Brownstoner

Closing Bell: Last Outdoor Flea of the Season!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:00:52 -0500

This is it, folks! We've arrived at the final weekend of the outdoor flea season and luckily it looks like the weather is going to cooperate both days. And for those of you who like to plan ahead, remember that the Gifted holiday market launches the day after Thanksgiving in the old Tower Records space on Lafayette and East 4th in Manhattan. The Brooklyn Flea is held on Saturdays from 10 to 5 at the Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene (176 Lafayette Avenue between Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenues; take the C or G trains to Clinton-Washington) and on Sundays from 11-6 in Dumbo underneath the Brooklyn Bridge at the corner of Water and New Dock Street. Map and directions here.

Development Watch: 575 5th Avenue Coming Along

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:30:41 -0500

All the construction netting on the Fifth Avenue Committee's supportive housing project on 5th Avenue and 16th street has come down, and it's now possible to see progress on the corner of the structure. The rendering above shows how it's supposed to turn out.
Development Watch: 575 5th Avenue Gets Its Brick On [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 575 5th Avenue [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 575 5th Avenue [Brownstoner]
575 Fifth on a Roll [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark DOB
DOB Green-Lights 575 5th Avenue [Brownstoner]
City Planning Approves FAC Project at 575 5th Ave [Brownstoner]
Marty DK's Fifth Avenue Housing Project [Brownstoner]
City Planning Considers 5th Ave Housing Facility [Brownstoner]
FAC Development at 575 Fifth Avenue [Brownstoner]

StreetLevel: South, New 5th Avenue Bar, Opens

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:15 -0500

South, the new bar in the former Vin Rouge space on 5th Avenue between 17th and 18th streets, has opened. According to BlackBook, South is run by the same people who own the Brooklyn Ice House in Red Hook and has half a dozen beers on tap.
StreetLevel: New South Slope Bar on Tap [Brownstoner] GMAP

Open House Picks

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:04:54 -0500

Park Slope
289 Garfield Place
Corcoran
Sunday 2-3
$1,950,000
GMAP P*Shark

Ditmas Park
664 Westminster Road
Douglas Elliman
Sunday 2:30-4:30
$800,000 (was $995,000)
GMAP P*Shark

Greenwood Heights
323 21st Street
Brown Harris Stevens
Sunday 1-3
$749,000
GMAP P*Shark

Bedford Stuyvesant
509 Decatur Street
Fenwick Keats
Sunday 12-1:30
$525,000
GMAP P*Shark

Open House Picks: Six Months Later

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:40:10 -0500

Six months ago it was Memorial Day weekend and there were not enough open houses to make doing an Open House Picks post worth. Therefore, there's no Six Months Later post to run today!
Previous Six Months Later Posts [Brownstoner]

Checking In On 660 Bergen Street

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:31:05 -0500

Things have been going pretty well over at 660 Bergen Street, the 16-unit Karl Fischer-designed condo development in Prospect Heights. When we took its temperature back in March, six apartments were in contract. And now? 12 are either closed or in contract, leaving just four still up for grabs. Probably not coincidentally, they are all first-floor duplexes. Still, overall an impressive showing in this market.
660 Bergen Street Listings [StreetEasy]
Checking In On 660 Bergen Street [Brownstoner]
Checking in on 660 Bergen [Brownstoner] GMAP
Development Watch: 656-662 Bergen Street [Brownstoner]

New Restaurant Coming to Bergen Street

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:01:19 -0500

The public notice regarding the liquor license application is a couple of weeks old at this point, but the tipster who alerted us to the fact that a new restaurant is slated for the storefront space at 68 Bergen Street just down the street from Dunkin Donuts just noticed it. The name of the company on the application is Le Anfore LLC. That mean anything to anyone? GMAP

Viridian Two-Thirds Rented

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:24 -0500

After a tough run as a condo development (it went bust at the beginning of the year), the Viridian has had a nice reversal of fortune recently in its new life (under new ownership) as a rental building. We passed by yesterday and saw plenty of evidence of people living there. Later in the day we heard from the leasing agent, Citi-Spaces, that 85 out of 130 units have been rented out since hitting the market mid-Summer. Not too shabby, especially considering the not-insubstantial asking prices: One-bedrooms start at $2,400 a month, two-bedrooms at $3,400 and three-bedrooms at $4,500.
Viridian Rentals Hit the Market [Brownstoner] GMAP
Bankruptcy Forces Sale of Viridian [Brownstoner]

