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Development Instead of Proposed Columbia St. Garden
It’s been a bad week for public gardens in Brooklyn. Following the news of the demise of the Crow Hill Community Garden, the initiator of the South Brooklyn Children’s Garden (slated for construction on Columbia Street soon) shared this news:
HPD has retracted their agreement to lease us the vacant lots. Despite me being in communication with HPD about access to this lot for over 4 months now, I was told for the first time today that previously (before our proposal to lease the lot) an RFP for the lots was issued and the vacant lots were awarded to a contractor. The contractor just confirmed they have the financing for the building and is now being scheduled for the coming year.
After Columbia Street resident Shannon Mulholland presented a proposal for a children’s garden on the corner of Columbia and Sackett to Community Board 6, HPD told her there were no plans for the lot in the coming two to three years and that the agency would lease it on an annual basis. The South Brooklyn Children’s Garden is now looking for new places and will even consider leasing a rooftop. If you have any ideas for them, be in touch at info.sbcg@gmail.com.
Construction to Begin Soon on Columbia Street Garden [Brownstoner]
Columbia Street Residents Looks to Transform Lot [Brownstoner] GMAP
05/16/2012 9:30 AM
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Construction to Begin Soon on Columbia St. Garden
A sign up on the proposed Columbia Street Children’s Garden, on the corner of Sackett Street, announces that work will begin on site this spring. There’s a proposed garden layout on display, which includes a greenhouse, a rain water harvest tank, compost bins, and a barn coop. The garden’s focus will be on children and education. The garden membership coordinator filled us in: “We hope to start planting soon. We are now just anxiously awaiting official approval from Green Thumb, the organization that oversees all community gardens in the city, before we gain access to the lot.” This green space was first proposed to Community Board 6 this January. Back then, the board expressed some doubt in convincing HPD (who the lot belongs to) to hand it over, so it’s great news the plan is moving ahead!
Columbia Street Residents Looks to Transform Lot [Brownstoner] GMAP
05/02/2012 12:00 PM
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Checking In at the Columbia Street Poultry Farm
Here’s a peek through the construction fence at the Columbia Street Poultry Farm, a building that partially collapsed last December. The warehouse, which housed a live poultry farm, was next to a major construction project on Degraw Street and is now nothing more than a hole in the ground. (DOB approved demolition permits earlier this month.) There haven’t been any building permits lately for repairs. Anybody know what’s in the future for the poultry farm? Some nearby residents weren’t shedding tears for it following the building’s demise. Click though for one more picture.
Little Love Lost for Columbia Street Poultry Market [Brownstoner]
A Collapse at a Poultry Shop Exposes a Rift Among Neighbors [NY Times]
Partial Collapse of Columbia Street Building [Brownstoner (more…)
04/19/2012 2:42 PM
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Pok Pok NY Opens on Columbia Street This Week
Today is the highly-anticipated opening of Pok Pok NY on the Columbia Street Waterfront, Chef Andy Ricker’s first sit-down restaurant in NYC. UPDATE: It looks like the Thai joint is opening this Wednesday. The Thai restaurant is an offshoot of the extremely popular spot in Portland. Eater published photos of the interior late last week. And the New York Times had this to say: “The menu is divided into categories: specialties like game hen done sweet-and-sour and stuffed with lemon grass; dishes to share, including some from Issan, in northeastern Thailand, like spicy minced catfish salad; and copious one-dish meals involving noodles, including the Vietnamese cha ca la vong. Mr. Ricker will postpone lunch at first and might even do it from a truck.” The friends and family meal was last Friday. Any lucky readers get to try it out?
