way, this is a very special house, and a very old one by Clinton Hill standards; the listing puts it at 1855. There’s an unusual bay window over the also unusual front door, and pretty much every room comes with loads of beautiful, presumably handmade wood work and other ornamentation, such as an interior door with elaborate stained glass. The one kitchen and bath pictured have been nicely updated too. It’s a three-family but, remarkably, the home’s features don’t seem to have suffered too much in the division. (We’d use the bedroom next to the kitchen in the owner’s duplex as a dining room.) Our only quibble is with the cliched kitchen floor tile, but we think that in exchange for all the rest, we could live with that. What do you think of the house and the price of $3,950,000?
339 Washington Avenue [Brooklyn Properties] GMAP P*Shark

By Cate | | Comment

112 Emerson Place Finishing Up


112-Emerson-Place-Brooklyn-042213
When we checked in with 112 Emerson Place back in October, the 32-unit residential development had just received its permits but had yet to poke its head over the top of the construction fence. Now, just six months later, it looks like it’s about ready to open for business. The windows of the seven-story building could be bigger but it’s nice to see this stretch of Myrtle continue to receive investment. It looks like a couple of storefronts to the east are about ready to reopen.
New Building for Myrtle and Emerson Corner [Brownstoner] GMAP

By Brownstoner | | Comment

Bergen Bagels Is Open on Fulton Street!



Bergen Bagels is open on the corner of Fulton Street and Washington Avenue, one year after the popular bagel outpost announced its expansion. They’ve got a big space, formerly two storefronts occupied by King’s Pizza and the Senegalese Fashion Center. This is the third location in Brooklyn. Anyone check it out over the weekend?
Bergen Bagels Is Coming to Fulton and Washington! [Brownstoner] GMAP

By Emily | | Comment

Bike Share Stations Vandalized, Meeting Set


clermont-bikeshare-brooklyn-042113Anti-corporate messages have appeared on Citi Bike stations in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, and some Brooklyn residents are calling for removal of the stations on the grounds that they are inappropriate in historic neighborhoods, or that residents were not consulted about the locations. Above, flyers on a station on Clermont near Lafayette, near the Brooklyn Flea, point out that advertising is not allowed on landmarked residential blocks. Brooklyn Councilwoman Tish James has scheduled a town hall meeting on the matter Wednesday at 6:30 at the Benjamin Banneker Academy at 71-77 Clinton Avenue. Supporters of the program are urging people to attend to defend it. (more…)

By Cate | | Comment

Open House Picks


Carroll Gardens
123A 2nd Place
Realty Collective
Saturday, 1:00-3:00
$2,750,000
GMAP P*Shark

Clinton Hill
116 St. James Place
Corcoran
Sunday, 2:00-3:30
$2,400,000
GMAP P*Shark

Carroll Gardens
81 2nd Street
FSBO
Sunday, 2:00-4:00
$1,400,000
GMAP P*Shark

Kensington
106 East 8th Street
Douglas Elliman
Sunday, 1:30-3:00
$849,000
GMAP P*Shark

By Brownstoner | | Comment

Plant Nursery Opening Soon in Clinton Hill



A new garden center is going in at 1010 Fulton Street near Downing in Clinton Hill, according to a reader who sent us these pics. Named the Fort Greene Garden Center, it’s under construction and set to open May 1. The formerly vacant lot was also home to a tree giveaway in 2010, pictured after the jump. GMAP (more…)

By Cate | | Comment

Modern Build Planned for Clinton Hill Historic District



Here’s a juicy building proposal for the Clinton Hill Historic District, at 228 Washington Avenue: According to Community Board Two, an applicant will present to the land use committee a proposal to “demolish the circa-1950 garage and construct a new one-story contemporary style residential building connecting to the existing rear yard addition.” The building at 228 Washington Avenue is a corner brownstone that was on the market back in 2008. (According to public records, the building sold in 2010 for $750,000.) The building’s two-car garage, pictured above, faces Willoughby Avenue. The notice makes this seem more like a proposal for a separate residential building than an extension to the existing brownstone. Could be a cute house! If you’d like to see the architects present the rendering, they are scheduled to attend the land use committee meeting on Wednesday, April 17, at 5 Metrotech Center, Room LC400. GMAP

By Emily | | Comment

Closing Bell: Myrtle Avenue Meeting Tonight



Tonight, Council Member Tish James will hold a community meeting on the many changes in store for Myrtle Avenue. The meeting will cover the redevelopment of the Associated Supermarket building, which will include apartments, the public plaza coming to Myrtle between Hall Street and Emerson Place, and the revitalized shopping area. Interested? Tish James will be out tonight at 7 pm at the Willoughby Walk Co-Op at 185 Hall Street. The meeting will be held in the basement community room.

