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Open House Picks
Fort Greene
294 Cumberland Street
Brown Harris Stevens
Sunday, 1:00-2:30
$2,600,000
GMAP P*Shark
Carroll Gardens
162 Union Street
Brooklyn Bridge Realty
Sunday, 12:00-2:00
$2,495,000
GMAP P*Shark
Park Slope
572 Pacific Street
Halstead
Sunday, 12:30-1:30
$2,150,000
GMAP P*Shark
South Slope
144 16th Street
Corcoran
Sunday, 2:00-3:30
$1,450,000
GMAP P*Shark
02/10/2012 1:06 PM
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Brooklyn’s Last Humpback Street Sign
We missed this when it went up last week but it’s too good not to post. Forgotten NY, that tenacious chronicle of old time Gotham, ran this photo of the “the last of Brooklyn’s ‘humpback’ street signs.” You can see that the smaller street that Willoughby intersected with once upon a time was Hudson Avenue. A commenter points out that this section of Hudson was removed to make way for Long Island University campus, though a one-block stretch of the street still exists between Dekalb and Fulton.
02/10/2012 12:00 PM
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Fort Greene Park Renovation Plan Revealed
On the heels of the exciting news that $2.55 million had been officially approved for the renovation of Fort Greene Park, we’ve got a copy of the site plan for the project along with some more details. The renovation is focused on the Willoughby entrance to the park. As the plan shows, the stairs will be rebuilt and a new ADA ramp will be installed, making stroller and disabled access easier. A variety of water control features – engineered (bioswales, cisterns and other) and organic (understory plantings)- will be installed in the circle adjacent to the Willoughby entrance within the park; this will mitigate the flow of water from the height of the park around the monument to the sidewalk outside and eliminate the pooling there. A curb bumpout will be built to improve pedestrian safety and the aesthetics of the entrance by giving pedestrians crossing from the park to Willoughby improved visibility and by eliminating parking directly in front of the entrance. The pavers along Washington Park will be leveled and reset. There will also be 9 new benches around the circle, which will add more seating capacity and help to harmonize the furniture in the park.
All good! Congrats to the Fort Greene Park Conservancy for their relentless (and effective!) advocacy. There’s a community listening session scheduled for February 29th from 6 to 8 pm at the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, 85 South Oxford Street. To get a bigger look at the plan, click here.
Fort Greene Park Renovation a Go! [Brownstoner]
02/10/2012 9:30 AM
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More Delays at Atlantic Yards
The Atlantic Yards Report writes this morning of two delays relating to the Barclays Center built-out. The biggest news to those who have to try to navigate the giant construction project is that the Carlton Avenue bridge reopening has been delayed by a month, and in order to meet the new completion date of September 2012 work crews will be at it until 3 am. “The artery’s absence could plunge area traffic into chaos, especially given the inevitable shakeout period in which arena-goers and area drivers learn to regulate down their vehicle use before events,” notes AYR. As the blog notes, The $40 million bridge project is an Arena Opening Condition under an agreement Forest City signed with Empire State Development. Delay #2: For the second time in five weeks, says AYR, the “substantial completion date” for the arena itself has been pushed back a week to September 5. (The final completion date is slated for June 30, 2013.)
02/10/2012 9:00 AM
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67 Adelphi Sells Low, Preps for Renovation
We noticed interior work happening at 67 Adelphi Street, the rundown Fort Greene home that was a House of the Day back in June. At the time the asking price was $750,000, which seemed pretty high for a house in this condition, regardless of the presence of some original detail. Turns out our instincts were right: The home recently sold for less than half off–$350,000 to be precise, according to public records. No permits have been filed with the DOB yet, but it looked like the building was getting cleared out. Wonder if the new owners will redo the facade… GMAP
HOTD: 67 Adelphi Street [Brownstoner]
02/09/2012 11:00 AM
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Owner Gives Up on Selling Spike’s Firehouse on Dekalb
After almost four years of trying, the owner of the former firehouse that most famously housed Spike Lee’s production company 40 Acres and a Mule has given up and decided to rent the two residential units out instead. Last time we wrote about it, the 6,000-square-foot building was asking $3,900,000, down from an even $6,000,000 in 2008. What was the problem (other than the price)? Bland interiors and an unfortunate location right across from the hospital entrance would be our guess.
House of the Day: 124 Dekalb Avenue [Brownstoner]
40 Acres Former HQ Now For Sale [Brownstoner]
02/08/2012 10:00 AM
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Rental of the Day: 117 Saint James Place
The pictures aren’t great, but this four bedroom duplex at 117 Saint James Place shows promise. It’s getting renovated but there are still good-looking fireplaces and wood floors in place. The rent comes in at an even $4,000/month, not bad for a four bed/two bath on a nice block of Clinton Hill. Thoughts?
117 St. James Place [Catalyst Group Realty] GMAP P*Shark
02/07/2012 12:32 PM
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Fort Greene Park Renovation a Go!