Prepping for Portland Fave Pok Pok [Brownstoner]
Portland Thai Favorite Coming to Columbia Street [Brownstoner] GMAP
04/16/2012 10:00 AM
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Soul-Destroying B61 Bus Line Will Get Real-Time Tracking
Overdue. Today pols sent out an press release saying that the B61 will get the “BusTime System.” From the release: “Council Member Brad Lander, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and Council Member Sara M. González cheered the announcement by the MTA that the B61 will be the second bus in Brooklyn to get BusTime — a system that provides real-time bus arrival and location information. The MTA has committed to installing BusTime on the B61 no later than June 2012. The system uses GPS devices on buses which let transit riders use their cell phones and computers to find out where the next buses to arrive on a route actually are. The MTA first implemented this system in 2011 on the B63 bus which runs along Fifth and Atlantic Avenues in Brooklyn and recently expanded it in Staten Island. The elected officials restated their hopes that the next steps in improving this often delayed line would be more frequent bus service and “countdown clocks” at bus stops similar to those currently in use in some subway stations.” In November Lander’s office released a report saying that only 43 percent of B61 buses come within 1 to 3 minutes of when they’re scheduled to arrive during peak hours, and a whopping 42 percent of northbound buses skip the stop at Columbia and Union streets between 8 and 9 a.m. because they’re too full.
Report: B61 is Often Late and Way Too Crowded [Brownstoner]
Photo by diacritical
04/12/2012 12:00 PM
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New Summit Street Condos Hit the Market
We’ve been tracking the progress on the new development on Summit Street, just off Columbia Street, since it was a hole in the ground about a year ago, and now it’s all grown up and being marketed for sale. There are nine units total, and we’re seeing three listings up on Corcoran’s website: A 1,385-square-foot, two-bed/two-bath for $899,000; a 1,478-square-foot, two-and-a-half-bed/two bath for $915,000; and a 2,319-square-foot, three-bed/three-bath for $1,400,000. Here’s the broker line on it: “49-53 Summit Street has everything you could ask for in a home! Only 9 individuals will be lucky enough to enjoy the experience of living in some of the finest homes in this amazing Carroll Gardens waterfront location. The apartments are expansive ranging from over 1300 square feet to just over 2300 square feet. All of the homes have massive floor to ceiling windows that allow the entire living space to glow with natural light. The kitchen is a true masterpiece and will without a doubt unleash your inner chef. The bedrooms are all generous in size and have ample closets and each of the master bedrooms have a gorgeous en-suite bath. With amazing space, stunning finishes, and located just steps from some of the coolest restaurants, shops and pubs both in Carroll Gardens and Red Hook 49-53 Summit Street is truly an opportunity not to be missed.” Not many interior shots included in the listings, but click through for one.
Summit Street Build Gets Bricked [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 49-53 Summit Street [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 49-53 Summit Street [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 51 Summit Street [Brownstoner] GMAP (more…)
04/11/2012 10:00 AM
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Condo of the Day: 20 Tiffany Place, #PH
This penthouse at 20 Tiffany Place feels a little dated design-wise, but there are nice views, a private terrance and over 2,300 square feet of interior space. Another bonus: The common charges are only $1,637. What do you make of it?
20 Tiffany Place [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
03/13/2012 12:57 PM
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The Word on Columbia Street
Every few months there’s an article about how the Columbia Street Waterfront District is becoming a more popular place to live, and the latest such story comes via today’s Post, which says “developers, restaurant owners and old and new Brooklynites are feeling good about snuggling up next to the BQE.” The article has sales updates on some of the neighborhood’s condos that have come to market in the past year or that are in the process of being built: The 17-unit conversion at 25 Carroll Street sold out fairly quickly, with an average price of $670 per square foot; the the 42-unit Columbia Commons sold out last year too, with an average price of $750 per square foot; the 9-unit development at 49-53 Summit Street will be condos that come to market soon, with prices going from $550,000 for a 900-square-foot one-bedroom to $1.4 million for a 2,400-square-foot three-bedroom; a condo at 49 Woodhull Street is supposed to be finished soon, and seven out of 10 units have already sold, with prices ranging from $569,000 up to $950,000; and a townhouse conversion at 35 Woodhull Street is sold out. Meanwhile, there’s a tantalizing tidbit from a One Brooklyn Bridge Park rep who says that the building is “heavily targeting supermarkets and grocery stores,” an amenity that would probably be heavily used by folks who live in the neighborhood to the south.