By Emily | | Comment

Open House Picks


Clinton Hill
116 St. James Place
Corcoran
Sunday, 2-3:30
$2,400,000
GMAP P*Shark

Park Slope
531 11th Street
Brown Harris Stevens
Sunday, 1:30-3:00
$2,295,000
GMAP P*Shark

Bed Stuy
374A Macdonough Street
Corcoran
Sunday, 2:00-4:00
$1,295,000
GMAP P*Shark

Bed Stuy
14 Monroe Street
Douglas Elliman
Sunday, 11:00-2:00
$999,000
GMAP P*Shark

By Brownstoner | | Comment

Plans for Associated Supermarket Site Revealed



A sharp-eyed reader found an environmental remediation plan for the Myrtle Avenue development site that currently houses an Associated Supermarket. Included in the report are plans and an elevation for the two buildings planned for the site at 490 and 504 Myrtle Avenue. One of the two buildings will house the Associated market and a TD Bank; it will go to seven stories and take two years to build. The other building will rise to eight stories and house a drycleaner, but the post office will leave, our tipster noted. As previously reported, residential apartments will be built on the site. Building materials will include light gray cast stone and dark gray metal. The architect is Aufgang & Subotovsky Architecture and Planning PLLC. Oh, and the soil? Yeah, it’s contaminated. Click through to the jump to see the interior of the Associated, where demo has already started. (more…)

By Cate | | Comment

Another Bike Share Station up in Clinton Hill



Another bike share station popped up on Washington and Park avenues in Clinton Hill. A few more stations at Fulton and Grand and Lafayette and Classon were set up in the neighborhood over the weekend. The bike share program will officially launch in May.
Bike Share Stations Are Going in Already! [Brownstoner]

By Emily | | Comment

Bike Share Stations Are Going in Already!



A couple of bike share stations were installed in Clinton Hill over the weekend. One is at Fulton and Grand, and the other at Lafayette and Classon. The program is late, but we weren’t expecting any actual stations until May, so this is a pleasant surprise. Anyone else see any other bike share racks in Brooklyn? Any one tried it out yet? Click through to see a shot of the racks as well as a close-up of the credit card device itself.
Bike Share Coming to Nabes West of Nostrand First [Brownstoner]
(more…)

By Cate | | Comment

Vacant Lots for Sale in Clinton Hill


Four lots at 63-69 Irving Place in Clinton Hill are for sale for $2,300,000. The land is 2,959 square feet with 5,9108 of buildable square feet, according to the listing. It’s zoned R6B, a traditional row house street, so any apartment buildings will have to be built at a similar scale; the maximum building height allowed with setbacks is 50 feet. The area is not landmarked, according to PropertyShark. Since the cost per square foot works out to be $777, we guess whoever buys this will be looking to build quite a few units. GMAP

By Cate | | Comment

Co-op of the Day: 185 Clinton Avenue #8H



This one-bedroom (sort of a two-bedroom but not really) at 185 Clinton Avenue is a nice ’40s apartment, long on sturdiness and short on frills, just as you’d expect from a pad in the Clinton Hill Co-ops. This one’s nicely located at the corner of Lafayette and on the 8th floor, so views and light are great. The kitchen finishes are pretty perfunctory but appear to be in fine shape. Asking price is $365,000.
185 Clinton Avenue #8H [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark

By Brownstoner | | Comment

Biggie’s Childhood Home Available for $725K


Big news: The Clinton Hill crib where The Notorious B.I.G. spent his childhood years can be yours for $725,000. Meanwhile, the blogs are debating whether or not this area was once considered Bed Stuy, which he calls home in some of his lyrics. From our own Montrose Morris: “Long story long, the case could be made that when he was a child, in the ’60s, his street was considered to be part of Bed Stuy. However, by the time he started his career as a criminal, it was definitely called Clinton Hill. And by the time he started rapping, there was no doubt it was Clinton Hill, and he was trading on the tough Bed Stuy reputation to make himself look badder and ballsier than his neighborhood actually was.”
Late Rapper Notorious B.I.G.’s Childhood Home Lists for $725K [Curbed]
Where Brooklyn At? Notorious B.I.G.’s Old Apartment On Sale [Gothamist]
Biggie Smalls’ Childhood Apartment in Brooklyn on the Market [NY Daily News]
226 St. James Place 3L Listing [Warren Lewis]
Photo by Warren Lewis