As The Local reported yesterday, a $2.55 million renovation of Fort Greene Park has been green lighted and is set to begin in the next three months or so. The news was delivered by Marty Maher, the Parks Department’s Brooklyn chief of staff, at last week’s Fort Greene Park Conservancy board meeting. The plan calls for work to begin on the public bathroom later this spring with extensive landscaping and drainage work to follow in the fall. It’s expected that the work will address much, but not all, of the flooding issues that have plagued the park in recent years. There will be a chance for community input regarding future park improvements at a meeting at the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church on February 29th at 6 p.m.
Park Rehab Means Good-Bye To ‘Fort Greene Falls [NYT/Local]
Photo by Ed Brydon
02/07/2012 9:00 AM
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Fino 122 Getting Ready for Takeoff
Signage recently graced the face of the development 122 Adelphi Street in Fort Greene which now goes by the moniker of Fino 122. According to the project website, there will be studios as well as a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom condos. Pricing hasn’t been released yet. This build, affectionately referred to around here as the Adelphi Finger, has been in the works since 2009.
Development Watch: 122 Adelphi Shows Itself [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Adelphi Finger Tops Out [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Adelphi Finger Half Way There [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Adelphi Finger Rising [Brownstoner]
Fort Greene About to Get Fingered [Brownstoner] GMAP
FG/CH Vesting: The Winners and Losers [Brownstoner] P*Shark DOB
Luxury (Or, More Likely, Not) On Adelphi Fringe [Brownstoner]
02/06/2012 11:00 AM
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Should Fowler Square Swallow Up South Elliott Place?
Fowler Square, at the commercial center of Fort Greene, is getting a makeover similar to the one at the Putnam Triangle. The creation of a public plaza seems to be a done deal but the scope of the project is still up in the air. From our coverage of a community meeting last summer:
There are currently three options on the table for the plaza’s redesign: The space can remain its current size (3,200 square feet); there could be a partial extension to Lafayette and South Elliot Place (making it 4,800 square feet with no parking spots lost and traffic flow maintained); or there could be a full extension to South Elliott Place (which means it would 8,600 square feet, two parking spots would be lost, and no through traffic would be allowed on South Elliott).
The FAB Alliance posted this video on its Facebook page last week. It doesn’t take long to figure out where the business group stands on closing South Elliott Place to make the plaza as big as possible!
Community Weighs In On Fowler Square Redesign [Brownstoner]
Concerns Aired at Fowler Square Plaza Meeting [Brownstoner]
02/06/2012 10:01 AM
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Bringing a New Eatery to Life in Old Abistro Space
The folks who are opening a restaurant called Lulu & Po in the old Abistro space on Carlton Avenue are blogging about their renovation. Some neat details from the work done so far: “At this stage Gerrett and I have most of all of the inside gutted. We took the sheet rock off the walls and brought the place back to the 1990′s. It was a little socal club from what we are told. There are some calendars and postings on the walls made out of cardboard and old newspapers all in Spanish. The names and dates on the calendar are either birthdays or deaths. We think both.” The small restaurant will feature local ingredients but focus on European rather than American fare, according to reports.
Lulu & Po Renovation Blog [Official Site]
Original Abistro Location Now Up for Rent [Brownstoner] GMAP
02/01/2012 2:00 PM
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Pol Pushes to Keep State Office Building in Public Hands
According to the Fort Greene Association, the Office of General Services is considering selling its office building at 55 Hanson Place, which was recently renamed for former Representative Shirley Chisholm. State Senator Velmanette Montgomery has started a petition to keep the building under state ownership. If it’s sold, the a Harlem building will be the state’s only office property in the city. According to Montgomery: “This continues the wasteful pattern of selling state buildings and then renting space for state officers from private developers. It removes easy access to local government offices from the people.” The Daily News notes that the building has offices for the Department of Taxation, Office of Children and Family Services, and other agencies. Yesterday Fort Greene Patch reached out to a state spokeswoman, who denied it was for sale. According to the spokeswoman: “Our goal is to maximize the use of space, and minimize costs for New York State taxpayers.” Nevertheless, Montgomery’s office is circulating a mail-in petition about the possible sale that can be found here [PDF]. GMAP
01/31/2012 9:30 AM
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What Price Admirals Row? $2 Million
The deed for Admirals Row was recorded in pubic records yesterday, and it reveals that the city paid $2 million to “The United States of America” for the 6-acre site, which has an official address of 2 Wallabout Street. The deed also contained a couple other interesting tidbits. For one, it documents that one of the buildings on the site, #198, was demolished in December 2010 (it’s pictured above) and that some soil with high levels of PCB had to be removed from where the building stood; it also says that construction debris containing asbestos was removed from the area north of the Timber Shed last May. Not surprising, but the two pieces of information bring to mind that the developing the site will involve a not-inconsiderable level of environmental remediation. The other noteworthy thing included in the deed is a diagram of all the Admiral’s Row buildings; click through to see it.
Shedding a Final Tear for Admirals Row [Brownstoner]
Transfer of Admirals Row to City a Done Deal [Brownstoner] (more…)
01/31/2012 9:00 AM
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Rental of the Day: 258 Adelphi Street
This four-bedroom Fort Greene duplex is quite charming but comes in at a hefty $7,000/month. We’re especially liking all the built-in shelving and the updated kitchen. A private roof deck doesn’t hurt, either. Do you think it’s worth the rent, though?