BQExcellent [NY Post]
Photo by Jay Woodworth
03/01/2012 9:00 AM
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Closing Bell: Petition to Keep Columbia St. P.O. Open
Columbia Street Waterfront-area residents who don’t want to see their small post office (really a “contract postal unit”) close, as planned, can now sign an online petition aimed at trying to keep it open. The petition, which only had a few dozen signatures as of this morning, says the following, in part: “There is no other postal service in the area. The closest one is the Red Hook Main post office which many can tell you is very undesirable due to the lack of proper customer service and its hard to park location.The community is frustrated with the fact that the Postal Union and the Private Service Sector Unit of the USPS is terminating the contract. Please help us fight to keep this 17 year old establishment from being shut down.”
Keep Rita’s Dry Cleaners Postal Service Open [Petition]
Rita’s Dry Cleaners Launches Online Petition [Patch]
Keep the Columbia Street Post Office Open! UPDATE [TWOCS]
02/21/2012 4:00 PM
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Some Protest Closing of Columbia Street Post Office
Some residents who live near the small post office (technically a “Contract Postal Unit,” or CPU) on Columbia Street between President and Carroll streets are trying to fight to keep it open following an announcement that it would be shut down within a couple of months. The owner of the space, Rita Farone, has a petition for residents to sign urging the USPS not to end its contract for the space, according to Patch, and Community Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman has sent a letter to the postmaster general saying the location should be kept open. A reader who lives in the area also wrote in to us to say that an online petition is coming soon, and had the following to say about how it serves the community: “Please note for those who aren’t aware that substations do not charge a fee on top of postal charges. The employees are not paid either. The USPS pays the landlord a rental fee for the space. For those who don’t frequent this post office, it should be known that it generates a lot of secondary business for those who normally use the station in Red Hook at 615 Clinton off the BQE. The Red Hook station has a notorious reputation for being understaffed and undermanaged while the Columbia substation is well regarded, friendly and efficient. This closure would affect a great deal of people in this burgeoning and growing neighborhood.”
Community Board 6 District Manager Speaks Out On Behalf of Rita’s [Patch]
Keep the Columbia Street Post Office Open! [The Word on Columbia Street]
02/13/2012 12:00 PM
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Columbia Street Residents Looks to Transform Lot
At this week’s CB6 Parks committee meeting Shannon Mulholland, who lives in the Columbia Street Waterfront area, asked the committee for their support in establishing a children’s garden at an empty lot on Sackett and Columbia. (Kitty-corner from the community garden already on Columbia.) She envisions risen garden beds, a green house, composting and a chicken coop, with a focus on children and education. Board members had plenty of suggestions for nearby schools and educational garden programs to team up with. The committee approved the garden and, if all goes according to plan, construction on it would begin this spring. The lot, however, is owned by HPD, and committee members warned it might be difficult and time-consuming to convince HPD to transfer the lot to the Parks Department. The Community Board’s approval is the first step, so we’ll see what happens. GMAP
01/20/2012 10:00 AM
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Closing Bell: Waterfront Park Planned for Columbia Street
Tomorrow night the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative and Regional Plan Association are having a meeting about the public park planned for Columbia Street between Degraw and Kane streets. Preliminary renderings are going to be released, and judging from the one above, a dog run might be in the mix. Work can begin on the park once the Van Brunt Street reconstruction and the Gowanus Flushing Tunnel construction are complete, which is probably still a couple of years away. The meeting is taking place tomorrow night at the Union Street Star Theater, 101 Union Street, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. More info and how to RSVP here.
Columbia Waterfront Park Report-Back Meeting [BGI]
Columbia Waterfront Park Meeting 1/18 [Cobble Hill Association via McBrooklyn]
01/17/2012 4:00 PM
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Prepping for Portland Fave Pok Pok
The photo above shows how the interior is shaping up at the Columbia Street storefront that will eventually be home to one of the East Coast branches of Pok Pok, the much-loved Portland Thai restaurant. Signs posted in the neighborhood say there’s going to be a presentation at a Community Board 6 meeting next Monday about the restaurant’s request for a liquor license.
Portland Thai Favorite Coming to Columbia Street [Brownstoner] GMAP
01/03/2012 2:00 PM
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Condo of the Day: 140 Degraw Street, #2
When 140 Degraw Street was getting built in 2007, most people didn’t know what to make of the non-right-angled facade that broke up the continuity of old row houses on the Columbia Waterfront District block. We’ll admit to having been skeptical but we’ll also admit that, based on this resale listing that just hit the market, the interiors turned out quite nicely. (Remember, this wasn’t actually a new building; it was a new facade plus an interior renovation.) Anyway, the kitchen’s well done, there appears to be good light and the location’s in the eye of the beholder. The asking price is $750,000. Thoughts?