By Cate | | Comment

Facade Finished for Putnam Court



Behold, the final product at Dunn Development’s supportive housing project in Clinton Hill, Putnam Court. Looks just like the rendering! The city held a lottery for the apartment units, reserved for low-income singles and formerly homeless people, last November. The developers are finishing up interior work and expect initial occupancy around the end of May. They are also still accepting applications to add to the rental log, which will form the basis of the waitlist after initial rent-up is completed. An application for that is here.
Affordable Units Available for New Putnam Build [Brownstoner]
Developer Addresses Concerns on Putnam Project [Brownstoner]
Putnam Court, Rendered [Brownstoner]
Big Dig at Putnam Avenue Lot [Brownstoner]
Clinton Hill Affordable Build Going up This Month [Brownstoner]
Clinton Hill Lot to Become Affordable Housing [Brownstoner] GMAP

By Emily | | Comment

DOB Issues Building Permits for 135 Lefferts Place



Looks like construction will finally start up on the Clinton Hill stretch of Lefferts Place. The Department of Buildings issued a new building permit for a four-family, eight-story residential building at 135 Lefferts Place, on the northeast corner of Classon. At the beginning of this year we got our hands on the zoning documents for this lot (pictured above), and the DOB had approved the building plans but had not yet issued permits. Nearby, the huge empty Lefferts lot between Classon and Grand avenues is up for sale, with approved plans to build eight three-family townhouses. Plans for 92-96 Lefferts (the site of the demolished stand-alone home) to build three four-story builds are still on hold with the DOB.
Huge Changes in Store for Clinton Hill Block [Brownstoner]

By Emily | | Comment

Work Happening at 71 Irving After Building Collapse



We noticed a full work crew out at Clinton Hill’s 71 Irving Place, at Putnam, although the Department of Buildings issued permits for an interior renovation back in January. The side of the building facing Putnam crumbled one weekend last October. The building, which was unoccupied, had just sold to a new owner. The interior renovation is a total gut: The permit calls for the replacement of existing sheetrock, the doors, flooring, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, boiler and hot water heater.
A Building Collapse on Irving and Putnam [Brownstoner] GMAP

By Emily | | Comment

Last Week’s Biggest Sales



1. GRAVESEND $4,600,000
1925 East 3rd Street GMAP P*Shark
No listing for this 2,780-square-foot one-family home. Deed recorded on 3/18/2013.

2. BROOKLYN HEIGHTS $3,850,000
20 Garden Place GMAP P*Shark
A HOTD back in 2011. This brownstone sold in 2012 in an off-market deal, then was listed again later that year. The home was asking $4,495,000 in 2012. Deed recorded on 3/20/2013.

3. CLINTON HILL $2,925,000
396 Grand Avenue GMAP P*Shark
The sale of this 26-foot-wide single family home, which set the neighborhood record, got its own post. It sold at its asking price. Deed recorded on 3/19/2013.

4. PARK SLOPE $2,650,000
608 6th Street GMAP P*Shark
A HOTD pick over the summer. We said, “It’s got a charming Arts and Crafts interior, with a coffered ceiling that’s particularly impressive. There are lots of other original details as well.” Ask: $2,650,000. Deed recorded on 3/18/2013.

5. BOERUM HILL $2,600,000
161 State Street GMAP P*Shark
An Open House Pick in November of 2012. You can see the listing for this 20-foot-wide Greek Revival townhouse here. The home was asking $2,900,000. Deed recorded on 3/19/2013.

By Emily | | Comment

Public Hearing for Renken Dairy Building Coming Up



A public hearing is coming up at the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the Renkin Dairy building at 584 Myrtle Avenue. The former dairy-supply building was calendared in November. The public hearing is scheduled for April 2. The LPC will not make a vote to landmark at that time, they’ll just listed to any public comment. According to the LPC, the Renkin building “is an unusual example of the Moderne style of architecture applied to a small commercial structure in Brooklyn… This office building was designed by the firm of Koch & Wagner in the Moderne style, popular in the early 1930s. This style was a simplified version of the earlier Art Deco style, featuring light colors and straight lines to provide a sense of dynamism related to machines and their speed, seen as emblematic of the 20th century. The building design is expressed through horizontal bands of red brick against a light brick background and projecting or recessed planes on the building’s facades.” Read the full writeup from the LPC here.
Myrtle Avenue Dairy Building Set for Landmarking [Brownstoner]
Photo by the LPC

By Emily | | Comment