258 Adelphi Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
01/30/2012 12:30 PM
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Fence on Fort Greene Footbridge Dividing Residents?
The Times has a story exploring whether additional fencing the city is installing on a footbridge connecting the Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene is exacerbating tensions in the neighborhood between poorer residents who live in the projects and well-off newcomers. The additional fencing is supposed to make it difficult or impossible to throw stuff off the bridge to the roadway below, and its installation follows an incident last summer in which a bicyclist riding underneath was clocked with a brick. Ed Brown, the president of the Ingersoll Houses tenants’ association, is quoted as saying that “There’s this image of Downtown Brooklyn turning into this great utopia; we’re building diversity. …But that fence, that right there is detrimental to the whole mission.” Some of the Ingersoll residents interviewed for the article agree with Brown’s sentiment (one says the fencing is “caging us”) while a couple others say it’s not a big deal. People in the community say kids have been throwing stuff off the bridge for years. Robert Perris, Community Board 2′s district manager, says erecting more fencing isn’t a “perfect” resolution to the problem, but that it’s being put in with “public safety” in mind.
Bridge’s Partial Fencing Points to a Bigger Divide [NY Times]
01/30/2012 10:00 AM
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Fort Greene Park Changes Hands in Latest Redistricting
The redistricting action in North Brooklyn may not be as kooky as some other parts of the state (see today’s Observer post for some rich examples) but there were some changes to Joe Lentol’s turf worth mentioning. Most notable, is the loss of Fort Greene Park (as well as a strip of several blocks between Dekalb and Willoughby). Joe Lentol’s loss is Hakeem Jeffries’ gain, but only for a little while, since the 57th District leader now has his sights set on a run for congress. Check out a larger version of the new District 50 map here. And, for comparison’s sake, here’s the old map.
01/27/2012 3:06 PM
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Candy Store Opening on Myrtle Avenue
A reader passed along this shot announcing the impending opening of a candy store called Huey’s Chueys at 378 Myrtle Avenue, near the corner of Clermont, noting that it’s “a good use of that space that used to be a hair salon.” We got in touch with the owner, who said the business will be opening this coming Wednesday if all goes as planned. The store will carry candy by the pound (prices aren’t completely set, but it will probably run $2.99/pound and up), homemade chocolate, ice cream, pastries and snow cones.
GMAP
01/27/2012 2:00 PM
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Market Snapshot: Fort Greene
PropertyShark has hooked us up with lots of stats about how the real estate market has performed in Fort Greene since the beginning of 2005. The bigger picture shows a healthy market in the neighborhood for both apartment and house sales following a predictable drop in volume in early 2009.
Condos and co-ops: The median sales price for all apartments in Fort Greene since 2005 is $585,000, and there were 742 condo or co-op sales during that period.
Houses: The median sales price for all one- to three-family houses since 2005 is $1,199,000. Price-wise, the market peak happened in the second and third quarters of 2008, when the median price topped $1.9 million. There are usually between five and 10 closings each quarter, and a total of 194 houses have sold since the beginning of 2005.
Biggest sale ever: The most expensive house to ever sell in Fort Greene is 275 Adelphi Street, which sold for $3,055,500 in mid-2008.
Cheapest prop on the market: A one-bedroom co-op at 105 Ashland Place listed for $199,000.
Click through for more charts showing price trends since ’05…. (more…)
01/20/2012 11:15 AM
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Lafayette Bike Lane Campaign Gains Community Support
This week the Make Lafayette Avenue Safer campaign made a presentation to Community Board 2′s transportation committee and ultimately gained the committee’s support to pursue adding a bike lane and other street calming measures to Lafayette Avenue. The group has signatures of support from 1,600 residents. Suggestions for traffic calming include widening painted crosswalks and adding signage for cars and bikes to yield to pedestrians. The committee voted almost unanimously in support of undertaking a DOT-requested traffic study for the improvements. Hilda Cohen, who presented the proposal, had the following to say: “Since one community member noted that the 2011 DOT bike map already has Lafayette as a proposed bike lane, and since the DOT proposal that was not presented saw last year could still be feasible, [the bike lane] may happen sooner rather than later.” The organization plans to make a presentation to Community Board 3 in Bed Stuy and push for a community meeting with the DOT. There’s more info here about volunteering for the campaign.
Closing Bell: Make Lafayette Avenue Safer [Brownstoner]
01/19/2012 11:00 AM
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Rental of the Day: 218 Myrtle Avenue, #4C
This is a two bedroom rental at the Andrea, 218 Myrtle Avenue, for $2,650/month. There’s nothing exceptional about the space but it fits the bill for those who want to rent in a newer building. We’d say the rent isn’t too far off for around 800 square feet, two bedrooms and two bathrooms in a not-exactly-prime but still convenient part of Fort Greene. Do you agree?
218 Myrtle Avenue, #4C [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
01/16/2012 12:30 PM
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Feb 06, 2012 | 12:32 PM