140 Degraw Street, #2 [Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark
01/03/2012 12:55 PM
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Little Love Lost for Columbia Street Poultry Market
The Times looked at last week’s partial collapse of the Columbia Street building that houses a poultry slaughterhouse in terms of how the gentrifying neighborhood views the business. Plenty of residents thought the place was smelly and barbaric (“One family saw a man chase down a fleeing duck, grab it by the neck and drag it to its fate”) while others suggested that people who complained about it are annoying Johnny-come-lately yuppies. A couple real estate brokers interviewed for the story said the smell from the business sometimes deterred prospective buyers. It’s unclear whether the slaughterhouse, Yeung Sen, will be allowed to reopen. The accidental building collapse was caused by workers digging to improve the Gowanus Canal flushing tunnel. The story notes that as of 20 years ago there were three slaughterhouses in the neighborhood, but if Yeung Sen closes only one will remain: “The last slaughterhouse standing, on Sackett Street, kept a low profile last week, its corrugated shutters pulled down tight. “A knock at the steel door brought Jenny Li, in a white apron. She said her uncle founded the business decades ago. ‘They complain, but we were here before them,’ she said. ‘There was nothing here.’”
A Collapse at a Poultry Shop Exposes a Rift Among Neighbors [NY Times]
Partial Collapse of Columbia Street Building [Brownstoner]
01/03/2012 10:00 AM
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Partial Collapse of Columbia Street Building
We received a few tips over the holiday break that a building that houses a live poultry farm on Columbia Street partially collapsed last Friday. A community notification sent out said the following: “The building is non-residential and no people were injured or displaced. NYPD, FDNY and the Department of Buildings has responded to the scene to ensure that all safety measures are taken.” As Patch reported, the building is next to a city construction project on Degraw Street where workers are digging a new sewer. One more picture after the jump. (more…)
12/27/2011 10:00 AM
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Summit Street Build Gets Bricked
Here’s how the new nine-unit development on Summit Street off Columbia Street is looking these days. The facade on the building appears just about complete. We’re not sure if these are planned as rentals or condos, but the big windows suggest a loft-y vibe. Work on the project started early this year.
Development Watch: 49-53 Summit Street [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 49-53 Summit Street [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 51 Summit Street [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB
12/21/2011 2:40 PM
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Action at Stalled Columbia Street Site
The stalled site at the corner of Columbia Street and Warren looks to be rejoining the land of the living. Over the past few weeks new construction equipment has made an appearance, and new permits have been filed with the city for a 7-story, 12-unit project. The developer is Louis Greco of On Prospect Park fame, among others. GMAP
11/21/2011 2:40 PM
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New Life for Columbia Street Building?
The sale of the building at 251-255 Columbia Street for $3.3 million just hit public records. The building previously housed the furniture business Sokol Bros, which closed in late October after a 60-year run. From the looks of it, the upper floors of the building are empty. The building sold to an LLC simply called “Columbia Street Development.” We wouldn’t be surprised to see shiny new apartments here in the future. GMAP
11/10/2011 9:30 AM
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Portland Thai Favorite Coming to Columbia Street
On Friday news hit that Portland’s much-loved Thai restaurant Pok Pok will be opening an outpost on Columbia Street. The restaurant will be located at 127 Columbia Street, in the space that housed Pit Stop and, more recently, 5 Burro Cafe. Here’s what the owners of Pok Pok have to say about the opening: “This is another great neighborhood, quiet and full of families, parks, low key businesses with a view of the Manhattan skyline across the water. Pok Pok Ny has a tiny dining room and a big outdoor seating area, kind of like Pok Pok PDX.” It’s slated to open within the next few months.
Pok Pok NY Will Open at 127 Columbia St., Brooklyn [Eater] GMAP
Pok Pok Ny Will Open in the Columbia Waterfront District [Grub St]
10/31/2011 10:00 AM
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martinlbrooklyn
Jun 18, 2013 | 09:35 AM