New Cafe for The Heights

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:14:54 -0500

Brooklyn Heights Blog has the scoop (and the photos) on the latest addition to the neighborhood's culinary scene: A cute spot called the Iris cafe opened yesterday at 20 Columbia Place in Willowtown. Anyone tried it yet?
Willowtown’s Iris Cafe - the Photos! [BHB] GMAP

Plans for J.J. Byrne Park in the Slope Unveiled

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:01 -0500

The schematic plan above details the next round of renovations the city is planning for J.J. Byrne Park in the Slope. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) The revamps are the result of a couple years' worth of community listening sessions on how to improve the park, and they will result in more distinct play areas for kids of different ages and new, adult-themed spaces like a seating area with cafe tables. Funding is in place for the overhaul, and the Parks Dept. is aiming to break ground next fall and finish the work in about a year. Meanwhile, you can check out the plans in the flesh in the gallery of the Old Stone House on weekends.
City Planning Facelift for Slope's J.J. Byrne Park [Brownstoner] GMAP
Extreme Makeover Planned for J.J. Byrne Park [Brownstoner]

868 Metropolitan Sells Out in Less Than Two Months

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:30:58 -0500

As Curbed reported yesterday, the eight-unit condo development at 868 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg sold out in just seven weeks. (This news came via an email announcement from the team at Douglas Elliman responsible for marketing the project.) So the question now is, Was it the free Vespas they were giving away (well, throwing into the deal might be a better way of putting it) or the $400-a-foot prices? GMAP

Open Thread

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:16:35 -0500

Huh? Benetton for Bed Stuy Stretch of Bedford Avenue

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:01:48 -0500

We wouldn't believe it if we hadn't seen it with our own two eyes...Benetton has opened a store at 741 Bedford Avenue between Flushing and Park Avenues. Seems like an odd location for the upscale brand's only store (as far as we know) in ~~Brooklyn~~ the area. Maybe some exec in Europe was given orders to open up a store on Bedford Avenue and found the cheapest rent he could on Bedford Avenue not realizing it was a far cry from Williamsburg! GMAP

Weekend Events

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:45:00 -0500

Children’s Book Fair
The Brooklyn Museum presents the third annual Children’s Book Fair, with more than 30 Brooklyn authors and illustrators. The fair features storybooks, picture books, and graphic novels and will include author readings, a game for children, and café service. Sponsored by Astoria Federal Savings. Saturday, November 21. 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor, Brooklyn Museum.

Thanksgiving Wine Tasting
Thanksgiving means it's time to reveal the annual “All-American Six Pack” of wines chosen to complement a classic Thanksgiving dinner. Save the date for the 6th annual ‘try before you buy’ tasting of all six wines served with traditional Thanksgiving sides. Friday, November 20. 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. Purchase form here. 765 Fulton, Brooklyn Wine Store.

Brooklyn Flea
This is the last outdoor weekend of the year at The Brooklyn Flea. The market takes place in Ft. Greene on Saturday and its historic Brooklyn Bridge location on Sunday. Both locations feature a great mix of vintage, antiques, jewelry, and food. Saturday, November 21. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, Lafayette Avenue between Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenues. Sunday, November 22. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. In Dumbo, underneath the Brooklyn Bridge at the corner of Water and New Dock Street.

Please send your events listings to events@brownstoner.com

Friday Links

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:31:36 -0500

Fire Reveals Illegal Homes Hide in Plain Sight [NY Times]
After a Fire in Brooklyn, the Anguish of a Mother [NY Times]
DOB to Farm Out Its Licensing Exams [NY Times]
Push-In Robbers on Loose in Fort Greene [NYT/Local]
Incense May Have Caused Fatal Crown Heights Fire [NY Post]
Marine Park Man Wants to Silence Church [NY Daily News]
Huge Bust at Hipster Drug Den [Brooklyn Paper]
Bay Ridge's 68th Precinct Is Safest [Brooklyn Eagle]
Man Struck, Killed by G Train in Slope [Brooklyn Eagle]
23 Brooklyn Restaurants Violated Wage Laws [WNYC]
DOT Expedites Repairs For Extra Cash [Gothamist]
Photo by damntheman